Who Is Your True Lord? Why We Preach Christ as Lord

There’s a lot of noise out there. A lot of messages biting for our attention. And sometimes in life, it’s just hard to know what’s really real. I was on my phone the other day, scrolling social media, watching the most amazing things happen — only to find out none of it was real. All of it was AI generated. It turns out AI isn’t just making videos now; it’s faking voices and audio too. Seeing is no longer believing. Hearing is no longer believing. And in a culture that changes this fast, it can feel like the only constant is change itself. I’m Pastor James Drake, and this Sunday I wanted to ask you the one question that cuts through all of it: who is your true Lord?

When everything is shifting sand, you need a fixed point — a north star. You need something you can build your life on that won’t drift. And for 2,000 years, in the middle of all the static, there has been exactly one message that rang out true and changed the world as we know it: Christ is Lord. That’s our anchor. It was the church’s message in their day, and it’s our message in ours. So let’s listen to how the apostle Paul makes that case in 2 Corinthians 4:1-6:

“Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

Start with the “Therefore” — Religion or Relationship?

Our passage opens with a word that’s easy to skip: therefore. And here’s a little rule for reading your Bible — anytime you see “therefore,” you should ask yourself what it’s there for. In this case, the “therefore” reaches all the way back into chapter 3, where Paul has been contrasting two covenants. The old covenant was the covenant of the law, written by God’s own hand on tablets of stone. It was good, but it was temporary, and it pointed past itself to something greater. When Moses came down from the mountain his face glowed from being in God’s presence — but that glory faded, so he wore a veil. That fading glory was the whole point. The law could show you your sin, but it could never save you. There’s no saving power in the law; the power is in God.

So God promised a new and better covenant. As He said through the prophet in Jeremiah 31:33, “I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts.” No longer carved in stone — written on you. New hearts. Forgiven sins. And the power to actually live it. Jesus inaugurated that covenant the night before the cross when He lifted the cup and said, “This is the new covenant in my blood.” Where Moses’ glory faded, the glory of Christ never fades. 2 Corinthians 3:6 sums it up: the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

Now, that’s a lot of covenant language, and if you’re new to this whole God thing, let me simplify it the way I tried to this Sunday. It’s not about religion. It’s all about relationship. It’s not about what you can do. It’s all about what Christ has done. That’s the whole turn. You can grow up in church, hear a gospel about freedom, and still spend your life working your tail off trying to maintain the image that you’re a good person. Most of us assume we are. As I put it from the stage, “99.9% of people are not bad people. They may make poor choices, but deep down they’ve got a good heart.” That’s the lie the gospel dismantles. Following Christ was never a list of things you go do for Him. It’s the awe of what He’s already done for you. And when you come into contact with Him, you change. When the heart changes, everything changes.

A Ministry of Mercy — You Didn’t Earn the Call

Look at how Paul describes his own work: “this ministry by the mercy of God.” Mercy is not getting something you deserve. And Paul felt that to his bones, because he didn’t start as a church planter — he started as a church destroyer. He gave his life to hunting down and silencing the very people he now served. There was real guilt there, real shame. But God met him where he was, turned his world upside down and inside out on the Damascus road, and said, in effect, it’s not about you; it’s about what I’m going to do through you. And then God used the very man who tried to end the church to build the church. That’s mercy. He didn’t deserve it, and he never forgot it.

Here’s what I love about this — it isn’t just a pastor thing. The Bible teaches the priesthood of all believers. As Colossians 3:23 says, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.” The accountant is serving God. The couple turning a scrubby patch of land off the highway into an oasis where families can flourish — that’s a sacred calling. The athlete on the field, the dentist in her practice, the parent at home: every honest calling is holy when it’s done for Christ. So whatever God has put in front of you, it’s a gift of His mercy that He chose to use you. On this side of eternity we’re tilling rocks and building among thorns and thistles — it’s a grind. But here’s the line I keep coming back to: we haven’t been called to be successful. We’ve been called to be faithful. So keep pressing on, and do not lose heart.

