Title: The
Lordship of Christ
Text: Romans 14:
3-9
Date: January
12, 2020
Place: SGBC,
NJ
Romans
14: 9: For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived [ascended] that he might be
Lord both of the dead and living.
Our translation is good but there is a play on words
in the Greek that is almost lost in translation. It is a play on the words “die and live”, “died
and lives again”. Let’s read it again and let me add a few words
in brackets.
Christ
is Lord. God declared
in the second Psalm — “I set my King upon
my holy hill of Zion.” His lordship is the way we are made to
rest in him as our Savior. “Him hath God
exalted with his right hand to be a Prince (Lord) and a Savior, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of
sins” (Acts 5:31). Today men have reversed that
Scriptural order. They beg men to accept
him as their personal Savior. Then they
brag how they made him Lord of their life. But it is by Christ our Lord
exercising his lordship in our hearts first that we are made willing to rest in
him as our Savior. He gets the glory for
both being our Lord and our Savior.
When Paul speaks of a believer dying, he is speaking
of physical death. Some corrupt this passage by making “death” to mean God’s
elect who are spiritually asleep. They preach
that if God elected you and Christ redeemed you then it does not matter if you
ever hear the gospel and believe on Christ, he is your Lord and you shall be
saved. That is not true and that is not
what this passage teaches. Indeed, Christ is
Lord over all men—including those spiritually dead. But those dead in sin cannot wiggle a toe
without Christ’s sovereign hand.
Still, the context speaks of believers,
born again of the Spirit, who live spiritually then die physically. Whether the believer lives or dies we are the
Lord’s—"For to this end Christ both died, and [lives again] that he
might be Lord both of the dead and living.”
Subject:
The Lordship of Christ
THE END OF CHRIST’S DEATH
Romans 14: 8: For whether we live, we live
unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live
therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s. 9: For to this end Christ both died, and [lives
again] that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.
Christ Jesus, the GodMan, is Lord over all
because that was the end for which he died and now lives. As God he has always been the Lord. But as the GodMan Mediator he is now Lord.
When Christ died, he died for a specific
people—his elect. He died with the sins
of his particular people on him. We know
that because of what his death accomplished.
Christ’s death is the death of sin for his people; Christ
death is the death of the law’s curse for his people; Christ’s death is the
death of God’s wrath against his people; Christ’s death is the death of Satan
ruling his people; Christ’s death is the death of hell for his people; Christ
death is the death of death for his people.
In other words Christ saved each one for whom he died!
But after his death, Christ lived—he rose and revived—and
ascended to the right hand of the Father--"that
he might be Lord both of the dead and living.” God has highly exalted his Son because his
Son highly exalted him. God gave the
GodMan, Mediator all power and all authority over all. He made him Head over all things to the
church, which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all (Eph 1: 19-23). Christ’s resurrection and ascension declares
that he accomplished all the Father sent him to accomplish. Like as we died with Christ, his people arose
with Christ and were accepted in Christ.
And because Christ is now Lord, each of his redeemed shall be born-again,
kept and glorified After his
resurrection he said, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth”
(Mt 28:18). In his high priestly
prayer, Christ prayed, “As thou [Father] hast
given [me] power over all flesh, that [I] should give eternal life to as many
as thou hast given [me]” (Jn 17:2).
Christ purchased his people by paying his
own blood and he shall call each one..
We were like Gomer of old who played the
harlot departing from Christ our Husband in sin and rebellion. We were on the slaveblock but no one wanted to
buy us because we were useless. But
Christ our Husband wanted us
Hosea 3: 1: Then said the LORD unto me, Go
yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress, according to
the love of the LORD toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods, and
love flagons of wine. 2: So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of
silver, and for an homer of barley, and an half homer of barley: 3: And
I said unto her, Thou shalt abide for me many days; thou shalt not play the
harlot, and thou shalt not be for another man: so will I also be
for thee. 4: For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king,
and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and
without an ephod, and without teraphim: 5: Afterward shall the children
of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall
fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days.
Those latter days began when in these last
days, God began speaking to us by his Son (Heb 1: 1-2). Christ purchased his elect Jew and Gentile
with his own precious blood. He began
calling his elect Jews, the lost sheep of the house of Israel, then his elect
Gentiles. Now, by God grace through
faith in Christ, we have David our King, Christ Jesus our Lord and Master.
Acts 2: 34: For David is not ascended into
the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my
right hand, 35: Until I make thy foes thy footstool. 36: Therefore let all the
house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye
have crucified, both Lord and Christ
As
Ephesians 1 says we are Christ’s “purchased possession” (Eph 1:14).
1 Corinthians 6: 19: What? know ye not
that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye
have of God, and ye are not your own? 20
For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and
in your spirit, which are God’s.
