Belief in Jesus as Lord
Part 1 - The Gospel in Acts
Part 2 - The Gospel in Romans
The Gospel in Romans
Is belief in Jesus as one's Lord a necessary aspect of the faith through which a person is justified? As the following look at Scripture passages (mostly from Romans) shows, conversion (change from self-rule to Christ-rule), regeneration (made a new person), justification (made right with God), and sanctification (becoming like Christ) include a person believing in Jesus as one's Lord.
A disclaimer is necessary here. Believing in Jesus as one's Savior and Lord is not a work. Rather, it is faith in Him. It includes the attitude one has toward Jesus Christ - one's opinion of, understanding of, thoughts toward, acceptance of, confidence in, dependence on, commitment to, and love for Him. Believing in Jesus Christ as one's Lord does not imply the ability of self-performance to be saved or to stay saved. Instead it is faith in Him - including His authority and His ability. It is the humility before God in which one repudiates self-ability and self-wisdom, allowing self to be replaced by Christ (Gal 2:20) and allowing (submitting to) His wisdom and power to work in one's life according to His will, pleasure, and glory (Heb 13:20-21).
The Gospel
Though the following discussion is somewhat lengthy, it is worthwhile to remember that the gospel, itself, is simple:
"... Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared ..." 1 Cor 15:3-5. (Paul's outline of the gospel as given in these verses is explained in other places in the New Testament.)
The way to receive salvation is also simple: Believe! Repent (of trusting in self and living for sin) and believe in Jesus - believe in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ including His work on the cross and in His resurrection for forgiveness of sins, resurrection to eternal life, and guidance for living.
Though the gospel is simple, it not easy to comprehend (1 Cor 2:14) - and to believe. That is why God gave 27 books (along with the 39 books of the Old Testament) to explain it and its results in the lives of people.
Change of Ownership
According to Romans 6:22-23, deliverance from sin and the receipt of eternal life are inseparably linked with servanthood to God and Jesus as Lord - "freed from sin and enslaved to God" (Rom 6:22) - "eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom 6:23). This means forgiveness, regeneration, and salvation are possible only if a person receives (believes in) Jesus as who He is (Jn 1:11-12; 20:27-29) - God, Lord, and Savior. Also, Romans 7:24-25 states deliverance from sin is performed by Jesus Christ who is Lord. In addition, it is because Jesus Christ is the believer's Lord that the believer is able to reject temptation (Rom 13:14).
"But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Rom 6:22-23
"Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin." Rom 7:24-25
"But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts." Rom 13:14
Submission to Jesus Christ
One's belief must be such that, when saved, it overflows from one's heart into one's words and actions in acknowledgement and submission to Jesus as Lord (Rom 10:9). Through a life that testifies to the world that Jesus is (one's) Lord and trusts Jesus as Lord, a person will one day realize final salvation - deliverance from the punishment of God's wrath and resurrection (or transformation of those still alive on the earth) to be with Christ forever (Rom 10:10-13; See also 1 Thessalonians 1:10; 4:14-17; 2 Corinthians 1:10; and John 25-26).
"that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, " Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed." For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call upon Him; for " Whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved." " Rom 10:9-13
Deliverance from Sin
Both aspects of faith - repentance (the turning from sin) and belief (the turning to and relying on the Lord Jesus Christ) are necessary for justification. When a person repents from serving sin, there must be a replacement of that which formerly controlled the person. A person is always under the control and direction of something / someone. Jesus Christ must replace sin as master of one's life (Rom 16:18). The only other alternative is just turning to a different kind of sin.
(Turning to different sins is what an individual is doing who is reformed on the outside but is not transformed on the inside:
- making a 'decision' for Christ but not being born again;
- saying 'a prayer' but not rejecting self-rule and not accepting rule by Jesus Christ;
- asking Jesus into one's heart' but not believing in His work for forgiveness of sin and in Him as Lord;
- being an active church member but not having been transferred into the kingdom of God as a member of the body of Christ.
The person's life may look 'better' on the outside - the person begins doing 'religious' actions as an effort to please or convince self and others that oneself is now spiritual - but the person has not surrendered one's life to God:
- is still in rebellion against God;
- has not given up trying to be 'good enough' to make it to heaven;
- has not relinquished control of one's life to God;
- is still living life according to one's own desires and will; and
- has not surrendered oneself to the leadership of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.)
"For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their own appetites; and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting." Rom 16:18
The only way to be saved is to have sins forgiven and to be delivered from them. Deliverance includes being freed from sin's dominion and being transferred to the dominion of Jesus Christ. A person is either living for sin (Rom 6:2, 6, 10) or living for God (Rom 6:2, 6, 10).