Beware the Counterfeits — What Tries to Drown Out the Message

Paul warns us that this true message will always have counterfeits crowding around it. The first is the temptation to “tamper with God’s word” — to water it down and give people what they want to hear instead of what they need to hear. That’s not only Paul’s battle; it’s ours. The hard part of the gospel is the part the counterfeits sand off: that we are sinners, separated from God, unable to save ourselves, and our works will never close that gap. It’s Christ, and Christ alone. Honestly, that’s part of why I believe the Bible is true — nobody in their right mind would have invented a message this humbling. A life coach to help you live your best life now? People would line up for that. A cross that says you couldn’t save yourself? That’s a hard truth that has nonetheless stood the test of time.

The second counterfeit is what Paul calls the veil — and behind it, “the god of this world.” That’s Satan, and his strategy hasn’t changed. Remember all that static? All the noise, all the messages biting for your attention? He’s the one cranking the volume, blinding minds through distraction and endless half-truths to keep people from the one truth that could set them free. But here’s the good news, and don’t miss it: Satan’s power is powerless when confronted by the power of the gospel. As John 1:5 promises, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” If God is for us, the veil doesn’t stand a chance.

Christ as Lord, Not Just a Teacher

Now look at verse 5: “What we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord.” In Paul’s day that little word was explosive. In Rome, Caesar was lord — worshiped as a god or semi-god, honored with patriotic ritual. But the Christians couldn’t bend their knee to Caesar, because they had seen the risen Lord Jesus reigning on high. And the word matters: in the Septuagint, the Greek Old Testament, the holy name of God — Yahweh — was translated Kurios, “Lord.” So when Paul says “Christ as Lord,” he is not handing Jesus a nice title. He’s confessing divinity. Christ is the Lord of lords, the King of kings, the Alpha and the Omega, the one who came to save and is coming back to rescue.

That changed everything for them. Their deepest allegiance was no longer to an emperor or a culture but to their King. Their truest citizenship wasn’t Rome — it was heaven. And once Christ is Lord, you bow only to what He says, no matter what man or culture demands. They didn’t just believe it; they lived it, and some of them died for it. They could not stop confessing: Christ is Lord. So let me ask you plainly — who is your true Lord? Is it your career, your reputation, your comfort, your version of the American dream? Or is it Jesus? Because as Romans 8:31 reminds us, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” When He is your Lord, you’ve got a foundation nothing in this shifting world can crack.

From Darkness to Light — and Then It Shines Through You

Here’s the gospel turn, and it’s the heart of verse 6. “God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts.” When Christ’s light comes into you — not just your mind, not just your circumstances, but your heart — He doesn’t merely remove the darkness. He replaces it with light. And then that light won’t stay put. It shines through you to a world that desperately needs to see it.

I’ve watched that happen in my own family. I caused them a lot of pain with the choices I made growing up. When I came to faith and then went to the mission field, they basically said, “Let’s see if this sticks.” And year after year, when it didn’t rub off, it started to get their attention. Near the end, my father — dying of pancreatic cancer — took one of our last walks with me, looked at me, and said, “Son, I want you to know I love you and I’m so proud of you. It was not always that way.” You see, when the light comes into the darkness, it changes a man for good. It takes him from where he is and puts him where he needs to be, and it gives him a mission far bigger than his own name. That’s what the gospel does, and it’s the same gospel I unpacked when we turned to the Good Shepherd who pursues the lost the following week — the Lord who comes and gets us.

How to Live It This Week — Step Into Someone’s World

So what do we do with this? We weren’t just saved from hell. We were saved for eternity with our Savior — and that means we’ve been handed both the privilege and the responsibility of declaring His name. Usually it starts small and uncomfortable. I felt it at my son’s middle school football game, when the varsity guys showed up and — I’ll be honest — a grown man got intimidated by some high schoolers. I tried to pawn my calling off on my kid. But I couldn’t shake it, and when one young man walked over with an open heart and asked, “Will God accept me?” I got to tell him the truest thing I know: He’ll not only accept you, He’ll change you from the inside out.

Then there was my gym. I’d been sidelined on a stationary bike while everyone else did the classes — until the owner asked me to be his partner for the in-house competition. Something in my heart said, do it. So instead of staying an outsider, I became an insider. We got crushed in that workout; that’s me flat on the floor at the end while Heidi cheered me on. But I stepped into their world, felt what they felt, and got to talk with a roomful of people about this church — and a lot of them came the next week. That’s the assignment. Step into someone else’s world. Experience what they experience. Build a real relationship, and let His light shine through you.

