A Majestic Commitment Series

“Majestic” Series: A Majestic Commitment

1st Peter 2:9

Introduction:

By God’s grace we’re continuing with the “Majestic” series this morning. It’s a series that talks about the majestic life you have in Christ. And it focuses on the calling, the commitment, the consecration, and the completeness, of the life God has brought you into via the New Birth.

The series is based on 1st Peter 2:9…and prayerfully, it’ll help you understand more fully what you are saved to be.

Why don’t you stand with me, and let’s read that text aloud together now.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Let’s pray together now…that our hearts will be open to what we’re going to hear in the next few minutes.

Commitment. Commitment. Say it with me, “Commitment.” Now there’s a word…an idea…that’s loaded with both hope and frustration. There’s the hope that someone will fully engage, involve themselves, be reliable & responsible. And there’s the frustration that arises when the hoped for commitment fails to materialize.

A woman hopes her man will be “committed” to their relationship, then grows frustrated when he seems to drag his feet. A coach hopes a talented young athlete will “commit” herself to the team and grows frustrated when other interests take precedence.

A teacher hopes that an intelligent student will commit himself to learning, and grows frustrated when he seems more interested in gaming than study. An employer hopes that a capable employee will commit themselves to the company, and grows frustrated when that employee proves feckless and undependable.

A director hopes that a new volunteer will commit themselves to the purpose and work of the non-profit, and grows frustrated when the volunteer doesn’t seem to grasp the importance of the work…or of showing up to do it

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We all recognize that commitment is good, and a lack of commitment is bad…and so we’ll moan and groan right along with all of those who lament the lack of commitment. And hey, I’ve got to confess that as a pastor I’ve done my share of the moaning & groaning & lamenting.

But there’s a reason why so many people won’t really commit themselves to anything…I mean, a reason beyond the sorts of things we typically grumble about. You know, “this generation doesn’t” blah blah blah. Or, “People nowadays just don’t” yada yada yada. There’s an underlying reason beneath all that.

And it’s that commitment can be hard. It may mean showing up when we don’t particularly want to. It may mean staying when there’s someplace else we’d rather be. It may mean effort when we don’t feel like it. Lack of commitment is easier…at least in the short term.

Since commitment can be hard, we tend to be…or at least should be…careful about what we commit ourselves to. Most of us know that when we make a commitment, we need to do our absolute best to honor it. None of us want the reputation that goes with being the sort of person who takes commitment lightly.

Commitment can be hard…so that’s sometimes why we’re slow to make commitments. And it’s why we make temporary commitments…commitments that we know have a certain shelf-life when we enter them.

And it’s why we change commitments; we commit to one thing for a while, then shift our attention elsewhere and commit to something else…for a while.

All of us recognize…at least on some level…that the Christian life is a life of commitment. And I think that’s why some of us hesitate to be baptized in Jesus’ name; we know that water baptism is crossing the Rubicon. It means we’re all in for Jesus, come what may.

None of us who’ve been around the Refuge for a while are under the illusion that water baptism means we’re pledging ourselves to a life of absolute perfection, but it does mean that we’re pledging our complete allegiance to Christ & His Kingdom above all others. It does mean that we’re promising Christ & His Church that we’ll walk in His ways and take up His cause.

And we know that’s not the sort of commitment you make, then abandon in favor of some other temporary interest. It’s a commitment that lasts a lifetime, and effects your eternity.

So, it’s good to count the cost…as Jesus said. Since the Christian life is a life of commitment…I mean, an entire life of commitment…it’s good to know what that means, what it entails.

And of course, to do that, we’ve got to turn to the Scripture. Understanding Christian commitment requires understanding what the Bible has to say about the Christian life.

The trouble is that there’s not one, single equivalent idea in the Scripture that we can study and say, “This is what Christian commitment means.”