Let Go of the Boat

ATTN

Pic - Whitewater rafting

It was an adventure! The staff I was serving on at the time were going whitewater rafting down the Ocoee River in East Tennessee. I was a little bit intimidated because I was with a group of guys and I didn’t want them to discover my stark abject fear of water over my head. Put me in a pool and I can fool you. I will swim from one side to the other, even in the deep in because I can swim, kind of. I knew I was taking a risk, but I figured I had a life vest on and as long as I stayed in the raft, I’d be ok.

And it was until . . . well, not what you might think. I didn’t get thrown out of the raft. Wasn’t much way of that really because I kept a death grip on the little strap we had to hold on to. No, the dilemma came not when the water was rough but when it was calm. As we floated down the river, we came to this one section where the water was almost completely still and our guide invited us to climb out of the boat into the river and swim. Well, my manhood wouldn’t let me be the only person left in the boat, so whenever everyone else went over the side of the boat I did too, only I could not bring myself to let go of the boat. I stuck my feet down looking for the bottom and, when I could not feel one, I panicked. I had a death grip on that boat and even though I tried several times to let go, I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t trust the water and the life vest I was wearing to hold me up. I couldn’t let go of the boat and float. Sometimes, even when you know something is trustworthy with your mind, you have trouble letting go and trusting it.

NEED

Now it’s obvious when you see pathetic non-swimmers like me who are afraid of treading water. It’s hard to let go and trust. Other situations don’t make it so obvious, but the dilemma is just as real. In life, people have trouble letting go and really trusting. Some have experienced in relationships. Maybe there’s this guy you’ve been dating, and you really think that he might be the one. He might even be very interested in you, but you really have trouble trusting, so you keep him at arm’s length. You might say, you can’t let go of the boat and float.

Others of you have an opportunity in business. You can see the great possibilities if you can just bring yourself to the place that you are willing to take a risk, but you’re afraid. Maybe you’ve been burned in the past and you are afraid to “let go of the boat and float.”

You’re not alone. I think we are all naturally suspicious when it comes to surrender. We have trouble trusting. We find it hard to let go of the boat and float.

BACK

Nowhere is this more evident than in our relationship with God. It is only natural for us, in our fallen state, to think that if we are going to go to heaven, there is something that we must doing. Knowing God can’t be as simple as trusting Him.

That was especially true for the Jewish people. After all, they had been given the law of Moses BY God. Their understanding of God’s plan for them was that they would find favor with Him by their devotion to the code of conduct He had given them. The road to righteousness lay through obedience to the law. No wonder they had trouble accepting what Jesus said when He was on earth and what Paul later told them in His letters. That’s why Paul wrote these words in his letter to the Romans:

Romans 10:1–13 NKJV

Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, “The man who does those things shall live by them.” But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ down from above) or, “ ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

TRANS

And I think that, while we may not have the compulsive relationship with the law that the Jews did, we still struggle with surrender. We have a few “boat-grabbers” of our own. My question today, then, is this: If salvation truly comes through faith, how can we let go and surrender? I think that you find some good answers in this passage. In the first place, you can surrender when you:

You can surrender when you grasp religion’s deception.

D1 – GRASP RELIGION’S DECEPTION – 1-4

ILL

Religion is a master of deception. The theologian, Alexander Schmemann wrote: "One can love religion like anything else in life: sports, science, stamp collecting. One can love it for its own sake without relation to God or the world or life," The late New York Times editor, Henry Grunwald, said There is only one religion, and that is to be good.

Pic - Couple at a nice restaurant in Hawaii

But, when it comes to actually being good, we really struggle. We’re like Wayne Cordiero, a pastor in Honolulu. Seems Wayne got a gift certificate from his church for $100 so that he could take his wife somewhere nice. They decided to go for it.

They dressed up, he says he took a bath, used deodorant and cologne—the whole nine. He even washed and waxed his car because he wanted to let the valet park his Ford Pinto. The night arrived and they were excited. They went to this ritzy restaurant. They were seated at this nice candlelit table overlooking a lagoon adjacent to a bay in Hawaii. Doesn’t get much better than that! They ate high on the hog, ordering the most expensive thing on the menu. It was great until—until they got the bill.

When the bill came, Wayne looked at his wife and said, “Honey, you got the certificate?” She said, “I don’t have it! I thought you brought it!”

He told her, “You have to have it, You’re supposed to have it! You’re the wife, for crying out loud! She said, “Well, I don’t have it.”

Wayne said his heart sank and he thought. We are in deep yogurt. Here we are. We look rich, we act rich, we even smell rich. But if we don't have that certificate, it invalidates everything.

Religion is like that. It makes you look holy; it makes you act holy; You might even smell holy but there is no real relationship with the Lord and that invalidates everything. You see, religion deceives you.

EXP

And in these verses we see just how religious deception works. Paul gives us two specific ways that it occurs. It occurs, first, by replacing truth with zeal. V1 says,

Romans 10:1–2 NKJV

Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.

Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. 2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. The law was a point of pride for the Jew. It had become their identity. They had great pride in it and would do anything to protect it, but Jesus pointed out to them, when He was here, that their religion had totally distorted the purpose of the law.

For instance, Jesus was constantly being confronted by the Pharisees over the Sabbath. Countless times, He healed people on the Sabbath. The Pharisees called that “work” and accused Him of breaking the law. Jesus pointed out to them that God had never intended that they cease doing good on the Sabbath. They had taken the law of the Sabbath and distorted it into something that it was never intended to be, and they held onto their distortions with great passion. Paul says, For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for knowledge

. . . but then he adds, but not according to knowledge. You see, not only had the Jew been deceived by replacing truth with zeal, they had been deceived by replacing submission with pride. In their pride, the Jew was holding onto their own way to get to heaven instead of being willing to trust the way God had provided. That’s what v 3 says. Look at it:

Romans 10:3 NKJV

For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God.

3 For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God.

You see, God had never intended that the law be the means of anyone actually getting to heaven. The law was intended to help us see how much we needed God’s help—how much we needed to trust Him. That’s why v4 says,

Romans 10:4 NKJV

For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. In other words, for everyone who lets go of the boat of their own works and trusts in Christ’s work to save them.

TRANS

It requires surrender and that surrender comes when you grasp the deception of religion. But then it also comes when you

You can surrender when you give up control.

D2 GIVE UP CONTROL

EXP

The Jewish distortion of the law that had developed over the centuries could be summarized in one word: “Control.” By control I mean that, if you could muster up enough willpower so that you kept the requirements of the law, you were basically in control of your destiny. Doing the law meant going to heaven.

But, in v 5, Paul points to the achilles heel of this notion: Perfection. V5 says:

Romans 10:5 NKJV

For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, “The man who does those things shall live by them.”

For Moses writes about the righteousness of the law, ‘The man who does those things will live by them.’” In other words, if you’re going to get to heaven by keeping the law, you cannot fail ever, not even in the smallest way. You had to be perfect.

Pic - Woman taken in Adultery - John 8

And even the staunchest law-keeper knew he wasn’t. In fact, in John 8, the law-keepers of the day brought Him a woman caught in adultery. Wanting to stone her, because that was what the law said, they asked Jesus what they should do. He told them, Let he who is without sin cast the first stone. If you know the story, you know what happened: They dropped their rocks and rolled away! They realized they were not perfect.

Simply put, controlling our own destiny will not work. Our good will never be good enough. That’s why Jesus came to this earth. He came to suffer on the cross to pay the penalty for our sin. He DID live the perfect life and then He died on the cross for us and was raised from the dead by God to prove HE was Who He said He was. God has provided all of this for us and all we have to do is believe it and trust Him.

But . . . But, we still want to control it somehow. That’s what Paul alludes to in v 6: Look at it:

Romans 10:6–7 NKJV

But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ down from above) or, “ ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).

But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ down from above)7 or, “ ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). I think Paul is acknowledging here that the Jew and many others would question how this could possibly work. How could God become man? How could God come down and live with us like Jesus did. Furthermore, how could God die? How could He die a horrific death on a cross and then how could He rise from the dead? It seemed preposterous to the Jewish mind. How could he possibly let go of all his questions, believe God, and just surrender. How could he give up control? How could he just let go of the boat of his own control and float in the grace of God?

He would have to surrender! That surrender is only possible when you grasp religion’s deception and give up control, but there is something else that makes it possible. Surrender is possible when you:

You can surrender when you embrace simple faith.

D3 – EMBRACE SIMPLE FAITH

EXP

I say “simple” faith because it really is faith ALONE, all by itself! This is clearly taught in these verses. Go back to v 6:

Romans 10:6–8 NKJV

But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ down from above) or, “ ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach):

But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ down from above)7 or, “ ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach):

Don’t miss what is being said here. Paul says, Don’t ask all these hard questions like, “How could Jesus possibly be God and die?” or “How could Jesus possibly be raised from the dead?” The answer to those is not even available and, even if it were, it would not save you. What will save you? Verse 8 says, “It’s simple!” The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart. In other words it’s as close as your tongue. It requires no work on your part. It is simple faith.

This faith is a conviction of the heart.

But what do I mean when I say faith? Vv 9-10 tell us. This faith is a CONVICTION OF THE HEART.

Romans 10:9–10 NKJV

that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

If you will believe in your heart (v9 says) that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness. This faith starts in your heart as a firm conviction. You may not even be able to adequately explain it, it’s just there. You believe that Jesus is the risen son. It is a CONVICTION OF THE HEART.

This faith is a confession of the lips.

And then the conviction fo the heart becomes a CONFESSION OF THE MOUTH. V9 again says, If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord . . . and v10 goes on to say that with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. The conviction of the heart becomes the confession of the mouth and those things flow from . . .

This faith is a surrender of the will.

