Jesus Is Both Lord and Savior
by Scott Smelser
via InLight Media
Many of us have friends or family who care about Jesus, are grateful for his sacrifice, respect his word, and want to serve him, but they've also been influenced by common misconceptions at the core of much evangelical protestantism which ultimately paint God as accepting (not preferring of course, but certainly accepting) unrepentant and disobedient lives - so long as faith alone was had, and a sinner's prayer was said.
Conversations about this often get tangled in confusion over the roles of grace, faith, obedience, and works. If that sounds familiar to you, I have a couple of suggestions.
- When there is time, it's helpful to do a deep dive into Romans, where Paul addresses all of this.
- Lacking the luxury of time, the issue can also be addressed simply and briefly by focusing on Jesus' dual roles as both Lord and Savior, not just one or the other. For example, the blood of Jesus and the Sermon on the Mount are both from Jesus, but they serve different purposes. One pays for our sins (Matthew 26:28), the other must be obeyed (Matthew 7:21-29). Obedience does not pay for sins. That's the blood. But Jesus as Lord must also be obeyed.
Jesus is more than just our Savior — He's also our Lord. That's a whole other aspect to God's Son that has huge implications for our relationship with Him, and even for the way we live.
I believe this video can help your friends because it's short, clear, and based directly on Scripture. And it ends with a powerful point from Jesus himself about both grace and accountability (Matthew 18:23-35). I encourage you to give it a listen.
