Disciples Come In All Shapes and Sizes, Part 3 (Understanding God's Great...)

The Bible says in Acts 16:31: "And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house."

Today's God's Great Salvation quote is from A.A. Hodge. He said: "A church has no right to make anything a condition of membership which Christ has not made a condition of salvation."  

Our topic today is titled Disciples Come In All Shapes and Sizes (Part 3) from the book, "So Great Salvation: What it Means to Believe in Jesus Christ" by Dr. Charles Ryrie. 

Today, we are going to look at the question: Is Acts 16:31 a Call to Lordship?

Today, the discipleship concept of Teacher-student in the Gospels has been transferred to a Lord-servant relationship. We are being told that one cannot be a true believer unless he has surrendered to the mastery of Christ over his life. We are told that a person must take Christ's yoke when he believes or he is not a true believer. Again we are told that there is no salvation apart from cross-bearing. Or, in order to be saved, "You must accept Christ as your Savior and your Master." 

Thus, for example, Paul's response to the Philippian jailer's questions about how to be saved in Acts 16:31—"Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ"—is understood to mean believe in Jesus' death and lordship (that is, mastery) over one's life. 

Incidentally, why is it that those who teach that you cannot receive Jesus without receiving His personal mastery over the years of one's life do not also insist that we must receive Him as Messiah (the meaning of Christ) with all that the concept of Messiah entails? That would mean, for starters, that in order to be saved one must believe that Jesus is Israel's promised deliverer, the one who fulfills many Old Testament prophecies, and the one who is the coming King over this earth. 

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