#59 - Kyle Thompson // A Godly Man Has Surrendered His Life To Christ

Summary

Episode #59 - Kyle Thompson: A Godly Man Has Surrendered His Life To Christ

Release Date: March 24, 2025

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Introduction

In Episode #59 of The Daily Blade, hosts Pastor Joby Martin of the Church of Eleven22 and Kyle Thompson of Undaunted.Life embark on an enlightening exploration of what constitutes a godly man. This episode marks the beginning of a two-week series dedicated to dissecting the ten elements of a godly man, all deeply rooted in biblical teachings. The primary focus of this installment is the paramount importance of surrendering one's life to Christ.

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Element One: Surrender to Christ

Kyle Thompson initiates the discussion by sharing his unique experiences speaking across various churches and settings, including unexpected venues like prisons. This breadth of experience underscores the universal relevance of his message (00:20). He introduces the first and foremost element of a godly man: the total surrender of one’s life to Jesus Christ.

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Biblical Foundation

Kyle reads and analyzes Galatians 2:20-21, a passage that he regards as pivotal to understanding true godliness:

"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself up for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose." (Galatians 2:20-21) (02:00)

He breaks down the verses to emphasize that surrendering to Christ means a fundamental transformation of identity—from living for oneself to allowing Christ to live through and within you.

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Contextual Analysis

Delving into Galatians 2:11-14, Kyle recounts the historical confrontation where Paul opposes Peter for his inconsistent behavior regarding the Gospel and circumcision practices. This incident exemplifies the necessity of unwavering commitment to Christ, regardless of external pressures or traditions. Kyle highlights Paul's boldness in defending the purity of the Gospel, serving as a model for modern believers (03:10).

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The Law vs. Grace

Kyle articulates a crucial theological point: righteousness cannot be achieved through adherence to the law. Referencing Galatians 2:21, he argues that if the law could justify a person, Christ's sacrificial death would be rendered unnecessary. To reinforce this, Kyle quotes John Chrysostom, an esteemed early church preacher:

"Christ having died shows that the law has no power to justify us. For if the law can justify or make us right righteous, the death of Christ is superfluous." (04:45)

He further illustrates this concept with a relatable analogy from Wes Huff on the Joe Rogan Experience:

"The law is a mirror. Have you ever tried to like clean mud off your face with a mirror? It doesn't do anything. It lets you know that you're dirty, but you can't clean yourself up." (03:30)

This analogy underscores the futility of attempting self-justification, highlighting the necessity of divine grace.

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Practical Implications

Kyle warns against two common missteps for those who have not surrendered to Christ:

1. Becoming the Ultimate Rule Follower: Relying solely on personal adherence to rules can lead to self-righteousness and a distorted sense of self.
2. Elevating Oneself to "a Little God": Attempting to achieve godliness through self-manipulation or personal effort diverts from the true essence of surrendering to Christ.

By contrast, genuine godliness arises from a heart surrendered to Christ, allowing His life to flow through the believer.

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Notable Quotes

• Kyle Thompson on Identity in Christ:

  "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me." (02:15)

• Wes Huff's Analogy on the Law:

  "The law is a mirror. Have you ever tried to like clean mud off your face with a mirror?" (03:30)

• John Chrysostom on the Power of Grace:

  "Christ having died shows that the law has no power to justify us. For if the law can justify or make us right righteous, the death of Christ is superfluous." (04:45)

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Conclusion and Call to Action

Kyle Thompson passionately urges listeners to examine their relationship with Christ and consider the profound significance of surrendering their lives to Him. He emphasizes that without this surrender, the pursuit of godliness becomes either a hollow adherence to rules or an inflated sense of self, neither of which aligns with true Christian teachings.

In closing, Kyle reinforces the transformative power of living by faith in Jesus Christ, not by the flesh, and calls on men to embrace this foundational step towards genuine godliness. This call to action serves as a compelling invitation for listeners to commit their lives fully to Christ, laying the groundwork for the subsequent elements that will be explored in the series.

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Final Thoughts

Episode #59 of The Daily Blade offers a profound and structured examination of what it means to be a godly man, rooted deeply in scripture and practical application. Through Kyle Thompson's insightful analysis and heartfelt exhortation, listeners are encouraged to embrace a life surrendered to Christ as the cornerstone of their spiritual journey. This episode not only lays the foundation for the series but also provides tangible steps for men seeking to align their lives more closely with God's word.

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Join the Conversation

Don't miss out on further enriching discussions and insights. Join Pastor Joby Martin and Kyle Thompson in person at the 2025 Men's Conference in Jacksonville, Florida. Secure your seat today at mensconference.com.

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Transcript

[A]

Welcome to the Daily Blade. The word of God is described as the sword of the spirit, the primary spiritual weapon in the Christian's armor against the forces of evil. Your hosts are Joby Martin and Kyle Thompson, and they stand ready to equip men for the fight. Let's sharpen up.

