Part 2: REMISSION, SUBMISSION, PERMISSION, COMMISSION

In today’s world, success and submission seem to be incompatible. As Christians, though we are in the world, and must operate within a worldly system, we are to march to the beat of a different drum…we are to live by principles and precepts from God’s Word. The truths of God’s Word never change and will work in every culture and era of time. David said, “Forever, O Lord thy Word is settled in heaven”. So, what about this matter of submission?

Submission actually begins at salvation. To be saved, a person must submit themselves to what God says about our sin (I John 1:10) and our inability to save ourselves, (Ephesians 2:8-9) or to make ourselves right with God. It is at that critical point of submitting one’s self as a sinner to God and His salvation plan that some people stop and turn away.

Submission unto God doesn’t start and end at salvation, for Jesus is not only to be Savior - He must be Lord…He is to have Lordship over our lives. Jesus told those who followed Him: “if any man will come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me”. (Matthew 16:24). Singing praise and worship songs and listening to a 25-minute message on Sunday doesn’t mean Jesus is Lord over our life. Submission unto God and His Word can’t be compartmentalized and categorized…it’s a lifestyle 24/7.

Submission is critical in resisting and overcoming temptation. The opportunity to live like the world, talk like the world and act like the world is always in our face. Some denominations teach that we are just sinners saved by grace and can’t help but sin, in this world. There is a Greek word for that: “baloney”. God’s Word says: “Whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world, and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith”. (I John 5:4). “Even our faith”…in faith, we submit ourselves to the power of our crucified and resurrected Christ! James 4:7 says: “Submit yourselves unto God, resist the devil and he will flee from you”.

Submission is the unchanging, non-negotiable requirement in all relationships…especially in marriage. Ephesians 5: 21-33 provides us with marital instruction. Simply put: Husbands love your wives; wives submit unto your husband. No husband can give Christ-like love to his wife without submitting to Christ first and then focusing on her and her needs to be valued. No wife can truly submit unto her husband without first submitting unto Christ. I Peter 5:5 teaches us that all of us are to submit ourselves one to the other — now there’s a plan for minimizing conflict in the church! The blessings of Remission compel us to live in Submission.