Who is Jesus to you?

How would you respond if I asked you to describe your relationship with Jesus? We normally do not have any trouble defining our relationships with another person. Typically we use words like husband or wife, dad or mom, son or daughter, co-worker or friend, It’s easy for us to describe these kinds of relationships because they fill a certain role in our active life. But what about Jesus? How would you describe your relationship with Him?

There are several ways that you might respond to such a question. You might say, “Jesus is my friend,” or “Jesus is my all.” If you mean that, then you are right. Jesus wants to be our friend and He certainly should be our all! However, I believe that the most common answer which would be given is this: “Jesus is my LORD and SAVIOR.” Perhaps that is the first thought that popped into your mind, or after thinking it over you decided that is how you would respond. I know I would. Jesus is my LORD and SAVIOR, and He can be yours as well!

What do we mean by those terms? What do they say about our relationship with Jesus? To insure that we have a basic grasp of these ideas, let us consider both words, LORD and SAVIOR.

JESUS IS LORD! The New Testament declares this in the strongest terms. ON the day of Pentecost Peter told his audience in Acts 2:36, “God has made this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ.” Paul echoes those sentiments as he speaks of the return of Christ in Philippians 2:10,11 – At that time

“every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Several things are implied when we speak of Jesus as our Lord.

1. To speak of Christ as Lord is to think of Him as our MASTER, and it means that we respond to Him as such. Therefore, we are to understand ourselves as servants or more technically “slaves” of Christ Jesus as we read in 1 Corinthians 7:22.
2. Obviously, a slave does not give his master orders, rather the master tells the slave what he must do. We must not make Jesus our Lord unless we are doing what He commands. For the Christian, however, our service to Christ is where we find purpose and meaning. 1 John 5:3 says His commands are not burdensome and by continually obeying Christ we share in the hope of eternal salvation according to Hebrews 5:9.
3. Closely related to the above ideas is the fact that there has been a “transfer of ownership” as far as our lives are concerned. Our lives are no longer our own, to do with as we please. 1 Corinthians 6:20 & 7:23 we have been bought with a price by the blood of Christ and we are no longer our own. That means that the ultimate goal of our life according to Colossians 3:17 must be to always please Him and to always bring Him honor.
4. The word Lord not only carries the idea of “master” but it also suggests “firmness and strength.” It means that we have found in Jesus a foundation upon which to build our lives that nothing, except our own foolish rebellion, could ever take away from us as we see in Matthew 7:24-27 & Romans 8:37-39.

To summarize, whenever we confess Jesus as our Lord, we have made two bold declarations.

• • First, we have asserted that our life is devoted to serving Jesus!

• • Second, we have indicated that we are building our life upon Him!

JESUS IS SAVIOR! Let us understand of first importance that we cannot have Jesus as our Savior unless we have also made Him our Lord! Matthew 7:21-23 says that Jesus does not grant His salvation to those who will not become His obedient servants.

That in no way minimizes the fact that Jesus is our Savior! When the angel of the Lord spoke to Joseph before Jesus was born, He told Joseph in Matthew 1:21 that Mary would give birth to a son and that they were to name Him Jesus, “because He will save His people from their sins.” Similarly, John writes in:

John 4:14,

“And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world.”

What does it mean that Jesus is our Savior? We can understand this more fully when we recognize what Jesus has saved us from.

1. As indicated above, Jesus has saved us from the power of sin. At one time our lives had been dominated by sin, but no more! Because Christ is our Savior, Romans 6:22 says we are free from sin and free to live a life of holiness.
2. Not only has Jesus saved us from the power of sin at work in our lives, He has also saved us from the consequences of our sin. The Bible says in Matthew 25:41-46 and other places that because of our sins we were destined for the wrath of God and an eternity of endless torment in hell.

Romans 5:9 says,

“since we have been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through Him.”

It is Jesus who saves us by the shedding of His blood!

To sum up, when we confess Jesus as our Savior, we have acknowledged His work in two important ways.

• • First, we have expressed our trust in Jesus’ sacrifice to neutralize the power of sin in our lives.

• • Second, we have stated our faith in Jesus’ death as the means by which He delivers us from the wrath of God.

I don’t now about you, but I wonder how well I could handle life if I did not have Jesus as my Lord and SAVIOR.

In a world that offers no meaning, Jesus as Lord has called me to serve His eternal purpose! In a world without hope, Jesus as Savior has delivered me from death to life eternal! When we say, “Jesus is my Lord and my Savior,” may we make sure that those are more than just empty words. May they reveal the truth about the person who holds our lives together!

QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW AND STUDY

1. According to Acts 2:36 in the New Testament, Jesus is what?
2. If we understand that “Lord” means “Master,” what is our relationship to Jesus according to 1 Corinthians 7:22 ?
3. Hebrews 5:9 tells us Jesus expects us to do what because He is our Lord?
4. Since we have claimed Christ as our Lord, is our life our own to do with as we like according to 1 Corinthians 6:20 & 7:23 ? Explain your answer.
5. With Jesus as our Lord we have a foundation upon which to build our lives. What does Romans 8:37-39 and its comment say is the only thing that can take that foundation away from us?
6. The Bible, in 1 John 4:14, also refers to Jesus as our what?
7. We cannot claim to have Jesus as our Savior unless we have made Jesus our what, according to Matthew 7:21-23 ?
8. Romans 6:22 tells us Jesus has saved us from sin and set us free for what?
9. Jesus has not only saved us from the power of sin, but Romans 5:9 tells us He has saved us from what else?
10. Tell us in your own words what it means to you to have Jesus as our Lord and Savior.