Apostasy-Part Four, LORD and Savior

As I mentioned in the summary of Apostasy-Part Three, Conditional Verses there are passages of Scripture that certainly give the appearance that apostasy can occur among Christians and there are passages of Scripture on eternal security in Christ. There is an apparent dichotomy. It may be because Jesus must not only be Savior, but He must be Lord. Many say we cannot make Jesus Lord, He is Lord. That is absolutely true. But even though He is Lord a lost person is not going to heaven because they refuse to allow Him to be LORD OF THEIR LIFE.

Can a person accept Christ as their Savior and not their Lord and still be born again? Can they still enter heaven? At the end of the day that is in God’s hands. He knows all and is Sovereign. However, there are many passages of Scripture that more than insinuate that Jesus must not only be Savior, but they must recognize Him as LORD over their life.

Let’s look at all the Lordship Bible verses regarding salvation.

LORD and Savior
Romans 10:9-10
9 “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; 10 for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.“
These verses state that our confession of Jesus as Lord, results in our salvation, it is us acknowledging Him as our Lord, that He becomes our Savior.

Confess is the Greek verb Homologeo, literally defined as-to speak the same thing (homos, same, lego, to speak). To declare openly by way of speaking out freely, such confession being the effect of deep conviction of facts. It is obvious that our confessing Jesus as Lord is not just speaking some words, but believing with deep conviction that Jesus is Lord of our life. Confess is a verb, which means there should be action with our confession.

Believe is the Greek verb Pisteuo-to believe, also to be persuaded of, and hence, to place confidence in, to trust, signifies, in this sense of the word, reliance on, no mere credence. It is a verb (action), not a noun.
Some will say “all you have to do is believe Jesus is Lord”. Let’s look at verses that speak on believing using the Greek definition for believe.

Believe
Acts 16:31
And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved, you and your household.”

Romans 3:22 “even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction;“

Ephes. 1:19 “and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe

Philip. 1:29 “ For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake”
(If we are unwilling to suffer for His sake, we are not believing in Him)

If we are placing confidence in, relying on, trusting in Jesus, (Greek dedfinition of believe) and not just giving Him credence, then we will allow Him/ask Him/make Him to be Lord of our life.

Bible Verses with Lord and Savior
Philip. 3:20 “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;“

1 Tim. 1:1-2  “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus according to the commandment of God our Savior, and of Christ Jesus, who is our hope; to Timothy, my true child in the faith: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.“

2 Peter 1:1-2 “Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord;“

2 Peter 1:11 “for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.“

2 Peter 2:20 “For if after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first.” 

2 Peter 3:2 “that you should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles.“

2 Peter 3:18 “but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.“

Jude 1:25 “to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.“

Bible Verses with Jesus as Lord of Our Lives
Matthew 7:21-22 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’
 
Matthew 8:19-22 And a certain scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.” 20 And Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” 21 And another of the disciples said to Him, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.” 22 But Jesus said to him, “Follow Me; and allow the dead to bury their own dead.”

Acts 2:36“Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ– this Jesus whom you crucified.”

Romans 13:14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.

Summary
There are plenty of passages of Scripture that speak of the Lordship of Jesus Christ in a follower of Christ. If a person is not believing (putting confidence in, trusting, and relying upon) Jesus with deep conviction, agreeing with (confession) the Lordship of Jesus in their life, it is questionable if they are born again. If they are born again while choosing to be the lord of their life, they can walk in blatant sin, rebellion towards the things of God, set themselves up for deception, and can certainly fall away into apostasy. Heaven will not be their home.

What is important?
If you are going to claim the Name of Christ by calling yourself a Christian make sure you are wanting Jesus to be more than just your savior from hell but the LORD of lords over your life so that you do not fall into deception and so that you will for sure have eternal security of salvation.

Apostasy-Part One, Definition
Apostasy-Part Two, Biblical Warnings
Apostasy-Part Three, Conditional Verses
Apostasy-Part Four, Lordship of Christ
Apostasy-Part Five, An Example
Apostasy-Part Six, Extremes
Apostasy-Part Seven, Summary

Are You Truly Born Again? Seven Indicators of True Salvation

Gospel of Jesus Christ