Defining Salvation: Faith and Surrender

Does surrender save you?

I realize that question might have startled you, because it's rather upfront and to the point. Recently I had the privilege of spending time with someone who was struggling with this question. 

She had prayed to receive Christ rather recently. In the time since she'd done that, she had heard the phrase, "surrender your life to Christ" in reference to salvation. 

"I don't know if I'm going to heaven," she said to me with a look of fear on her face, "because I don't know that I've given Jesus everything." 

My heart went out to her... Was it possible that she wasn't saved? I went over the plan of salvation with her based on what the bible says:

The Gospel:
1. Every person on earth is born a sinner (Romans 3:23)
2. Our sin is separating us from God forever, and the punishment is death in hell. (Romans 6:23)
3. There is nothing that we can do to earn salvation. (Is. 64:6; Rom. 4:5)
4. Jesus Christ died in our place when He died on the cross and rose from the dead to give us new life and to prove He is victorious over death (Romans 5:8)
5. All God wants us to do to be saved is to realize that our sin is separating us from God and repent(change your mind), stop believing in other things/methods and just believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, resting in His finished work, and call upon His name to save us! We are simply to accept what Christ did on the cross to be enough to reconcile us to God! (Jn 3:15,16; 1 John 5:10-12)

After I went through that with her, I asked, "Have you accepted Christ as your personal Savior? Are you trusting only Him and not your works to save you?" 

"Yes," she answered. 

"Well then you're going to heaven!" I showed her 1 John 5:12: "Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God's Son does not have life." 

It is simple! Not complicated! Surrender doesn't save you. It is Jesus! If you have Jesus, then you have eternal life! "In Him was life..." (John 1:4)

What does believing on Christ mean?

In the Greek the word "Believe" means to "entrust". It has the idea of placing all of your hope in Christ and in nothing else, because you are hopeless apart from Him. It is realizing that there is no other way but Jesus, no other truth but Jesus, no other life, but that which is found in JESUS.

When you place your faith in Christ, it goes a step farther than just saying, "Oh yeah, that's true," it is believing it to be true and putting all your dependence upon it with no backup plan, no "plan B." It isn't Christ PLUS good works. JUST Christ alone, that saves you. 

Are Christians perfect?

If Christians are supposed to live perfect lives, then there isn't one single Christian on the face of this earth. Find the most godly person you know and go home with them and live with them every moment of every day, and pretty soon you will find flaws you didn't think that person had!

The Christian life is meant to be a life of progress, not perfection! We are to continually seek to be transformed! (Romans 12:2)

Are Christians always fully surrendered?

Many days in my life have I woke up in the morning wanting to live the day for me, and many days have I carried out that desire, to my shame. (That is the opposite of surrender.) If you've lived every single day, and every single moment for Christ since the day you were saved, I'd like to get with you and find out your secret! I haven't found a perfect Christian yet who's never lived out one single moment for something other than Christ! 

Or what about things like your money, your possessions, and your friends? Do you always check with God before using "His" money? Or do you even think about your possessions as "His" all the time? What about your friends? Do you treat your time with them as "God's" time?

Ouch.

If this is what is required of us in order to go to heaven, then we aren't going! I haven't found one single Christian who is able to live their life every moment and every day fully surrendered to Christ. 

Those who have been saved ought to practice surrender...

Jesus said, "Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me." (Mark 8:34)

"I beseech you, therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind..." (Romans 12:1-2) 

"Then He said to them all, 'If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me." (Luke 9:23)

It's a plea from Christ to those who have accepted Him and are His. Denying oneself and taking up one's cross is not a one time thing. It's a daily thing. If these verses were in reference to salvation, you and I would be constantly losing and regaining our salvation! 

Can you lose your salvation?

Jesus said, "And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand." (John 10:28-29) 

If you can't be snatched from the Father's hand, then you can't be lost once found. Simple. Salvation is a gift that, once given, is never taken away.

If you've never trusted in Christ as your Savior, simply call upon His name, placing your trust in Him alone. He is the only hope of salvation, and His blood is the only thing that can wash away the stain of our sin!