...if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans10:9
It's not enough to believe that He was a good man or a great guru...
It's not enough to believe that He was a great role model and teacher...
It's not enough to believe that He was a noble martyr...
It's not even enough to believe that His death saved us.
We also have to believe that He is LORD.
The Greek word "kurios" means "master" - it requires loyalty, obedience and fealty.
The idea of confessing or declaring that "Jesus is Lord" is reflected twice in the New Testament (here in Rom9:10 and 1Cor12:3) it reflects a real issue that the early church faced: As the cult of the Roman Emperor developed, it became a likely scenario that members of the Roman Empire would be required to bow before a statue of Caesar and burn incense in his name and worship him as "lord."
The Early Christians refused to do this.
This could result in a martyr's death, imprisonment, beatings, loss of business or rejection by society. After Nero the persecutions against known Christians became more and more severe, but Christians steadfastly clung to the confession: "Jesus IS LORD" (not Caesar, not Greek Philosophy, not Jewish Legalism, but only Jesus.)
Declaring that "Jesus is Lord" is to draw a line in the sand.
It is to declare a new loyalty and a new direction.
It is to place oneself under His management.
It is to offer ourselves AND all our stuff AND all our time to His direction and purpose.
It's to make Him the boss of my life.
His way - not mine.
It is to say: "I am not my own - I have been bought with a price - I will honour God with my body" (1Cor6:20)
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Theo Groeneveld theo @ emmanuel.org.za
