Christ Is Lord of Dead and Living — Rolfe Barnard

Christ’s Authority as Lord of the Dead and Living

Just pick up and say what I've been saying now for nearly two weeks. Come at it from still another direction. From the 14th chapter of the book of Romans at verse 9. Romans chapter 14 and verse 9. And while you're turning to that, we quote from the last chapter of the book of Matthew where the Lord Jesus Christ says, All authority is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

Go ye therefore, ye therefore. I want to speak to you tonight on the question of authority. And we read in the 9th verse of the 14th chapter of Romans, Purpose of the death of Christ and of his resurrection for to this end.

Christ Died and Rose to Be Lord

Christ both died and rose that he might be Lord for ever living. What Jesus Christ had in mind by dying and being raised from the dead was to be the Lord. All authority is given unto me, said this one who died, and God raised him and gave him all authority.

It's a solemn thing to remember. Almighty God requires of you that you believe that he, manifest in the flesh, was born in a cow stable in the little humble city of Bethlehem and that he stayed in obscurity for almost 30 years and suddenly appeared upon the scene asking a man to baptize him and saying that you needed to be baptized for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness.

And that immediately after that baptism came upon him in the form of a dove and God parted the clouds of glory and earth heard God's voice, the Father's voice. This is the son of my love in whom I am well pleased.

Listen to him. And he walked the shores of God's earth for three or three and a half more years and went about ministering, doing good, raising the dead, healing the sick and proclaiming, I'm here, the kingdom of God is here.

That he wound up in the hands of sinful men and they took him and nailed him to a tree on Golgotha's hill. That he was buried in other men's clothing and his body was perfumed with spices provided for other people.

That he was buried in another man's tomb and the Roman government set guards there having sealed the tomb and that as far as this world knows his body, if we could find it, if we could dig long enough, we'd find a little handful of dust over yonder on Golgotha's hill somewhere outside the city of Jerusalem and there would be all that remains of this one called Jesus.

For no human eye has ever seen the Son of God since they put his body in a tomb. And as far as this world acts and lives and walks, there was a man by the name of Jesus who lived and made some claims and got what was coming to him by being crucified on a cross and buried in another man's grave and that's the last of him.

Faith in the Resurrection and the Threat of Judgment

Ladies and gentlemen, God demands that you believe that that person was God manifest in the flesh, that he is the Savior who for us men died on a cross to bring us in the saving relationship to God and God put all his eggs in one basket and God requires you to believe his testimony against everything that the world has to offer and the penalty for not acting on God's testimony is eternal hell.

That's some requirement. That's some requirement. I don't blame you for going to hell. If you don't get the wax out of your ears and sit up and take notice and begin to do what God Almighty tells you to do, you're going to land in hell because what God asks men to believe is absolutely the silliest thing I ever heard of or it is the God's truth.

Take it or leave it. God demands that Ralph Bartlett so believe the testimony he's given as to who that baby was, as to who that person hung on a tree is, as to who that one they put in another man's grave and he asks us to believe on the testimony of this book that he raised him, he God raised that one from the grave and exalted him and made him L-O-R-D, Lord Absolute Dictator and Despot over every human being who ever lived from Adam down to the last man.

And you look me in the eye and tell me that you are waiting for God to do something and tell you that he holds your feet to the fire of believing his testimony and if you can't or you won't at any rate if you don't, God's got nothing for you but judgment and wrath.

Now if I thought up a wild story like that you'd run me out of town but I've given you the story of the word. That's it, that's it, that's it, that's it. Listen, listen, that baby will soon be singing Christmas carols.

Allegiance to Christ’s Lordship

That baby person whom the religious people of his day looked over carefully and decided he wouldn't do and nailed to a cross. God demands that you give him all the allegiance of your heart, all of the devotion of your soul, and all of the obedience of your will for the final verdict on your life and mine will be declared by that man, a man in glory into whose hands almighty God has turned over everything, the devil, his angels, and you, and everything else.

I'm telling you that's some demand. I'm telling you no wonder that nobody ever gets saved that doesn't roll up his sleeves and spit on his hands and violently assault the fortress of the kingdom of God from God's Holy Spirit awakening faith in you as you hear faithfully his word.

No human being could possibly believe and believing do what God almighty says you must do or go to hell. My Lord Jesus Christ, that he died and was raised from the dead, not somebody else, that he might be Lord, not you, not me, but he might absolutely know salvation for any human being except who's in his hands of eternity as a gift of himself, the Jewish nation under the rule of their king.

And if you to the Lordship of Christ you'll find salvation for he is Lord because he saved you. Folks now get too deep in theology in that sense he's the Savior of all men as well as being the Lord of all men.

