For some reason, there are many who claim to follow Christ that get upset about the idea that this is the essential part of the Gospel. I’ve had several people, particularly online, argue with me endlessly over this or even refuse to make the confession of Christ as Lord. One claimed to be a teacher at his church; another claims to be an avid evangelist. And both of these claim to be reaching people for Christ.
So why is proclaiming “Jesus is Lord” such a disturbing idea for some? Paul tells us in Romans 10 that confessing Him as Lord is what saves us. And Jesus Himself tells us we will die in our sins if we do not believe He is who He claims to be – and He claimed to be Lord.
Part of it, I’m sure, is the reluctance to admit that one may have been teaching the Gospel wrongly. If you’ve been telling people one thing for several years, then you may not want to admit that you may have steered people the wrong way.
But I think there is more to it than that. Many of the people I’ve discussed this with are of the in-your-face, “turn or burn” crowd. They believe they have fulfilled their “duty” by handing out a tract. And based on what I’ve read or seen from some, they feel they have done a really good job of “evangelizing” when a “sinner” gets annoyed with them – after all, “the truth hurts”. (I still can’t find that in my bible, and everyone seems to change the subject when I ask for a verse that says that.) And they eschew any thought of charity or acts of compassion – it’s far more important to tell people about Christ than to actually show love.
In other words, their lives don’t seem to reflect Jesus’ teachings on love, compassion, and charity. But if Christ is indeed Lord, if He is exactly who He claims to be, then we have to take all of His teachings seriously. We can’t pick and choose “preach the Gospel” and ignore the parable of the sheep and the goats. We can’t claim “persecution for righteousness” and ignore the rest of Matthew 5. We can’t feel justified when “the world hates you” but decide not “love even your enemies”.
The most radical part of the Gospel is not that we are sinners and Jesus lived, died, and rose again for our sins. It is that Jesus is indeed Lord and that we need to obey everything He taught – not just the convenient parts.
(originally posted at http://jimmie.compassionatechristianity.org/?p=21
