Have You Surrendered to God?

Do you believe in the true God—the God of the Bible? If so, it is vital that you come to understand the one basic attitude that God looks for in people. What is it?

In this world’s confused Christianity, many will tell you that God wants us, above all, to “accept Jesus.” However, you really need to ask yourself: “Which Jesus?” And what did Jesus Himself say was the most important attitude for a person to have?

Notice this statement by Jesus Christ: “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46).

Even in the Apostle Paul’s day there were false ministers who were misrepresenting the genuine teachings of Christ: “For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted—you may well put up with it!” (2 Corinthians 11:4)! So perhaps you have heard a lot about “another Jesus” who merely requires lip service—but this is not the Jesus Christ of the Bible!

It is vital that we have faith in the true Christ who is revealed to us in the inspired words of the Holy Bible—not in the ideas and traditions of men! It is equally crucial that we obey Jesus Christ—and not just appropriate His name or accept Him with an empty human faith or temporary emotional whim.
The Apostle James, one of Jesus’ own physical brothers, was inspired to warn us about empty, vain faith: “You believe that there is one God [the Father and Christ]. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?” (James 2:19–20).

Even the demons believe in God and Christ! That is, they know that Jesus Christ was a real person who was crucified, and that God raised Him from the dead. They were there. They saw Christ’s resurrection. They know! But strange as it may seem to some, just “believing” these things is not enough! The demons refuse to surrender their lives and wills to God and to do what He says!

What about you? Are you content to just “believe” that there is a God out there somewhere, and that His Son, Jesus Christ, died for you? Do you have an empty faith, or a living faith that compels you to surrender your life totally to God—to give your life to Him through the true Jesus Christ, and so be willing to do what God says no matter what? That is the kind of faith which is pleasing to God and which leads to eternal life in His Kingdom!

Jesus said: “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it” (Matthew 16:24–25).

When a young man asked Jesus the way to eternal life, what did He reply? “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments” (Matthew 19:17). Jesus was the “Light” God sent into the world to show us how to live. He was our example, yet carnal men have come up with dozens of excuses as to how or why the Ten Commandments were somehow done away.

In His inspired Scripture, God has clearly indicated that because our nations have turned away from Him and from His laws, He will need to give us loving correction in order to bring us back to Him. God warned our forefathers that if our peoples turned aside and began to “act corruptly” and to “do evil” in His sight, then He would intervene to shake us to our senses (Deuteronomy 4:23–25). “I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that you will soon utterly perish from the land which you cross over the Jordan to possess; you will not prolong your days in it, but will be utterly destroyed. And the Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the Lord will drive you” (vv. 26–27). God said that we would be left “few” in number and would become completely idolatrous until we were truly humbled and would begin to seek Him with all of our hearts (vv. 28–29).

And when would all of this take place? “When you are in distress, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, when you turn to the Lord your God and obey His voice” (v. 30).

We are certainly now in these “latter days.” Mankind is now capable of destroying all human life on this planet, as Jesus predicted in Matthew 24. We are now extremely corrupt, just as the Apostle Paul predicted for the latter days in 2 Timothy 3:1–5: “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come” (v. 1). And so a number of factors seem to be coming together to bring about the final humbling and chastening of our peoples. In a “dual” prophecy—applicable before Israel’s first captivity and now again at the time of the end—God stated: “And after all this, if you do not obey Me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins. I will break the pride of your power; I will make your heavens like iron and your earth like bronze” (Leviticus 26:18–19).

That is one reason for the existence of this magazine. We want to warn all our readers about the dangers ahead, and to help those God calls to live His Way and recapture in their own lives the original Christianity of Jesus and His apostles—the only true Christianity, and the Way that will bring blessings and joy, even in the midst of our troubled world.

We have had many articles in Tomorrow’s World giving proof that true Christianity involves obeying the Ten Commandments! So you must decide whether you will obey the God of the Bible or the religions of this world. It is just that simple.

Simple? It should be simple, but the human mind plays devious tricks on us. For we do not want to be looked down on or ostracized by our fellow men, our family, our lodge or our club.

Many of us are like the Jews of Jesus’ day: “Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God” (John 12:42–43). If you find something in God’s teachings that may cause you to lose favor with others, will you pull back, disregard it and, consequently, disobey? Perhaps you say, “It doesn’t make any difference.”

Think about this: “But on this one will I look: on him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word” (Isaiah 66:2).

A genuine Christian must remember that he is not his own. He is bought and paid for by the blood of Jesus Christ! So it naturally follows that he will strive to obey God fully. A true Christian knows that Christ really is his “Lord,” his actual “Boss”! This is the attitude God is looking for: total surrender to Him. This is the attitude that will show God that—unlike unfaithful Satan and his disobedient demons—you and I will always be loyal, having active faith to do what God says.

Ask God for the attitude of total surrender to Him. Take time to learn His ways by studying the Bible. Remember to do what Scripture says. Read carefully our booklets and the articles in Tomorrow’s World. Thoughtfully, compare what we teach with your Bible. Do not worry about “what other people think.” Learn to “prove all things; hold fast that which is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21, KJV).

Then, with God’s guidance through His Spirit, you will allow Him to build within you that one basic attitude of obedience to Christ’s words which, if continued, will ensure your place in the everlasting Kingdom of God.