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Can Jesus Be My Savior and Not Be My Lord?

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Colossians 1:21–23

Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation—if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.

CONSIDER THIS

We have lived through a period of history in which the gospel has been presented with two options: the basic package and the deluxe package. The basic package would include Jesus Christ as Savior. The deluxe package includes Jesus Christ as Lord. In other words, one can check the box for Jesus Christ as Savior and not go for the upgrade with Jesus as Lord. Through another lens, the Jesus Christ as Savior package was like a fire insurance policy. The Jesus Christ as Lord package was more like a complete home renovation project.

What do you think most people bought? Yep, the insurance policy. Jesus can be my Savior, and maybe I will get around to make him my Lord someday. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this is not the good news. The gospel makes one offer. I like the way missionary E. Stanley Jones put it: “Jesus Christ will be Lord of all or he will not be Lord at all.”

So, what does all of this have to do with today’s text? Did you notice the big, fat, two-letter word right in the middle of the Scripture today? Yes, it’s “if.”

The big if of real Christianity is this one: “if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel” (v. 23a).

With every good “if” comes a “then,” so what is the then?

But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation. (v. 22)

What’s going on here? How is something that seems to have unequivocally happened in the past—and doesn’t even contain the word then—now conditioned by something that must keep happening in the future? Is our salvation dependent on our own persistence? No, Scripture makes abundantly clear that “it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God” (Eph. 2:8).

The issue is not God’s grace. It is our faith. Colossians 1:22 is all grace:

But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation.

Colossians 1:23 is all faith:

if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel.

The gospel is forensic in its nature, with a definite transactional sense. God cancelled the debt, reconciling us to God. However, the gospel is relational in its character and essence. The sign of grace from God is the immovable cross. The sign of faith from us is the movemental cross. Because God has moved once and for all in Jesus Christ, we can move now and forevermore through Jesus Christ. The sign that we have been moved by grace is that we are moving in faith. People for whom Jesus is Lord are necessarily living and moving in faith.

If a person is not moving in faith, chances are he or she is/was not moved by grace but by something else. Real Christianity demands that we become brutally honest with ourselves and one another about matters of such gravity.

So, am I saying that many people who claim to be Christians may not be real Christians? I’m saying the real question is the one we must ask ourselves: Am I a real Christian?

So can Jesus be one’s Savior and not one’s Lord? For what it’s worth, I say no—not and still be a real Christian.

Nothing tips until one surrenders to Jesus as Lord. Until then one just stands there. Domino #1/23 is a super tipping point.

THE PRAYER

Abba Father, we thank you for your Son, Jesus, who is himself the embodiment of grace and the activity of faith. Teach me that yesterday’s faith is like yesterday’s manna—enough for yesterday. Lead me to the faith of today, to stretch and grow and reach for more of you. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

THE QUESTIONS

  1. How do you sort out this big “then” and “if” if verses 22–23 in today’s text?
  2. How do you relate to this notion of grace as the “immovable cross” and faith as the “movement cross”?
  3. Is salvation for you more of a past transaction or a present and ongoing movement? How can we help others with this distinction?

For the Awakening,
J.D. Walt
Sower-in-Chief
seedbed.com

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WHAT IS THIS? Wake-Up Call is a daily encouragement to shake off the slumber of our busy lives and turn our eyes toward Jesus. Each morning our community gathers around a Scripture, a reflection, a prayer, and a few short questions, inviting us to reorient our lives around the love of Jesus that transforms our hearts, homes, churches, and cities.

Comments and Discussion

5 Responses

  1. I am having trouble with the word “real.” It can mean many things, especially applied to the word “Christian.” I am an American because I was born in America. But some could say that I am not a REAL American because of my political leanings. However, they would be wrong, because the deciding factor happened when I was born. I AM a REAL American, whatever I believe about the country.

    Jesus’ sacrifice paid for my sin. I am a REAL Christian. Am I a “good person,” believing all the same things as my Christian neighbors? Is that what REAL one is?

    I wish J.D. had chosen a different word or had said more about what he means. Maybe he will…

  2. J D, Now it seems we’re getting to the point where the rubber meets the road.
    #1) We’ve been called to pick up our cross and follow Jesus. No where in scriptures are we told to “pray a prayer” and receive our ticket to heaven. To follow means to obey His teachings, enabled by faith, in the power of the Holy Spirit.
    #2) The immovable cross is the daily call to die to oneself. The movable cross that we carry is the way, this daily dying to one self, provides our spiritual growth, a “cruciformed” life.
    #3) Salvation for me is not an either or, but rather an and. We were provided salvation when Jesus stated “it is finished “. We are being saved as long as we, through faith receive and abide in Him. We will be eternally saved when Jesus returns to consummate His kingdom. We can help others by embracing, proclaiming, and displaying the kingdom of God through our daily walk with Jesus. By grace through faith.

  3. 1) Faith abandoned isn’t faith. It’s unbelief.

    2) Grace opens the door for me to have a relationship with God and faith is how I walk out that relationship every day.

    3) For me God’s salvation is like an elevator ride from the basement to the top floor of a huge skyscraper. Jesus is my elevator. I got in Christ years ago. I’m abiding in Christ now and if I don’t step out of Christ on the wrong floor, I’ll arrive in the future at God’s penthouse on top of the building.

  4. “Therefore let all the house of Israel know with certainty that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord AND Messiah!” (Acts. 2:36 – emphasis mine)

    Jesus is not one or the other – He is both Lord AND Messiah (Savior / Deliverer). You can’t have just half of him.

    When Jesus saw Matthew, “He said to him, ‘Follow me!'”

    When Jesus “was passing along by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew, Simon’s brother. They were casting a net into the sea, since they were fisherman. ‘Follow me,’ Jesus told them…”

    “The jailer…said, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.” (In a land where Caesar was Lord, this was no small thing to claim allegiance to some other “Lord.”)

    It certainly seems like the weight of scripture has nothing to do with Jesus as life insurance.

  5. Afraid that I have accepted Lord Jesus as life insurance and not as my Lord. I am afraid I am not willing to accept Him as Lord. Please help me and pray for my unbelief

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