He's your Lord because he bought you, owns you, because he died on the cross for you. Because he is Savior he is Lord and his saviorship is found inside of his Lordship and believe all the brethren tell you and all of the facts that you want to believe but you'll never know what it is to have the peace of God that passes understanding until you do for the Lord what the Jews refused to do for the king, bow down and receive him, submit to him as your Lord and in submission to him you'll find peace and you'll find what we call salvation.

Christ’s Authority Over the Church and the World

I want to ask you tonight whether the question of authority has been settled in your life agreeably to Almighty God. It's such a solemn thought I know I'm not capable of preaching it or presenting it like it ought to be but God Almighty won't accept anything except perfect agreement with him about who Jesus is and about what has been turned over to Jesus because of his blessed death on the cross.

Hear me now, professing Christianity is becoming rotten to the core because men and women inside and out from pulpit and pew refuse to agree with Almighty God about what he has declared Jesus Christ. The question of authority every kingdom has to have a king every home has to have a head every church has to have a head for a lie about a church being a democratic body and governed by the majority vote of the people was hatched in hell.

The church is not a democratic body. The church is a group of people who have a head and they're the subjects and that head is the Lord Jesus Christ and all of the splits and all of the hell and all of the corruption in our organized churches today can be traced directly back to the fact that this generation of church people by and large refuse to be under subjection to Jesus Christ to Jesus Christ.

There's just one person who's ever been given the right to run a church and that's the Lord Jesus Christ. There's just one person who's ever been given the right to run this world and that's the Lord Jesus Christ.

And there's just one person that's ever been given both the right and the authority to run your life and mine and that's the Lord Jesus Christ. He's been given that right. He's been given that right. And unless you are in agreement with God on that you are silly to call yourself a Christian.

Rebellion Against Christ’s Authority

Hell raising. Authority rejecting. Every man doing that which is right in his own sight type of so-called Christianity is blatant rebellion against God Almighty. Testimony. Jesus Christ. Save a man. Save him.

No other person's got the power to save a sinner and no other person's got the power to damn a sinner. No sinner saves himself and no sinner damns himself. Jesus saves and Jesus damns and as your Lord, save you or as your Lord.

Testimony of the Word of God. Jesus Christ didn't die so much to be your Savior. He died to be your Lord and as your Lord but this Bible I hold before me knows nothing about a Savior except the Lord. Twenty times in the New Testament this one is called Lord.

Twenty-eight times in the New Testament he's called Savior. Eight of those times it's referring to the Father. Five hundred and twenty times in the New Testament this one who was born in a calf stable and wound up on a Roman cross is declared by the Holy Spirit to be Lord.

Twenty times exactly in the entire New Testament he's called Savior. The evidence is in the favor of his Lordship. Five times in the New Testament the words Lord and Savior occur together in the same verse of Scripture.

In each one of these five occurrences where the term Lord and Savior occur in the New Testament he's called Lord first and second and Savior second. For ladies and gentlemen I guess we will go on to hell and never believe it but the only one under God's shining sun who can save you from the pig in and out is the Savior.

Is the Lord just died that he might be Lord? Three reasons. Lord Jesus Christ is God's Lord. Christ is you. He is not yours. You can say it's your Lord. Will you bow to him or not? He is your Lord. Will you accept him or not?

He is your Lord. Will you believe in him or not? He is your Lord and forever in heaven. God has appointed Jesus Christ as your Lord. And he is the Lord of every human being. In Psalms chapter 2 I read these words.

Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree of the Lord that said unto me Thou art mine. I'll give you the whole outfit. I'll give you the heathen for thine inheritance and the other most parts of the earth for thy possession.

You run into scriptures about men denying the Lord who bought them. Don't try to explain it the way he did by them. He bought lordship over them. He bought lordship. The most solemn thing I ever faced sinners with and I can't explain it in most places it causes most no small stir from John's gospel chapter 17.

Eternal Life in the Hands of Christ

The most solemn thing I ever tried to face. I sure hope I know a little bit about what it says. I can read you quote what it says. I may not understand what it means but if I can understand just a little what it means if it means half of what it says I think it's the most tremendous thing I ever faced sinners with.

Here it is. As thou hast given him. He's talking to the father. As thou hast given him to him is the Lord. As thou hast given him authority over all flesh that he should eternal life. Where is eternal life?

It's in the hands of this one to whom all authority has been given. It's in the hands of this one to whom every human being has been turned over. Ladies and gentlemen. It's in the hands of men and women.

Jesus went to a bloody cross for listen to me As thou hast given him. He's turned everything over to his son. He's turned you over to his son. He's turned you over to his son. He's turned me over to his son.

The son's gonna pass a verdict on me and set in judgment on me. As thou hast given him authority over all flesh having all authority eternal to his many As thou hast given him. That's a solemn verse. If that verse means half what looks like it means I'm telling you the God's truth.

