Many Christians think they are fully committed to Christ when they have not truly committed their heart to Him. When you make a commitment, it is a pledge or obligation to follow a certain course of action, as in a marriage. The two people make a commitment to each other as well as a vow before God to stay faithful and true to one another until death separates them.

Unfortunately, many people today enter into the commitment of marriage thinking that if they are not happy or satisfied, they can just get a divorce. They seem to forget the pledge they made to one another when they said their wedding vows, and they don’t consider the solemn vow they made before God.

In this message, I want to look at three different parts of a commitment. The first one is the act of making a commitment. The second one is the state or condition of being committed, and the third one is the restrictions associated with being in a commitment. You must understand all three of these parts.

Act on Your Words

Some people go through the act of making a commitment, but their actions don’t live up to their commitment. For example, when a person goes through the motions of getting saved but continues to live the way they did before they said the sinner’s prayer, they didn’t make a real commitment. To have a true, born-again experience, you must make a real commitment to Christ. That is part one of making a commitment. You must recognize you are a sinner, confess your sins before Christ and ask Him into your heart.

The second part of a commitment is the state of being committed, and that is where many Christians miss it. They think they can say a simple prayer of repentance and then continue living their life in sin when that is not true.

When Paul received salvation on the road to Damascus, did he continue persecuting Christians? No. His eyes were opened to the truth, and his life completely changed. If he had continued rounding up Christians to be put to death, people would have known right away that he wasn’t saved.

The Bible says, Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new (II Corinthians 5:17). When you make a commitment to Christ, your state of commitment is to be like Jesus and not like the devil or the world. If old things in your life aren’t passed away, you really didn’t commit your heart to Christ; and you’re still in the bondage of sin.

Follow Christ’s Example

Jesus is our example of being fully committed. Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously (I Peter 2:21-23).

Jesus was fully committed to do the will of His heavenly Father; and He never broke that commitment, not even when He was suffering with great pain. Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed (I Peter 2:24). Because Jesus never broke His commitment, He brought us redemption for the soul and healing for the body.

If you are not following Christ’s example and walking in His footsteps, you are not fully committed to Him. You have the Bible to teach you about Jesus and the Holy Spirit to show you the way, so you have no excuses. The Bride of Christ must be fully committed to Him without any spots, wrinkles or blemishes.

Making a commitment to Christ is a life-changing experience, and you must put Jesus first in everything you do. He will fill your heart with divine love, peace, joy and power to overcome the devil; so there’s no excuse why you can’t fulfill your commitment to serve the Lord for the rest of your life.

When you are fully committed to Christ, your purpose in life should no longer be self-centered but soul-centered. Your fulfillment in life should not be the things of this world but the things of God. Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him (I John 2:15). Those who remain fully committed to do the will of God will live forever.

Judas Broke His Commitment

Judas is an example of what will happen to those who are not fully committed to Christ and His will. Judas made a commitment to Christ when he decided to follow Jesus, and he was given power to pray for the sick and to cast out devils. That is how we know he was fully committed at one time. Then he [Jesus] called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases. And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick (Luke 9:1,2).

Later, Judas was drawn away by the lust of the world. He betrayed Christ and broke his commitment to the Lord, but that didn’t happen overnight. It was a slow process, and he probably didn’t even realize how far away from the Lord he was drifting until the day he crossed over the line to betrayal.

The devil is very patient, and he will draw you away little by little so you won’t realize what is happening until it’s too late. That’s why you must live each day under the condition of your commitment to Christ. You can’t have one foot in the world and one foot in the Kingdom. The Bible says, No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon (Matthew 6:24). Judas learned this lesson the hard way. He broke his commitment to Christ, and it cost him his soul.

Never Lose Your Commitment

The devil will try to entice you with things in the world that really don’t matter to try to convince you to break your commitment to the Lord. If he can’t get you to backslide, he will try to make you spiritually drowsy so you will stop spending time with the Lord and using your talents for His glory.

