A CLEAR CALL FOR A COMPLETE COMMITTAL TO CHRIST
"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your
reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." -- Romans 12:1-2
Recently I found this snippet of history in my files."Ivan the Terrible was one of the great rulers of Russia. He was so busy trying to annex territory to his country that he had no time for social life. His
advisors become worried because he had not married. Ivan suggested that they find him a wife and he would accept their recommendation. They
searched far and wide for a girl who was beautiful, intelligent and a
king’s daughter.
They found her in Athens, Greece. Her name was Sophia. She was the daughter of the King of Greece. Ivan asked the King for his daughter’s
hand. The King demanded that Ivan join the Greek Orthodox Church. This he did.He had gone to Greece with five hundred of his best soldiers and when Ivan joined the church they desired to join also. A catechizer outlined the articles of the Orthodox Church creed to every one of them. They gave ready assent to every article except one. One of the articles stated that if they joined the Orthodox Church they could not be professional soldiers. They asked the catechizer to give them time to think the matter over. They pondered the problem, "How can we join the Church and remain in the army at the same time?"
They concocted a plan. When they were to be baptized they marched into the water. The five hundred soldiers were accompanied by five hundred priests. (They were to be baptized by immersion ; how else could a Greek Church baptize them, since they know the true and only meaning of their word, "baptizo"?) Shortly before each priest plunged his candidate under, each solder grabbed for his sword and lifted it up in air. Each one was baptized; except for his fighting arm and a gleaming sword that jutted out of the water. Those who witnessed the mass baptism spectacle said they saw five hundred dry arms and five hundred glittering swords sticking out of
the water. It seems the he soldiers had come up with a compromise. ’’We will join the church with our bodies, but we will allow our fighting arm to
remain in the possession of the state.’"
The application of this little historical episode to our theme is self-evident. In his Roman letter Paul gives a Clear Call For a Complete Committal To Christ by all who call themselves brothers in Christ. But it seems that in our day many are not willing to yield themselves completely to Christ.
Evangelist, Angel Martinez, had this to say about conditions forty years ago, "The curse of the hour is the curse of partial surrender. We can never have power with God or with men until we have given ourselves wholly to God. God does not want scraps or leftovers. God doesn’t need much of a
man, but needs all there is of him. The price of spiritual power is complete surrender. Many of us have unbaptized tongues, unbaptized feet, unbaptized imaginations, unbaptized pocketbooks. The appeal to be fully yielded should be overwhelmingly answered by every Christian. Yet Paul was having to beg the church in that day even as we have to beg the church in this hour. The spiritual lethargy of the church is reflected by the use of the word, "beseech." Paul was having to beg the brethren to surrender themselves to
the Lord."
I’m afraid affairs have worsened in the ensuing years. If there has ever been a day in which people need to heed Paul’s Call For A Complete Committal To Christ, today is that day.
Paul speaks to the brothers at Rome about THE CAUSE FOR A COMPLETE COMMITTAL TO CHRIST. He speaks of a Godly motivation for being out and out for Jesus. He says, "I beseech you therefore brethren, BY THE MERCIES OF GOD. .!" I am told the sense of the original language is, "I beg of you . . Please!" When he says, "therefore by," he is making clear reference to the great doctrines of grace; such as salvation, justification, sanctification and glorification, taught in the previous chapters. In view of these great blessings, we should serve the Lord. Because of these tremendous gifts of grace, we should serve the Lord.
His very statement indicated that some could attempt to serve God for the wrong reasons. It would not be uncommon for young people who have been reared in a Godly Christian home to try to serve God merely because they wish to please their parents. Even when they grow older their respect for their parents may be an influence that tends to draw them back to a straight and narrow path when they go astray. Although it is good that
children heed and honor their father and mother in this manner, it is not the motive God is looking for.
