This document discusses the lordship of Christ and how it relates to decision making. It argues that Jesus is the king over all creation and that the Christian life should be characterized by joyful obedience to him. When making decisions, believers should focus on maximizing their obedience to the commands, priorities, and values expressed in Scripture rather than trying to find God's specific will through mystical or superstitious means. Wise decisions are made by thoroughly knowing Scripture and trusting God with the aspects that are not addressed in his Word.

1. THE WHEEL DIAGRAM
THE BASICS OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE

2. TONIGHT’S FOCUS: THE HUB OF THE WHEEL
LORDSHIP
OBEDIENCE TO THE KING
WHO DIED IN OUR PLACE

3. THE LORDSHIP OF CHRIST
How do I view Jesus?
• Is He my King?
• Or just one advisor among many?
• Does something compete with Jesus for
authority in my life?
!

4. THE LORDSHIP OF CHRIST
How do I view Christianity?
• Does it affect ALL of my life?
• Or is it just an ACCESSORY?
!

5. THE LORDSHIP OF CHRIST
Jesus is the King who
suffered in our place
HE IS THE KING OVER ALL CREATION!
• Rom. 11:36 - For everything comes from Him and exists
by his power and is intended for His glory...
!
• See also: John 1:1-18; Col. 1:15-20; Heb. 1:1-3

6. THE LORDSHIP OF CHRIST
Jesus is the King who
suffered in our place
HE WORE OUR SINS ON THE TREE
• Isa. 53:5 - But He was pierced for our rebellion, crushed
for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He
was whipped so we could be healed.
!
• See also: Col. 1:20-22, 2:13-14; Gal. 3:13; 2 Cor. 5:21

7. THE LORDSHIP OF CHRIST
The Christian Life is made up
of a joyful submission to the
Kingship of Jesus
!
COMPELLED BY HIS LOVE WE LIVE FOR HIM, NOT OURSELVES
• 2 Cor. 5:14-15 - Either way, Christ’s love CONTROLS us…
He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life
WILL NO LONGER LIVE FOR THEMSELVES. Instead, they
will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.

8. THE LORDSHIP OF CHRIST
BUT, do our lives really look
like that all the time?
!
Jesus says, “So why do you call me ‘Lord,
Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say?”
(Luke 6:46)

9. THE LORDSHIP OF CHRIST
Do our lives look more like this?
!
“But don’t just listen to God’s Word. You
must do what it says. Otherwise, you are
only fooling yourselves.”
(James 1:22)

10. THE LORDSHIP OF CHRIST
Is partial obedience to a King
OK?
!
!
Doesn’t partial obedience imply
willful disobedience?

11. THE LORDSHIP OF CHRIST
The gospel definitely brings
forgiveness for sin, but it
doesn’t give us a license to
willfully sin.

12. THE LORDSHIP OF CHRIST
The Christian life should be
made up of joyful obedience
to King Jesus at all costs.

13. THE LORDSHIP OF CHRIST
1. Jesus exercises His authority as King through His WORD
!
2. We acknowledge His Lordship over our lives by our
OBEDIENCE to His Word
!
3. Our obedience to the Kingship of Jesus is most clearly
seen in the DECISIONS we make
How does Lordship work?

14. THE LORDSHIP OF CHRIST & OUR DECISIONS
Most common question of every
Christian college student is,
“What is God’s will for my life?”

15. THE LORDSHIP OF CHRIST & OUR DECISIONS
1. The decisions you make, end up making you.
!
2. The way you make decisions today, is going
to be how you make decisions the rest of
your life.
This is SUCH a crucial topic because:

16. THE LORDSHIP OF CHRIST & OUR DECISIONS
We are more concerned with
finding out our “horoscope”
than obeying God’s Word.
!
We call this horoscope “God’s Will” but we really just
want to know what’s going to happen…

17. THE LORDSHIP OF CHRIST & OUR DECISIONS
BRUCE WALTKE
“The NT gives no explicit command to ‘find God’s will,’
nor can you find any particular instructions on how to
go about finding God’s will. There isn’t a magic
formula offered Christians that will open some
mysterious door of wonder, allowing us to get a
glimpse of the mind of the almighty.”

18. THE LORDSHIP OF CHRIST & OUR DECISIONS
BRUCE WALTKE
“God is not a magic genie. The use of promise boxes,
or flipping open your Bible and pointing your finger,
or relying on the first thought to enter your mind after
a prayer are unwarranted forms of Christian
divination.”

19. THE LORDSHIP OF CHRIST & OUR DECISIONS
BRUCE WALTKE
“The reliance on special signs from God is the mark of
an immature person — someone who cannot simply
believe the truth as presented, but must have a special,
miraculous sign as the symbol of the authority from
God.”

20. THE LORDSHIP OF CHRIST & OUR DECISIONS
If we really knew ALL of God’s
plans for our lives, it would
crush us.

21. THE LORDSHIP OF CHRIST & OUR DECISIONS
We act as if God is a magician
playing tricks on us instead of
our loving Father who sent His
Son to die for us.
He is not hiding His will from us or playing with us.
This is inconsistent with His character.

22. THE LORDSHIP OF CHRIST & OUR DECISIONS
We can’t abuse Jesus’ Lordship
& treat Him like some genie in a
bottle. He is the KING.
!
He is not our fortune teller.

23. THE LORDSHIP OF CHRIST & OUR DECISIONS
We typically go about making
decisions & “finding God’s will”
all the wrong way.
We are SO superstitious in decision making.
We have wrong assumptions & practices.