[B]

All right, guys, welcome back to another week of the Daily Blade. Now, one of the greatest things that I get to do because of my really weird job is I actually get invited to come and speak at churches all all over the country. So small churches, big churches, you know, some in the middle of a city, some out in the middle of nowhere. I've even been able to speak at prisons. So shout out to the guys over at Lewisburg Prison in Pennsylvania. So that is a really cool thing I get to do for my job. And typically I get to pick my subject matter. The people are just like, yeah, talk about whatever you want to talk about. So I usually have some that are kind of prepackaged, ready to go. But if they do make a request, right, if the church or the men's group makes a request or like, hey, can you do something on, you know, quote unquote biblical masculinity? And that's a little bit hard, if I'm being honest, because that's really broad and it's also kind of nebulous and you don't really know exactly what people mean. But I've gotten that challenge and that request so much over the years that I've decided with a lot of my talks to make like a list of, like, okay, what are some elements of a godly man? And so I did come up with a non exhaustive, okay, so got to put emphasis on that. A non exhaustive list of the 10 elements of a godly man. So all these come from the Bible. And that's what we're going to be covering over the next two weeks on the Daily Blade. So all of this week and all of next week. So these elements are not in any particular order, but I will tell you, the first one, the one we're going over today is preeminent. Okay, so here's element one of a godly man. A godly man has surrendered his life to Christ. At which point you might be thinking, well, duh, Kyle. I mean, you can't really be a godly man unless you've surrendered your life to Christ. But some people have not really thought that through. And so I figured I would just be very explicit about it. But the thing about it is, if you haven't given Your life over to Christ. The pursuit of quote, unquote, godliness becomes one of two things. It either becomes one, being the ultimate rule follower. Right. Or two, making ourselves into a little G God. And those are kind of connected because if you are the ultimate rule follower, then you could look at yourself like, man, I am so awesome. I've become this little G God. But the text that we're going to be talking about today is from the end of the second chapter of Paul's letter to the church in galatia. So Galatians 2 contains both one of my favorite historical occurrences in the entire New Testament and one of my favorite passages in the entire New Testament, perhaps the entire Bible. And So in Galatians 2, 11, 14, we see Paul opposing Peter to his face. So Peter was not acting right. He was kind of buying into this whole Gospel plus narrative because of the circumcision party. Yeah, that's an actual party, not a party I would want to go to. But I digress. But Paul opposed him to his face. I absolutely love that story. But let's go into Galatians 2. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh. I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself up for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteous were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose. So let's break this down just a little bit. Verse 20. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live. So you're dead, right, guys, you are dead. You are no longer you. You were bought with a price. You're dead now. And so I thought of Philippians 3, verse 10, that I may know him in the power of his resurrection and may suffer or share his sufferings, becoming like him in death. Okay, so you're like him in death. Verse 20 Again, but Christ who lives in me. Okay, so you're dead, but you're also not dead at the same time. Right? So you, the you that you were before is dead now, but you are now not dead because Christ is now living in you. Okay, and let's go back to the verse and the life. I now live in the flesh. I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself up for me. Okay, so right there in the verse, we have this, you know, contrasting of living in the flesh. And that's immediately contrasting with living by faith. But let's go ahead and go to verse 21. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose. Again, I'll read that again. Verse 21. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose. Guys, if we could clean ourselves up, like, if we could. As Wes Huff said on the Joe Rogan experience, like, you know, the law is a mirror. Have you ever tried to like clean mud off your face with a mirror? It doesn't do anything. It lets you know that you're dirty, but you can't clean yourself up. There's nothing that we can do to save ourselves. Because if we could, if we could act good enough or give enough money or do those types of things, then Christ didn't need to die. And so I actually found a great quote as I was digging into the scripture. It's from one of the greatest, if not the greatest, early church preachers. It's John Christostome. He says this Christ having died shows that the law has no power to justify us. For if the law can justify or make us right righteous, the death of Christ is superfluous. And so guys, I don't know about you, but you should just try to sneak superfluous into all your different quotes throughout the day. But the reality is this, guys, Jesus was a real guy. He was a Middle Eastern Jewish construction worker that really did a worldly ministry for about three years. He really had apostles and disciples. He really was captured. He really was murdered by the Romans at the behest of the Jewish Sanhedrin. He really was put into Joseph of Arimathea's tomb and he really was resurrected three days later. And all of that counted for all of us. That's the reality. So element one of a godly man, a godly man has surrendered his life to Christ. If you have not done so, I compel you to do so right now.

[A]

Thank you for listening to today's episode. Before you go, if you want to help, equip other men for the fight, Share this podcast around and leave us a five star rating and review. Stay sharp.