A TIME TO SURRENDER

By Michael K. Farrar, O.D.

© God’s Breath Publications

 

No one likes to lose. No one likes to surrender. It’s built into our nature to strive to win and be self-reliant.

 

This is especially evident in times of war. Nations go to war and millions of people pull together to avoid surrender to the enemy. Lives and families are impacted as all sorts of sacrifices are made to assure victory.

 

In business, competition can be fierce and no manager wants to surrender to his competitor.

 

In relationships we hate to lose an argument and surrender to the fact that we’re wrong.

 

In athletic competition we strive to win at all costs to avoid surrendering in defeat to our opponent.

 

But is there a time when surrendering is beneficial, when it is the wise course of action?

 

One such circumstance where surrendering is not only beneficial and wise but has ramifications on the eternal future is when someone decides to surrender their life to Christ. Surrender in this instance not only saves a soul from hell, it also brings grace into the person’s life with all the healing and benefits that are associated with God’s love. 

 

Surrendering one’s life to God is an admittance that the battle against God in our life is over. Surrendering to God is an admittance that we were in rebellion to God. We were a prisoner of war, a prisoner of Satan, and were probably not even aware of it. We were also a prisoner of sin. With surrender to Christ as Lord and Savior we are set free. The dirty and tattered clothes we wore as prisoners of the evil one are exchanged for pure white clothes of righteousness provided by Christ.

 

But what are barriers that keep people from surrendering to God? What are hindrances that people hide behind or cling to that hinder his or her surrendering to God?

 

One barrier might be misdirected, self-reliant religion. Such a barrier was found in the Pharisees of Jesus’ day. The Pharisees had distorted the work of God into a religion of man. They had built a false structure of outward righteousness that appealed to man’s ego but ignored the purity and love of God. Many people today build up this barrier commitment to God by making God in their own image. They determine that they will set the parameters of what is holy and acceptable to God. They do right in their own eyes.

 

They are self-reliant in their religion in the sense that their behavior is governed by rules and regulations they develop. There is no outward higher standard like the Word of God. They may quote the Bible in many instances when it suits their purpose but will ignore those verses that might shatter their self-made religion.

 

Their religion is misdirected for it is directed towards satisfying their standard of righteousness and holiness but not God’s. It is self-reliant for performance is based on his or her own skills, abilities and strengths. There is no need for God or His Holy Spirit or His Word for they can accomplish what they need to do in their spiritual lives through their own efforts. Such religion is vain and empty. Such religion and faith is weak and failing. Such religion is selfish and empty. Such religion is a barrier to fully surrendering to God for such individuals feel that they have enough religion to satisfy themselves. Unless such individuals recognize the “straw man” they have created and surrender to the Lord they will perish eternally. It would be a good time to surrender to God if a person realized that they were hiding behind the barrier of misdirected, self-reliant religion.

 

Another barrier that keeps people from surrendering to Christ is moral indignation. We might think that abhorrence of evil and wicked living might be admirable. But if the basis for such an attitude is so that we can view ourselves as more acceptable to God because of the evil actions of others it is wrong. In a sense, our moral indignation with the behavior of others can become a barrier to us surrendering to God. When we compare ourselves to others and use this as a standard to justify our own “lesser” sins then it keeps us from giving our whole life to God. In God’s eyes there are no “lesser sins.” We fail to surrender fully to God because we become self-righteous in our own eyes. We ignore the standards of holiness that God requires and become justified by our own hearts and minds.

 

We tend to look upon the sins of others and say, “I would never do such and such.” Or “I’m not as sinful as those individuals.” We build up our pride in our own righteousness that in God’s eyes is worthless. This barrier is a barrier of self-deception.

 

Some time ago I bought an old book called “The Bible Looking Glass.” It’s a very old book that contains tons of creative pictures that illustrate Biblical spiritual principles.

 

One particular picture shown at the top of this teaching is from this book. It illustrates the steps that a person takes to a downward spiral to sin and avoidance of God. One of the steps illustrated is “Self-Deception.” The picture also illustrates other steps that we could also call barriers to surrendering to God. They include; “Evil Desires,” “Self-Will,” “Hardness of Heart,” “Blindness (spiritual),” “Presumption,” and “Desperate Wickedness.” All such steps involve rejection of God’s instruction, the Holy Spirit’s guidance and the model of Christ’s life.

 

As I thought about these barriers to surrendering to God I got a picture of a very old preacher standing on an old fruit crate in a desert landscape. As he preached, his voice rang out into the desert.

 

Out in the desert before him were numerous groups of people hiding behind barriers refusing to respond to his call to come and surrender to Christ and be reconciled. The more he preached the more they shouted back, “I’m not that bad.” Or “I like my life the way it is.” Or “I know God loves me, He wouldn’t send me to hell.” Or “I do a lot of things for God and others to show my goodness.”

 

The preacher just keeps preaching the Word of God and is not swayed by all the self-deceived excuses for not responding to the Word of God and the Call of Christ to repent of sins.

 

Finally one small boy scrambles out from behind the barrier of spiritual blindness. He runs as fast as he can shouting, “I see, I see. I need God to save me from my sins.” The preacher steps down off the fruit crate and prays with the boy who surrenders his life to Christ.

 

Are there barriers keeping you from surrendering to God?

 

Have you truly surrendered?

 

Matthew 7:21-23

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’

 

Matthew 10:32-33

“Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. “But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.

 

Matthew 18:3

“Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

 

Romans 10:2-4
“For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.”

 

Romans 10:9-11

if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

 

1 John 1:9

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.