Text- Romans 10:9 - “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”
I am yet to find a place in the Bible where we are asked to accept or confess Jesus Christ as our savior. What the Bible says is that we should confess Him as Lord. The saving grace of Christ is effective only in the lives of those to whom He is Lord.
The Christian life is not in any way an addition or inclusion of Jesus Christ to the lifestyle we led before we met Jesus. If that is the way it is in your life, then He clearly isn’t Lord of your life, and you are not genuinely saved.
Jesus Himself said in Luke 6:46, “Why do you call me, ’Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” So then, the clear indication that Jesus is your lord is that you have made a verbal confession, which is backed up by action… obeying His word.
The issue of salvation goes way beyond just making a confession; that confession must come with a willingness to surrender to Jesus totally; to let Him take precedence in your life; to let Him take total control; to make Him first in your life; to make Him the Lord of your life.
It is very essential to come out clear on this fundamental truth of scripture, especially in days like now when you can supposedly do the “say this short prayer after me” confession and get saved and then go out and live like you please.
Walking down an isle and reciting a prayer, or signed a tract, may be acts of response to the salvation call, but they do not serve as evidence of salvation. Een water baptism does not; a sinner that is baptized only goes in as a dry sinner and comes out as a wet sinner. Nothing more!
Patrick Morley wrote in his book, ‘I Surrender’, that the problem that we have in the body of Christ as regards integrity is in the misconception "that we can add Christ to our lives, but not subtract sin. It is a change in belief without a change in behavior… It is revival without reformation, without repentance."
If Jesus is your Lord, it means you are allowing Him to take control of your life, and you are fully committed to His will and cause.
If Jesus Christ is indeed your Lord, then He has the full right to tell you what to do and how you are to live your life. If Jesus is truly your Lord, you will surrender your will to God’s will and live to honor Him and follow Him in submissive obedience. That is the true evidence of genuine salvation!
PRAYER
Lord, I say YES to your will and to your way. I surrender to you in submissive obedience; reign as Lord over my life in Jesus Name.
Image Credit: 123rf.com