Larger Catechism – Day 21 of Lent
Question 45: How
is Christ a king?
Answer: As king, Christ calls a people for himself out of the world and
gives them officers, laws, and the authority to condemn, by which he visibly
governs them. He bestows saving grace on his elect, rewards their obedience, corrects
them for their sins, preserves and supports them in all their temptations and
suffering, restrains and overcomes all their enemies, and powerfully orders
everything for his own glory and their well-being. As king, Christ also
executes just retribution against all others who neither know God nor obey the
gospel.
We live in a representative democracy here in the U.S.A. The constitution gives us the right to vote
and have a voice in how we are governed.
We have freedoms that most in the world do not have.
The idea of having a king is foreign to us—quite literally. We have no concept of what it means to be
ruled by a king. (note: while England may have a king or queen, those
positions are not the same as most kings or queens that have ruled throughout
history.) The king is the ruler. The people are his subjects. The king owns most everything. The servants take care of that which is the
kings. The king does what he
pleases. The subjects do what the king
wants.
When a person say, “Jesus is my Lord,” they are actually saying
that Jesus is their king and that they are servants of king Jesus. Jesus the king owns then. Jesus the king rules over them. Jesus the king rewards them. Jesus the king corrects them. Jesus the king sets rules of them to live
by. Jesus the king orders everything in
their lives.
This Lent we need to take quite seriously that truth that Jesus
is the king. Do we live as though he is
king? Or, do we live as though we are
king and we just say that he is the king?
Who is really the king of our lives?
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