When you first got saved, you were fully committed to Christ. You were on fire for the Lord and ready to do anything for Him no matter what it was. Is your flame for the Lord still burning brightly, or have you given up some of your duties for Him? Perhaps you think you’re too busy with the entertainments and cares of life. And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares (Luke 21:34).

You may no longer feel like you want to work for the Lord, but you can’t go by your feelings. You have to stay fully committed to the Lord at all times no matter how you feel because this is a late hour. Your talents should be increasing, not decreasing; and you should be doing more and more for the Lord, not less. Your life must be about serving Jesus and doing God’s will, not serving yourself and doing your will.

Jesus Suffered

Making a commitment to Christ will fill your heart with the same divine love and compassion Jesus had, the love that compelled Him to pay the ultimate price and sacrifice His life at Calvary. Jesus knew ahead of time the price He would have to pay; but as the son of man, He struggled with it.

On that last night in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus told His disciples to sit and watch while He went a little farther to pray. And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground (Luke 22:41-44). Does that sound like Jesus was having an easy time with all He was about to face? When you are facing a very deep valley, can you say like Jesus did, “Not my will but thine be done”?

Friend, there will be times in your life when you will be exceedingly sorrowful and suffer just like Jesus did. If you stay fully committed to do the will of the Father, God will be there for you. God was so mindful of how Jesus was feeling that He sent an angel to minister to Him and give Him strength. You can have that same angel help in your times of need.

Peter’s Weak Commitment

When you become fully committed to Christ, you will trust God with your whole heart. The Lord sees the bigger picture even when you can’t, so you must trust Him one hundred percent. For your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him (Matthew 6:8).

Jesus tried to warn the disciples more than once of how much He would have to suffer at the hands of sinners and then be crucified. And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again (Mark 8:31). For he taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise the third day. But they understood not that saying, and were afraid to ask him (Mark 9:31,32). Even so, the disciples didn’t get it. They already had their own ideas about how things were going to play out.

When you are fully committed to Christ, you will make sure you are always in the state of commitment and hold onto the will of God no matter what is going on around you. Peter thought he was fully committed to Christ, and he even told Jesus he would die for Him; but Jesus saith unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this day, even in this night, before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice (Mark 14:30).

Jesus knew Peter was not fully committed and that there was a weakness in his heart. When Jesus was arrested and it came time for Peter to prove his allegiance to Him, Peter failed. He denied that he knew Jesus and even cursed. And a little after, they that stood by said again to Peter, Surely thou art one of them [Jesus’ disciples]: for thou art a Galilaean, and thy speech agreeth thereto. But he began to curse and to swear, saying, I know not this man of whom ye speak (Mark 14:70,71).

I’m sure Peter thought he would never deny Jesus, but that was because he had confidence in himself and not in Christ. He wasn’t fully committed; so in the heat of the battle, he was ready to save his own skin. Then his commitment to Christ went by the wayside.

The Nazarite Vow

When a person makes a commitment, they make a pledge or obligate themselves to follow a certain course of action. That always includes restrictions, and that is the third step in making a commitment.

Some commitments require more restrictions than others, as in the vow of a Nazarite. In the Bible, a Nazarite was a person who took a vow to separate from certain worldly things and to consecrate him or herself to God for a certain period of time. Most often, it was for thirty days; but sometimes, the number of days could be doubled or even tripled. Any of the Hebrew people could decide to take that vow whether they were rich or poor, man or woman, master or slave. Even a parent could take that vow for a child.

When a person took the vow of a Nazarite, it included several restrictions. If a person broke even just one of those restrictions on any day during the period of the vow, they would have to start over again. All the days they had already gone through would be erased.

Some of the restrictions a Nazarite had to follow included not cutting their hair or shaving and not drinking wine or eating the fruit of the vine. A Nazarite was not permitted to touch or even be near a dead body. If someone in their family died, they could not help bury that person. People had to be fully committed to take the vow of a Nazarite because they couldn’t choose which restrictions they did or did not want to follow.

