Odyssey by Faith

Jesus: your Savior, your Lord, or both?

Welcome:

Thank you for allowing me to share with you today.

[Men’s Group]

I would like to take a moment and remind the men that we have a men’s group, which meets once a month, at Tim James’ house. We met yesterday, and the next one will meet on March 7th. It starts at 8:30am and we typically wrap up around 9:30-10:00, unless the Holy Spirit blesses Pastor with the gift of gab. Is that one of the spiritual gifts? It is a great fellowship, and I’d to take a moment to read Proverbs 27:17, “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.” That passage is a great reminder that the Lord brings us together, to lift one another up, and strengthen each other’s character through fellowship.

[A child is born]

One advantage of preaching on occasion is getting to write ad-hoc sermons, like this one, that relates to a story from social media or taking the opportunity to tell how the Lord has humbled me. That means I’m never short of ideas, since the Lord humbles me often. The topic for today is about Jesus being Savior, Christ, and Lord. I’ve increasingly noticed people acknowledging Jesus, but do not seem to have a full understanding of who Jesus is. “Who is Jesus?”

If you have your Bibles open, I will start by reading Luke 2:11. If you recall, Pastor Paul preached on this passage back on December 28th. Since I’m not as eloquent as our pastor, I’m going to stick to one verse, whereas he covered seven. His sermon led to the topic of Christmas, my favorite holiday for watching an exorbitant number of movies. My sermon will lead to us talking about two content creators who recently took to social media to discuss their faith journey.

Let us read from God’s Word:

Scripture:

Luke 2:11 (ESV)

11. For unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

Prayer:

Let’s pray – Thank you, Lord, for allowing me to share your word today. Please allow me to get out of the way and put your word front and center. Open our ears to hear, bless us with discernment to understand, and soften our hearts so we can submit to your authority and Lordship. Thank you for all you do. In Jesus name, AMEN.

[Savior]

“In the city of David, A Savior is born.” For the last few weeks, Tonya has been helping me become a better Sunday school teacher. One thing she is having the kids do is highlight words to focus on as we read about the 12 Apostles. I thought I would use that same tactic and highlight: Savior, Christ, Lord.

Let’s begin by defining these terms:

Savior – The verb itself means “to save” or “to deliver.” In this passage, we see this term being applied to Jesus. The Pagans and Romans of the day also applied it to their gods, kings, and leaders. For example, they might say, “Jupiter is A savior. Caeser is A savior.” There is a Hebrew equivalent, and in the Old Testament, we see it applied to people. Moses is described as a savior figure, delivering the people from the bondage of slavery and out of Egypt. Even Samson, with his many flaws, is described much in the same way. Judges 13:5 reads, “For behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines.” So, in most cases, the use of Savior is applied to few people throughout scripture.

[Christ]

Next, we have the term Christ – wait, isn’t that Jesus’ last name? (sorry, Lord) The Greek verb means “to anoint.” “Christos,” which is used in this verse, is a term applied to Jesus meaning “anointed one.” Like with Savior, this term is applied to other people, such as kings, priests, and prophets. There is also a Hebrew equivalent, and we can see that used in verses like Isaiah 45:1. In this passage, the Lord refers to Cyrus as His anointed, using him as an instrument to deliver Israel from Babylon.

“Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him and to loose the belts of kings, to open doors before him that gates may not be closed.”

There are times when Pastor Paul anoints people with oil and prays over them, using the action of “to anoint” and making them “the anointed.”

Before looking at, “Lord,” why am I even talking about these terms and discussing grammar. The Lord knows I struggle with English, let alone Greek and Hebrew. That might be why He placed Tonya in my path. Am I wrong, is that in the beatitudes, “Blessed are the poor in grammar, for I will bring him a teacher to marry.” No?

[Story of two content creators]

The terms themselves are generic, and we see them applied throughout scripture. I recently read a few articles about two content creators that made sinful content. For the sake of this sermon, their names, images, and particulars are not of importance. I’ll refer to them as creator A and creator B.

The two creators posted to their social media that they were, “focusing on their faith.” They both posted pictures of their baptism. They both appeared to be proclaiming Jesus as their savior, but were they proclaiming Him as their Lord?

