I believe an important topic
to understand is the difference and correlation between faith and
surrender. We are justified by faith, we
become sanctified through surrender. Faith
is believing in something we cannot see whereas surrender is giving up
something.
To overcome sin requires that
we have Christ abiding fully within us, replacing our character with His. We must replace our own selfish will with the
Father’s will, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” is not possible
if even a sliver of self remains in our heart.
Faith means that I believe in
God even though I cannot see Him. I
believe and claim His precious promises.
I know He has my best interest in mind even if I cannot see the outcome
from where I stand while going through trials.
I know Jesus is atoning for my sins right now at this very moment in the
Holy of Holies in the heavenly sanctuary and as I come humbly before Him with a
repentant heart He washes away my sins and I am forgiven.
Surrender means I also allow
God to take the desire to sin away so that the temptation to sin is removed so
that I might enjoy the peace that is beyond human comprehension yet not beyond
human experience.
By faith we become willing to
accept God’s promises…by surrender we give up self so we can experience God’s
promises.
Here is an illustration: let’s say a friend who knows you have been
unemployed for sometime now offers you $1,000.
It is not a loan, it is a gift to help you and since you only have $100
left in your bank account and the burden of unpaid bills is pilling up, this
would be a wonderful gift. There is just
one string attached however. You must
give up the $100 you currently have and give it away before you can receive the
$1,000 offered. Faith that you can trust
your friend is required so that you are willing to let go of your very last
cent, fully surrender all, in order to receive the help of the friend, the gift
offered in love and the desire to help you in your time of need.
We are greatly in debt to sin,
it is like the bill collectors who are relentless in their calls and the stress
mounts, this is the devil and how he works with temptations; only sometimes we
are not aware it is the devil calling and we pickup the phone only to realize
we shouldn’t have and now he is there.
We need to allow Christ to become our caller id, our answering machine
if you will, and let Him handle all the calls and pay the debt for us.
Faith merges with surrender in
Phil 4:13 when we believe “I can do all things though Christ who strengthens
me” and faith is exemplified in v. 11 when we “learn in whatever state I am to
be content” and that is what surrender brings.
It means being willing to move past the tangible yet short-lived enjoyment
that may come from things of this world and obtaining a peace that “will guard
your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (v. 7) and live a life focused on
eternity, daily doing the will of the Father.
For the end time people of
God, having overcome is required for those who want to be granted eternal
life. Let’s look at Revelation 3:20
where Jesus tells is talking to the final church, the Laodicians of which time
period we know we are in now. Jesus
tells us He is standing at the door to our hearts and knocking, we must open
the door and invite Him in which is the processing of allowing Christ to abide
in us that His power is working rather than our own. Now let’s backup a couple verses to 18 where
He counsels us to buy gold refined in the fire, He is tells us that we must go
through a growth process of learning to surrender and learn how to fully keep
His commandments to withstand the trials that are soon to come our way. Without Him, who has already lived the
perfect human life required for eternal life, we will not overcome and be granted
the throne (vs. 21).
When we look at what is
required of God’s end time people in Revelation 3 and 14, we see that those who
obtain the ultimate prize are they who have learned how to fully merge faith
and surrender together in their lives.
God gives us everything we need to accomplish this and the beauty is
that the overcoming part is done by Christ if we will have the faith to
surrender our own will to His and let Him to do work for us.
“Take the yoke I give you. Put
it on your shoulders and learn from me. I am gentle and humble, and you will
find rest. This yoke is easy to bear, and this burden is light.” Matt 11:29-30 (CEV)
