When we baptize people into the church family, we ask people to confess "Jesus is Lord."
Romans 10:9-10 is one of the places we see this happen in scripture. But what does it really mean?
It means two things:
Jesus is boss. Philippians 2:9-11; Ephesians 1:20-22; 1 Corinthians 15:25-26; Colossians 3:23; 1 Corinthians 7:39 … There is one place where the word "lord" is still used in our modern language, "landlord." If you have a landlord then you must get their permission before doing anything to alter the building. They get the final say in any changes. Consider Jesus to be our "lifelord." Jesus is already Lord of all and in charge of everything. However, us humans are quite rebellious and don't always submit to Him as we should, like a tenant breaking the rules laid out by the landlord. When we confess Jesus is Lord, we are saying we are putting our entire lives under Him. Everything we do is for Him. We work our jobs for Christ. We manage our money for Christ. We put Christ above our relationships.
Jesus is God Adonai —> boss, master —> Lord Yahweh —> name of God —> LORD Exodus 3:14-15; Psalm 8:1; Acts 2:22-25, 32-36 … "Adonai" and "Yahweh" are two Hebrew words found in the Old Testament. "Yahweh" is the name God told Moses when Moses asked His name. "Adonai" is a title similar to "boss" or "master" and was what the Jews would say in place of "Yahweh" out of respect for God. In the New Testament, mostly written in Greek, there is only one word translated as Lord. It is used to quote both "Adonai" an "Yahweh" from Old Testament scriptures and combines the two. Jesus is not just Lord. He is LORD. He is boss and He is God.