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{The Application
Application for the Ungodly
Surrender and Deliver Yourselves Up to God in Christ
Christ Appoints Your Work}
Christ appoints your work to you. He puts you to whatever He pleases. Servants work for their master; servants thus must do the work that their master assigns to them.233 They must be willing to do any work that their master has for them to do. Servants must not pick and choose, saying that this they will do and that they will not do. They must not say that this is too hard or that is too menial or that something else may be well enough left undone. Good servants, when they have chosen their master, will let their master choose their work and will not dispute the master’s will, but do it.
Christ has many services to be done; some are easier and more honorable; others are more difficult and undignified; some are suitable to our inclinations and interests; others are contrary to both. In some we may please both Christ and ourselves, as when He requires us to feed and clothe ourselves and provide honest things for our own maintenance. Indeed, there are some spiritual duties that are more pleasing than others, such as rejoicing in the Lord, blessing and praising God, and feeding ourselves with the delights and comforts of Christianity; these are the sweet works of a Christian. But then there are other works in which we cannot please Christ except by denying ourselves. Examples include:
Giving and lending
Restraint of anger
Reproving people for their faults
Withdrawing from evil company and witnessing against their wickedness
Acknowledging and confessing Christ and His Name when it will cost us shame and reproach
Sailing against the wind
Swimming against the tide
Steering contrary to the temper and character of the times
Crucifying the flesh (Galatians 5:24)
Parting with our ease, liberties, relationships, or accommodations for the Name of our Lord Jesus
And much work of this kind
It is necessary, beloved, to sit down and consider what it will cost you to be servants of Christ, and make a thorough survey of the whole business of Christianity. You should not rashly commit yourself to what you do not know (Luke 14:27–33).234
First, see what it is that Christ expects, and then yield yourselves to His whole will. Do not think of writing up, negotiating, or making your own terms with Christ; that will never be allowed to you.
Go to Christ and tell Him, “Lord Jesus, if You will receive me into Your house and only accept me as Your servant, I will not stand upon terms; impose on me whatever condition You please and write down Your own terms. Command me what You wish, put me to anything that You see fit. Let me come under Your roof and be Your servant. Do not hesitate to command me; I will no longer be my own, but give up myself to Your will in all things.”
233Let the reader recall the editor’s earlier note, summarized here: Many Bible versions will translate δοῦλος [doulos] as “servant” or “bondservant.” Alleine follows this usage, but it is not correct. The importance of the distinction between “servant” or “bondservant” and “slave” or “bondslave” must not be overlooked. An employee or servant may leave the master’s service or negotiate the terms of the relationship. A δοῦλος (slave) has absolutely no choice except to submit his will to the will of his master. A δοῦλος (slave) of Christ must submit his will absolutely to Christ. The only dismissal from His service is into Hell. To willfully neglect this aspect of our relationship to our Heavenly Father, Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and Advocate and Guide Holy Spirit, One God, Blessed Forever is to dally with eternal damnation. Let this note strengthen Alleine’s argument in the mind of the reader.
234The believer who has never counted the cost of being Christ’s disciple would do well to count the cost and then renew his or her covenant with Christ.
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