It's time you came down off your high horse and humbled yourself in the sight of God and became a beggar in his sight. For salvation's in the hands of the living Son of God. Eternal life is not at the end of the acceptance of a proposition.

Eternal life is the gift of a living Christ. The virgin born so says the Bible The crucified so says the Bible. The risen so says the Bible. The exalted so says the Bible so says the Bible so says the Bible.

The judge so says the Bible. Believe that You'd do one two things. You'd curse him. Tell him go on back to hell and leave you alone. That'd be consistent. Or you'd become a beggar at his own Lord if thou wilt thou canst make me whole.

Jesus Christ Deserves the Throne

That Jesus Christ Given my Lord in the book of the Revelation. Every one of them Caring with it the meaning of absolute dictator. He is my absolute Almighty God. The difference between a saved person and a person still on the road to damnation.

Both of them have the same Lord. One of them is happy about it The other's not. Finds his freedom in the rule of Christ And tries to act like there was no God. What a wonderful thing. Egypt. Jesus Christ is Lord because he deserves to be Lord.

You wouldn't mind me would you? Not if you got incense. You wouldn't follow me would you? Not if you got incense. There's one who deserves. He's not a misfit. He actually deserves. In that classic passage Do you know it by heart?

I'll read it. Let this mind be in you. Which was also in Christ Jesus Who being in the form of God Thought if not robbery to be equal with God But made himself of no reputation And took upon him the form of a servant And was made in the likeness of men.

And being found in fashion as a man He humbled himself Became obedient unto death Even the death of the cross. He did all that. He did all that. What did he do that for? Romans 14 .9 says. So he could be your Lord.

So he could be my Lord. And praise God he is your Lord. And praise God he's my Lord. And salvation is found In men who gladly receive the word I'm glad to have him. And then He desired to be recognized by men and women.

Christ as Kinsman Redeemer and Perfect Man

It's a little too deep for him. He had to be a man To be my Savior and Lord To be a kinsman redeemer. He had to be kin to me In order to redeem me. Isn't that right? On the blank machine. He was a man He was like us wasn't he?

In all points Except sin. Isn't that right? Scripture says. And as the man Christ Jesus This is mystery. There was something set before him The book of Hebrews The joy. And then He desired He recognized By men and women.

I know I can't handle it. It's a little too deep for him. But he was a man. He had to be a man To be my Savior and Lord To be a kinsman redeemer. He had to be kin to me In order to redeem me. Isn't that right?

On the blank machine Or adding machine. He was a man He was like us wasn't he? In all points Except sin. Isn't that right? Scripture says And as the man Christ Jesus This is mystery. There was something set before him.

The book of Hebrews says Who for the joy. Who for the joy That is set before him. There's some great goal of joy Set before the man Christ Jesus Part of the end of the rainbow They call it Because He wasn't a ghost.

He was a man. He was an old man. But I think here's what it means. I've studied The like passage in the book of Isaiah And it sort of tears up some of my theology. But as soon as that gets torn up The better off I'll be anyhow.

Christ’s Joy, Judgment, and the Recognition of His Lordship

Listen to me To recognize his lordship The Savior Then damn you Judgment. His strange work Was the promise That he'd have a people to love And a people to whom Who loved him. He wants us to be loved. There never was a human being That didn't crave love In Jesus Christ The one perfect human being That ever lived For somebody to love And somebody to love him And come hell or high water For people And praise his glory.

He's of the glory He desires To recognize Lord and Savior now He'd rather save. He's not going to get any joy Out of damning you Not a bit. He says he takes no pleasure In the death of the wicked. But boy he takes joy In his people Ignition of him now Than to force it later.

Who for the joy That is set before Endured the cross And despised the shame. Ladies and gentlemen Pull up your sleeves And well for the refusing Is to snatch from his lips The cup of joy. What a wicked thing to do.

He desires recognition Of his throne rights To your life. It gives him joy. What does his lordship By God's decree. What does his lordship By virtue of his death. What does his lordship By virtue of his desire.

Entire Submission and Daily Obedience

Imply Three things quickly Entire submission To it. Submission To Jesus Christ That is a strange Type of salvation That everybody brags about now That knows nothing About daily choices And daily surrender And daily decisions And daily submission To the living lord.

That stuff they call salvation That we pray about That we see. We received one time Some time ago And we got up on a shelf. If we ever need it We'll pull it down. God help us. Nothing like that in the New Testament.

The only type of salvation I'd find in the New Testament Is the type when men actually Meet a new master Who's their savior Who died for them And hand in hand The willing sinner Is led by the living lord To the desired Ladies and gentlemen Christ implies And demands Entire Submission.

Christ demands By him Of me. Ladies and gentlemen The Christians Of the New Testament Were described as people Who gave themselves Unto the lord. We've got a nice little stuff Called Christendom now That affects our belief But not our faith.

