“What would it look like to stop treating Jesus as simply a role model and start serving Him as our sovereign king?” Blog post Reasonable Theology

Good Question.
Jesus is the ruling Monarch (Sovereign) of the universe.
His rule is established in His humanity by the fact that He was born of David. His rule is demonstrated by the fact that death could not hold Him. Death is man’s greatest foe-yet even death could not defeat Jesus.

So what does this mean to me?
When it comes to government, we Americans tend to think in terms of a constitutional Republic. We are grateful we have the chance to vote in our rulers to represent us (supposedly). We are grateful we have a voice in the establishment of laws that govern us. We are thankful we can even run for elected office if we so choose.

The Kingdom of Heaven is not a Constitutional Republic. Jesus doesn’t reign because we vote Him into office. Mankind can’t impeach Him either. He rules by the power of His own person- Jesus is King.

Now, in one sense His rule is not complete. Yes the battle has been won and the victory is His. But death is not yet completely abolished and so for now this earth is still enemy held territory (Hebrews 2). One day this will change- he will return and abolish death and win the final victory.

Until then how do we view Him? Kind of like a big brother that we look up to and is sort of a role-model for our behavior? Or rather as the Sovereign Lord who commands our allegiance. When He says “follow me” He’s not simply speaking like a big brother inviting us to follow in His shoes; no He is speaking like a battlefield general who leads His men over the top and into the fray.

Follow me is the command of the Sovereign Lord of the universe. Are we huddled in the trench fearing the conflict? Or are we climbing the ladder and leaving the trench and engaging the foe?

Because of grace,
Tim

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Ministry is a solemn responsibility. The charge that Paul places on Timothy is a responsibility that Timothy will someday give an account of before the judgment bar of God.

“I charge you before God and the Lord Jesus Christ and the elect angels that you observe these things… I Timothy 5:21

One of the most sobering passages in the Bible relates this truth to the task of the watchman.
The watchman was commissioned with a task of being an “early warning system” if an army was coming to invade the land.

God relates this to the work of Ezekiel the prophet: Ezekiel 33:1-7
1 The word of the LORD came to me:
2 “Son of man, speak to your people and tell them: Suppose I bring the sword against a land, and the people of that land select a man from among them, appointing him as their watchman,
3 and he sees the sword coming against the land and blows his trumpet to warn the people.
4 Then, if anyone hears the sound of the trumpet but ignores the warning, and the sword comes and takes him away, his blood will be on his own head.
5 ⌊Since⌋ he heard the sound of the trumpet but ignored the warning, his blood is on his own hands. If he had taken warning, he would have saved his life.
6 However, if the watchman sees the sword coming but doesn’t blow the trumpet, so that the people aren’t warned, and the sword comes and takes away their lives, then they have been taken away because of their iniquity, but I will hold the watchman accountable for their blood.
7 “As for you, son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. When you hear a word from My mouth, give them a warning from Me.

As we consider our responsibility to share the gospel with those around us- let us not forget that we will give an account.
We are not empowered to secure results- those are with God- but we must “give warning” so “blood is not on our hands”.
May the Lord find us faithful.

Because of grace,
Tim

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