Total Committment

Romans 12:1-2

Once you and I hear the call and accept him as our own personal savior we must constantly press toward the mark. Paul said in Phil 3rd chapter. “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” We all should be pressing toward the Mark, not becoming lackadaisical, nor should we make our walk with God traditional or repetitive. But God wants us to become dedicated and committed.

Many Christians are self-satisfied because they compare their “running” the race with that of other Christians. They usually compare themselves with other Christians who are not making much progress.

Had Paul compared himself with others, he would have been tempted to be proud and perhaps to let up a bit. But Paul did not compare himself with others; he compared himself with himself and with Jesus Christ! I wonder how many of us today are comparing ourselves with the Son of God.

In our text this morning, Paul understands what it means to be totally committed. After his conversion to Christ, Paul proclaimed the Gospel with the same intensity and zeal as with which he had previously persecuted the church. He was determined and committed to the call of Christ on his life and that he would serve Him, no matter what, whether he lived or died.

Some of us in here today, when we were out in the world. We used to get our party on. We would dance and drink all night long. Hooping and hollering and yelling and screaming. We would go to happy hours, midnight hours and after hours. When we wanted to party, we would invite everybody we knew to come on and let’s party down.

But since we’ve been born again, when we come to the house of the Lord, folk barely know that we are here. My bible tells me to “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord.” When we were in the world we were the life of the party. Now, we should strive to be the life of the church.

What mattered to Paul is that the Gospel be proclaimed and Christ be exalted. He was totally committed. Not only was Paul totally committed, but he wanted others to also be totally committed to Christ. And so, I’m like Paul this morning, my desire for this church. My desire for Truth and Light is that we all be totally committed. My desire is that we be totally committed to God first, then our families, and after that, we be totally committed to each other.

Paul spent his life, not only taking the Gospel to unbelievers, but also to writing and urging other believers to be strong in their commitment and walk with the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul told the Ephesian church to be strong in the Lord and the Power of his might. I urge you Truth and Light this morning to be strong in the Lord. Storms may come; winds may blow but hold on to God’s unchanging hand.

In this passage of scripture before us, Paul is writing to the believers in Rome and urges them to total commitment. He calls them brethren. This means that they had already made a decision to follow Christ. They had believed in Him. Paul here does not question their salvation. But there is something that they so tragically needed. They needed to move to total commitment.

Now if Paul were writing this today, he might say what is needed in the church today is 24/7 Christians. There are people today with 24/7 jobs. That does not mean that they are at the job 24 hours a day, seven days a week, but it does mean that the job they are on requires them to be so committed that they could be called to work any time of the day or night, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They could receive a phone call at any hour of the day or night, saying you are needed.

Well, Paul is saying we need folk in the church who are Christians 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They are available, on time, all the time and any time. We need somebody to stand up and say for God I’ll live and for God I will surely die.

Now when I use this terminology 24 hours a day seven days a week Christianity, I don’t mean to imply that your salvation can be put on and taken off whenever you might like. I’m not saying that you can loose it, then regain it, lose it again, or even give it up. But I am talking about 24/7 Christians in commitment.

So this morning, I want to talk about what it means to be totally committed.