Capitulation
There is a scenario that plays itself out with
frequency in the financial arena. Consider the investor who
buys shares of a particular stock with the expectation of selling
them for a profit at some future date. Over a period of time,
however, the market goes against that investor with the stock price
slipping lower and lower. At some point, the pain of stock value
decline exceeds any lingering hope of a turnaround. The investor
finally throws up his or her hands, and sells the stock to forego
additional pain. In the jargon of investing, this sell moment is
referred to as capitulation.
The dictionary provides two definitions for capitulation: (1) a set
of terms or articles constituting an agreement between governments
(e.g., the Japanese agreeing to and signing documents of
unconditional surrender at the close of World War II), and (2) the
act of surrendering or yielding (e.g., the mixed martial arts
fighter who taps out due to a rear naked choke). In each instance,
capitulation takes place when some entity is able to impose its will
upon the one who capitulates.
Now, while capitulation is not a biblical word, it is most certainly
a spiritual concept that is vividly depicted throughout the
scriptures. In fact, it can be argued that the favour of God is
impossible without it. Moreover, repentance, without which Jesus
said men would perish in their sins (Luke 13:1-5), is essentially
the capitulation of the sinner’s will to the will of God. Consider
with me the following examples.
The most prominent illustration of capitulation is found in Saul of
Tarsus as he traveled on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1-6). Like the
aforementioned investor dealing with the pain of stock value loss,
Saul was dealing with and kicking against his own internal pain
(“pricks”) wrought by Holy Ghost conviction. This encounter of the
divine kind resulted in Saul’s surrender as reflected in these
words: “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?”
In like manner, the Philippian jailor (“keeper of the prison”) found
himself in a disconcerting situation when Paul and Silas, who had
had “many stripes” laid upon them and were placed in his charge, got
caught up in a late-night praise session (Acts 16:19-34). I am
convinced that the great earthquake that shook the prison
foundations—indicative of God’s manifested presence—caused the jailor,
whose entire career was characterized by total alignment with Rome,
to realize that alignment with the God of these Spirit-filled men
was of far greater import. In his moment of capitulation, the jailor
voiced the desire of his heart: “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
The need for capitulation is as needful for the saint as it is for
the sinner. The patriarch Abraham had long since been justified by
faith (Genesis 15:6) when the Lord instructed him to offer up his
son Isaac as a sacrifice (22:1-12). At issue was whether this saved
man would hold on to that which was dear to his heart and withhold
it from God in the process (22:12). Abraham’s fear of (reverence
for) his Lord trumped any temptation he might have had to forego
obedience.
In his capitulation, Abraham provided an eternal type of the Father
and his Son, Jesus Christ. And in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus
demonstrated that same spirit of capitulation when he prayed:
“Father…not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42). In most
cases, moments of capitulation have in view the alleviation of pain.
In our Lord’s case, however, his yieldedness to the Father’s will
served as a gateway to the most excruciating pain ever endured by a
man…for our sins!
On the flip side of the capitulation coin are those who refused to
do so when the opportunity was presented to them. Cain is the
classic case (Genesis 4:1-16). After rejecting Cain’s offering, the
Lord reasoned with him regarding acceptance for “doing well” and the
danger of sin lying “at the door” if he chose the path of
non-capitulation. In his obstinance, Cain opted for sin, murdered
his brother, became a marked fugitive, and subsequently “went out
from the presence of the LORD.”
Mark 10:17-22 tells us of a man with “great possessions” who ran to
Jesus, kneeled down before him, and asked: “Good Master, what shall
I do that I may inherit eternal life?” (10:17). Jesus beholding him
loved him, and provided the terms of capitulation: “Go thy way, sell
whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have
treasure in heaven: and come, take up thy cross, and follow me”
(10:21). Rather than comply with those terms, he was saddened by
what he heard and “went away grieved” (10:22). The episode of this
rich man demonstrates that the act of capitulation by a sinner
necessitates the dethronement of false god(s)—money or otherwise—and
the enthronement of the true and living God upon the seat of the
heart!
Perhaps the main reason why local churches struggle to be holy and
fail to influence a lost and dying world is a membership that
consists of too many men and women whose confession with the mouth
(i.e., praying the prayer) was never coupled with capitulation of
the heart. Judas comes to mind. In spite of his three-year
association with the Lord Jesus, his was a capitulation-free
ministry that eventually led him to betray the Lord Jesus when the
price was right.
In addition to what the scriptures say about those who capitulated
to the will of God and others who refused to do so, they reveal that
ultimate capitulation is inevitable for every living soul. In
Philippians 2:9-11, Paul declared that the exaltation of Christ
would have as its result the bowing of every knee and the confessing
of every tongue that “Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the
Father.” The wise individual will find a place of capitulation to
Christ in this life and prepare him- or herself for the life to
come.
I am reminded of the mechanic’s closing line in that once-popular
Fram Oil Filter commercial: “You can pay me now, or pay me later.”
And so it is in the spiritual realm. Sinners can capitulate to the
will of God in this life with eternal benefit or capitulate at the
Great White Throne where all hope of salvation is long gone!
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