5. True Commitment? Psalm 37:5

Text:  “Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass.  And He shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgement as the noonday.”

Psalm 37:5-6.

Good morning, truly committed Christian!  There is no more powerful means of reaching precious souls for Christ’s Kingdom than to witness a truly committed Christian man or woman, endeavouring to live life in full communion and close fellowship with the Living Lord God.  May the Lord God grant us more and more truly committed Christian witnesses, whose public testimony honours Christ and draws souls to His Cross to receive Eternal Salvation.  Hallelujah!  Praise the Lord!

                                                                          

“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)

What is the initial, totally necessary, act of sinful man in seeking to ‘commit his/her way unto the Lord’?  What action does this act of true commitment to God require?

1.  Full recognition of one’s sin.  Any semblance of full commitment to God necessarily first requires a full recognition of one’s sin; how much one has ‘fallen short of the glory of God’, as taught by God the Spirit via the writings of the apostle Paul.  “...For there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God...”  (Romans 3:22-23)

The ‘glory of God’ in this case is the true and perfect righteousness, purity, and impeccable Holiness of Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God.  All other mere human, or natural righteousness, is self-righteousness, which always falls infinitely short of the perfect righteousness of Christ Jesus – God the Son.

Therefore, in order to obtain and possess ‘...the righteousness of God...’, one must be Spiritually regenerated by God from all previous natural sin, cleansed by the precious and sinless Blood of Christ’s Atonement Sacrifice on the Cross, and made into a ‘...new creature in Christ...’  NOTHING less will do!

“Jesus answered (Nicodemus), Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again (Spiritually regenerated), he cannot see the Kingdom of God...Except a man be of water (natural birth) and of the Spirit (Spiritual birth), he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God.”  (John 3:3-9)

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed (or are continually passing) away; behold (look and see!), all things are become (or are continually becoming) new.  And all things are of God, Who hath reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry to reconciliation; to wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world (sinners) to Himself, not imputing (putting to our account) their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.”  (2 Corinthians 5:17-19)

Only ‘born again’, Spiritually regenerate, souls; washed in the precious and sinless Blood of Christ the Lamb; and sanctified by God the Spirit – can ever enter the Kingdom of God. 

This then is what is required for true and full commitment to Christ Jesus – are you and I in this manner fully and truly committed to Christ?  Think this one through.

2.  Progressively Sanctified.  After one is born again of the Lord God, and sanctified from all committed sin, one must thereafter seek to be progressively sanctified from sins committed naturally, and daily, due to the weakness of our old nature – the flesh.

The Lord God makes provision for this progressive sanctification by:

(a)  confession of sin to God alone seeking His cleansing and forgiveness and strength to forsake future sins.  “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the TRUTH (Jesus Christ Himself, John 14:6) is not in us.  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse (sanctify) us from all unrighteousness.  If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His Word (Jesus Christ Himself, John 1:1;14) is not in us.”

(b)  “a washing of the water of the Word”: by continually “...studying to show ourselves approved unto God, workmen/women that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15); and being progressively sanctified from daily sins, “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it; that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of the water of the Word, 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.”; the Lord instructs us that, “Now ye are clean through the Word which I have spoken unto you.” (John 15:3)  Hallelujah!  Cleansed and refreshed from all committed sin!  What a Lord! What a great God!  What a Saviour!

Verse 5.  “Commit thy way unto the Lord, is rendered by the Vulgate, ‘Revela viam Domino’ – reveal thy way; and by St. Ambrose, understood of revealing our sins to God.  Indeed, since it is impossible to cover, why should we not discover our sins?  Conceal not that which God knoweth already and would have thee to make known.  It is very ill office to be the Devil’s secretary.  Oh, break thy league with Satan by revealing his secrets, thy sins, to God.”  (Nathaniel Hardy 1618-1670)

 Verse 5. “...Trust also in Him and He shall bring it to pass.  He does well to leave the whole matter with God; and so to all of us it is truest wisdom, having obediently trusted in God, to leave the results in His hands and expect a blessed issue. (C.H.S.)

 Thought: True and full commitment to Christ necessitates a continual confession of sins; a forsaking of sin; and totally trusting in the Lord Jesus for the Ultimate Victory.