When you listen to testimonies from Christians, they all share some common elements. Typically, they start off by people ‘doing things their way’ in life. Then, invariably, their way leads to a sense of emptiness, struggle, or dissatisfaction with life. At some point, there’s a ‘conviction of sin’. This may come from hearing the gospel, reading scripture, or direct conviction from the Holy Spirit. Often times, this is followed by an ‘encounter with God’s love and grace’. This comes from an understanding that salvation comes from God’s grace, and not by works. These steps all lead to a ‘turning point’. This is where they turn from doing things their way, and commit to doing this God’s way from now on. This is also known as repentance, or surrender. In true referee fashion, I’d like to break down surrender.
We all have heard Christians share about surrendering their lives, but what does that mean exactly? And is it even necessary? In true referee fashion, let’s go to the rule book for clarification. The Bible reflects the typical testimony. There are basically two ways you can go in life. You can go your way, or you can go God’s way. The Book of Proverbs mentions both options. Proverbs 14:12 “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” Proverbs 12:28 “In the path of righteousness is life, and in its pathway there is no death.” So, our way leads to death, and the path of righteousness leads to salvation. Two different paths, going two different directions, and you must choose one. God does not force us to go His way. We must choose it. And choosing one way means forsaking the other. We must give up our way, or surrender it, if you will. That means that Salvation depends on our surrender of our will.
Let’s breakdown surrender of our will. The definition of surrender has 2 parts: 1) To cease resistance and submit to someone else’s authority. 2) To give up or hand over something. So basically you have “to submit”, or “to give up”. What is your will? Your will is what you want. So when we talk about surrendering our will, that means giving up what we want and submitting to what God wants. This idea is clearly biblical. Jesus was clear in Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” But, in order to do the will of God, that means we must give up our will. Yes, surrender is necessary. Jesus also said in Luke 9:23-24 “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.” Denying ourselves is giving up our will. It’s also called dying to self, and our selfish desires. This is also called ‘killing the flesh’. It means we kill our desires, and instead take up our cross daily and follow Him. Romans 8:13 “For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” Listen to the wording in Galatians 5:24 “And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” That’s how we ‘Lose our life for His sake’. And That’s how we save our life…We surrender our will. Now Let’s breakdown what controls our will…
What controls what we want? Two things: our minds, and our hearts. Remember the first part of the surrender definition? “ceasing our resistance and submitting to someone else’s authority”? Wanna guess how we resist submitting to God’s authority? Yes, With our mind. Romans 8:7 “For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot.” So the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile, or set against God’s law. The key word is set…because the mind must be set on something. That’s why they call it a mindset. We live according to our mindset. Romans 8:5 “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.” We get to ‘make up our minds’, pun intended, on what we set them on. Again, we have two choices, and Paul tells us the corresponding outcomes of those two choices. Romans 8:6 “For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.” Let’s put this all together: We resist God’s authority with our mind that is set on the flesh…it can not submit to God’s law…and we also know that that leads to death. So, If we want to be saved, we need to change our mind, and set it on Him instead. This means the surrendering our will starts by the changing our mind. There’s a Greek word, Metanoia, which means “changing one’s mind”. It is also translated as “repentance”. Surrender to Christ is repentance…changing your mind and submitting to Him. Now I said there’s two things that control our will. Mind and heart. That covers the mind, unto the heart…
In Luke 14:33 Jesus said, “In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.” How do we give up everything? Answer: We give up our heart. That’s what God wants. Why? Everything we do in life comes from our heart. Proverbs 4:23 “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Everything we want and value in life comes from our heart. Jesus said in Luke 12:34, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” That’s why God wants it. God wants to be our treasure. He knows that we will ultimately follow our heart, which is why He asks for it in Proverbs 23:26 “My son, give me your heart and let your eyes delight in my ways”. He wants our minds and our hearts. Proverbs 3:5-6: "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” That, my brothers and sisters , is how we surrender our will.
The challenging thing with surrender is that people tend to think of it as losing a battle. Some see the gospel as a battle of wills. It is just us living in rebellion to God, and we can either continue to resist Him, or we can give up. They see this battle of wills as a fight. Galatians 5:17 “For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.” So, it is a fight, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. God isn’t just looking to win a battle with you, by scaring you with punishment into submission. He’s looking for a relationship with you. He’s warning you about the consequences of your actions…out of love. If you’re a parent, did you ever yell at your kids to get out of the middle of the street? Was that yelling just about dominating your kids, or was it warning them because you love them? Don’t get me wrong, fear can be a powerful motivator, but the motive behind the gospel is love! 1 John 4:18-19 “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us.” If you’re a parent, you want the obedience from your child done out of love, not fear. Jesus said “if you love me, obey my commands”. If you’re a husband, you want the fidelity of your wife because she loves you, not just because she’s afraid of getting caught. God wants the surrender of our will done out love too. Galatians 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." When you realize how much He loves you, you can authentically love Him back. 1 Peter 1:8-9 “Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” The gospel of surrender is about Love, not fear. Faith isn’t about obtaining heaven insurance…Faith is our response to God’s love, by loving Him in return. And look at how we should love the Lord…Matthew 22:36 “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” So, This whole ‘breakdown’ teaches us salvation depends on the surrender of your Minds and hearts. And that this surrender should ultimately come from love. Basically, salvation boils down to God loved you enough to save you, now the question is ‘do you love Him back?’ If you do, you will surrender…if you don’t, you won’t.
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