Some people may try to serve God in order to please other people. We Christians should be careful to consider the claim others have on our good testimony. We should be live with the awareness that no man lives to himself or dies to himself. That our positive, upright moral influence is all important. That someone is likely looking to us as an example or role model. We should constantly be conscious of the truth of that old piece of verse that goes something like this, "You’re living a gospel, a chapter each day, by the deeds that you do, and the words that you say. Someone is reading your gospel, whether faithless or true. Say, what is the gospel, according to you?"
Some sometimes do what they do in their church in order to please the pastor. Don’t misunderstand, it is not necessarily wrong to wish to do things that will please and encourage the under-shepherd of Jesus Christ. It is certainly correct and commendable to follow the leadership of a Godly pastor who is following the Lord. In fact, it would be displeasing to God to do otherwise, "Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit
yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that [is]
unprofitable for you." (Heb. 13:17) The idea here is that someday the under-shepherd will be called to give account to the Chief-Shepherd and that his accountability relates to the willing response of the flock to his leadership. It goes without saying that every member of the flock must give an account of their response to Godly leadership as well. Even so, it is well to always keep in mind that at the end of the way when one appears before His Judgment Seat it is Christ’s, "Well done thy good and faithful
servant..., " that will be sweet music to our ears.
Although all this is good and true, we must never forget that the primary and overwhelming reason for a complete committal is the mercy of God that reached its zenith at the cross of Christ. In writing to the Church at Corinth Paul focuses on the motive of the mercies of God being primary in our service, "For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich." (II Cor. 8:9) It is worthwhile to note that thecontext of this statement is an appeal to the members of that church for sacrificial giving.
There is a story of a lighthouse keeper who manned a lighthouse on a rocky coast. A terrible storm struck one cold winter night. The cold,
howling wind blew the light out. It was necessary for the keeper to climb a stairway in the middle of the storm to light it again. He was successful,
but on his way down to the safety of his warm and cozy room, he slipped on the icy steps and plunged to his death. A ship beating its way up the coast sighted the warning light just in time to veer aside and avoid certain disaster on the rocky shoals. Later, the expense involved in employing a
new keeper called for the closure of the lighthouse. The captain of the saved ship heard of this decision. Since he was due to retire, he volunteered to man the lighthouse without pay for the rest of his life. When asked why he would do such a thing he said, "The life I live I owe to
that brave fellow who died that cold winter night that I might live!" It was Paul who, when speaking of the reasons for his complete committal to
Christ said, "For me to live is Christ..."
Paul also speaks of THE COST OF A COMPLETE COMMITTAL. He urges the brothers to present their bodies as a living sacrifice. I understand the
idea in the language is to place beside or near; to present, to offer, to yield and to place at one’s disposal. It is a Levitical term and is the same language used in the gospel of Luke when Jesus is presented to God the Father, "And when the days of her purification according to the law of
Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present [him] to the Lord;" (Luke 2:22)
Here we find the principle of real sacrifice being defined by its cost. Someone has said that service which costs nothing is worth nothing. The popular idea today is that we can serve God on the cheap. It is so common for people to go around church shopping. They make no bones about looking for a place where they can be positively pleased and have their desires and senses satisfied. Just this week I called on a family that had visited our services. They told me without any hesitancy they had been visiting churches or all sorts all over the place. When they told me what they were looking for in a church, I was taken aback. The preaching must be positive and non-offensive. The music must be lively and contemporary. The youth ministries of the church must be focused on meeting the socialization and recreational needs of the children. Not one word was mentioned about a church where they could really work for the Lord.
Most pastors would faint dead away if someone approached them and said something like this, "I’m looking for a church where I can really
sacrificially serve the Lord. I’d like a place where I can really be challenged to attend more preaching and teaching services and spend more time in private Bible study and prayer. What I’m seeking is a place that will really lead me to get more deeply involved in soul winning and discipleship activities. But I also want a place where I will be urged to raise the level of my financial support; not only for the church, but for missions as well. I’m seeking a church that has youth ministries that focus upon and emphasize spiritual values. I would like to find a church that really understands the concept that the best quality time a family can
spend together is at the house of God. What I really am after is a place where it will cost me something to serve God; a place where I can really sacrifice myself in service!"