Sampson Failed His Commitment

The Bible tells of three people who were Nazarites for life—Samson, Samuel and John the Baptist. In the case of Sampson, he was ordained by God for a special purpose. An angel visited his mother and gave her special instructions concerning him saying, Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son. Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing: For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines (Judges 13:3-5). Sampson was going to be a Nazarite from his mother’s womb, so she had to follow the same restrictions as a Nazarite while she was carrying him.

God used Sampson in great ways, including delivering Israel out of the hands of the Philistines; but Sampson allowed a Philistine woman to cause him to stray from his vow to the Lord. That cost him his great strength, his eyesight and eventually, his life.

The devil will use people to try to get you to break your commitment to God. He wants you to become spiritually weak and blind and eventually, spiritually dead. If you are not fully committed, the devil knows it’s just a matter of time before he can get you to turn away from God.

Get Rid of Your Benjamin

Christians who are not fully committed to the Lord may have a Benjamin in their life. What is that? It comes from the story of Jacob and his twelve sons. Two of his sons, Joseph and Benjamin, came from his wife Rachel. Jacob favored Joseph above all the others, and that made his brothers jealous; so they threw him into a pit with no food or water. Then they decided to sell him into slavery.

Afterward, the brothers took Joseph’s coat of many colors that his father had given him and smeared it with blood to make Jacob think Joseph had been killed by a wild animal. Jacob was devastated. Benjamin was then the only son he had left from Rachel, so Jacob became overly protective of him and put him above the needs of all the others. Many people today have a Benjamin in their lives that they put above every person and everything, and even above God.

Many years went by, and Joseph endured much in Egypt; but he stayed fully committed to God, and God used him in great ways. Eventually, God raised up Joseph to be second in command over all of Egypt. Throughout all his trials, Joseph had stayed fully committed to God; and that is why God was able to use him.

There came a time when there was a famine in the land of Canaan, and the only place to get food was in Egypt. All of Joseph’s brothers went there except Benjamin, and Joseph was the person they spoke to; but they didn’t recognize him. He gave them what they needed and then told them not to return unless they brought Benjamin back with them.

That seemed like a very simple request, but it wasn’t simple for Jacob. When his son Reuben tried to reason with him, Jacob said, My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he is left alone: if mischief befall him by the way in the which ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave (Genesis 42:38).

Jacob thought he would surely die without Benjamin, and that is how many people today feel about their “Benjamin.” They don’t realize that they are putting their lives in danger by holding onto whatever that Benjamin is. Thankfully, Jacob did eventually agree to let Benjamin go to Egypt. Then his family received more food and the great blessing of knowing that Joseph was alive.

Deny Self

When you make a commitment to serve the Lord, He will bless you and bring you out of whatever valley you may be in as long as you stay fully committed to Him. Jesus said, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me (Luke 9:23). Life will not be easy on this Earth; but the more self is out of the way, the better servant of Christ you will be and the more He can work in your life.

A man went to Jesus one day and said, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest (Luke 9:57). The man was willing to make a commitment to Christ, but Jesus plainly told him his life would not be easy. He wanted the man to know that he would have to get self out of the way to be able to fulfill his commitment. And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head (Luke 9:58). When Jesus lived on Earth, He wasn’t focused on life’s physical comforts but on His commitment to God’s will.

Jesus said to another man, Follow me. But he [the man] said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God (Luke 9:59,60). Jesus wanted the man to know how important it was to preach the Gospel of the eternal life He brought.

Another man said to Jesus, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house (Luke 9:61). Jesus replied, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God (Luke 9:62). When you’re working to bring in the harvest of lost souls, you have to keep your eyes on Jesus. Unfortunately, many people look back to the things of the world, and they end up failing God; so never leave that door cracked open.

Let Your Light Shine

Jesus said, He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me is not worthy of me (Matthew 10:37,38). When you make a commitment to Christ, you must put Him first in all things and above all people, including family and friends. Jesus said, Every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life (Matthew 19:29).

