The message of the New Testament is that Jesus is Lord!
Jesus is Lord!
To support this bold statement, we must first define the term Lord. The term is used much less frequently now than one hundred years ago, and then less than two hundred years ago. Perhaps we cannot truly comprehend the term in the current age as it was used two millennia ago. It was a common, yet uncommon term that denoted authority, dominion, one who rules, one that has property rights, and yes, one who is master. The term may also mean the Supreme Being.
The term might be used out of courtesy if one was speaking to an individual of some rank, but this may not necessarily convey that there is any master-servant relationship. On the road to Damascus, Paul (Saul) cries out “who are you, Lord?” This could hardly be considered recognition of Jesus as Lord by Paul or the question would go beyond rhetorical to being absurd. Had Paul known that Jesus is Lord at this juncture, he would have hardly been on his life-changing sojourn in pursuit of the trouble-makers that followed The Way. Paul was simply addressing someone with power over him—blinding power over him—and he answered in a way that would have been appropriate. I would think that Paul realized early in this experience that he was in the presence of supernatural power; but he was more likely expecting Abraham, Elijah, or Moses to answer his instinctively phrased query.
This survey explores and confirms that this is a very viable thread throughout the gospels, epistles, and eschatology of the New Testament. Decide for yourself if you agree with Dr. Rustenhaven and myself, that the message of the New Testament is JESUS IS LORD!
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Here are some articles that look at the very challenging book of James.
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How about something from the Gospel of Matthew
About being a servant in a society that says, that dog don't hunt.
What do you call a guy with degrees in Political Science and Biblical Studies? What do you call someone that served as a Marine Officer for over 20 years and now pastors a church? What do you call someone with this unique perspective of the kingdom of the world and the kingdom of God?
Most folks just call me Tom.
Take a look on the political side, try A Good Read.
Check out a leadership mix of Pastor, Parent, Marine, and American in Forward Deployed.
Photo/graphic credit (top of page): http://alguevara.com/JesusIsLord.jpg
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