4. If you come to Me, I want either all of your life or none of it.
This one is said in different ways, but the meaning is the same.
There are those who exhort, “You can’t meet God halfway. If you want to come to Christ, you must completely surrender to Him. God will only do business with you if you mean business with Him. He’s going to get all of your life, or He doesn’t want any of it.” What’s the problem here?
Look at the language in John 3:15, 3:16, 3:18, 3:36, 5:25, 6:47, 11:25-26 and 20:31. All of them make it clear that salvation is based on one thing: believing and trusting in Christ alone as our only way to heaven. The moment we trust Him this way, we are as certain of heaven as though we’re already there.
This misconception is, again, often based on a wrong handling of Scripture. To support it, verses are cited that speak of discipleship, not salvation. Every Christian should be a disciple, but, unfortunately, not every Christian is. In fact, Christ warned people about the cost of discipleship before encouraging them to sign up (Luke 14:26-27).
Salvation is free, but discipleship involves a cost.
Here’s where the misconception becomes so defeating: Who of us, at any given moment, would say that every single aspect of our lives belongs to Christ? All of us have those aspects we hold back, and, even if we do give them to Him, there are moments we take them back. If indeed He has to have control of my entire life, how can I speak to someone else about their salvation?
This misconception presents new Christians with conditions that, as unsaved people, they’re not even remotely prepared to meet.
Encourage your congregation, when they speak to the lost about Christ, to explain that salvation is instantaneous, but discipleship is a process. Once they decide to trust and believe in Christ for salvation, wholehearted surrender and Christ-likeness become a goal to achieve with the help of the Holy Spirit and the fellowship of believers.
