What does it mean for a believer to confess Jesus as Lord?
For a believer, confessing Jesus as Lord means sincerely acknowledging with the mouth that Jesus is Lord, knowing by the Holy Spirit that He is in control of their life—the One in whom they eat, sleep, and move, and without whom they are nothing. Only a true, born-again believer can make this confession with sincerity of heart.
Les teaches that no person can genuinely say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. An unbeliever may say the words, but it does not amount to anything because there is no truth in it; only the believer can genuinely claim Christ as Lord. Les then connects this to Romans 10:9, where confessing with the mouth “Lord Jesus” comes into its full meaning. For the believer, Jesus is Lord means He is in control of our life; He is the One in whom we eat, sleep, and move, and without Him we are nothing. Les explains that only a true, born-again, saved individual—a believer—can make that statement with all sincerity of heart, because the Holy Spirit is the evidence that Jesus is Lord.
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
More Questions
Why do we confess Jesus as Lord and not just as Jesus?
Confessing the Lord Jesus goes beyond the Jesus of His earthly ministry, because He becomes Lord only after finishing the work of the cross and the power of the resurrection.
What does it mean to confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord?
Confessing with your mouth means God expects you to communicate your faith not only to Himself but also to others, because God is a communicator and expects us to verbalize these things.
Why does Romans 10:9 say confess Jesus as Lord if He wasn't Lord during His earthly ministry?
Confessing 'the Lord Jesus' goes beyond the Jesus of His earthly ministry, because He had not died yet then; only after He finished the work of the cross and the power of the resurrection does He become Lord, i.e., Jesus Christ the Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ.