Surrender

I have long been a believer that the words we use to describe aspects of our faith have strong implications for how we live out our faith. Words that become popular in contemporary Christian circles are not just a reflection of what we have come to believe, but shape the way new and young believers come to understand their faith. Even for those who have been Christians for some time can have their view of faith influenced by the perpetual use of certain words. The repetitive use of certain words can cause us to think and act in accordance to the words that are used. 

Take, for instance, the word “surrender.” Surrender has become a popular word to use in conjunction with, or as a description for conversion - “surrender your life to Christ,” or “surrender to God’s will.” We even have a popular song that we sing in churches across the country that takes the idea of surrender even further - “I wave my white flag, I surrender all to you…” 

I understand the reasoning for using the word “surrender” and I think there is some good imagery created when using the word, but I feel that it is also problematic. While it helps us understand a component of conversion, it falls short of describing the whole picture when we use it exclusively or over emphasize surrender as the primary idea. If our primary or only understanding of conversion rests in surrender, because that is the descriptive word that has been consistently used to describe what has happened, then our view view of conversion, both in understanding and how to live out our faith as a result, will be incomplete. That is where there is power in words.

For that reason, I believe it is important to think carefully about the words we use. When teaching about the Christian faith, we have a great responsibility to convey the same message that scripture communicates. There may be messages that are eloquent and appealing, but if it does not align with scripture, it is a wrong message. Sometimes, however, the message is true, but only in part, or it is true, but incomplete on its own. “Surrender” fits into the later category.

If you do a search for the word “surrender” in the New Testament, you are likely be disappointed in the results. Depending on the translation, you will come up empty or you will find one or two results that have nothing to do with the idea of conversion. Surrender simply is not a word used in the New Testament to describe a person’s conversion to faith in Christ. That, in itself, does not mean that the word “surrender” should not be used or that it is, somehow, “wrong,” but it does cause me to be cautious in using it. It seems to me that we should be asking ourselves why we use “surrender” so freely, but the New Testament writers did not use it at all.

While “surrender” is not used specifically, some might say, there are plenty of passages that describe the idea of surrender. If you look at the passages often referenced for “surrender,” however, you see a different set of words used. Again, I would ask, “why don’t the authors use the word surrender?” We should also look at what words they use instead. 

This is, by no means, the result of a comprehensive study (although I find myself analyzing this more and more), but here are some words and ideas that are used instead of surrender, in the passages most often sited to describe surrender:

Sacrifice (Romans 12:1)

Submit (Romans 6:13, James 4:7)

Be transformed (Romans 12:2)

Humble yourselves (James 4:10, 1 Peter 5:5-7)

Deny yourself (Luke 9:23-24)

Abide Me (John 15)

Suffer (1 Peter 5:9-10)

For many of the passages it is difficult to summarize them with a single word or phrase, but generally they convey an idea that is more difficult and more active than surrender.

“”If anyone wants to become my follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” - Matthew 15:24-25 (NET)

“I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So the life I now live in the body, I live because of the faithfulness of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” - Galatians 2:20 (NET)

While surrender may be an element of these passages, there is far more depth, to each passage than the word “surrender” can convey.

In common language, surrender is most often associated with war, specifically, losing a war. Surrender usually comes because one side has been beaten into submission and all hope of winning the battle is lost. As a last, desperate act of self preservation, the losing side succumbs to the inevitable, lays down their weapons, and throws themselves at the mercy of the conquering side. With surrender, the violence stops and peace is negotiated.

If we understand God to be the conquerer, and his only weapon to be love, there is an appealing picture of surrender for the Christian, as we give up our fight against him and give in to the overwhelming love that he offers. There is a sense in which we lay down our own weapons and we stop fighting against God, and instead submit to his grace and mercy. There is a realization that comes in our “surrender” that we can’t win, that true victory will only be found through submission to Christ.

I don’t believe there is anything wrong with that imagery, but I do believe that our common understanding of surrender causes us to have an incomplete grasp of the full scope of conversion. Surrender is a relatively passive action. In war, when an enemy surrenders, they do so, not because of a change of heart, but because they simply acknowledge they can’t win. In the process of surrender they do not suddenly proclaim the “rightness” of the other side, and denounce the “wrongness” of their own position, they simply quit fighting in hopes of having their own life preserved. After surrender those who were defeated try to find a way to move on with life and cope with their failures. They submit to the conditions of surrender, but they do not necessarily, agree with of join the other side. That is where a Christian’s conversion is different.

In conversion to Christianity, there is more than surrender, we become traitors. At the heart of becoming a Christian, is becoming a follower of Jesus - we stop fighting for the enemy, and instead join the fight for the other side, the side of Christ. We acknowledge that our former ways were wrong and the ways of Christ our right. In conversion we lay down the weapons of evil, and embrace the weapons of God. We stop our fight against God, and join the battle against Satan. In our traitorous new life, we deny ourselves, we are willing to sacrifice our very life, we submit to the commands of our new Lord and Master, we gladly suffer for his sake and we follow him into the spiritual battle. Surrender is just the beginning, the first step in our transformation, but if surrender is the only step, our conversion will be woefully incomplete.

Sadly, surrender is where many in the church have stopped, maybe because, too often, in our teaching of conversion, that is where leaders in the church have stopped. We have been successful in getting people to surrender, but a quick look at the American church suggests that we have been unsuccessful in recruiting people to join the fight. Many Christians have simply “surrendered” and are waiting for the end of the war without ever actively engaging in the battle. We are content to watch the fight from a pew on Sunday, waving our white flag of surrender, hoping for mercy, hoping to escape destruction, hoping to avoid any negative consequences from our previous actions, hoping that our passive retreat from evil is enough to save us. We stand on the sidelines, watching, as the war rages on, looking forward to a kingdom to come, seemingly unaware that the kingdom is already here and advancing on the gates of hell. Many of us have accepted the idea of surrender, but few in the American church have embraced humbly denying ourselves, sacrificing and suffering, total submission to God, taking up our cross, and losing our lives for the sake of Christ.

Perhaps it is time to rethink the words we use in our common Christian language. Instead of using different words to describe our transformation in through Jesus, perhaps we should work harder to understand the words that are used in scripture to describe conversion. Maybe we would see more lives in the church active in the spiritual fight, if we taught that there is more expected of us than mere surrender.