Is "Christ is King" Offensive or Biblical?

In a society that takes umbrage with just about everything that's said about anything or anybody nowadays, the term "Christ is King" is being hurled to the forefront like an aimless grenade in some political arenas. And, some have taken more offense to it than others. Strangely enough, this includes a few politicians who are self-proclaimed Christians.

How can this be?

Doesn't the average Christian, who reads their Bible, know that to address Jesus as King is as Biblical as proclaiming "Jesus loves you" or repeating The Lord's Prayer?

It's not an intentional offense. It's just what we believe to be true based on the inerrant Word of God.

"But, we don't have a king!" a good American might protest.

True! Our country is not (and hopefully never will be) a monarchy. After all, isn't that the very type of rule that the founding citizens of our country were fleeing from? Ummmm... yes!

Fellow Americans, nobody is trying to persuade you to claim allegiance to a King you do not know or understand. But, for those who have publicly proclaimed Him as Savior and Lord, reverence for and acceptance of His Lordship is essential.

You Don't Know What You Don't Know

Allow me to take the Christian monarchophobes (yes, I made that up) on a brief (Theo)logical journey.

You've probably heard the term, "knowledge is power." I'd like to put a little Christian spin on that if you will and say, "the knowledge of God is spiritual power."

And, as most of us know, the proper use of any knowledge is called wisdom.

So, what does the Bible say about wisdom?

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight." Proverbs 9:10

Yet, how can we fear God if we do not know Him?

Knowing Him means looking for Him where He can be found.

Where can He be found? In His Word, of course!

So, what does His Word say?

"For the Lord is our judge;
the Lord is our lawgiver;
the Lord is our king;
he will save us." — Isaiah 33

"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you;
righteous and having salvation is he,
humble and mounted on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey." — Zechariah 9

"I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which he will display at the proper time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen." — I Timothy 6:13-16

"They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.” — Revelation 17:14

“On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: king of kings and lord of lords.” – Revelation 19:16

There it is in black and white, fellow Christian. "The Lord is our king."

And, if we, as Christians claim that Jesus is the Lord, especially of our personal lives, then it would be a logical fallacy, in my humble opinion, to sanctimoniously refrain from using the term "Jesus is King" for fear of offending someone.

In fact, some might say it's borderline heresy for the true believer to deny the use of this common, theologically sound phrase.

What King Jesus Taught

Though a King, Jesus did not come to live as one on this earth. He did not come to bring an earthly reign. He stated time and again that His kingdom was not of this world. No earthly ruler had any reason to fear being thwarted.

On the contrary, when asked about paying taxes, Jesus picked up a coin and responded, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” (Mark 12:17)

Likewise, the Apostle Paul, a very prominent Jewish believer, encouraged the new believers in Rome to "... be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God."

In other words, as Christians, we are to respect our governing authorities (regardless of political party), keeping in mind that God, our ultimate authority, is sovereign over all.

That Which Reigns True

After all is said and done...

After all is challenged and debated...

After all is questioned and answered...

After all politically-driven guards have been let down and stripped of the fear of man that fuels them...

Jesus still remains the King of kings and Lord of lords. Let those who believe this reality boldly proclaim it from the Biblically sound hilltops without shame, fear or regret!

To Him be honor and glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

For further study on the kingship of Jesus, see Colossians 1:16-17, Matthew 25:31-32, Psalm 103:19, Isaiah 9:6, Daniel 7:14, Hebrews 1:8, Psalm 24:7-10, I Timothy 1:17, and Luke 1:32-33.