ANOTHER
MAN’S SERVANT
Romans 14: 4: Who art thou that judgest
another man’s servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall
be holden up: for God is able to make him stand….
Every born-again child of God belongs to
Christ our Master. Christ is Lord of my
brother, not me. If my brother is
weak—abstaining from certain meats, observing certain days—and I take a holier
than thou attitude, judging and doubting him to be a true brother, then I am
sinning because I am judging another man’s servant, namely, Christ my Lord’s
servant.
Brethren,
our Lord is so sovereign that he could turn his servants from all sin if that
was his purpose! But he allows us to
fall into sin that he might chasten and correct us as our sovereign Lord to
make us see our need of him as our Savior!
He does it to teach you who are strong, as much as the weak brother who
fell.
Now,
if my brother has fallen into sin which scripture clearly says is wrong then I
should remind him what the scripture says and admonish him. To do so is not judging. But even then, I must remember that whether
he stands against sin or falls into sin, it is to his own Master that he
stands our falls. And through
everything, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand. So if I try to usurp the authority of his
Master to force my brother into outward obedience then it is sin on my part.
FULLY
PERSUADED
Romans
14: 5: One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day
alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.
It
is the sovereign Lord who persuades his people in the heart to live unto him. Whatever my persuasion, from whom does this
persuasion come? The apostle Paul said,
Romans 14: 14: I know, and am persuaded by
the Lord Jesus,…
The
measure of faith I and brother has is from my Lord. Therefore, I cannot judge
my brother. The all-powerful Lord Jesus
governs the hearts of his people by his faithfulness.
Galatians 2: 19: For I through the law am
dead to the law, that I might live unto God.
20: I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but
Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the
faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
Christ
lives in his people. He makes us obey
when we obey. When we sin it is our
flesh. But we can only sin because
Christ permitted it to teach us our need of him. That being the case, our Lord, our Master,
makes each of his servants live unto him, whether it be in strong faith or weak
faith.
Romans 14: 6: He that regardeth the day,
regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he
doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God
thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God
thanks.
By
our Lord—weak and strong—are persuaded to do what we do as unto the Lord.
1 Corinthians 10:31: Whether therefore ye
eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.
Our sovereign
Lord teaches each of his saints not to live unto ourselves—"For none of
us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.” This is an emphatic statement. Paul
includes himself, as well as all believers—"none of us liveth to
himself, and no [believer] dieth to himself.”
Though some are weak and others strong, yet each believer in whom
our Lord reigns, lives unto our Lord Jesus Christ. We are not our own masters so as to please
ourselves. We enquire of our Master, saying,
“Lord, what would thou have me to do?” The
business of our lives is not to please ourselves, but to live unto our Lord by furthering
the gospel of his accomplished redemption.
The first time
I came to New Jersey was in December 2005.
I saw almost 30 children here—that was just the D’Armiento family. I thought what the Lord might do in this
place! But I thought there were
only a few families that would stay. Yet,
my grandfather taught me that if God called me to be a pastor, I should not
live for myself but give myself to minister to those few families the rest of
my life, even if God never added one more to us. He said give yourself entirely to study and
prayer. He taught me to use every
resource God puts in my hands to minister the gospel to the Lord’s people. Our Master does not leave us here to earn a
living to simply build up our estate. He leaves us here for his holy use to
build up his kingdom. He leaves us here not
to build up our house, but the Lord’s house.
Therefore, by his grace and power, we live unto the Lord.
Nor do we look
forward to death to simply be eased of our flesh but to be with our Lord—"For
whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the
Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.” The apostle Paul is an example.
Philippians 1: 19: For I know that this
shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of
Jesus Christ, 20: According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that
in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so
now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or
by death. 21: For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22:
But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I
shall choose I wot not. 23: For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire
to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: 24: Nevertheless to
abide in the flesh is more needful for you. 25: And having this
confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your
furtherance and joy of faith; 26: That your rejoicing may be more abundant in
Jesus Christ for me by my coming to you again. 27: Only let your conversation
be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or
else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit,
with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.
Knowing
he would suffer at the hands of wicked men, Paul said,
Acts 20:24: But none of these things move
me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course
with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify
the gospel of the grace of God.
2 Timothy 2: 4: No man that warreth
entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him
who hath chosen him to be a soldier.
To
live and die for the name of our Lord is the end purpose for which our Master
saved us—"For to this end Christ both died, and [lives again] that he
might be Lord both of the dead and living.”
2 Corinthians 5:15…he died for all, that
they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which
died for them, and rose again.
May
our Master give some unbeliever faith to behold him as your Lord and Savior,
that he might grant you repentance and forgiveness of sins. May he give every believer grace to bear the
infirmities of our weak brethren, to strengthen them with the truth of the
gospel and to leave them in his hand. And
may our Lord give us grace to live and die for him.
Amen!