My Work Reflects His Word

For the last couple of weeks, I’ve had the awesome privilege of teaching a Christian Foundational Sunday School class. Our “Rock Solid” class consists of individuals who are either new to having faith in Jesus Christ, interested in starting a relationship with Jesus Christ, or for those who desire a more in depth understanding of their relationship with Jesus Christ. It is so fulfilling to see people experience the joy of the Lord, especially when they realize how much Jesus loves them.

One of the fundamental scriptures that we have come across in the class is taken from Romans 10:9 which states, “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” This verse represents the cornerstone of salvation. In its simplicity, it lays out the responsibility of the believer:

1. Confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord

2. Believe in your heart that the Father supernaturally raised Jesus from the dead

Fulfilling those two actions will result in the individual being “saved”. I suppose the question should be, “Is it really that simple?” Believe it or not, it really is…as long as we understand what it means to “confess” and “believe”. Believing is living and approaching this relationship by faith. In other words, If God isn’t real, then we really are crazy. After all, we speak to Him, we worship Him, we cry before Him, and we raise our children to obey Him. How we handle our finances reflect Him, and our relationships honor Him. All of these things we do by faith. Although we have not yet “seen” Him, we know He is alive and working in our lives. In Acts 17:28, Luke, in describing our heavenly Father, quotes the Cretan Philosopher Epimenides, “ ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’” We believe that our God is “real”. We believe that He sent Jesus to die for our sins. We believe that it was supernaturally done so that we have a savior. But…how do we confess it?

Confession

The word, “confess” (homologeo), means to “say the same thing or to be in agreement with your word or speech.” When we confess our sins to the Lord, we are in agreement with the Lord that we have sinned and we are in need of His help (1 John 1:9). When we confess our sins to each other (James 5:16), we are in agreement with the offended party that we have done something against them. There is no dispute or argument. To confess that Jesus is Lord is to agree with him that He is the BOSS! There is no dispute or argument with that…or at least there shouldn’t be.

The word “Lord” (kyrios) can be translated to mean “master” or to be more specific, “he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding”. Confessing or declaring that Jesus is Lord means to openly embrace the fact that Jesus is the owner of our lives. He is the one who has control of who I am. He is my sovereign, prince chief emperor. He says, “Jump!”, and I respond, “How high?” And remember, there is no dispute or argument, because I “confessed” this to be the case.

But…what happens if I desire to remain in control? What if I want to be the boss? Can Jesus and I be co-captains of this team? Can we share lordship? Is that even allowed? The answer, simply, is “no”. In order for you to be saved (sozo - rescued, delivered, restored, healed), you need to believe that Jesus Christ supernaturally is your savior, and that Jesus Christ, by divine positioning, is your master. There is no sharing of preeminence.

Is Jesus my master?

In the Titus epistle, Paul is writing to his “son in the faith” Titus, who is the bishop or overseer of the churches in Crete. In this letter, Paul encourages Titus to take a firm stand and sharply rebuke false teachers who are trying to lead the church astray. In verses 15 and 16 of chapter 1, Paul states:

“To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny Him. They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for doing anything good.”

The people that Paul are describing in this passage of scripture, call themselves “Christians”. His description of them does not seem to be Christ-like. Can people believe that they are Christians, and yet be described as being the opposite of Christ?

The key word hear is “claim”. This is the exact same word that is used to translate the word, “confess”. In other words, Paul states that these people say that they know the Lord in an intimate way, but their actions (

- to work; to open a business enterprise), state the complete opposite. In our Christian walk, TALK IS CHEAP! You can claim to be a child of God, but your words are only backed by what you do. Our “work” should reflect His “word”. Confessing Jesus Christ as your master, simply means that He is calling the shots in your life. He is the boss. He is the king. This requires submission on our part. What the kings says matters. He decides how we ought to live. His word sets the standard of living. We serve at the pleasure of our master.

So…how do I know if Jesus is my master? My work reflects His word.