One of the most disconcerting statements ever conceived by a misguided Christian is the one that says, “Jesus Christ is my personal Lord and Savior.” I must take issue with this statement for a number of reasons.
First, this phrase is not found anywhere in Scripture. True, the word “Trinity” isn’t in Scripture either, but there is evidence for the “Trinity,” where there is no evidence Jesus is a personal Lord and Savior.
Second, although it is good for a person to acknowledge that Jesus is their Lord and Savior, too often the emphasis is on the word “personal” instead of “Lord.” If Jesus is my personal Lord and Savior, then I’ll have the tendency to live as if Jesus is my Lord and my relationship with Him does not necessarily include you. This idea has led some Christians to tell me their relationship with Christ is such a personal matter they choose not to share it with others. The next unfortunate step in this thinking is that since they have a personal relationship with Jesus, they don’t need the rest of the Body of Christ. They don’t need the fellowship, strength, encouragement, and growth that comes when people gather in the company of other believers for teaching, fellowship, communion, and prayer, because they “have a personal relationship with Jesus.”
Paul said, “Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ” (Phil 1:27). Some believers have forgotten they are members of a Christian community. They forget they are citizens of heaven and have responsibilities not just to that heavenly country, but also to the other citizens of that country. Furthermore, any Christian who considers their “rights” as an American (or Canadian, or Japanese, or Nigerian, etc.) as taking precedence over the needs of the Kingdom, has not only misunderstood what it means to be a grateful citizen of heaven, but have discounted the price paid for their citizenship and may have forgotten to look forward “to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God” (Heb. 11:10). They’ve lost concern for the other citizens of heaven and neglected the gifts and spiritual insights that other Christians can provide. They begin to believe their thoughts are God’s thoughts and don’t want the local fellowship to tell them any differently.
1 Peter 1:16 says, “For the Scriptures say, ‘You must be holy because I am holy,’” and I appreciate that many Christians use that verse as reminder of the ways they are to conduct their lives. But too often they consider holiness only in terms of what it can do for them, such as bringing them eternal life or peace of mind and soul, but they forget Peter wasn’t addressing an individual, but “God’s chosen people”(1:1). They don’t consider that a primary purpose of living a holy life is to “…show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your heart”(1:22). James Boice writes, “Knowing ourselves to be members of a living community of which Jesus Christ is head and being conscious of our common life together, you and I are to live lives worthy of our calling. We are to live as Christians. We are to live as members of Christ’s body.” (Philippians, pg. 102).
Another consequence of claiming Jesus as our personal Lord is Savior is it can turn a local congregation into a “Bless Me” club. As a teacher of Scripture and pastor of a congregation, I refuse to spend most of my time in the pulpit soothing the saved and reassuring the redeemed. Consequently, many have moved on to other fellowships to have their feelings massaged. My vision as pastor is to help Journey Church become a place where hurting people can find healing, abused people can find safety, hypocrites can find sincerity, and spiritually hungry people can find eternal fullness in the Word of God and the fellowship of the saints. I want Journey Church to realize that nobody here is better than anyone else, that we are all saved by grace and not by our merits, and that once we are here, our continuing mission is to reach out to other hurting people like ourselves and invite them into the tender, loving, saving arms of our Risen Lord.
This is why I say Jesus Christ is not my personal Lord and Savior: He is OUR Lord and Savior. The difference between those two ways of thinking is the difference between a kingdom of one and the Kingdom of Heaven. Now truly, which Kingdom would you rather live in?