If we aren’t spending every moment of this life preparing for the next one, what is the point of our existence? Jesus is our Lord, and that means we give everything to Him. Every activity, every thought, every interaction, they are all for Him. Anything you do that isn’t for the glory of Christ is a rejection of His Lordship. If we confess Jesus as Lord with our lips but deny it with the way we live, then our confession isn’t genuine. You might be thinking, “It’s impossible to live that way”, and you’d be right.
Each one of us would be damned to Hell if not for the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ. That grace is His side of the equation. Our side is to accept that gift by acknowledging Him as our Lord. So, if at the core of your being, and with every ounce of your strength, you aren’t intent on pursuing every aspect of your life for His glory, then your surrender to Him as the Lord of your life cannot be genuine.
What can we do? We know we will fail at doing everything we do to His glory. If you desperately want Jesus to be the Lord of your life and you are doing everything within your power to live that truth, I believe God’s grace will cover your inadequacies. Never forget that He looks at what is in our hearts (1 Samuel 16:7; Luke 16:15). If you are using His grace as an excuse to live however you please, that’s not going to cut it. God will not be mocked (Galatians 6:7) and He certainly can’t be fooled.
The way to salvation is to accept Christ as the Lord of your life (Romans 10:9). Anything less than that results in our being damned to Hell (Matthew 7:21-23). If we love Him, we will do what He says (John 14:15), and we will despise the things of this world (1 John 2:15). It’s what living under His Lordship is all about. We will love and honor Him, and we will hate sin and everything that is against our King. You cannot live with a foot in the Kingdom of Heaven and the kingdom of this world. That is a recipe for death, not eternal life.
Most reading this probably claim Jesus as their Savior, but how many can say they are living in the reality of Him being the Lord of their life? For too long, we’ve bought into an easy salvation, the kind that promises if you say a simple prayer, then you are good to go. It’s a lie and perhaps one of the greatest deceptions Satan has ever foisted on this world. Yes, I know the arguments about deathbed confessions and the thief on the cross. I do believe that every genuine repentance coupled with a true confession of Jesus as Lord results in salvation. Those who die immediately never get the chance to prove whether their confession is true. Only Jesus knows for sure.
But for those of us who live long after our confession? We must live in the truth of Jesus being our Lord. We must demonstrate the genuineness of our faith as we grow in the Lord. He is watching to see if we will do what He commands us to do (Matthew 25:31-46). Those who do will inherit the Kingdom. Those who don’t, He will send away. We can’t play with the truth of His Word. If Jesus is not the Lord of your life, you will not inherit the Kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Revelation 21:8). We must each decide if we will surrender to Jesus as the Lord He is, or continue giving only lip service to our confession. Is Jesus the Lord of your life?