“Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?” Matthew 16:24-26
I love how Jesus presented this passage knowing there were some that would not truly follow him. Here, the audience he was speaking to were his disciples, the guys that were closest to him. In our day they would be 12 of our best homies! Although all were with him, not all of them were going to pledge their life his cause. But before I move on I want to explain what a disciple of Jesus is.
What is a Disciple?
A disciple is a follower of Jesus in his life, death, and resurrection.
- In his life to obey all the commands of God
- In his death to die to our desires and live to glorify the father
- In his resurrection to live a new life that has died to the old ways
There are multiple passages describing how Christians or disciples are to act in ways that show that we have been changed by the living God. Here are just a few, but keep in mind, the whole bible is about Jesus and how we as a people should respond to God.
Self-Denial
Jesus says if you want to follow him you must deny yourself. A lot of us think self-denial is self-degradation. In our society we are taught that everything should be about you all the time. If you think this is not true, you are fooling yourself. Our natural inclination to a text like this is to go into self-degradation. But when Jesus says we must deny ourselves he means to die to the things that are going to make our name or self proclaimed kingdom great. Self-denial is dying to the desires to make yourself famous and accepting the reality that Jesus wants his name to be famous. It is taking the love of self and loving God with all you got, which would include his people. Don't go in the direction of self-degradation. You have worth in Jesus.
Ephesians 4:23-24 talks about taking off the old self and dying with Christ and put on the new self because Christ has conquered sin and death. As a Christian, you have died to your old self but have a new life in Christ. And if you are the person that does everything to build your kingdom, you still have time to give your desires over to Jesus and to let him to be the king of you life.
Taking up the Cross and Following Jesus
During the time of Jesus, the cross was not a dignified way to die. In fact, it was one of the most shameful ways to die in that society. And Jesus hung on that cross for you and me. When Jesus tells us to take up our cross is saying there no way for a prideful man to follow him. Pride is the reason why marriages fail, why wars start, and why sin came into our world. If you are going to be follower of Jesus, there is no room for pride. Pride stops you from confessing your sins, pride tells you are better than others, pride stops other people from speaking in your life. Is this true for you? If have been in and out of church and you feel dry, maybe it is because you are building yourself an untouchable kingdom.
- “Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future.” – Proverbs 19:20
- “Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” – Philippians 2:3–4
- “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom.” – Proverbs 11:2
- “Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you…” 1 Peter 5:5–6
Losing your life
For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?”
Jesus is telling his disciples there is real life in him. Our generation has the “S on our chest” syndrome. We think we are invincible. We follow the words of Drake: “you only live once”. Drake would tell us that you should do whatever you please because you only got one life to live. What if God says the life you live should be His. You see, when we become followers of Jesus, we die to the old self and become alive to a new life in Jesus. According to Ephesians 2 and Colossians 1 we were enemies of God, hostile to God, children of wrath, sons of disobedience. God created the world, mankind sinned against God and therefore broke our access to God. Since God is holy and just God, he cannot tolerate sin, there had to be punishment for the sin that mankind committed. Since Adam, every person that was born has been born into sin, making every person a offender of God. But God is his grace and mercy saved us! So when he calls us to follow him, we owe him our life, because living in the old life there was no hope!
What now?
Repent. If you are a follower of Jesus and have not fully followed him, I urge you to repent. Ask to Lord to give you the strength to die to yourself and live to him. If you are not a follower this reality can be true for you. Listen to the spirit of the Lord and repent as well. Repentence is our sign of surrender to Jesus.
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