Lord and Saviour.

"My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, says the Lord" (Isaiah 55:8). Most solemnly do these words make manifest the terrible havoc which sin has wrought in fallen mankind. They are out of touch with their Maker; nay more, they are "alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart" (Eph. 4:18). In consequence of this the soul has lost its anchorage, everything has been thrown out of gear, and human depravity has turned all things upside down. Instead of subordinating the concerns of this life to the interests of the life to come, man devotes himself principally to the present world, and gives little or no thought unto the eternal hereafter. Instead of putting the good of his soul before the needs of the body, man is chiefly occupied about food and clothing. Instead of man's great aim being to please God, ministering to self has become his prime business. Man's thoughts ought to be governed by God's Word, and his ways regulated by God's revealed will. But the converse is the case. Hence it is that the things which are of great price in the sight of God (1 Peter 3:4) are despised by the fallen creature, and hence it is that "that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God" (Luke 16:15).

Man has turned things topsy turvy. This is sadly evidenced when he attempts to handle Divine things: the perversity which sin has caused appears in our reversing God's order. This tendency to reverse God's order of things is part and parcel of fallen man's nature, and unless the Holy Spirit interposes by working in us a miracle of grace, its effects are fatal to the soul. Nowhere do we have a more fearful and tragic example of this than in the evangelistic message which is now being given out, though scarcely anyone seems aware of it. That something is radically wrong with the world, is widely recognized. That Christendom too is in a sad state, many are painfully conscious. that error abounds on every side, that practical godliness is at a low ebb, that worldliness has devitalized most of the churches--is apparent to an increasing number of earnest souls.

But there are few indeed whose eyes are open to see how bad things are, few indeed perceive that things are rotten at the very foundation. Yet such is the case. God's way of salvation is almost entirely unknown today. The "Gospel" which is being preached, even in "orthodox" circles, where it is supposed that the faith once delivered to the saints is still being earnestly contended for, is an erroneous gospel. Even there man has reversed God's order. With very rare exceptions it is being taught (and has been for upwards of thirty years) that nothing more is required in order for a sinner's salvation than that he "accept Christ as his personal Savior." Later, he ought to bow to Him as Lord, consecrate his life to Him, and serve Him fully and gladly. But though he fails to do so, nevertheless Heaven is sure unto him. He will lack peace and joy now, and probably miss some millennial "crown," but having received Christ "as his personal Savior," he has been delivered from the wrath to come.

Such is a reversing of God's order. It is the Devil's lie, and only the Day to come will show how many have been fatally deceived by it. We are well aware that the above is strong language, and likely to come as a shock unto many of our readers, but we beg them to test it by what now follows. In every passage of the New Testament where these two titles occur together, it is "Lord and Savior," and never "Savior and Lord." The mother of Jesus averred, "My soul does magnify the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior" (Luke 1:46, 47). Unless Jehovah had first become her "Lord," most certainly He would not have been her "Savior." No spiritual mind that seriously ponders the matter can have any difficulty in perceiving this. How could the thrice holy God save one who scorned His authority, despised His honor, and flouted His revealed will? It is indeed infinite grace that God is ready to be reconciled to us when we throw down the weapons of our rebellion against Him, but it would be an act of unrighteousness, a putting a premium upon lawlessness, were He to pardon any sinner before he was first reconciled to His offended Maker.

In 2 Peter 1:10 the saints of God are bidden to make their "calling and election sure" (and this, by adding to their faith the other graces enumerated in verses 5 to 7), and are assured that if they do so they shall never fail, for so an entrance shall be ministered unto them abundantly "into the everlasting kingdom of our (1) Lord and (2) Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 1:11): that is, an abundant entrance should be given them now into His kingdom of grace, and hereafter into His kingdom of glory. But what we would particularly note is the order in which Christ's titles are here mentioned: it is not "our Savior and Lord" as the corrupt preaching and teaching of this degenerate day presents it; but instead, "Lord and Savior," for He becomes the Savior of none until the heart and will unreservedly receive Him as Lord.

"For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning" (2 Peter 2:20). Here the Apostle refers to those who had a head-knowledge of the Truth, and then apostatized. There had been a reformation in their outward lives, but no regeneration of the heart. For a while they were delivered from the pollutions of the world, but no supernatural work of grace having been wrought in their souls, the lustings of the flesh proved too strong, and they were again overcome; returning to their former manner of life like the dog to its vomit and the sow to its wallowing in the mire. The apostasy is described as "to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them" (v. 21), which has reference to the terms of discipleship made known in the Gospel. But what we are particularly concerned with is the Spirit's order: these apostates had been favored with the "knowledge of (1) the Lord and (2) Savior Jesus Christ."

In 2 Peter 3:18 God's people are exhorted to "grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." Here again God's order is the very opposite of man's. Nor is this merely a technical detail, concerning which a mistake is of little moment. No, the subject of which we are now treating is basic, vital, fundamental, and error at this point is fatal. Those who have not submitted unto Christ as Lord, but are trusting in Him as "Savior" are deceived, and unless God graciously disillusions them, will go down to their everlasting burnings with a lie in their right hand (Isaiah 44:20).

The same principal is clearly illustrated in passages where other titles of Christ occur. Take the opening verse of the New Testament, where He is presented as "Jesus Christ (1) the son of David, (2) the son of Abraham." Waiving now the "dispensational" signification of these titles, let us view them from the doctrinal and practical viewpoint, which should ever be our first consideration. "Son of David" brings in the throne; it emphasizes His authority; it demands allegiance to His scepter. And "son of David" comes before "son of Abraham!"

Again, in Acts 5:31 we are told, that God had exalted Jesus to His own right hand "to be (1) a Prince and (2) a Savior." The concept embodied in the title "Prince" is that of supreme dominion and authority, as Revelation 1:5 clearly shows: "The Prince of the kings of the earth." If we turn to the book of Acts and read it attentively, we shall quickly discover that the message of the Apostles was altogether different—not only in emphasis, but in substance--from the preaching of our times. On the day of Pentecost Peter declared, "Whoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Ac 2:21), and reminded his hearers that God had made Jesus (or manifested Him to be) "both Lord and Christ" (Ac 2:36), not Christ and Lord! To Cornelius and his household Peter presented Christ as "Lord of all" (Ac 10:36). When Barnabas came to Antioch, he "exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord" (Ac 11:23). There also Paul and Barnabas "commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed" (Ac 14:23). At the great synod in Jerusalem, Peter reminded his fellows that the Gentiles would "seek after (not only a "Savior," but) the Lord" (Ac 15:17). To the Philippian jailer and his household Paul and Silas preached "the Word of the Lord" (Ac 16:32).

What we specially desire the reader to see is not only that the Apostles emphasized the Lordship of Christ, but that they made surrender thereto essential unto salvation. This is clear from many other passages. For example, we read "And believers were the more added to (not "Christ," but) the Lord" (Acts 5:14). "And all that dwelt at Lydda and Saron saw him, and turned to the Lord" (Ac 9:35). "And many believed in the Lord" (Ac 9:42). "And much people was added unto the Lord" (Ac 11:24). "Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord" (Ac 13:12). "And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house" (Ac 18:8). The fact is that very, very few today have any right conception of what a scriptural and saving conversion consists of. The call to it is set forth in Isaiah 55:7, "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return (having in Adam departed) unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him." The character of it is described in Thessalonians 1:9, "You turned to God from idols, to serve the living and true God."

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