A famous evangelist from years gone by was telling about his approach when witnessing to a man. He was attempting to get the man to commit to Jesus Christ. If I recall correctly, the evangelist was R.A. Torrey. His approach went something like this. After telling the man about Christ, he wrote on a piece of paper, “I will surrender my life to Christ and I will follow Him wherever it leads me.” Then he drew a line under it for the man to sign. The man knew immediately that what he would be signing was reasonable and right, but he hesitated to do it. The evangelist waited for a moment and then asked, “Will you sign it?” The man nervously made a comment that everyone ought to be willing to sign that commitment. The evangelist asked again, “Will you sign it?” The man responded awkwardly, “You’re not asking me to sign anything that I shouldn’t be willing to do.” The evangelist said, “I know. Will you sign it?” The man replied, “I’ll think about it”. With that, he ended the conversation.
The type of surrender the evangelist was calling for was full surrender— surrender that doesn’t have reservations. That kind of surrender is difficult for two reasons:
1/ Personal depravity
Fallen human nature is hostile to God and doesn’t want to give up its freedom. From birth, sin has affected every part of our being. Theologians refer to this characteristic as total depravity. It means there is no part of us that is naturally sanctified. We are rebels through and through, alienated from God. And for God to change our nature requires us to surrender. It doesn’t come easy, but it’s well worth it!
2/ Fear of the unknown
We are hesitant to embark on anything in the spiritual realm that is life-changing without knowing all that it entails. But God requires such of those He calls. He did of Abraham, who was the first “called out” soul. It amounts to trust.
Notice that Abraham trusted God enough to leave his homeland, not knowing where God was taking him (Hebrews 11:8). We in the true Church are spiritual offspring of Abraham because we have followed a similar call from God. The word, Church, is from the Greek word, ecclesia. It means “the called-out ones”.
This calling process in the Christian era began on the Day of Pentecost. Peter revealed the plan of salvation for the Church age in Acts 2:38. When convicted souls asked what to do, Peter said, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. In the next verse, he stated that this is the means by which God will call all souls. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
The privilege to follow the call of God is ours. It may involve uncertain things here on earth but where it ultimately leads is very certain— the Rapture and the Holy City! Abraham looked for a city made by God (Hebrews 11:10). We will gather into it with him one soon day (Matthew 8:11). We should embrace it with all the energy we can muster (Philippians 3:14).
Full surrender to Christ is the greatest thing a person can do. It can also be the hardest thing. It may feel as though he’s giving up his life. And, in a very definite way, he is. But it’s the only way to find his life, which is far better (Matthew 10:39; 16:25).
Partial surrender, on the other hand, is easy. It’s not a surrender of the will but is done according to one’s own will. Partial surrender sets the limits on how much a person will commit to Christ and how far he will trust Christ in the realm of the unknown. It is actually distrust of Christ. It’s not coincidental that, when Jesus called His disciples, He said to them, “Follow Me” (e.g., Matthew 4:19). He asks the same of us today.