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KNOWING JESUS CHRIST AS LORD By Larry Kreider Counting The Cost: Jesus Is Lord: When the Scriptures were written, the word "Lord" meant more than it does today. For example, when Jesus lived on earth, the emperor, or ruler, was Caesar. He was called "lord." When a Roman soldier walked down the road and met another person, he would say, "Caesar is lord!" And the other person would respond, "Caesar is lord!" But when a soldier made that statement to a Christian, the Christian would answer, "Jesus is Lord!" and they'd be taken away and punished and thrown to the lions. Many faced martyrdom for the cause of Christ. The early Christians understood Lordship! In the Bible, the word "Savior" is mentioned 37 times. The word "Lord" is mentioned 7,736 times. In the New Testament, "Savior" is found 22 times and "Lord" 433 times. Both are very important, but the emphasis is on Jesus as the Lord of our lives. Some people say, "I'll accept Jesus as my Savior and someday I'll acknowledge Him as my Lord." The Bible does not teach this doctrine. Romans 10:9 tells us that when we submit to Jesus as our Lord, then He becomes our Savior: "...that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the , you will be saved." We confess Jesus as our Lord and believe in our hearts that He is alive from the , and we can know that we are saved! We cannot earn salvation because it is a free gift, but we must receive Jesus as the Lord of our lives. God tells us to confess the Lord Jesus. God tells us to say it with our mouths - confess it our loud. Romans 10:8 tells us, "But what does it say? 'The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith which we preach)." I met a man a few years ago who said he always struggled with being sure he was truly a Christian. I took his Bible and showed him Romans 10:9 and told him to read it out loud. He said it over and over and all at once faith rose up in his heart and he said, "Now I know! I know I am really a Christian!" Why? He was no longer basing his belief on his feelings or on what someone had told him in the past, but on what God said in His Word. He confessed with his mouth that Jesus is Lord and he experienced true salvation. 
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER: Jesus is Lord. Read Romans 10:8-9. How can we know that we are saved? How did the early Christians live out their Christianity? How does this apply to your life? __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________
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