If you don’t put God first, your light will never shine for Him; and people will not see Jesus in you. Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life (John 8:12). If you are hanging around the wrong people and trying to be like the world, you are not fully committed to Jesus.

Jesus came to be the light of the world; so when you have Him living in you, that Jesus light will shine out of you to others. Jesus said, Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven (Matthew 5:16). Every day brings opportunities for you to let your light shine for the Lord, so are you taking advantage of them? Jesus glorified the Father in everything He did on this Earth, and you must do the same thing.

The Holy Ghost Is Essential

When Jesus was on Earth, He was baptized by John the Baptist; and then He received the Holy Ghost. When Jesus came up out of the water, He saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him: And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased (Mark 1:10,11).

It is very important for every person to receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost. Jesus told His disciples before He ascended into Heaven, Tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high (Luke 24:49). That power is the power of the Holy Ghost. Jesus also said, It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you (John 16:7).

The Holy Ghost will give you spiritual wisdom and teach you spiritual things that are not of this world. Paul wrote, Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual (I Corinthians 2:13).

When you make a commitment to Christ, you are eligible to receive the Holy Ghost. Don’t be like the five foolish virgins who were saved but not fully committed. They didn’t have the oil of the Spirit in their lamps, and the Bridegroom shut them out of the marriage supper.

If you want to go when Jesus comes, you must be full of the Holy Ghost and without spot, wrinkle or blemish. That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish (Ephesians 5:27).

Become Committed Today

Friend, are you part of the Bridal Company? So many people today are not committed to serving the Lord with their whole heart, soul and mind because of deceit. The devil is a master deceiver, and he tricks people into thinking they are fully committed when they’re not. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables (II Timothy 4:3,4).

When you go back to the things of the world, the devil has deceived you into thinking you’re better off there than you are in the Kingdom of God; but all that worldly life leads to is sin and death. Jesus said, He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it (Matthew 10:39). You will never find eternal life in the world.

It's not hard to make a commitment to Christ, but people make it hard because self is on the throne. You have to put self down to be able to follow Jesus, and the first step to doing that is by making a commitment to Jesus and receiving Him into your heart.

Then you must live for Jesus every day by staying committed to Him. Yes, there are restrictions, such as living free from sin; but those restrictions will keep you on the straight and narrow path that leads to Heaven. Not one sin will ever enter Heaven. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:23).

Become Fully Committed

It's time to examine your heart to see if you are fully committed. If there is any sin in your life, you are not fully committed. You may think you are, but you are deceived. A born-again experience requires a complete commitment to Jesus Christ. That means you are to be like Him, and Jesus did not sin.

Jesus will not share your heart with the devil, so you have to choose one or the other. If you want to choose Jesus, pray with me now and ask Him into your heart. Say, Oh, God, save my soul. Forgive me for my sins. I am so sorry for sinning against you, but I have come home to serve you for the rest of my life. I believe the blood of Jesus washes away all of my sins. Come into my heart, Jesus. Come on in.

Friend, if you meant that prayer, you are fully committed to Christ. Now, you have to stay that way by serving Him with your whole heart every day.

Let God Heal You

If you’re sick or afflicted today or struggling in life, let the Lord move for you right now. Raise your hands as a point of contact between you and the Lord while I pray and pull down Heaven for you. Then expect God to move for whatever your need may be.

Lord, Heavenly Father, you know what each person’s need is. Break their bondages and set them free. In the blood name of Jesus Christ, I curse every sickness and disease in their bodies. Heal! in the holy, blood name of Jesus and let everything in their bodies come to normal. Bless them and let them be a blessing to others. Amen.

Friend, look for every sign of improvement and always give God the praise, the honor and the glory for everything He is doing and will do in your life. We would love to hear about your miracle or deliverance, so you can send your testimony to testimonies@ernestangley.org. You can also post them to one of our social media pages.

God bless you. Always make sure you are fully committed to Christ.