THE SURRENDER OF THE WILL. V9 says that there is something very specific that you must confess. That if you confess with your mouth THE LORD JESUS. This confession focuses on Christ’s POSITION in my life. I confess that Jesus is MY LORD; He is my BOSS. He now calls the shots. I surrender my will. I let go of the boat and float.

TRANS

And what does this surrender lead to? It leads to a tremendous promise. I:

You can surrender when you rest in God’s promises.

D4 – REST IN GOD’S PROMISE

EXP

God promises acceptance.

Romans 10:11–12 NKJV

For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him.

Great promises are given to the one who surrenders. He is promised ACCEPTANCE: 1 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him . . . will be saved. Whoever! V12 goes on to say: 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek. In that day, a great distinction was made between Jews and Greeks or other non-Jewish people. Paul says that, in this new way of righteousness through faith, everyone is accepted. We are promised acceptance . . .

God promises forgiveness.

And we are promised FORGIVENESS. V11, again, says,

Romans 10:11 NKJV

For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”

Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame . . . The shame and guilt of sin is removed to the one who believes on Him.

God promises blessing.

And BLESSING is also promised. He says in v12,

Romans 10:12 NKJV

For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him.

for the same Lord is rich to all who call on Him. In other words, anyone who calls on Him is going to be richly rewarded. Rewarded with what?

God promises a guarantee.

Well with an iron-clad GUARANTEE. V13 says:

Romans 10:13 NKJV

For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. That’s what full surrender leads to: It leads to being able to rest with confidence in God’s promise. But don’t miss it: It does require complete and full surrender. You must let go of the boat and float.

ILL

Pic - Cheese Factory

Nik Rypken was a high school senior preparing to go to the University of Kentucky on a scholarship. He had little church background, but he was working at a Kraft food Cheese factory struggling to clamp lids on 500 lb containers of stirred curd. The far recesses of the factory were very quiet that night when Nik heard a sudden clear voice asking him a question. The voice asked: “Nik! Are you tired of running?” The words were so clear and the voice so unmistakable that he whirled around to see who had managed to sneak up on him. No one was there.

Well, like you would have thought, he concluded that his mind was playing tricks on him and went back to his work. 10 minutes later he heard it again, “Nik are you tired of running? He looked around and, again, no one was there. He was wary now and kept looking and heard the voice a third time. It said: Nik, are you ready to stop running and serve me. He suspected at first that a co-worker was playing a trick on him, but then he began to realize that it was God speaking to him.

He said that he didn’t realize that it was possible to question or even ignore the Holy Spirit. He was so surprised that all by himself in the back of the food factory, he did the only thing that made sense to him. He gave God his life. Because no one had ever told him any different, he assumed that a person who gave his life to Christ had to completely surrender his control to God.

For the longest time, he had wanted to be a vet, but he dropped his plans to attend the University of Kentucky and went to prepare for ministry at a small Christian college close to him. He did what these verses describe. He believed in His heart, confessed with His mouth and made Jesus His Lord. He surrendered and rested in God’s promise of acceptance, of forgiveness, and of blessing.

APP

And no matter who you are, I think you need to hear this message! Why? Because like the Jewish people Paul writes to here in this chapter, we’re tempted to seek to do the right thing the wrong way. That’s what the Jew was trying to do: He was trying to do the right thing (please God) the wrong way (by keeping the law—by being good.)

Is that you? Are you trying to please God by being good? Man! I know a lot of people like that! They are good neighbors. They are the people who are always looking out for others. If there’s a hurricane or a neighborhood emergency, they’re the ones going around making sure everyone is taken care of.

And they’re good friends. They’ll listen to your problems. They’ll encourage you to stay engaged in your marriage when you’re going through a difficult time. They’ll get up at 2 am if you need them to and help you stop a gushing water heater. They’re great friends. Are you that kind of a person? You’re a good friend.

And maybe you’re a good husband. You support your wife’s career, even though it might not be the best thing for your own. You go to your kids’ games and help shoulder the load around the house.

You may even be a good church member. You come to church and give your money.

All of these things are good but, alone, they are just another effort for you, like the Jews Paul was speaking to, to control your own destiny—to hold onto the boat of your own effort. You’re trying to do the right thing the wrong way. You have to let go of the boat and float. You have to surrender!

You know this even applies to you as a Christ-follower. Even after we come to Christ, we can try to be the one in control of our relationship with Jesus. You can try that in many areas of your life.

You can, for instance, try to be in control when it comes to your family. You can demand that God allow you to live in a certain place, insist on a certain income, or demand a certain level of health for you and your kids. That is an effort to control the outcome. The gospel says surrender.

You can demand the control of your own calling. That’s what I did for a number of years because I refused to surrender to the ministry. It wasn’t until I surrendered that I began to see God use me.

You can demand the control of your money. You can refuse to put God first in your giving like He told you to do.

And as long as you insist on your control you are living by law and not by gospel. The gospel means surrender. You have to let go of the boat and float.