“Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” Acts 2:36 ESV

“I didn’t make Jesus my Lord. If you make Him your Lord that means you’re Lord because you told your Lord what to do. You acknowledge Lordship. You don’t bequeath Lordship.” Voddie Baucham

In a matter of fifty-five seconds, another layer of the proverbial onion was being peeled. I listened to this sermon from Voddie Baucham about the Gospel, Evangelism, and Discipleship, and I could not help but listen to this particular clip several times. It may seem more like semantics, but when I think about having made sincere statements about making Jesus my Lord and Savior, I can see the error. You see, I have heard many times in years past of deciding to make Jesus your Lord and Savior. It is not uncommon. Yet, I cannot help but to agree with Voddie on this matter. It is not just semantics. The Word of God plainly tells us that Jesus is Lord and Savior. We are to acknowledge this truth. We do not make it happen. We do not declare it or speak it into existence. Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior. Some may be turned off in focusing on Him being Lord, but this is important to understand as believers in Christ.

Romans 10:9-10 tells us, “Because, 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. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” This is the word of faith to be proclaimed, and part of that proclamation of the gospel involves acknowledging Jesus is Lord. What does that mean?

The use of the word Lord means to be supreme in authority. Christ is our Master, and we are to submit to Him. As believers in Christ, we have been purchased with His own blood (Acts 20:28). We do not belong to ourselves. Acknowledgement of His lordship accompanies submission and obedience to His instruction, which we find in Scripture. We are not to be like those who say “Lord, Lord” and do not do what He says (Luke 6:46).

Acknowledging Jesus Christ as Lord is also stating that Jesus is God. After the resurrection of Christ, the apostles ministered to the people, stating that Jesus is Lord. Peter did this on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:36). Paul under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit wrote in Philippians 2:9-11, “Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth.” Jesus Christ is the Lord of lords.

While listening to that sermon, I was convicted in how I had “made Jesus my Lord” rather than acknowledging His Lordship given not by me but by God Himself. In the past, I had made myself a lord without realizing it. He was Lord before I confessed and believed. He is Lord still. When I came to saving faith in Christ, part of my sin and repentance had been not acknowledging Him as Lord and Savior. I had also heard people state how God was going to prove He is Lord and Savior by the deeds done and power manifested in the earth. Has He not already made this clear? Forgive me for saying this, but I think we can say things sometimes without truly understanding what we are saying. Sincerity can contain error, and I was thankful to hear this message because it drove me to Scripture and to a better understanding when saying, “Jesus is Lord.”

He is my Lord and my Savior.