Surrender...our necessary response

I (thankfully) have had a lot of time lately to reflect on God's Word and dive into some of my favorite passages that speak to salvation, sanctification, and glorification. As you might imagine, the layers of scripture within these passages creates a need for the reader to acquire scuba gear to get to the deepest parts. Nonetheless, if one spends time diving in (pun intended!) the truth and beauty of the gospel is revealed in a whole new way... kind of like seeing it in high-def as opposed to standard definition.

My goal over the past few months has been to get a deeper understanding of God and salvation. While I still have a lot to learn, there have been some good reminders and deeper understanding of truth in light of the gospel. One theme that resounds throughout the topics of salvation and sanctification is "surrender".

The way I understand salvation is that no man can be saved unless if God draws him near. God softens man's heart, and the necessary response of the softened heart to its Creator is surrender. God's grace is irresistible; this grace is offered freely, and is an important part of Christianity.

For the Christian, the single most important event in history is the death and resurrection of Christ. Without Christ's victory over sin and death there would be no hope for a sinner like me. Once I truly identify with Christ and trust in his substitutionary payment for my sins, I am saved. Christ surrendered himself on my behalf; His righteousness is now imputed to me. It is a humbling thing to ponder.

After salvation, God begins sanctifying (setting apart) His newly adopted child. The only effort that we must give toward our sanctification is the surrender of our will. God even works in us to bring us to a point where we can surrender! It is important to note that surrender is not a one time event. The Christian must daily surrender his will to the Father and put the sin-nature to death that wars within. But surrender is crucial to the spiritual health of a Christian; God begins sanctifying His saints when they say "Not my will, but Yours." By grace, God freely gives that which is necessary for everything that sanctification calls me to. And thank God for that grace because the sanctification process is a continual cycle of surrender and growth; the cycle is never complete on this side of eternity.

Again, there is so much that I don't know, but I am excited about the portions of the gospel that have been further defined. I hope to learn more and that you were encouraged by some of the truths seen here.