2-27-2019

Good Morning All,

    Matthew 16:16; “Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

     Kaiser Kurios vs. Christos Kurios.  It doesn’t look like it is that different.  Yet in that small difference is all the difference in the world.  That difference is why the early Christians were martyred.  That difference was why so many were tortured by the Romans at different times and places in the early years of the Church.  All that the Roman officials wanted was for everyone to say “Kaiser Kurios” and all was fine.  The early Christians refused and some paid a high price.  The Romans wanted everyone to confess that Caesar is Lord.  The people could keep their old religion and religious practices as long as it was confessed that Caesar was the highest and greatest Lord.  That is why when we read the Bible and we see where Paul and Peter and Barnabas would go to cities like Ephesus or Corinth and there would be hundreds of temples to different gods with different religions; some we probably have never heard of.  All the practitioners had to do was say Caesar is Lord- Kaiser Kurios and everything was fine.

    The Early Christians wouldn’t say that.  To them, Caesar wasn’t the Lord but Christ is the Lord.  When asked, their response was always “Christos Kurios.”  The Romans saw this as treason and dealt with it in a very harsh manner; no dictatorship can afford for the people to confess anything but the official government line.  Look at North Korea, China, Iran, Syria; take your pick no deviance from the official line is allowed.  Because the early Christians refused to submit, they paid a heavy price; some the ultimate price.  Christos Kurios.

     What about us?  Do we confess Christos Kurios no matter the cost?  Most of us have never had our life, the life of a loved one or even any sort of physical harm threatened against us for claiming to be a Christian, but do we always confess Christos Kurios?  Or do we get intimidated by our surroundings?  It can be tough; when you are in a conversation with a group of people who say that we were lucky to get some rain or that the fates were with us, for us to say Christos Kurios.  When no one else is witnessing their faith, it can be easy to hide in the background.  I don’t want to make a scene or give them any fodder to poke fun at me with after all I just want to fit in.  Yet by our silence, we are not confessing Christos Kurios; Christ is the Lord. 

     We need to remember that without Christ as our Lord, we have no hope.  We have no future.  While we may come up short once in a while, we need to continue to pray for God’s strength and courage to confess Jesus’ name before men.  We need to trust the Spirit to move within our heart and life in order to confess Christos Kurios.  It is not by our will but by the power of the Spirit that we confess that Jesus is Lord.  Trust in the Spirit; trust in God for his mercy and his courage.  It is how the church grows and souls are saved; by the confession of faith: Christos Kurios Christ is the Lord over all.

Dear Father, forgive us when we are slow to confess that Jesus is the Lord most high in our life.  Give us the courage to witness and to speak with the confidence of the faith which you give us.  Keep us in that faith which places our hope in Jesus that we may be saved unto life eternal.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen. 

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret