The Names of Jesus - Elmer Towns

Lordship means surrender. In a meeting of several well-known Christian workers in the
last century, the question was asked what was the greatest need in Christian circles at that time.
Without hesitation, a Scottish missionary leader summed up that need in two words, “absolute
surrender. “ He went on to explain that most of the problems he dealt with in his ministry would
resolve themselves if Christians would surrender themselves totally and absolutely to the
lordship of Christ. Many Christian leaders today would agree that this is still the greatest need of
the church. Jesus said, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his
cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23). The key to the victorious Christian life is found in this
surrender or yielding of oneself wholeheartedly to God. “Neither yield ye your members as
instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive
from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God” (Romans 6:13).
Paul uses four key verbs in Romans 6 which describe various aspects of what it means to
call Jesus “Lord.” These are keys to the victorious Christian life. The first verb is “know”
(6:3,6,9). We must first know the doctrinal basis of victory in the Christian life—that is, that we
are united to and identified with Christ in His death and resurrection. The next verb is “reckon”
(6:11), which means to count or rely upon these facts to be true concerning ourselves. The verb
“yield” (6:13,16,19) means to present ourselves once and for all to God as His possession and for
His use. The fourth verb, “obey” (6:16,17), urges us to be continuously obedient to the revealed
and known will of God.
Lordship is more than just yielding; lordship means control. An overemphasis on yielding
sometimes results in passive Christians. But God wants more than yielded Christians; He wants
control of your life. When He has control, we will take up our cross. When He has control, we
will deny self and the flesh. When He has control, we will find ourselves saying no to the “old
man” and yes to the “new man.”
When Jesus taught the parable of the talents, He emphasized several principles of
lordship or Biblical stewardship. One of the most significant is that God expects production from
what He has given us to use. To take the resources of God, which He has entrusted to our
keeping, and hoard them or bury them in the ground is the greatest wrong we can do toward the
Lord. When God entrusts us with His resources, He expects us to use them and multiply them. It
is impossible to invest what God has given us without seeing a return on it.
CONCLUSION
Recognizing the lordship of Christ should be the norm in the Christian's life. Jesus taught
a parable concerning the duty of the servant constantly to obey his master and concluded with the
words, “So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say,
We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do” (Luke 17:10). The
concept of a Christian who does not recognize the lordship of Christ in his life is foreign to the
New Testament ideal.
Yet, such Christians are all too common today. The greatest need of the church is still
absolute surrender. Someday, of course, “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things
in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth: and that every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God, the Father” (Philippians 2:10,11). When it comes