But in the New Testament Christian people were people Paul could write about People who were talked to In this language. Yes. Isn't that right? Christian people in the New Testament Were people who were.

Unquestioning Obedience to Jesus

The lordship of Christ Involves unquestioning obedience In that plaintive word Almost a sarcasm. The lord Jesus says Hope to gain by Calling me lord Lord. It's nice and orthodox And not doing the things Which I say unto you God's earth That'll keep a person From coming to Christ For forgiveness And assurance.

If there's anything on God's earth That'll never let a human being Settle down on the leaves. If there's anything on Honoring and trusting And following after The lord Jesus It is the claim of him To be the absolute dictator Demanding utter submission Demanding that I am not My own anymore Demanding absolute obedience Absolute obedience to him And to nobody under God's shining sun But to him.

But he demands it. Why call you me lord. You'll never graduate The way you'd rest On your laurels there brother. Why call you me lord. And do not the things Which I say unto you I come For this solemn word of closing The recognition of the lordship of Christ Is the act of you Can either ignore him.

You can live in God's world As if you Had the right Your life. God commands you. God commands you To recognize his throne rights And to be glad in them And bow to them. And here's where we come To the one thing That breaks the heart Of any hitchhiking preacher And any godly pastor.

Hearing the Word and Bowing to Christ

I look you in the face tonight And tell you You're living in a generation That's not paying One bit of attention To God's claims About his son. And I look you in the face And tell you tonight That the one thing That is more heart-breaking About this day Than anything else Is the fact that men Just are not one bit interested In listening to this word.

And since the only way On God's earth A sinner can be saved Is by God awakening Faith and repentance in him. And since the only way On earth he ever does that Is as men faithfully listen To his word. This generation's going to hell, brother.

Because God commands you To do what you never will Nor can From a faithful hearing Of God's word Some on men and women. And here's where some of them Bow to him. If it's true that no man Can call Jesus Lord Except in the spirit.

Likewise it's true That every man Can call him Lord In the spirit. And the spirit works In connection with a listen To this book. He's not flitting about to trees. He takes this book That's true Whether anybody believes it or not.

Sometimes the spirit Jesus Christ Leaps out of the pages of the book. And men gladly bow And with Thomas say My Lord. I can't press the claims of God About his son On sinners very well. But the Holy Spirit Is in the world to do that.

And some of you's been doing that For a long time. You've been hiding behind the doctrine Or something. And you're going to hide behind it. And trouble is Chances are you'll be successful And go to hell.

True Conversion Versus Mere Orthodoxy

There'll be a lot of orthodox Calvinists In hell Because so many of them Were clear on doctrine. They said Lord, Lord. That's orthodoxy. Didn't we cast out demons And prophesy And do many wonderful works In your name.

That's orthodoxy. But they weren't acquainted with the Lord. He wasn't acquainted with them. But the Holy Ghost Is not sent down here To damn men and women. He's sent down here To take the things of Christ Press them on men and women.

That's the reason we pray For God To take his truth Press his truth Not in the strength of a man But in the strength of the Holy Ghost To face men and women With God's claim for his son He's your Lord.

You're going to bow to him Now or then. During the First World War A Red Cross nurse lay at the point of death. And she was attended by a sister nurse. Red Cross nurse. Just a little while before the Red Cross nurse met death She began to move her lips.

She's almost gone. She began to say. And the nurse attending her thought Perhaps she wanted a sip of water. And she brought her some water. She shook her head. She didn't want any water. And she rested a little while And recklessly she began to move her lips.

And the attending nurse thought She wanted God's book. She brought the Bible. But the dying woman shook her head. She didn't want the Bible. After resting and getting some more strength She began to say.

And the attending nurse Utterly nonplussed Brought her a pad of paper and a pencil Thought perhaps she couldn't speak it out. She'd write out her request. She waved her head. She didn't want that. She rested a little bit And breathed as deep as she could And then slowly but surely On the palm of her hand She lifted herself to almost A sitting position in the bed.

And then with her last strength She began to say Bring forth the rolled iodine Says I'm in your hands. That's where salvation is. For the sinner Surrendered to the Lord Jesus Our Father in Jesus' name.

Closing Prayer: Surrender to the Lord Jesus

We've tried in our bumbling way To present again What you've said about your son And what you demand of men About your son. We rejoice tonight That one day ever And he shall bow to us. One day every tongue confess And we further rejoice In the gospel of God's saving grace.

While the candle of God's Long-suffering impatience Men are commanded to bow down To this appointed Lord And in his lordship Find the salvation That he bought on Calvary's cross. We pray now that the Spirit of God One more time May press the claims Of this marvelous Christ God's Son Upon every human being here For his name's sake we pray.

Stand and sing some song. You've got one picked out. Number 18.