Does Surrender Mean Surrender?
What does it mean to be a Christian? Does it mean I prayed a prayer, signed a card, walked an aisle? Or is it more than that? Does it mean I “asked Jesus into my heart,” or I “gave me life to Jesus”? If so, what, exactly, does that mean? What does it mean for Jesus to be the “Lord and Savior” of the world, of my life, and what does it mean to “follow” Jesus? We use a lot of words to talk about salvation and the Christian life, but what does it all actually mean?
The simplest way to think about the human condition, into which we are all born, is rebellion. Sin is the condition of being spiritually dead, inwardly oriented, and selfishly motivated. But, Jesus is Lord; He is King; He is over all things whether we acknowledge it or not. Jesus is the Lord and Savior of the world, even if the world rejects him. Those who remain in rebellion, remain in Sin, will eventually be brought under submission but not willingly and not in joy. When “every knee shall bow and every tongue confess,” some of those will do so through the wailing and gnashing of their teeth. A heart hardened to that point does not desire to submit.
But to repent of our rebellion means that we surrender to the King. We come to a place where we no longer desire to follow our own will and way, and instead fall before the King. Most earthly kings would execute captured rebels, or at the least would punish them before allowing them to live as slaves. But our King forgives our rebellion and makes us co-heirs to the Kingdom. However, if we truly surrender to Jesus, then we can’t continue to live in the same thought, attitude, and behavior patterns that embody rebellion. We can’t be surrendered to Jesus if we aren’t surrendered to Jesus. That may seem like the most obvious statement made, but so many people try to claim Jesus as Lord and Savior, while not allowing Him to transform their being.
This Sunday, we’ll discuss why Peter sees this as such a critical and necessary step. To be a Christian means we are surrendered to Christ, no longer in rebellion. And to surrender means to surrender.