Common Questions About Christ as Lord

What does it mean that Christ is Lord? To say “Christ is Lord” is to say He is your ultimate authority — not Caesar, not culture, not your own plans. In the Greek Old Testament, the word translated “Lord” (Kurios) stood in for the holy name of God, Yahweh. So when Paul preaches “Christ as Lord” in 2 Corinthians 4:5, he isn’t calling Jesus a good teacher. He’s calling Him the Lord of lords, the King of kings. Declaring Christ as Lord means your final allegiance belongs to Him, and you’ll bend your knee to no one else.

Is Christianity about religion or relationship? It’s about relationship, not religion. As Pastor James Drake said this Sunday, “It’s not about what you can do. It’s all about what Christ has done.” Religion is a list of things you do for God to earn His approval. The gospel is a sense of awe at what God has already done for you in Christ. Following Jesus isn’t about working your tail off to maintain the image that you’re a good person — it’s about resting in His finished work and being changed from the inside out.

What is the new covenant in 2 Corinthians? In 2 Corinthians 3, Paul contrasts the old covenant of the law — written on tablets of stone — with the new covenant of the Spirit. The old covenant was temporary; it pointed to our need for a Savior and could only condemn, because there’s no saving power in the law. The new covenant, sealed in Christ’s blood, writes God’s law on our hearts, forgives our sins, and gives us a new heart and the power to live for Him. Moses’ glory faded behind a veil; the glory of Christ never fades.

Why did Paul call his ministry a “ministry of mercy”? Mercy is not getting the punishment you deserve. Paul once persecuted the church, so he knew he had no right to be on God’s team. Yet God met him where he was, turned his life inside out, and used the very man who tried to end the church to build it. Paul never forgot that his calling was an undeserved gift. The same is true for you: whatever God has called you to do, it’s a gift of His mercy, not a wage you earned.

Does Christ as Lord apply to non-pastors? Yes. The Bible teaches the priesthood of all believers — whatever you do, you can do it for the glory of God (Colossians 3:23). The accountant, the teacher, the athlete, the parent, the builder — every honest calling is sacred when it’s done for Christ. You haven’t been called to be successful in the world’s eyes. You’ve been called to be faithful right where God has placed you.

What blinds people from seeing the gospel? Paul says “the god of this world” — Satan — blinds the minds of unbelievers through distraction and endless half-truths. We live in an age of static where it’s hard to know what’s real. But Satan’s power is powerless when confronted by the power of the gospel. When God says, “Let light shine out of darkness,” He shines in human hearts, and no veil can hold against that light.

How do I share the message that Christ is Lord? It usually starts with one uncomfortable invitation. Step into someone else’s world — your gym, your kid’s ballgame, your coworker’s life — and stop being an outsider so you can become an insider. You don’t have to have all the answers; you just point to where you found life and forgiveness in Christ. When His light comes into your heart, it doesn’t stay there — it shines through you to a world that desperately needs to hear it.

Questions for Reflection

• If your daily choices answered the question for you, who or what would you say is your true Lord right now?
• Where have you been treating Christianity as a religion to perform rather than a relationship to rest in?
• What “calling” — your job, your home, your team — could you start offering to God as a sacred work this week?
• Whose world is God nudging you to step into, so you can move from outsider to insider and let His light shine through you?

Want to take a next step? You don’t have to figure out who your true Lord is on your own. Join us this Sunday at 11 AM at 8485 SW 112th St, Miami, and find a community that’s learning to rest in Christ’s finished work and live as His sent people. You can also explore more sermons and reflections on our blog.

Credits

Adapted from Pastor James Drake’s October 20, 2025 sermon, “Who Is Your True Lord?”

By Pastor James Drake, Lead Pastor, Christchurch Miami.

Christchurch Miami is a Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) congregation in Miami, Florida, led by Pastor James Drake. Services are held Sundays at 11 AM at 8485 SW 112th St, Miami, FL 33156.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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