Salvation must include change from the darkness of sin to the light of Jesus. A person is either under bondage to sin or is a servant of Jesus Christ. When a person turns from sin, he simultaneously turns to Jesus as one's reason for life and as one's direction for life. He converts from self-rule to being ruled by Jesus Christ (he is now a member of God's kingdom); he changes from living for self to living for Jesus. Before belief, a person was controlled by self-will. Believers submit to being instructed by the Lord Jesus Christ ("... present ... your members as instruments of righteousness to God.") who died so we can be forgiven of sin, delivered from sin, and given eternal life. (Romans 6:10-13, 16-20)
"For the death that He died, He died to sin, once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body that you should obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. . . . Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness." Rom 6:10-13, 16-20
Change of Purpose
One of the most remarkable passages that speaks about Jesus' relationship with those who are born again is 2 Corinthians 5:14-15. It says that because Jesus died for us, we died in Him; and His death made it requisite for us, who now are made alive by Him, to live for Him instead of living for ourselves. A person that is alive through Christ and in Christ has a new purpose for living. His purpose for living is to serve Christ. The pleasures of sin and the priority of self no longer have mastery over his life. He has been converted from living for self to living for Christ.
There is no gap between the former rule by sin and the new rule by Christ. The change to the reign of Christ is instantaneous upon conversion. Thus, the leadership of a person's life is either self and sin or he is lead by Jesus Christ. A person is either his own god, or He is serving Jesus as Lord and God. The believer is a new creation (2 Cor 5:17); his old way of living for self is dead. Now he is gratefully serving His Lord and God who made his forgiveness and salvation possible. The instant a person believes, his aim is "to be pleasing to Him" (2 Cor 5:9). That is why Paul preached "Christ Jesus the Lord" (2 Cor 4:5).
(A person's service to his Lord Jesus Christ will not be perfect. However, Jesus covered all sins: past, present, and future. The procedure for how to deal with sins after one is justified in given in 1 John 1:7-10. In addition, as one begins serving Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit will teach God's Word to the person and empower the believer to apply it in one's life.)
"For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus' sake." 2 Cor 4:5
"Therefore also we have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him." 2 Cor 5:9
"For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, that they who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf." 2 Cor 5:14-15
"Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come." 2 Cor 5:17
We see then, one result and purpose of Christ's death and resurrection is so that we who are made alive by Him will live for Him instead of for ourselves (Rom 14:8-9; Rom 16:18; 2 Cor 5:15). Indeed, a believer's reason for living is to serve Jesus as Lord (Rom 14:8). That is why, for all believers, Jesus Christ is addressed as "our Lord" (For occurrences in the book of Romans where Jesus is addressed as 'our Lord,' see 1:3-4; 4:24; 5:1, 11, 21; 6:23; 7:25; 8:39; 15:6; 16:18, 20, 24. - and over 60 other times in the other New Testament epistles.) This is not just a name, it is a recognition of Christ's position in the universe and in His relationship to us as believers. He is the head of all believers (Col 1:18). (Since Jesus is head of the church, how can there be any believers who are not under His headship?)
"for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living." Rom. 14:8-9
"For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their own appetites; ..." Rom 16:18
"He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the first-born from the dead; so that He Himself might come to have first place in everything." Col 1:18
Biblical Examples
Examples in John and Acts give illustrations of these truths that are taught in Romans (and elsewhere in the New Testament). When Thomas finally believed, he acknowledged that Jesus is Lord (Jn 20:28). At his conversion, Paul acknowledged Jesus as Lord, sought to do His will, and began worshipping Him as Lord (Acts 22:8, 10, 16; 26:19). In his sermon to Cornelius and group, Peter included the fact that Jesus is Lord, and through Him is peace (Acts 10:36). That is part of what Cornelius and group believed in order to have their sins forgiven and to be saved by Jesus (Acts 10:43). Peter's sermon to them inseparably unites the work of Jesus as Savior with His position and authority as Lord (Acts 10:36-43). The group received forgiveness of their sins and were given peace with God because they believed Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior (and the Judge of all - Acts 10:42). The three thousand at Pentecost who believed, likewise believed that Jesus is Lord (Acts 2:34-37).
"The word which He sent to the sons of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ (He is Lord of all)" Acts 10:36
"For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says: ' The Lord said to my Lord," Sit at My right hand, Until I make Thine enemies a footstool for Thy feet. " ' "Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ - this Jesus whom you crucified." Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brethren, what shall we do?" Acts 2:34-37
Conclusion
The conclusion from the above is that Jesus as Lord cannot be separated from Jesus as Savior. It is Jesus the Lord who died for our sins and was raised for our justification, so we can be delivered from sin, have peace with God, and receive eternal life (Rom 4:24-25; 5:1, 11, 21; 6:11). That is one reason why Paul preached "Christ Jesus the Lord" (2 Cor 4:5).
Of course the gospel has not changed, and the way to receive salvation has not changed. In the first century, a person had to believe Jesus is Lord as well as Jesus is the Savior. It is the same today; a person who believes in Jesus as Lord and Savior will receive forgiveness of sins; a person who does not believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior will not receive forgiveness of sins. Any and all experiences or results that seem contrary to this truth must be rejected and re-understood in the light of Biblical truth - the Word of God must be allowed to be the authoritative standard for what we teach about how a person is saved and in how we evangelize. As in the first century, believers today must preach and teach "Christ Jesus the Lord." Only He can save.
Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.
L.D. Hammons © 2003 This article may be freely copied and distributed without charge if it is copied in its entirety (without editing) along with this notice - including the author's name and copyright notice.
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