In our evangelical preaching of today there is a by-passing of the emphasis on the Lordship of Christ. In so doing, we have given the impression that the acceptance of the Lordship of Christ is a second experience of grace or a sort of optional after-choice in the Christian life. Actually, many messages addressed to Christians at a holiness convention should be in reality a part of the gospel message addressed to sinners. In one of his Gospel messages, Peter declares “Him hath God exalted . . . to be a Prince and a Savior.” (Acts 5:31.) Today we have reversed the gospel message by stating Him to be a Savior first and then a Prince! We do not deny that it is possible for a time to come in the believer’s life when he will recognize more clearly what is involved in the Lordship of Christ, but this does not alter the fact that a person cannot receive Christ as Savior without having in some manner recognized Him as Lord. Romans 10:9 declares “That if thou shalt confess that Jesus is Lord and in thine heart believe that God has raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” (B.R.V.) The Word of God makes it perfectly clear that the objective of all true evangelism is the control of the sovereign Lord over the lives of those He has redeemed.

How can we have revival when the vital note of the Lordship of Christ is omitted from our present-day evangelism? As one has truly reasoned, “What is the Gospel of God’s grace but the gospel of His sovereignty? Wherein lies the vital efficacy of the gospel of grace unless it relates to His kingdom and leads the individual soul to an acknowledgement of His sovereignty.”