To declare our belief in Jesus is to acknowledge that He is Lord.  It was the acceptance of this that lead to the establishment of the church on the day of Pentecost.  

Acts 2:36, 41 (ESV)
³⁶  Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified… ⁴¹  So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.

When God raised Jesus from the dead, He gave Him a name above every other name.

Ephesians 1:19-22 (ESV)
¹⁹  …according to the working of his great might ²⁰  that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, ²¹  far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. ²²  And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church,

Do you believe that Jesus is Lord?  Almost everyone reading this blog, would answer yes to that question.  I know I would.  But, do we?  It is not enough just to say it; we must prove it by our continual obedience to Him.

Luke 6:46 (ESV)
⁴⁶  “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?

That is a good question, isn’t it?  There are far too many in the religious world, and even in the body of Christ, who call Jesus Lord and then refuse to do what He says.  How can we really demonstrate that we accept Jesus as Lord?

It begins with how it began in Acts 2—by gladly receiving the Word of God.  About three thousand souls were baptized on the day of Pentecost because they received God’s Word (Acts 2:41).  They did not conclude that repentance was necessary, but not baptism.  They did not insist that they did not have to be baptized because baptism is a work, and we are not saved by works.  They simply received the Word and were baptized.

This is how we will treat all of God’s Word if we believe in Jesus.  Knowing that the commandments set forth by the apostles were the commandments of Christ (1 Corinthians 14:37; 2 Corinthians 5:20), we do not pick and choose which portion of the law of Christ we are going to obey.  We do our best to obey all that the Lord commands us because we acknowledge His Lordship.

Do we believe in Jesus?  We really cannot say that we do if we do not fully accept Him as Lord of our lives, obeying all that He commands us to do.  As I have often said, whether we accept Him as Lord or not, does not change the fact that He is Lord.  God has made Him such.  But, the only way it will help us is if we accept Him as Lord as individuals.  The good news is that He is a loving Lord who always acts in our best interest.  In accepting His Lordship, we have nothing to lose, and everything to gain.

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.