Dedicate yourselves to God

[AI translation] The apostle Paul addressed this call to believers, people who have already come to know the mystery of salvation, have acknowledged and accepted the grace of forgiveness of sins, have come into contact with the living Christ, and have believed in Him. To these the apostle says, "Now draw the consequences of your faith." In other words, consecrate yourselves to God! Faith in Christ is not only a new way of thinking, not only a new emotion, not only the closed world of the inner man in general, but a life in which the whole man gives himself and feels himself to God, bodily and spiritually, and this devotion to God is reflected in his whole outward life, in his actions, in the spirit of his whole existence. "Dedicate yourselves to God!" This is also the sum of God's message to us today.As the apostle expounds this exhortation, it reveals, first of all, some common misunderstandings and misunderstandings about religion; it reveals what religion, faith in God, is not for! It is a very common misconception, even among believers, that the whole purpose of faith in God is to give man some kind of inner support and strength in the difficulties of life. We are helpless in the face of good or fate, and therefore need some kind of crutch to satisfy our deficiencies. Such a crutch is religion, such a crutch is God, such an escape from the struggles of life is faith. That is why many modern people do not need religion. They see it as powerlessness, that religion is for the weak, for women and children - those who can stand on their own two feet do not need it. Of course there is some truth in this, but it is only half-truth. And that is why it is dangerous. It is, of course, undoubtedly true that he who believes in God will undoubtedly experience what a great strength and support his faith is in the difficulties and darkness of his life. But this is not the root of faith, but its fruit. This support, which strengthens a man in all his problems, is one of those which are given in addition to those who seek first the kingdom of God.
Our Christian religion is not meant to satisfy man's every need and make life gracious and oiled, and may even be downright uncomfortable for those of us who are reluctant to hand over the reins from our own hands to someone else. But to believe is precisely to give oneself up to God, to commit oneself, body and soul, to the service of someone else. The misunderstanding, the abuse of religion, is to believe in God in order to benefit from His providential power, as if one were to enlist as a soldier in order to benefit from the treasury's provisions of food and clothing. This provision is not an end, but an addition, a natural consequence of having enlisted as a soldier. But that is not the point of being a soldier. The essence of our faith is not in the share of the heavenly treasury, nor in the provisions, but first of all in what the apostle warns us: 'Dedicate yourselves to God! Faith is nothing other than an ever-renewing self-dedication to God! You see: it is not a question of reserving God for myself, but of acknowledging that God has reserved me for Himself! I do not desire something from Him, but He desires something from me! I don't have a purpose with Him, He has a purpose with me. He is not at my disposal to help me here and there where I need it, but I am at His disposal to use my life where He sees fit! It is not, then, that religion is the support of weak men, the business of women and children, and that strong men have no need of it - for, behold, it is not that man has any claim on God, but that God has a claim on man. And this claim is no less than this: men, devote yourselves to God!
Another common and usual misinterpretation of religion, of faith, is immediately exposed in the light of this Word. Many modern people turn away from religion because they do not consider it practical enough, saying that it only applies to invisible things, of which man has no use. Religion is considered to be a narcotic, a drug to make man dream himself out of the miseries of the present world into the happiness of a world to come. Some people do indeed live on drugs to escape from a hopeless reality into a dream world, and many consider religion to be one of the most powerful drugs. It is needed by a person who has no hope of life on earth and therefore has all his hopes pinned on the afterlife. Unfortunately, we have given the world an opportunity for this misunderstanding. For there are many believers even today who console themselves for the miseries of this life with the happiness of a life to come after death. He turns away from this life and turns his life entirely towards the hope of the life to come. All over the world, vast multitudes have turned their backs on the Church precisely because the Church has too easily comforted people suffering in bitter circumstances with the hope that this life on earth will soon pass away and be replaced by the glory of heaven. There is some truth, therefore, in the view that a certain religiosity is a narcotic to men, and that a man of such religiosity can no longer strive with such zeal and determination to improve his life on earth.
Well, this very appeal of the Apostle Paul shows that, even if in practice there is a religiosity which does act as a narcotic, it is a caricature of the true life of faith. Dedicate yourselves to God, says the apostle. We have just said in connection with this appeal that, according to the Bible, it is not man who wants something from God, but God who wants something from man. And God's purpose in the whole redemption, in the forgiveness of sins for the merit of Christ, in the communication of His grace, is not only to secure for man the possibility of salvation, but to involve man in His divine work.
Behold, such is the very practical consequence of our faith: 'Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal flesh, that ye should yield unto it in its lusts: neither yield ye your members to sin as instruments of unrighteousness: but yield yourselves to God, as ye that are raised from the dead unto life, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.'" (Rom 6,12-13) Here, then, we are talking not only about a new spirituality, but about a whole new way of life: a way of life that serves God. And this is something that cannot be done in any other way but wholeheartedly, totally and radically. If anywhere, it is here that it is all or nothing. There is no middle way. God does not ask for a part, a quarter or a half of our strength, but for the whole. He doesn't want dilettantes or bystanders, but whole people who give their whole lives to Him, with every function of life and in every area! That is what God is calling us to do now, and that is what He is calling us to do every day, when you stand before Him, when you pray to Him, when you open your Bible, when you think of Him - to hear again and again this mobilizing command.
What does God want for us? The most beautiful, the most varied and the most adventurous undertaking: to be always ready to serve Him. He wants to make us co-workers with the mighty God, beings who, like angels, work together with Him. They do all their work together with God, they are partners in God's work! They are part of the work that God is doing, for example in a family or a church or in the life of a people. They are instruments through whom God works, works on the soul of a person or on human communities. People through whom God is working out His loving-kingdom and redemptive power in the world in visible form, with tangible effects. To serve the Lord is to become an instrument for the fulfillment of the prayer, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done."
Those who serve the Lord are those who participate in God's work of deliverance from sin, suffering and death. And they participate by proclaiming with their lives and, if need be, by telling that there is forgiveness, there is deliverance from sin, there is divine consolation and heavenly resources, there is resurrection triumphant over death and eternal life. Those who are in the Lord's service are not only hearers or readers of the Word, but also transmitters of the gospel, spreaders of the gospel, knowing that this is what we were called to do when we came to know Christ. For God never redeems us only for ourselves through the blood of Christ, but always for others! Therefore, God's daily renewed claim on us is what the Word says: "Dedicate your members as instruments of righteousness to God!" Humanly speaking, the life of our congregations in the world today stands or falls on this, that the members of our congregation, believers in Christ, are called not only to contemplation, but to salvation, not only to participation in God's providential provision, but also to active service. They are commissioned as serving soldiers in the army of Christ. To serve God they must not be skillful, strong, able, but determined, ready. As Paul says: Dedicate your members as weapons to God! It is the same as what is so often said in the Psalms, "My heart is ready". It could be practically put, "Lord, my hands, my feet, my mouth are ready for your service!
Now, we certainly understand that we are called to serve the Lord, but what specifically are we called to do, what task are we called to perform? It would be difficult to list. But it's not important, because if you give Him your hand, He will give you work to do; if you put your feet to Him, He will show you the way; if you give Him your eyes, you will see the opportunities to serve; if you put your mouth to Him, He will give you the words to do it! If you are earnest in your devotion, you will never ask: 'What can I do, Lord, what can I do for you? You will always know what His specific will is for you in that particular situation!
Our brothers and sisters who have given a few hours of their time to collect the five forints per month for the maintenance of our church, who have now tasted the Lord's service, can testify that it is true: all they need is devotion, willingness, and they can also testify how much their whole life of faith is full, complete and strengthened by regular service! Now, through service, they are beginning to know the true beauty, richness and joy of faith in Christ! One thing is for sure: Christ is triumphant in His cause without us; after all, He does not need us in the way that He needs us. But woe to us if we miss His victory, if the divine good news fails at our hands.
O you devoutly listening church of Pasareth, you who have a reputation in the land for loving to go to church, for loving to hear the preaching of the word: hear then also this call of God, "Dedicate yourselves to God, as those who have been raised from death to life, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God." Let it once become your happy experience that Jesus said: 'My yoke is beautiful, my burden is light' (Mt 11,30).
Amen
Date: 10 July 1955.