The Bible says, “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.” (Acts 2: 36). (Also 2 Peter 1: 1, 2, 11; 2: 20;  3: 2;  3: 18 et al.).

The problems of the church corporately, are due to the individual Christians failure to recognize the Lordship of Christ.  Our texts called Jesus both “Lord” and “Christ” or “Saviour.”  Jesus is never presented as either Lord or Saviour, because the Saviorhood and the Lordship of Christ are inseparable. 

Many think they can receive Christ as Savior while rejecting Him as Lord and therefore not have to obey Him.  But according to scripture, He is both Lord and Savior or He is neither.  If there is no recognition of the Lordship of Christ and obedience to His word expressed in the life, then one should examine him self to see if he is really saved and accepted Christ in their heart. 

And we’re taught there’s an evolution of a Christian from a child or babe to a full-grown man (1 Cor. 13: 11; Eph. 4:13).  This growth doesn’t come without one’s acknowledgment of Christ as Lord. Today, the real problem with obedience and recognizing the Lordship of Christ is the failure to actually receive Christ as Savior.  Christ is both Lord and Savior or He is neither.  We cannot separate His Saviorhood from His Lordship, because God the Father made Him both and we cannot separate Him and take what we want and leave the other.

A W. Tozer says, “The discredited doctrine of a divided Christ goes like this: ‘Christ is both Savior and Lord.  A sinner may be saved by accepting Him as Savior without yielding to Him as Lord.’  Christ’s saviorhood is forever united to His lordship.  Christ must be Lord or He will not be Savior.” The apostle James says, “faith without works is dead.” So our professed faith in Christ, as our Savior without works that show our obedience to Christ and express His Lordship in our life, means our faith is dead-we are not saved.

Edward E. Hindson commenting on Jn.13:13 says, “That God claims total lordship over His own is obvious in this passage.  The concept of the lordship of Christ has often been greatly mistaken.  Even in the face of immediate denial of and on the part of His disciples, Jesus said to them: ‘Ye call me Master and Lord; and ye say well; for so I am’.  There is no passage or command anywhere in the New Testament asking the believer to make Christ ‘Lord of his life’ after salvation.  The very experience of receiving Christ as Saviour is looked upon throughout the Scriptures as an acknowledgement of lordship and ownership.  If perfect obedience were required in order to make Christ our Lord, He would be the Lord of no one!  It is the fact that He is already Lord that makes our disobedience so serious.  As Lord and Master He has the right to demand complete obedience.   Our disobedience as a believer is an act of sin against His lordship.  The believer cannot sin away the lordship of Christ any more than he can His Saviourhood.”

James H. Cagle is a resident of Ray City.