Why did Christ die and live again?...

So He may rule both the dead and the living.

This point should be emphasized. The verse does not state that Christ died and rose again that he might save us but that He might rule us in undisputed Lordship.

Multitudes of people today have received Christ as Saviour. It seems only a few have received Christ as Lord. Is it possible to receive Christ as Saviour and not as Lord?

Many governments of today are democratic in philosophy, that is, they subscribe to the concept that people who are being ruled ought to have the opportunity to express their opinions concerning the manner in which they are governed.

In such governments the concept of slavery is considered undesirable. Democratic, libertarian thinking is widespread in the earth in the present hour. This is at least part of the reason why people are unwilling to receive Christ as their personal Lord.

Personal Saviour, yes. Personal Lord—not quite!

Yet the Apostle Paul speaks of himself as a bond slave of Christ.

Is each Christian a bond slave of Christ?

Is Christ our absolute Lord and Master?

Is this actually what it means to be a Christian?

If so, there may not be many Christians on the earth today.

If Christ is our personal Lord, He rules our time, our goals, our employment, where we live, what we do each day, whom we marry, where we go, what relaxation we enjoy, what we read, when we go to sleep, and when we rise in the morning. Such is the relation between master and bond slave.

Christ owns us if we are bond slaves. Does Christ own you?

Or is He your servant to use as you will?

Some today are teaching that we are to use Christ in order to attain our goals in life.

Others, of which this writer is one, are teaching the opposite. We are teaching that we belong to Christ and exist solely for His use and His pleasure. We are not our own, we were purchased by Christ’s death. Now we live for Him alone.

There is an important difference of opinion here and it affects many people in their relationship to Christ. What is true in your case?

Are you indeed a bond slave of Christ, or is Christ a means by which you are able to obtain what you think you need in order to lead a happy and successful life?

If you are a bond slave of Christ, it is true that you are a Christian.

If you are one of those who are attempting to use Christ as a means of spiritual power so you can lead a happy and successful life, you are not a Christian at all.

You have been deceived by the twentieth-century gospel, a gospel that has been influenced by the religion of humanism and also by the craftiness of preachers and teachers of the Bible who are acquiring material gain by their skill in manipulating people.

If you are not a true Christian it is your own fault, not the fault of the many false teachers who are making merchandise of Christianity.

Arise spiritually at once and throw off this deception. Confess aloud with your mouth to Jesus that you forever are His bond slave and that never again will you attempt to use Him as a source of spiritual power for your own ends.

If you will make this confession, this determination, you will join the ranks of God’s heroes of faith of Hebrews, Chapter 11. You will leave the using of Christ to the members of the Laodicean church—the church of the rights of people.

Christ died and rose again so He may rule us, not that He may scurry around to do our bidding, making Himself our bond slave.

Back to Study for the book Romans

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