Commitment VS Submission

February 27, 2013

On Sunday at church I heard I great sermon.  It spoke straight to me, as well as convicted me and pushed me to seek harder and give more.  Pastor Chad Hays at Fellowship of First Baptist spoke about commitment verses submission.

Some would think that both of these places are good places to be.  You should be committed to God.  And you should be submitted to Him.  But there is a difference between commitment and submission.

I am committed to a lot of things.  But not under their submission.  I am committed to playing the piano. I love to play and I practice when I can. But I control when and how much.  I am committed to my job.  I have a responsibility and I am on time and get all my work done.  But my job does not control me and if an emergency comes up, I will leave work.

You can be committed in a relationship.  You love your spouse, your best friend or your children.  And there is no one else in the world that you would rather have in that place in your heart.   But commitments can be broken.  Hearts can be hurt.  And it is a huge possibility that there are other people in your life that you are committed to as well.  And you control your place in those relationships.

You can be committed to God.  You have given your life to Him and your time.  You pray and go to church.  You might even teach a Bible study or volunteer at the church.  But if you are only committed to God, the moment something more appealing comes along, you will put God on the back burner.  There are other things in your life that are competing for His attention and you are in control of what comes first. YOU are in control of your life.  YOU are making your plans.  We want to be committed but still hold on to certain things.  THAT is the difference between commitment and submission.

Submission means that JESUS is in control of your life.  It means you are SOLD OUT for Him and everything you do is because He is the one that directs you to do it.  Submission means that you give up ALL your rights.  You let Him make your plans and you follow them whatever the cost.  It means that we “lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus.” (Hebrews 12:1-2)

We cannot live for Jesus and ourselves at the same time.  Where we have been loyal to many things, we must be loyal to ONE and that is Jesus!  Are you going to be committed or submitted to your Lord Jesus Christ?