There is something broken in the way many people feel about their own Christianity today. We have created a version of faith that asks almost nothing of us, costs us almost nothing, and changes almost nothing. People proudly wear the title “Christian” while continuing to live exactly the same way they always have... speaking however they want, behaving however they want, chasing whatever desires they want. And somehow we have convinced ourselves that this still counts as following Christ.
It doesn’t.
Calling yourself a Christian while refusing to submit your life to Christ is not faith. It is self-centeredness dressed up as pretend religion. It is the human heart trying to keep the throne while still claiming the benefits of the kingdom. That doesn't work, friends. You are no king. And Jesus never invited people into that kind of arrangement.
When Christ called people to follow Him, He did not say, “Believe in me and continue as you are.” He said something far more uncomfortable and far more powerful: deny yourself. In Luke 9:23 He said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.”
Deny yourself.
That isn't shakespean literature for entertainment. That is a death sentence to the ego. It means your desires are no longer the highest authority in your life. Your opinions, your impulses, your anger, your pride, your habits- none of those things get to sit on the throne of your life anymore. When you choose Christ, you are choosing to step down from ruling your own life.
You are choosing subjection.
That word makes modern people uncomfortable because we have been trained to worship self. Our culture tells us that authenticity means doing whatever feels right, speaking whatever we think, living however we please. But the gospel confronts that lie head-on. The gospel says, the self is not the master, it is the very thing that must be crucified.
Galatians 2:20 says, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.”
That is the language of surrender. That is the language of transformation. That is the language of someone who understands that the moment they came to Christ, their life stopped belonging to them.
But many today want the salvation without the surrender. They want the forgiveness without the authority. They want to call Jesus “Savior,” but they refuse to call Him “Lord.”
Scripture does not separate those things.
Jesus warned about this very thing in Matthew 7:21 when He said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”
Think about that for a moment. These were people who claimed Him. People who spoke His name. People who believed they belonged to Him. Yet their lives never truly bowed to His authority. These were the Sadduccees of the times, who were ignorant completely in the entire point of the Gospel.
That should shake every one of us awake.
Christianity is not about what you say you believe. It is about who rules your life.
If Christ is Lord, then He has authority over how you speak. Over how you treat people. Over how you handle anger. Over your sexual conduct. Over your honesty. Over the hidden corners of your life that no one else sees. Lordship means there is no area where you get to say, “This part still belongs to me.”
And this is where the uncomfortable truth confronts us. Many people who loudly claim Christianity are still completely governed by themselves. Their words are careless. Their hearts are proud. Their lives are driven by the same desires as the world around them. Yet they still attach the name of Christ to their identity as if it were a badge instead of a surrender.
But Jesus did not die so we could wear His name casually. He died so our old lives would end.
The cross was not just a symbol of forgiveness, it was the place where your old self was meant to be nailed down. When you come to Christ, something is supposed to change. Your heart changes. Your direction changes. Your priorities change. The Spirit of God begins reshaping you from the inside out.
That does not mean you become perfect overnight. Every believer struggles. Every believer stumbles. But the difference is this: a true follower of Christ does not defend their rebellion, they surrender it.
They repent.
They bow.
They allow Christ to correct them, convict them, and reshape them.
This is the call that many people desperately need to hear again.
Stop pretending that Christianity is simply a label you can attach to your life while continuing to live however you want. That is not discipleship. That is self-deception.
If Jesus is truly your Lord, then your life belongs to Him.
Your words belong to Him.
Your choices belong to Him.
Your heart belongs to Him.
And if that reality has not begun to reshape the way you live, then the question we must ask ourselves, honestly and humbly, is not whether we say we follow Christ, but whether we ever truly surrendered to Him at all.
I pray this falls upon the ears of those who need to hear, that you will take pause, that you will evaluate your life. God is all knowing and all accepting, He is ready to begin building a genuine relationship with you, full of promise, purpose, and life. Rejection means just the opposite.
He is willing. Are you?
~ Devin
Devin Osborne