For many who acknowledge Jesus, the term ‘Jesus is Lord’ is their ticket to heaven. After all the Bible says,
If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9NIV)
Yet the declaration “Jesus is Lord” is about the whole of life. It is not some cheap password to get us ‘saved’.
In the same way, salvation is as much about the here and now as heaven. Life constantly presents me with opportunities to look to Jesus for salvation. Life situations challenge my independence when I realise I can’t do it; I need Jesus. They beg the question: Do I trust him? They challenges my belief: Did God raise Jesus from the dead? If he did, then this crisis I am going through is trivial in comparison. ‘Jesus is Lord’ is not a get out of jail free card to be brought out when I die, it is a recurring theme of life.
‘Jesus is Lord’ is also a place of surrender. I know I can’t ask for help unless I submit to Jesus. What is the point of trying to deceive the one who sees deep into my soul. So the recognition that ‘Jesus is Lord’ is an act of repentance. It is through this alignment of my heart coupled with believing he has the power and will to rescue me that I am saved. Saved in crises now, saved from eternal hell after death.