This reminds me of the old story of the hen and the pig. The church’s men fellowship was going to have a prayer breakfast. Of course, bacon and
eggs were the order of the day. Upon hearing about this, it is reported that the hen was thrilled to be able to help. But the pig said, "It’s O. K.
for you. You are only being asked to make an offering, but I will have to make a real sacrifice!" That seems all too often to be the attitude of some
of God’s people today.
The greatest service to God is offered in the midst of suffering and sacrifice. David’s sweetest Psalms were written in the time of his greatest suffering and agony. It seems the prophetic writings of the great apostle, John, came out of the crucible of his crisis on Patmos. Many in our day
would have retired or been pensioned off long before then. We all know what came from Bunyan’s suffering in the Bedford jail. It is common knowledge that the great hymns of inspiration and hope that flowed from the pen of Fanny Crosby; came from a world of blindness and darkness. Someone has said that the Christian is like tea, only at his best when in hot water (for Christ).
But just how can the body become a living sacrifice? Crysostom said, "Let the eye look on no evil, and it is a sacrifice. Let the tongue utter
nothing base, and it is an offering to God. Let the hand work no sin and it is a holocaust!"
This thought introduces us to Paul’s statement about THE CONTENT OF A COMPLETE SACRIFICE. We are to render holy and acceptable service unto God. The sense of the language does not seem to be that we are called to attain a life of perfection that is absolutely pure and free of evil. But rather a life that is set apart, sanctified for God’s use, even with all our imperfections. A life that is dedicated to the sole purpose of rendering
acceptable service to God. Here we have emphasized the importance of God pleasing service. Seeking and following His wishes and His will for our life.
Such service must be rendered according to God’s way and God’s plan as given to us in His Holy Word. The Bible is replete with examples of such
service being accepted by God. The correct service of the priests in the tabernacle and temple exemplified this. As long as they did it God’s way,
it was acceptable and He was well pleased. But the slightest deviation from His plan brought quick and awful judgment upon those who dared defy Him.
Remember the story of Nadab and Abihu? "And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put
incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not. And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured
them, and they died before the LORD." (Lev. 10:1-2) The offense seems obvious. Their service was not holy and acceptable because they decided to do it their own way.
Remember the story of Uzzah? "And when they came to Nachon’s threshing floor, Uzzah put forth [his hand] to the ark of God, and took hold of it; for the oxen shook [it]. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for [his] error; and there he died by the ark of God." (II Sam. 6:6-7) Again, the offense seems obvious. His service was not holy and acceptable because the law and instructions of God were either being broken or ignored.
Paul tells us that the content of our service today must be as holy and acceptable to God as required in the Old Testament. We cannot devise
new doctrines, teachings, methods or means that do not strictly conform to the pattern of the Word of God. The whole emphasis on contemporary praise
and worship and service to God seems to fly in the face of this obvious principle. I can seen no indication in the Word of God that we are required
to make surveys and devise new ways to please the masses and entice the so-called "seekers." In fact, quite the contrary. We care called to render
service with content that is HOLY AND ACCEPTABLE UNTO GOD!
Paul then speaks of THE COMMON SENSE OF A COMPLETE COMMITTAL. He assures us that correct service that costs us something; rendered for the right cause, with the right content, is reasonable and makes common sense. Is it reasonable and does it make common sense for the Creator to expect His creature to obey His commands? Paul made this common sense principle clear earlier when he said, "Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonour?" (Ro., 9:21) How can he creature say the Creator, "I will not." How can the creature question the Creator’s words, plans, ways or His instructions and
commands?
I have even heard sincere saved people say they were waiting for the Lord to lead them to the waters of baptism. As if His simple command and
example on the subject was not enough! I have even known those who have been baptized to seemingly resist His simple instructions in relation to such basic matters as faithfulness in attendance, witnessing and giving. So many seem to say no to God in these simple areas of service. They say, "But I don’t have time. I don’t have the talent. I’m shy. I’m too busy with my own life. It is unreasonable to think I should do thus and so!"