When I read about these two creators, it led me to think about Luke 2:11 and how people interpret the terms of Savor, Christ, and Lord. The more I thought about it, the more I realized how many people proclaim God, proclaim Jesus, but often stop there. Those people might go as far as say they need a savior, Jesus is the Christ, but when it comes to Lordship, there is crickets.

[Heart, Faith and Works]

This might be a good time to address the topic of faith and knowing someone’s heart. I do not feel we can know, with certainty, a person’s heart and their sincerity towards Christ, only God knows that. As a joke, when Tonya asks me something about church or gives me a task to do while I’m here, I tell her, “As the unpaid intern, that is above my paygrade.”

When it comes to trying to determine with certainty where someone’s heart lies, I often reply, “That is above my paygrade.” That is left between them and God.

But, that does NOT mean we cannot confront people, both inside the church and outside of it, and say, “You are claiming to follow the Lord, but your actions and the fruit you are producing says differently.” If you do this, just remember to confront people with love and discernment.

[James 2:14-17]

We just finished the Book of James in our Wednesday night Bible Study. Shout out if do not come to bible study, it’s fun and Judy brings snacks, which means everyone should attend. James reminds us that a faith without works is a dead faith:

James 2:14-17

14. What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?
15. If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food,
16. and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?
17. So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

It is common to see news sites sensationalize sin and be quick to point out hypocrisy. It is also easy to read a headline and weigh their sinful acts against our own. The important thing to remember is sin makes us all unclean. We all sin. We all fall short, so any one of us could be that person the news site is writing about, the one who sinned but came to faith and got baptized.

[Summary: It is common for news sites and content crators to post a story about someone’s journey with faith, but then be quick to point out hypocrisy and point out when those people sin.]

[Isaiah]

I love how Isaiah 64:6 talks about sin.

6. We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.

“All our righteous deeds.” It is so easy to look at others being sinful and think of them as filthy or unclean, all while placing ourselves and our own self-righteousness above them. Man loves acknowledgement. I like hearing “Good job,” and “You did great” as much as the next person. It leads to the thought of someday, standing before God, maybe He will say, “Robert, you did these bad things, but man, you really did good that one time.” Truth is, we will not be standing, but kneeling, and like Job, we will have profound humility, awe, and repentance.

Isaiah says our righteous deeds, all of them, are like “a polluted garment.” The wording and phrase here refer to a woman’s menstrual cloth. I love reading God’s Word. Realizing Isaiah was writing to the Jewish people, with their focus on ritual cleanliness, adds to that verse. Isaiah telling us that our “good” deeds, all of them, are unclean. So much for that self-righteous view. It’s as if ALL of scripture is telling us that we cannot do good apart from God and we ALL need a Savior.

[Story of two content creators, Jesus as Lord]

Back to our content creators. Both declared their faith and were baptized, making a public declaration of their faith. This is the point with their journey diverges into two different directions. Creator A, according to interviews, has stopped making sinful content and removed all their old content. The last I read; the creator is posting about their walk with Christ.

Creator B took a different path. To quote the interview, the creator said, “Even though I am Christian, I do not plan on quitting my job anytime soon.” The only other quotes I want to read aloud, considering what we just read from Isaiah, is “I can understand people not thinking I’m a ‘good Christian.’” The creator goes on to say, “That’s totally fine,” and says, “I guess everyone’s relationship with God is bespoke to them.” Bespoke is not a word I’ve used often, so I wanted to make sure I understood correctly. Bespoke, “altered or tailored to the tastes and usage of the individual.”

Primary Focus:

This is the primary focus for today. This right here, the idea that God can be tailored to OUR desires. The idea that WE can do good APART from GOD. The idea that WE can CLAIM GOD should conform to OUR needs, and NOT US who needs to conform ourselves to HIS AUTHORITY. It is US who needs to comply to HIS LORDSHIP and adhere to HIS WILL.

Luke 22 tells that He, [Jesus], knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not MY will, but YOURS be done.”

[Jesus: The Savior of the World!]

To circle back to Luke 2:11, “For unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Savior.” This is not referring to Jesus as just any savior. This is not telling us that a child is born, like thousands before Him, and He will be like any other who has been given the title of “Savior.”

No, this passage, when read with all of scripture, tells us that Jesus is THE Savior. Jesus, Fully GOD and fully Man, has come to us on this day, in the City of David.

1 John 4 tells us, “We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be THE Savior of the world!”

Praise the Lord, AMEN.

