It’s one thing to accept the free gift of salvation and eternal life, and quite another to commit your life to Christ. While accepting requires belief, action, and a choice, commitment requires determination in belief, change as part of the action, and a continual choice that must be made—and carried out—daily, even minutely at times. Commitment involves constant action despite the circumstances, and it is never actually free or easy. But for every point that makes commitment difficult there is a necessity and a value that can’t be ignored.
So what’s the big deal about this commitment idea, anyway? I thought I only had to believe in my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior—accept the gift—to be saved… Well, sure. If salvation is all you really want. If you just want to meet those minimal conditions and make it to Heaven someday… But will accepting the free gift of salvation make you a Christian? Before you answer in haste, perhaps we should take a look at the meaning of the term “Christian”. Christian=Christ-like. Yep, you probably guessed that, didn’t you? So to be a Christian you have to be Christ-like—display the characteristics and qualities that Christ showed while on earth, as well as act and respond the way He did. (Hey, we don’t have to be perfect like Christ was, but we do need to strive to follow His example!) That takes a little more effort than merely believing and confessing that He is Lord, doesn’t it?
We’re not going to review Christ’s life in order to establish how to be Christ-like right now…I’ll save that for a different study and another time…but I do want to point out the importance that commitment played in the life of Christ. The plain and simple truth is that if Christ had not been committed, there would have been no sacrifice made on that day long ago and no free gift of salvation for us today. Christ was committed for you…for me…for us all. If His sacrifice had been only half-hearted, He would never have endured the torture and made it to the cross. In fact, if there had been even one ounce of unwillingness in His mind, He couldn’t have made it through. Commitment (out of His love for His Father and for each of us) drove Him and magnified His purpose.
We may never be asked to die for our commitment to Christ like He was for us, but there are plenty of other ways through which we can show our commitment. First of all, we must be willing and obedient—open to doing whatever God wants us to do and following Him at all costs. This is a big one, the essence of commitment…handing control over to God and letting Him call the shots. Second, we have to be unashamed of the gospel of Christ and witness to those around us…through our actions as well as our words. Our Christianity has to be recognizable to anyone at anytime! Thirdly, the Bible is filled with instructions, guidance, and commands that go far past believing and receiving. We need to apply these lessons to our lives and grow in Christ. We must bear good fruit, clothe ourselves with the armor of God, and take to heart even the toughest of Christ’s teachings. Remember what I said about commitment being a constant action? Well, if you’re not growing and maturing, you’re not being productive for Christ. Get in beyond the surface and into the deep stuff. Fourthly, it is important that we maintain a personal relationship with Christ. If we don’t know Christ, how can we be committed to Him? Reading your Bible, praying, and worshipping are all essential things to keep up with if you’re going to be committed to God.
The last thing I want to say about commitment is that it has its rewards. Numerous promises and blessings that appear throughout the Bible confirm this claim. It has its benefits now during the time of commitment to God in your life, and, believe me, it has its rewards on Judgement Day as well. Commitment always pays off! And even if there were no other benefits to living a life of commitment to God, the personal relationship that comes with the choice to do more than just accept salvation is well worth the effort of any difficulty you may go through on account of being committed.
So now that I’ve laid it all out for you, let me ask my initial question again. Are you committed? Have you made the conscious decision to commit your life to Christ and follow Him? You may already be saved—that’s great—but are you committed? There’s a big difference between the two. Salvation is necessary, but it’s only halfway effective if there is no commitment. As I said before, commitment requires determination, change, and the continual choice to follow through. Think about it for awhile… Are you committed? And if you’re not, would you like to make the choice to become committed now?
-HK
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