Jesus is Lord: What does this mean?

In previous posts we have examined two of the most prominent biblical reasons to reject the no-lordship position on salvation. The first reason I mentioned is because of the nature of repentance. Repentance, I pointed out, is an active turning from sin and more than a casual “change of mind” often suggested. The second reason to maintain the Lordship position (against the free grace position) is because of the nature of faith. While certainly understood as “trust” or “reliance upon,” biblical faith is manifested through obedience and leads to sanctification. Today I want to look at another prominent issue in the debate between Lordship salvation and free grace theology: the Lordship of Christ.

Perhaps this issue more than any other characterizes the Lordship position of salvation (hence the name “Lordship salvation”). Some free grace teachers deny that Christ’s Lordship has any bearing on a person’s salvation, while other teachers affirm the necessity of His Lordship in salvation but adopt a very shallow understanding of what that means.

What does the Bible teach about this matter?

First: Jesus is Lord.

Romans 10:9-10 says, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”

In order to be saved, a person must receive Jesus Christ as Lord. What does this entail?

Second: Lord means “Master.”

The word “Lord” (kurios) can mean several things depending upon the context in which it is found, but when used of Christ it most certainly includes at least two things:

1. He is God

2. He is Master

While the free grace position affirms the first definition, they sometimes waffle on the second. But the Bible is abundantly clear that Jesus’ lordship entails the meaning “master.” Consider two other points:

1. Jesus Himself asked rhetorically, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46). His question clearly reveals that part of what it means to call Him “Lord” is a willingness to do what He says.

2. The word “lord” (kurios) in the NT is often coupled with the term “slave” (doulos). See John 15:14-15 for an example of this. In the cultural context in which the NT was written, every slave had a master. The New Testament borrows this concept and applies it to Christianity. Every believer is a slave of Christ (1 Cor. 6:19-20) and Jesus Christ is the master of every believer (1 Cor. 1:2; Jude 4).

John MacArthur sums up:

“True Christianity is not about adding Jesus to my life. Instead, it is about devoting myself completely to Him – submitting wholly to His will and seeking to please Him above all else. It demands dying to self and following the Master, no matter the cost. In other words, to be a Christian is to be Christ’s slave.” (From his new book Slave, 22).

3. The sinner never makes Jesus Lord—He is Lord! Peter said on the day of Pentecost that “God has made this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36). Furthermore, as Bruce Demarest points out, Jesus’ words in John 5:24 clearly indicate the nature of Jesus’ Lordship. Demarest offers a paraphrase of the verse in order to get across the shades of meaning in the Greek: “Anyone here who believes what I am saying right now and aligns himself with the Father, who has in fact put me in charge, has at this very moment the real, lasting life and is no longer condemned to be an outsider.” Demarest concludes, “Obedience to Christ’s lordship is an intrinsic aspect of saving faith.”

(See his excellent discussion of this whole matter in The Cross and Salvation pages 265-75. What I cited came from page 269).

The New Testament no where entertains the idea that a person can legitimately trust in Christ for salvation and yet give lip service to His Lordship. The whole “accept Jesus as Savior but not as Lord” paradigm suggested by free grace theology is patently false. Kenneth L. Gentry, in one of the best lexical examinations of the term “Lord” in the NT, concludes, “The proper presentation of Christ as Savior involves His proclamation as Lord and Savior. Overwhelmingly the New Testament emphasizes His Lordship…when Christ is believed ‘upon’ or believed ‘into,’ He Himself is accepted for salvation. Thus Christ, being Lord, comes into the heart of the believer as Lord and Master. To omit Christ’s office of Lord in evangelistic preaching is to divide Christ and splinter the gospel message” (Lord of the Saved, 64-5).