24. THE LORDSHIP OF CHRIST & OUR DECISIONS
1. We assume Jesus wants us to make a lot of MONEY
!
2. We assume Jesus wants us to be HAPPY
!
3. We assume Jesus wants us to prioritize EDUCATION
THESE ARE ALL WORLDY VALUES!!!!
Common Wrong Assumptions

25. THE LORDSHIP OF CHRIST & OUR DECISIONS
Romans 12:1-2
And so my dear brothers & sisters, I plead with you to
give your bodies to God because of all He has done for
you. Let them be a living & holy sacrifice — the kind He
will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship Him.
Don’t copy the behavior & customs of the world, but
let God transform you into a new person by changing the
way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for
you, which is good & pleasing & perfect.

26. WORLD WORD

27. THE LORDSHIP OF CHRIST & OUR DECISIONS
1. “I’m just going to pray about it”
• This has unfortunately become a spiritualized euphemism
for inactivity. Rarely does someone actually pray about it.
!
2. “God will give me a sign”
• Looking for repeated words, “putting out a fleece”
• Jesus actually condemned those who looked for a sign
‣ (Matt. 12:39)
Common Wrong Practices

28. 3. “God will give me a peace” or relying on other feelings
• This is never taught in the NT. It MAY come as a result of a
decision, but not as a indicator on what decision to make.
• Don’t “listen to your heart”
!
4. “God will open a door”
• This is never taught in the NT.
!
5. Open & Point Method (Like a fortune cookie)
• Just ridiculous…
!
THESE ARE SILLY, MYSTICAL METHODS
Common Wrong Practices

29. THE LORDSHIP OF CHRIST & OUR DECISIONS
The Bible contains 100% of
what we need to know about
the Will of God.
We don’t have search for His will, we need to study His
Word.
!
God’s leading in your life won’t contradict His Word.

30. THE LORDSHIP OF CHRIST & OUR DECISIONS
Charles Swindoll
“The better you know the Word of God, the less
confusing is the will of God. Those who struggle the
least with the will of God are those who know the
Word of God.”

31. THE LORDSHIP OF CHRIST & OUR DECISIONS
2 Tim. 3:16-17
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for
teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in
righteousness, that the man of God may be complete,
equipped for every good work.”
!
His Word is our primary tool in decision making.
We need to focus on what we can know (His Word) & not
worry about the rest.

32. THE LORDSHIP OF CHRIST & OUR DECISIONS
The only barriers to making a
wise, Biblical decision are
ignorance of God’s Word, or
stubbornness to obey it.

33. THE LORDSHIP OF CHRIST & OUR DECISIONS
How Do We Acknowledge
Jesus’s Lordship in our
Decisions?

34. How Do We Acknowledge Jesus’s
Lordship in our Decisions?
1. We acknowledge His Lordship by maximizing our
obedience to the commands, priorities, values &
principles He gives us in His Word.
!
2. We acknowledge His Lordship by obeying & then
trusting Him with the rest.

35. Maximizing My Obedience
VS.
Justifying My Obedience

36. What commands, priorities, values, &
principles in His Word do I need to obey?
1. PURPOSE:
• 1 Cor. 10:31
• We need to make decisions that our going to bring
the most glory to God.
!
• Rom. 8:29
• We need to make decisions that will most shape us
into the image of Jesus.
!

37. What commands, priorities, values &
principles in His Word do I need to obey?
2. COMMANDS:
• Mark 12:29-31
• We need to make decisions that our going to
make us love God the most.
!
• Matt. 28:18-20
• We need to make decisions that our going to help
us make the most disciples.

38. What commands, priorities, values &
principles in His Word do I need to obey?
3. PRIORITIES & VALUES:
• 1 Thess. 4:3
• We need to make decisions that our going to make
us the most holy.
• He is more concerned for my holiness than my
happiness.

39. What commands, priorities, values &
principles in His Word do I need to obey?
3. PRIORITIES & VALUES:
• Heb. 10:24-25
• We need to make decisions that allow us to thrive
the most in community.
!
• 2 Tim. 2:22
• We need to make decisions that will allow us to flee
youthful passions the most. (1 Pet. 5:8)

40. What commands, priorities, values &
principles in His Word do I need to obey?
4. PRINCIPLES:
• Prov. 12:15 & 19:20
• You need a community of counselors that will give you
tough love and not just want you want to hear
!
• 3 Types of Counsel
• Biblical Counsel (Knows the Word)
• Experienced Counsel (Been in the same situation)
• Best Available Counsel (Special expertise in this area)

41. What commands, priorities, values &
principles in His Word do I need to obey?
4. PRINCIPLES:
• John 16:8
• Be sensitive to the conviction of the Holy Spirit
!
• 1 Tim 4:8
• Training for godliness is of high value.
!
• James 1:22
• Don’t let this come true of you

42. How Do We Acknowledge Jesus’s
Lordship in our Decisions?
!
1. We acknowledge His Lordship by maximizing our
obedience to the commands, priorities, values &
principles He gives us in His Word.
!
2. We acknowledge His Lordship by obeying & then
trusting Him with the rest. (Prov. 3:5-6)

43. APPLICATION
1. Have an open hand in all of life, that is ready to
submit to the Kingship of Jesus.
!
2. Take 10 minutes and using all of the content we just
talked about, think about your decision for your
summer
!
3. Find 10 verses that support your decision for your
summer