Commitment … The Missing Ingredient

As we begin to read the first chapter of the book of Acts, not the second or third, but the first chapter, and we compare the New Testament church to the modern church, we are aware that something is missing.

We cannot help but ask, “Where is the evidence of those things that so characterized the early church, those things that had such an enormous impact on society?”

WHAT IS MISSING IN TODAY’S CHURCH?

As we compare the New Testament church with today’s church, we cannot help but notice that the missing ingredient is COMMITMENT.

When I speak of commitment, I am talking about A NON-NEGOTIABLE SURRENDER TO THE LORDSHIP OF CHRIST, AND TO THE AUTHORITY OF THE SCRIPTURE. This type of commitment is missing in today’s church.

But COMMITMENT is not only missing in the church, it seems to be missing also in other places in our society, such as:

(1) IN THE DATING OF OUR YOUNG PEOPLE

Illus: Going steady has become accepted in our society. It has not always been acceptable!

Older folks in this congregation can remember when whether it was good or bad for the youth of this nation to be going steady with each other was discussed at great lengths.

Going steady meant that a young man and a young girl agreed they would take themselves out of circulation, and devote their time and attention to one person.

WHY DID SOME PARENTS THINK THIS WAS NOT SOMETHING THAT YOUNG PEOPLE SHOULD DO?

• Some felt that “Going Steady” is too much like an engagement period. The only difference is that no date has been set for a wedding.

• Some felt that “Going Steady” is not good because they are playing around with the word “Commitment,” and they are not old enough to appreciate this word yet.

For example, we have young people today who will fall madly in love with each other, and agree to start “Going Steady”. This is their commitment, but then two weeks later they can not stand to look at each other. This happens in the lives of young people, over and over again. These young people do not have the slightest idea of what the word COMMITMENT means.

They know what:

• A one day commitment is

• A one week commitment is

But they do not have the slightest idea of what a lifetime commitment is.

Commitment is a problem with the youth of this nation. The attitude of many youth today, concerning a girlfriend or a boyfriend, is, “If it does not work out, I will find another one!” And that is exactly what they do!

This same lack of commitment can be seen-

(2) IN THE WORK FORCE OF OUR NATION

We have people who are going from job to job. Why? Because they have never found a job they could be committed to doing.

Now we all recognize there are lots of jobs we would not want to do. But there are some people in our society that are 40 and 50 years of age, and they have never in their lifetime had the same job for more than one or two years.

You would think that at some time in their life they could find some job they felt good about, and they would commit themselves to sticking to that job. The attitude seems to be, “If this job does not work out, so what! I will find another one.”

We see a lack of commitment IN THE DATING OF OUR YOUNG PEOPLE, and IN THE WORK FORCE OF OUR NATION, and also we see a lack of commitment -

(3) IN MARRIAGES

Again, the attitude seems to be that if one marriage does not work out, they will find someone else.

It is difficult to find COMMITMENT anywhere these days! But one place you should be able to find it is in the house of God.

I. WE SHOULD BE COMMITTED TO HIS COMMANDS

When Christians allow commitment to rule their lives, it solves a lot of problems.

Once this surrender is made:

• A multitude of daily decisions and struggles may be eliminated

• This deep seated, lifetime commitment settles future decisions, once and for all

For example, there are Christians in this congregation that go through a struggle when church time comes.

• The Holy Spirit of God encourages them to come

• The devil does everything he can, to give them a reason not to come

But the committed Christian does not have that problem. They have committed their life to Christ, and when church time comes, they will not allow anything to come before the worship of the God they love, as the Bible teaches they should.

The Bible says in Daniel 1:8, “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.”