Pastor Lamar put it in one sentence Sunday and the whole room went quiet.
"I want Jesus to save me, but I don't want Jesus to rule me as Lord."
That's not somebody else's problem. That's the default setting for a lot of us.
The idea
He called it the trend of a half baked gospel. Easy believism. The pitch goes like this. God has a wonderful plan for your life, say a prayer, and you're saved, no repenting required.
Sounds nice. It's not the gospel.
Mark chapter one says it plain. Jesus didn't show up saying believe and you're in. He said repent and believe. Repent, in the original language, means to change your mind and turn from your sin with real remorse toward God. Not feel bad about it. Turn from it.
Skip that part and you haven't trimmed the gospel down to something more manageable. You've traded it for a different one. Paul didn't leave any wiggle room on that in Galatians. Preach a different gospel, even if an angel shows up to do it, and Paul says let him be accursed. Devoted to destruction, no hope of redemption. That's not a phrase you use about a minor doctrinal tweak.
Here's the part that got me. The half baked version isn't really about theology. It's about who's actually in charge. Lord, in the original language, means supreme in authority. Your master. Your owner. The one you belong to.
You don't get to keep that title for yourself and hand Jesus the savior job on the side. He's Lord of all, or He's not your Lord at all. There's no in between where you keep the wheel and just ask Him to ride along.
I've done this. Wanted the rescue without the rule. Wanted forgiveness without turning from what I was doing. That's not faith, that's a transaction, and Jesus never signed up to be anybody's insurance policy.
Your salvation isn't complete with a prayer and a hope. It's complete with repentance, confession of His Lordship, and faith in what He already finished on the cross.
A question to sit with
Where in your life do you want Jesus to cover the consequences but you're still the one holding the wheel?
Sit with that one before you move on with your day.
This is exactly the kind of thing we won't let each other slide on inside Brotherhood Forged, guys who call out the difference between a savior we use and a Lord we follow.
Every brotherhood starts with one guy forwarding this to another guy. Be that guy.
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