Why do you call me Lord, Lord…?

Christianity has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and not tried.  G.K. Chesterton

I’ve given a Biblical definition of “Christian” because I want to deal with the issue of how we respond to the commands of Scripture.  These commands have much to do with the transformation toward Christ-likeness that occurs in the life of a Christian.  Although it is not the main purpose, transformation into the likeness of Christ will help us become someone who could be a good spouse. 

A controversial study released by the Barna Research Group in 1999[1] highlights the need to talk about this issue.  According to their research at the time, the divorce rate of those identifying as “born-again Christians” was higher (27%) than “other Christians” (24%), and atheists or agnostics (21%).  Later research by the Barna organization modified the numbers somewhat.  The later study notes that one-third (33%) of all adults in the U.S. who have been married have experienced at least one divorce, the same rate as “non-evangelical born again Christians”[2].  As you might imagine, there has been a lot of discussion about the findings of these studies.  Commenting about this data, a Barna Project director said: "We would love to be able to report that Christians are living very distinct lives and impacting the community, but ... in the area of divorce rates they continue to be the same."

I’m not trying to throw stones, here.  I simply believe these studies help to underscore the importance of this issue of the lordship of Jesus.  By lordship, I mean accepting Him to be our supreme master, which is what the word “Lord” means in the New Testament.  Accepting Him as master or “Lord” means we will obey His Word.  I Peter 2:9 tells us that Christians “…are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a dedicated nation, [God's] own purchased, special people, that you may set forth the wonderful deeds and display the virtues and perfections of Him Who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light (AMP, emphasis mine).”  So if we are His people we are to be like Him.  Being like Him will clearly make us different from those who don’t believe and live in disobedience to Him.  Honoring our marriage vows can be one of those ways we “display the virtues and perfections of Jesus”.  I can say that because it was Jesus who said “"What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate." (Mar 10:9, NASB). 

Now, this isn’t condemnation of those who are divorced.  There can be many reasons why a couple divorces, and some are Biblical (e.g., Mat 5:22, I Cor 7:15) and most are heart-wrenching.  This isn’t about divorce.  I could point to similar findings about single Christians and premarital sex, adultery, or other activities that the Christian clearly is told not to do.

The point I want to make is that as Christians, we’re called to obey the teachings of Jesus and the other writers of the New Testament.  An attitude of surrender to the commands of scripture is what will put us in the best position to be transformed into the image of Christ (see Rom 12:1-2).    Jesus said it best: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15, ESV.)

All of this to say that as a Christian, our top priority should be obedience to Jesus as revealed through the New Testament and the direction of the Holy Spirit.  If we are actively pursuing obedience to Jesus, we will grow in Christ-likeness.  If we grow in the likeness of Jesus, many good things will happen.  Becoming someone who is better equipped to be a spouse is really just a side effect. 

One more thing.  The lordship of Christ is a huge topic, I’m not in any way fully covering it.  Taking Jesus as our savior is the first step of obedience.  And all of our obedience is imperfect, we deal with our sinful nature and live in a fallen, sin-filled world.  If you read this and heard me say that submitting to the lordship of Christ means you will perfectly obey all of the New Testament teachings on how we should live, you didn’t hear me correctly.  As I see it, the Biblical idea is of increasing Christ-likeness over our Christian life.


[1] "Christians are more likely to experience divorce than are non-Christians," Barna Research Group, 1999-DEC-21, at: http://www.barna.org/ Barna no longer has this report online. However, a review of the report is at: http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_dira.htm.

[2] New Marriage and Divorce Statistics Released, Barna Research Group, 2008-MAR-31, at: https://www.barna.com/research/new-marriage-and-divorce-statistics-released/.