The Dedicated Life

In his book Balancing the Christian Life, Charles Ryrie challenges believers to dedicate their lives to Christ. He writes:

Each believer stands on one side or the other of dedication. Either we have made this a lifelong commitment or we have not. Either we have faced the issue of who is to be the master of our lives or we have been plucking up one sin at a time. If there has never been a dedication of life this is the next step the reader should take. If there has been, then it is always profitable to examine the present state of that dedicated life. If in any area one's dedication has for any reason been violated, then the remedy is confession to God and restoration by God. This, too, can be done at any time--even while reading these words.

Ryrie's basis for calling believers to dedicate their lives God after salvation is found in Romans 12.1-2, where Paul calls for the "bothers" or believers to "offer [their] bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God" and to "be transformed by the renewing of [their] mind."

The challenge implied here is threefold. First, individuals must decide if they will put their hope and trust in God's salvation made possible by the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Second, we must choose to dedicate our whole being (heart, mind, soul, and body) to God's sovereign rule. Finally, as believers who have dedicated every bit of our lives to Christ, we must continually examine all areas of our lives to ensure that we are living a dedicated life. If we are not, we must deal with sin and spiritual shortcomings through prayer. As we seek reconciliation with God, He is faithful to restore those who He has called into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.