SURRENDERED OR COMMITTED?
Pastor Larry Russo
Harvest Church, Louisiana
Are you surrendered to the Lordship of Christ or just committed?
Some in the Body of Christ have a flawed understanding of Lordship. Salvation is all about receiving Jesus, our Savior, as Lord of our life. (See Romans 10:9-10) I think that so many in the Body of Christ may be trying to live the “Christian life” in their own strength and power.
I believe one of the central messages of the Bible has to do with Lordship and our surrender to Him as Lord. A lot of people think they only need to commit to the Lord as their Savior. (Note that I didn’t say commitment to His Lordship.)
I received a revelation years ago that I believe made a difference between commitment and surrender. When we commit to something, we still can be in control. For example, we can commit to witness, tithe, serve, go to church, and still be in control of whether or not we do those things.
But once we surrender to His Lordship, we give control to the Lord. A good example of surrender is like someone coming up behind you and sticking a gun in your back and yell, “Surrender!” Now you are under the control of another.
Commitment says: I tithe 10% of my money.
Surrender says: The Lord owns 100% of my money.
In recent years, there has been a gradual change in some preaching. I call it “cheap grace.” Preaching that makes little mention of the Lordship of Christ. We must settle the question of Lordship today. Many may commit to Him as Savior, but don’t surrender to Him as their Lord.
Here is a secret I learned--You cannot make Jesus Lord, because He is already Lord. You can only surrender to Him as Lord!
Lordship understands:
You are not your own. You have been bought with a price, the blood of Jesus. You are under new management. You are owned by new ownership. You are owned by the Lord! The last independent decision you will ever make is surrendering to Jesus as Lord over your life; after that, He is in control.
You give up your rights. In other words, even if I’m right, I give it up because He is Lord. (This one will help your marriage!)
You obey what He says. Luke 6:46, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do the things I say?”
May we surrender to the Lordship of Christ today!