Jeroboam played upon this tendency of God’s people when he lead them to abandon God’s way of worship in Jerusalem for the substitute he set up in Samaria. "Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves [of] gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem:
behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt." (I Kings 12:28) What was the result when they abandoned common sense in
their committal to God? The chastening hand of God allowed the ten tribes to be carried off into captivity and lost to history.
It is a well know fact that each week has one hundred and sixty-eight hours available for our usage. Let us suppose that a Christian decided to
at least give a reasonable amount of time in service to the Lord in his local church. This could entail two hours on Sunday morning for Sunday
School or adult Bible Study. He could then return on Sunday evening for two hours of study and worship. On Wednesday evening he would have the privilege of meeting one hour with God’s people for prayer and Bible study again. He then spends two hours a week in private Bible study and devotions and another hour trying to win a soul to Christ. This totals eight hours of our one-hundred and sixty-hours. That is less than one twentieth of our time. Is that unreasonable? Does it make common sense?
In conclusion, Paul speaks of THE CONSEQUENCE OF A COMPLETE
COMMITTAL. A complete committal to Christ always results in separation from the things of this world and a transformation to the way and will of God. Paul tells the Christians at Corinth to come out and be separate and not to touch the unclean things of this world. Those who make a complete committal must serve Him in this world, but are not to be of this world. This world is certainly not our home, we are just passing through. We are, as Abraham, pilgrims and sojourners, looking for another city, whose builder and maker is God. We have no continuing dwelling here, but have a placed prepared for us by He who has gone on before us.
There are many illustrations of this concept. Some of the simplest ones I like best include: "It is all right to have a ship in the water, but when the water gets in the ship, you have problems." So it is with the Christian who may, as Demas, loves this present world. Many of the problems we have in our materialistic culture relate to the confusion so common in Christian circles about Christian values versus worldly values and priorities. The influence of the world is so strong it tends to set the agenda for many Christians.
Another cliche says, "You can’t hold hands with God in His heaven and play footsie with Satan and his world at the same time. No one has arms
that long." Even though we Christians recognize the validity of this axiom, it seems we are often like the little boy who can be seen balancing precariously along the top rail of a fence. Why should we be surprised when our foot slips and we fall off on Satan’s side?
Coming out of the world or separation from the world is not enough. We must be separated unto God. This obviously involves a complete
transformation. When we become new creatures in Christ we have the foundation for such a complete transformation. Paul speaks of it in a
number of ways. He tells us that the renewing of our mind should result in our affections being transformed and focused on things above and not on things of this earth. He even goes as far as to say we should let our mind be as Christ’s mind. It seems real transformation would result in our
thinking the thoughts of Christ and having the attitudes Christ would have. Of course, such a transformed spiritual mind-set would be ultimately
manifest by practical Christian action. The consequence of such a complete committal would be those who walked the walk as well as talked the talk.
I remember standing in a long line waiting for service at a bank. As I stood there, remembering James’ statement that tribulation works patience, a man came in the door and quietly slipped around the whole line and jumped the queue. It was irritating to say the least. I must confess that a thought flashed through my mind that perhaps I should protest and let the man know how arrogant, rude and inconsiderate his action had been. But I was able to ask myself instead, "What would Jesus do?" Just as well. When the man left the window, another man at the front of the line politely challenged him. His reaction was volatile, There then ensued one of the most unpleasant and verbally violent arguments one might imagine. Even witnessing it was highly disturbing.
What a poor testimony it would have been for a child of God; a minister of the gospel of Christ, to have been caught up in such a fracas. How could he ever share the gospel with any who might have been looking on? I could but praise God for saving me and transforming me into a new creature in Christ Jesus!
Yes, Paul clearly calls each one of us to a new and complete committal to Jesus Christ in our everyday life. We have determined that it is reasonable and makes common sense to commit ourselves to correct service that costs us something; rendered for the right cause, with the right content. May Paul’s plea not go unheeded by those of us who love the Lord!
