I’m painfully aware that few people are inclined to read anything longer than a meme. As much as I like to write — it helps me know what I think — I now realize that if I want anyone to read it, I should keep my writing as short as possible. The following is my first attempt at that. 

For years, every time I saw the phrase “Son of God” in the New Testament, I, like most evangelicals, assumed that it was referring to the second Person of the Trinity. It’s only been within the last four years that I realized how both the Jews and the Romans used the term as a title for their kings/Caesars. So, in Romans, for example, where Paul calls Jesus both “Son of God” and “Lord,” he is comparing Him with Caesar, who was called both by his subjects. And by doing so, he’s declaring Jesus to be the true King and Ruler over Caesar. 

By declaring allegiance to Caesar, every Roman citizen experienced relative peace, salvation, or deliverance from their enemies. By switching allegiance to Jesus, every follower of Christ in Rome was now experiencing the peace and salvation that only the Kingdom of God offered. 

In the 70s, among the Jesus People, there was this saying: “So and so accepted Jesus as his Savior, but not Lord.” As English theologian NT Wright says, “Caesar did not ask his subjects,’ Would you mind accepting me as your lord so that you can have the peace and salvation that comes with it?’ NO! He demanded a complete surrender to him, making him his subjects’ savior.” 

As with the Lordship of Caesar, the Lordship of Jesus is not optional. If we desire Christ’s deliverance from our enemies, we must surrender to him as our Lord. There is no salvation without His lordship. As Professor Stanley Hauerwas, in addressing a crowd of students at Azusa Pacific University, said, “Jesus Christ is Lord, and the rest is bullshit.”