JESUS, OUR LORD AND SAVIOUR

A Balanced, Biblical Look at the Role of Jesus

by Larry B Bailey

Introduction

"While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning." (King James Version, 2 Pet. 2:19-20).

When we see, hear, or think of the phrase that Jesus is "Lord and Saviour", what should the impact be on our thinking at that time? Let us first look at the two words "Lord" and "Saviour".

Jesus, Our Lord

In checking Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Iowa Falls, Iowa: World Bible Publishers, SC2) pp. 613-636, I calculated that the word "lord" appears 7,033 times in the Old Testament and 703 times in the New Testament. Three words account for almost all of the appearances of the word "lord" in the Old Testament: [Strong's #3068] yhovah (the self-existent or eternal); [113] adon (to rule, sovereign, controller); and [136] adonay (emphatic form of 113). With the exception of six times [2962] kurios (supremacy, supreme in authority, controller) is the word translated "lord" in the New Testament. I think that it would be correct to think that when we see the word "Lord" in the Bible, we should think "eternal supreme controller" unless the context indicates otherwise.

Jesus, Our Saviour

"Saviour" appears 15 times in the Old Testament and 24 times in the New Testament (Strong's pg. 880). [3467] yasha (to be open, wide or free; to be safe) is the word used in the Old Testament and [4990] soter (a deliverer) is the word used in the New Testament. So when we see the word "Saviour" in the Bible, we should think "one who sets free, makes free, or delivers".

Lord and Saviour

Back to 2 Peter 2:20. The Holy Spirit says through Peter that we escape the pollution of this world through the knowledge of the "eternal supreme controller" and "deliver who makes us free" which is Jesus the promised one. Luke records that the angel told the shepherds that "a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord" had been born that day (Luke 2:11). Luke record in Acts 5:29-31, that Peter and the other apostles said "We ought to obey God rather than men" because God had exhalted Jesus to be "a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins". So we see that God has given to Jesus the authority to set the conditions of repentance and forgiveness.

Paul says that Jesus is the "saviour of the body" (Eph. 5:23) which is the church (Col. 1:18). Paul says to Titus that the hope of eternal life lies in the commandments of our Lord and Saviour (Titus 1:1-4). Also to Titus, Paul says that our Lord and Saviour saved us by "the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost" (Titus 3:4-7). Peter says that we have an entrance into the everlasting kindgom through obedience to our Lord and Saviour Jesus.

Conclusion

To have Jesus save us, we must be willing to accept him as the "supreme controller" of our lives. This means that we will let Jesus have the final determination of how we think and act. Many today live by the idea that when and if they determine that Jesus has save them, then they will let him control them, or maybe the idea that he will force them to follow his teachings so that they will be saved. The Bible teaches that God, at creation, gave man the privilege to decide for himself who he would allow to control him. When we make the decision that Jesus is going to control our thoughts and actions, then we will have access to the deliverance from sin and the joys of the promise of Heaven. IF JESUS IS NOT YOUR LORD THEN HE IS NOT YOUR SAVIOUR!