WHO'S IN CHARGE, ANYWAY? ........ROMANS 8

WHO'S IN CHARGE, ANYWAY?                                                Romans 8                                              
       With all of  the teaching and  preaching available to us today, there is
a doctrine that seems to be a source of  confusion in the life of believers.
The belief  that a person may  be born again,  baptized of  the Holy Spirit,
then somehow, make Jesus Lord of life.  It has been discounted from the 
pulpit as long as I can remember, but the belief still persists.  Because of 
this erroneous doctrine, some Christians think  they must "make" Jesus 
Christ Lord of their lives. The following seems to be the  truth of the mat-
ter,  along with the  clear passage, " ...as many as are led  by the Spirit of 
God, these are Sons of God."  (Romans 8: 14)  Does not a person who is 
"Led  by the  Spirit of  God," have  Jesus Christ  as  Lord of  His Life?  He 
does not have to “make” Jesus Lord of His Life.

      Where did  the phrase, "Make Jesus Lord of  your life" originate?  If we
give the concept some serious consideration, we may find that it is foreign
to a  proper understanding of  Scriptural principle.  As we read  the epistles,
or letters of apostles, there is overwhelming evidence supporting the abso-
lute sovereignty of God.  In the Old Testament He was shown to move peo-
ple  around  at will.  Therefore;  the  very  idea  of  a mere  mortal  "making" 
God  anything borders on  the ridiculous.  The only  authority for  doctrine,
and this  would  qualify  as doctrine,  is the Holy  Scripture.  When  we look
into God's Word we  find evidence of  God working His will upon whom He
chose.  The way in which God worked His will upon believers was to bring
things into the life of the believer, causing him to react in a way consistent
with  His will.   Reading in  Philippians 2: 13, "...for it  is God  who works  in
you  both to  will and to  do for His good  pleasure."   In Hebrews 13: 20-21
we find the author's prayer was for God to work His will in the life of those
who had believed.   In the Old Testament,  He worked in the  lives of  kings
in and  around  Judah to  accomplish His  purpose.  I challenge  anyone to 
find in Scripture a passage that even  suggests we are to  "make" God  the 
Son, God the Father or God the Holy Spirit, Lord of our lives.

     We do find; however, in the Proverbs of Solomon,  chapter 3 the keys
to understanding the way the Lord works in our lives to get us  to do His
will.  First in vs. 1 there is a way to enjoy long life with peace,  in vs. 2 we
learn how to find favor with God and man,  in verse 5  we find how to get
direction from Him and in vs. 7-8  how to obtain good health and strength.
Reducing this counsel to it's lowest common denominator we find; we do
not make God Lord of our lives, but we must acknowledge Him to be that. 
Things then falls into place. Counsel goes this way; keep the law, be mer-
ciful and  truthful. Trust  and acknowledge  the Lord  and depart  from evil.
This same passage goes on to tell how to  be prosperous by sharing our
possessions and how to deal with chastening from the Lord, being remin-
ded that parents discipline  their children  because they  love them.  Since
our Father in Heaven loves us, he disciplines us as needed to conform us
to His image.  In the New Testament, 1 John 1: 5-6, 2: 3-6 we find evidence 
suggesting if one is not being perfected by the Holy Spirit, he has no assu-
rance he is in the faith and may well be still in the "flesh."

     How do we acknowledge Jesus Christ is Lord?  Beginning in the epistle
to the Romans, chapter 10.  "That if thou shalt confess with  thy mouth the
Lord  Jesus and  believe in your  heart that God  hath  raised Him  from the
dead thou shalt be saved... Whoever calls upon  the name of the Lord shall
be saved."  So, with our  mouths we  acknowledge who He is, and  begin to
live our lives under His control  by  finding His will,  generally, and  living as 
it applies to us.  Finally, through doing His known will, He reveals details of
His will for our lives, one day at a time.  When we study God's Word and put  
into practice the lessons of the Word, we find doing His will brings Him plea-
sure.   This is the only way for us to find peace,  purpose  and  prosperity in 
life on this earth and the promise of eternal life with  Him in the Kingdom of 
God.  Our responsibility is to confess or  acknowledge Jesus to  be Lord, in 
public,  to the  glory of  God  the  Father,  in  the  power of  the Spirit of God.  
This brings all three  persons of  the Godhead into focus as one  and clears 
the air as to who is in charge of my life.

     The  Lord God is not  just  Lord of  my  life;  He is  Lord of  all,  whether 
you and I acknowledge it or not.  When  we  read Romans 8: 31-39, would
we have  it any other  way.  Jesus Christ  being  Lord of  life makes all the 
difference in the world and acknowledging  Him during this lifetime opens 
you and me to the protection, leadership and blessing of God as a favored 
child.  Refusing to bow the knee in submission, or acknowledging  Him as 
Lord keeps one under the condemnation of Law, reserved for judgment in 
the day when "every knee shall bow...and every tongue shall confess that 
Jesus Christ is Lord..."  The  option every man  has while on  this earth is 
whether he will bow  the knee in submission,  voluntarily,  or be forced to 
bow in judgment.  Those of us who bow in submission, voluntarily will be 
saved and those who are forced to bow will be lost.  It’s that plain.   

 http://biblicalclarity-don.blogspot.com/2015/01/god-is-sovereign.html                                         
 donporter                            10.20.12