A Full Surrender by R. S. Hutton

The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Nov 24, 1863

A Full Surrender.

By R. S. Hutton

"My son, give me thy heart." Proverbs xxiii, 26.

MAKE a full surrender; keep back nothing; give yourself up wholly to the Lord. He will not be satisfied with anything short of your entire being. All that you are and all that you have are his; and if you do as he requires, you will devote yourself heartily to him.

A full surrender is the only safe course. There can be no security without it. An unwillingness to abandon all for Christ, betrays a lingering love of self and the world. With half-heartedness God can not be pleased. Satan would persuade you that it is enough. He has not been able to prevent your being anxious. In spite of all his endeavors to keep you asleep, you have waked to a sense of your guilt and danger; you have become alive to the vast importance of the soul and eternity. But he would urge you to a partial sacrifice. He would persuade you that you may enjoy the world as you did before, and be religious too. He would convince you that there is no necessity of taking any decided step, and being different from what you were. But all this is hollow sophistry. Be on your guard against his devices; heed not his suggestions. See how God would have you act. Halting between two opinions is emphatically condemned. Against those who are neither cold nor hot terrible judgment is threatened. And Jesus Christ says, "He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad."

A full surrender is the only happy course. Would you have solid peace? Would you know what true spiritual joy is? Would you possess assurance of the divine favor, and a good, firm hope of eternal life? There must be decision. An attempted neutrality is a foe to all happiness. Never can you enjoy religion without an entire and thorough giving up of yourself to God. In an undecided life there is much to dim the spiritual vision, and to disturb the spiritual peace. A single evil desire indulged is sufficient to rob you of happiness.

A full surrender is the only course conducive to holiness. Do you long to walk with God? Do you long to grow in grace? Do you long to be such as you ought to be? Then give yourself up wholly to Christ. Open your whole heart to the influx of heaven's affections. Seek to live wholly under the presiding authority of heaven's principles. Let it be your honest endeavor to breathe wholly the spirit of heaven's Lord. Then you cannot fail to advance; you will go from strength to strength; you will appear at length before God in Zion.

A full surrender is needed to commend the religion of Christ to the world. Alas, for the numbers of professing disciples, who are neither one thing nor another! They are cautious, selfish, worldly. They don't commit themselves. They hope they do no harm, but they certainly do no good. They are afraid to confess Christ, and they are afraid to deny him. They are idle, useless, undecided. How is the world to be impressed by such men as these? They put forth no effort for the good of their fellow-men. But make a full surrender to Christ, and yours will be no such life. You will be one with him; you will gather with him. Something within you will prompt and stir to holy toils for Christ, and men will see in you the beauty of holiness. As living epistles of Christ, you will be seen and read of all men.

Do you hesitate to make a full surrender? Think well, indeed, on what you are about to do. Count the cost. Consider the nature and character and conditions of the service of Christ. Do this, and then deliberately and solemnly decide. Let this be your language on your knees at the Throne of Grace:

Lord! thou hast won; at length I yield; My heart, by mighty grace compelled, Surrenders all to thee; Against thy terrors long I strove, But who can stand against thy love? Love conquers even me.

Now, Lord, I would be thine alone; Come, take possession of thine own, For thou hast set me free; Released from Satan's hard command, See, all my powers in waiting stand, To be employed by thee. —R. S. Hutton.