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Lordship is Absolute Lesson Five
E.A. Johnston
0:00
0:00 7:50
E.A. Johnston

Lordship is Absolute Lesson Five

E.A. Johnston · 7:50

E.A. Johnston emphasizes that the Lordship of Jesus Christ is absolute and demands complete surrender, rejecting any compromise with sin in the life of a true disciple.
In this powerful teaching, E.A. Johnston confronts the modern neglect of Christ’s absolute Lordship and calls believers to full surrender without compromise. Drawing from Scripture, he challenges listeners to dethrone sin and live in genuine obedience, warning against hypocrisy and religious pretense. Johnston’s message is a sobering reminder that true discipleship demands wholehearted commitment to Jesus as Lord.

Full Transcript

Today's modern pulpit has made the doctrine of the Lordship of Jesus Christ obsolete, but I submit to you, friends, Christ taught His followers that His Lordship was absolute. It was totalitarian. He demands complete subservience from all followers of His.

In His demands of discipleship, Jesus often listed His disqualifications to those who have heartily followed Him. Jesus tells us, If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.

Jesus, with a sob in His heart, let the rich young ruler go, because he was full of compromise. The Lordship of Christ is absolute, because Christ must be an absolute Lord. The apostle Paul lays down the demands to following Jesus.

In Romans 6, 12, he declares, Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in the lust thereof. To be a Christian, sin must be dethroned in the life, it can no longer reign. Sin must be dethroned, and another enthroned there in its place.

The Lord Jesus Christ, Christ must reign as Lord of your life, friend. For you belong to Him, as you were bought with a price, and that price was His very blood. Christ must be an absolute Lord over every area of your life.

He will not tolerate compromise with sin. You are asleep in a spiritual stupor, if you think you can sin when you want to, and still walk with Jesus. Jesus said the offending member was better severed off your body, rather than keep it in a sinning condition, and the whole of you be thrust into hell.

Jesus said, Wherefore, if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, meaning cause you to sin, cut them off and cast them from thee, it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. Was Christ being dishonest here? Do His teachings hold no meaning to you in a practical application in your life? Was He just blowing smoke, so to speak, or is He warning you to submit to His absolute Lordship, or just go on to hell? He will brook no compromise with any supposed follower of His, for He is no respecter of persons. You may be the chairman of the deacons, but if you're hanging on to your most beloved sin, I wouldn't want to be in your shoes, friend.

At the judgment, there must be a complete break in your life. If you want to follow Jesus in an intimate walk with Him, He must be an absolute Lord of your life. Yes, Peter, in a moment of weakness, denied Him not once but three times.

But once Peter was forgiven and back in a love relationship with his Master, Peter never ever denied Him again. He didn't spend the rest of his life denying Him and confessing his sin and denying Him and confessing his sin. You can't call Him Lord and keep confessing the same sin over and over again for some 10 years or longer.

For some of you, you must make a clean break with that sin through heartfelt repentance, or I wouldn't want to be in your shoes, friend. At the judgment, let's get straight to the rat killing. Let me give you the oil straight from the can.

If I were to stand in a pulpit and hold up a photo of two people having sex, every single one of you would stand up in outrage and demand I put that pornographic photo away. But you can sit in the comfort of your homes and watch movies on Netflix that show graphic sex scenes and you don't bat an eye. You have no problem with it.

Some of you even enjoy it. But your hypocrisy of heart is not concealed to Jesus. He sees every sin you willingly commit through compromise.

Christ can't be a paper Lord to you. We're on paper. You agree with the pages in your Bible, but they have no reality in your life.

You can't give lip service to Jesus and act against Him through known repetitive sin. Jesus never preached a sin in religion. You're living in a fantasy, friend, if you think He's tolerant to your presumptuous sin.

It's time for honest talk, friend. I must be true to your soul. You can call me a holy roller.

You can call me a false teacher if you want to, but that does not change the fact that Christ must be a absolute Lord in your life or He will deny ownership of you for hugging your sins. It does not matter what position of authority you hold in your church, because if your life is not real, then it's just religious hogwash. Jesus says so in Matthew 7. Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father, which is in heaven.

Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name, and in thy name have cast out devils, and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you. Depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Are you working iniquity, friend, and calling it religion? Christ is either your absolute Lord or He was never your Savior.

Sermon Outline

  1. I
    • The modern pulpit neglects the doctrine of Christ's absolute Lordship
    • Jesus demands total subservience from His followers
    • Disqualifications of discipleship as taught by Jesus
  2. II
    • The necessity of dethroning sin in the believer's life
    • Christ must reign as Lord over every area of life
    • No tolerance for compromise with sin
  3. III
    • The example of Peter’s restoration after denying Christ
    • The call for a clean break through heartfelt repentance
    • The danger of hypocrisy and religious pretense
  4. IV
    • Christ will deny those who cling to sin despite profession of faith
    • True discipleship requires doing the will of the Father
    • The final judgment separates true followers from pretenders

Key Quotes

“Christ must be an absolute Lord over every area of your life.” — E.A. Johnston
“You can't give lip service to Jesus and act against Him through known repetitive sin.” — E.A. Johnston
“Christ is either your absolute Lord or He was never your Savior.” — E.A. Johnston

Application Points

  • Examine your life for any areas where you have compromised with sin and repent wholeheartedly.
  • Commit to making Jesus the absolute Lord over every aspect of your daily decisions and actions.
  • Avoid religious hypocrisy by aligning your profession of faith with genuine obedience and transformation.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does it mean that Christ’s Lordship is absolute?
It means Jesus demands complete and total submission from His followers without compromise or partial obedience.
Can a person claim to follow Christ while continuing in known sin?
No, the sermon teaches that ongoing, unrepented sin is incompatible with true discipleship and Christ’s Lordship.
How does repentance relate to following Christ?
Repentance is a necessary clean break from sin that restores a believer’s intimate relationship with Jesus and affirms His Lordship.
What warning does Jesus give about hypocrisy?
Jesus warns that many who outwardly claim Him as Lord but live in sin will be denied at the final judgment.
Is holding a church position enough to prove true discipleship?
No, true discipleship is demonstrated by a life fully submitted to Christ, not by religious titles or positions.

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