Why Jesus must be Lord as well as Saviour

Lots of people's discovery of the Christian faith goes something like this:

They start out thinking that it's all about being good. If we're good enough, God might just accept us.

They then discover the wonderful news the Bible calls "grace". Jesus did not come to call people to be good; he came to show us we could never be good enough, so that we can receive God's kindness as a gift we could never earn. We need Jesus as our saviour.

But then that leads to confusion: If God's grace is free and undeserved, does it matter how I live? Can't I live as I please?

There is a simple answer for that: Jesus called the crowds to "repent and believe the good news" (Mark 1:15). He calls us to trust him ("believe the good news") but also to turn our life around (which is what "repent" means) to live for him rather than selfishly for ourselves. Jesus is our Lord as well as our Saviour.

But then there's more confusion: How, then, is God's grace, goodness, kindness and forgiveness free? If we have to change the way we live our lives, does that not fly in the face of God being good without us doing anything to deserve it? And so the young Christian struggles: Is grace free or not? Do I have to live differently or not?

There's lots that could be said. But for today I'm just setting up a quotation from Simon Manchester. He puts this so helpfully and pithily, and I think this is worth quoting. It's from his (utterly brilliant, sensitively written, timely) book on grief called At a Time Like This.

To receive God's forgiveness through Christ, you will need to do more than simply claim it, as if it were a product. The forgiveness of Christ comes with the person of Christ. You will not be asking just for a piece of paper with 'pardon' written on it, you will be asking for a person who will cleanse you and welcome you. The famous 'prodigal son' (Luke chapter 15, verses 11-32) was a young man, aware of his guilt, who didn't just write home. Instead, he came home to offer himself to the father he had offended and he received a loving welcome.