[Jesus: The Savior of the World! (continued)]

Jesus is not just A prophet, He is not merely A savior, but He is the Unique and Only Begotten SON OF GOD.

When the angel came to Mary, he told her in Luke 1, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason, the Holy Child shall be called THE SON OF GOD.” THE Son of God, telling of His unique divine nature, His identity as Christ, and His equality with God.

John tells us in 1:14, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us,” The Word! The same Word that Psalm 119 tells us is ETERNAL, “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen HIS glory, GLORY as of the Only SON from the FATHER, full of GRACE and TRUTH.”

[Jesus: The Savior of the World! (continued)]

SO many people do not have a grasp as to who Jesus is. In Matthew 26:63, Jesus, Word became Flesh, the one prophesied in Isaiah, is standing on trial before the Jewish leaders, and the High Priest says, “I adjure you by the Living God, tell us if you are THE CHRIST, the Son of God.” Jesus says to them, “You have said so, BUT I tell you, from now on YOU will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of Heaven.”

After this, the High Priest tore his robe. He, [Caiaphas], is tearing his robe to signify his OUTRAGE at the AUDACITY of the claims Jesus was making. Blasphemy is the sin of claiming to be GOD. The High Priest said, “He has uttered BLASPHEMY. What further witnesses do we need? You have now heard HIS Blasphemy.” And what was their reply?

“He deserves DEATH!”

[What is the issue?]

So, what is the issue? What am I getting at?

• Jesus is not just a wise man.
• Jesus is not just someone who told people how to live a better life, like some hippie guru.
• Jesus is not just another prophet.
• Jesus is the one that ALL of scripture points to, He is the one that ALL the prophets prophesied about. He is Savior, He is Christ, and HE is LORD.

That is what struck me as the primary issue with Creator B, and people who think like they do. Both creators had a profession of faith, both were baptized, yet only one appears to be recognizing Jesus as LORD.

[Lord]

Lord – Lord is synonymous with ruler, master, and husband. Yes, Tonya, in 1 Peter, it tells that Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. I’m just saying!

When we see LORD in all caps, that is in reference to the tetragrammaton, pronounced YHWH. “I AM,” the name God said to Moses. Jesus, in John 8, says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.” “Ego Eimi,”

Time and time again, Jesus is making claims to be God.

Going back to Luke 2:11, it concludes by saying, “who is Christ the Lord.” The Angel is revealing, with these two titles, that the child is God’s promised Servant, the Christ; Lord emphasizes His sovereign authority, His LORDSHIP.

When we come to faith, true faith in Christ, we are not merely proclaiming that we need a savior. We are not merely saying that Jesus is the anointed one. We are proclaiming that Christ is LORD. Christ is the authority. LORD meaning He is the ruler of our life. When you give your life to Christ, you are made new. No longer are you a slave to sin, but you are set free from sin and become slaves to righteousness. Sin is no longer the master, but God, perfectly Holy and Good is now the master.

[The gate is wide that leads to destruction]

To wrap things up, in the case of these two content creators, we see one appear to submit to Christs’ authority, and one still cling to their own authority.

I do not know their hearts. I do not know the work God is having on their lives. God can redeem the wicked, the sinful, and the lost, and THANK GOD for that because I was all three. What we can do is continue to pray for people who proclaim Christ, but do not submit to His authority.

I used to hate the phrase, “It is both easy and difficult.” It was not until I gave my life to Christ that I started applying that phrase to Salvation.

Giving your life to Christ is easy because the child born in Luke 2:11 paid it all, and all I need to do is believe in His death and resurrection. The Gift of Grace. Thank you, LORD.

[The Gate Continued….]

It is also difficult because true repentance and coming to Christ means dying to self. Declaring Christ as KING of kings and LORD of lords. While you cannot have one without the other, many people think you can, and that is why we are told, “the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.”

[The Gospel, the Good News]

Call:

If you do not know Christ as both your Savior and your LORD, now is the time to repent and get right with God. If you know of anyone who is not saved, now is the time to share the Gospel. Do not worry about what you do not know, or if you are strong enough. Jesus is LORD, rely on His strength.

There are many here that have lost loved ones, and they will tell you that they wished there was more time, that they thought they could “see them later,” until they couldn’t. Take the opportunities that the LORD gives us now, and do not wait until “later.”