Surrendering your life to Christ

[Toasty]

What exactly does it mean to surrender your life to Christ? I sometimes hear this in gospel presentations.

Some people such as those in the Free Grace Movement think that if you tell non-Christians that surrendering your life to Christ is a part of conversion, then you are telling them to make a commitment to do good works in order to receive salvation. What do you think of this? If you tell a non-Christian to surrender his life to Christ, are you telling him to make a commitment to do good works?

 

[jwithnell]

"Surrendering your life to Christ" usually comes about in circles where they're pushing a quick and easy "decision for Christ" to get someone into heaven, then trying to figure out what to do when people still live like they are in the world -- which they likely are.

If you look at how Jesus talked to people, he had no room for an easy decision and lifestyle that put anything other than himself first. He made people consider the cost of following him, and was willing to let someone turn away to his wealth or whatever else that person was making his idol.

This line of evangelism also generally carries the idea that God is wringing his hands hoping someone will make a decision for Christ. We know we can speak the truth of God's word boldly, and trust him to sovereignly work through the Holy Spirit to make it effective in someone's life. That doesn't mean we don't consider our words carefully -- you'll find plenty of threads here on the board about communicating the gospel -- but we can't resort to a sweet sell that doesn't fully reflect the truth of God's word.

You'll also see a misunderstanding of the law when this terminology is used. For one thing, the Old and New Testaments are generally pried apart with a declaration that the law has no application to the Christian, but then a blunt legalism is applied to describe a Christian "lifestyle." A more Biblical viewpoint understands that the law drives the sinner to Christ for salvation and realizes that the law describes the life perfectly lived by Jesus and that it reveals what is pleasing to God. (A mercy in and of itself so the believer is not left guessing.) God in his mercy will make us more and more like Christ.

 

[JimmyH]

In "Prophecy and the Church", by Oswald T. Allis, he says,"Justification has sanctification as its goal. Christ came to save men from sin, not to save them in sin."

I think some people might interpret trying our best to live in obedience to define 'surrendering your life over to Christ'.