There are four areas of the cost of bearing a cross that I want to touch on in this essay:

1. Submission of our will to God's will.
2. Dependence on God for salvation.
3. Willingness to suffer for the sake of God's glory.
4. Presenting our bodies as living sacrifices.

Nearly every God-fearing person will state that giving and bringing glory to God is their heart's desire. But I'm afraid that we may not know what we are really saying when we say that. This essay is designed to help us to count the cost of giving glory to God rather than seeking after it for ourselves.

To be truly committed to glorifying God will cost you something. In fact, it will cost you everything. Count the cost before you decide to live for the glory of God. Jesus said that no one who puts his hand to the plow, and then looks back (longing to retain his old selfish ways) is fit for the kingdom of God.

We may sometimes be tempted to poke fun at the obvious hypocrisy of certain radio and television evangelists, but I wonder if we are any better off when we think that we can follow Jesus and live a worldly life all at the same time.

Jesus said in Matt. 8:20 "The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head." To live for the glory of God cost Him everything. Yet, He is our example, our leader, our Lord. Are we ready to follow Him as far as He went? We had better think about it.

Jesus told the rich young ruler in Mark 10:21 "One thing thou slackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me." The cost of his cross was the selling of his wealth.

If riches stand in the way of our following Jesus, then we need to get rid of them. Give them away. It will cost us something to follow Jesus in bringing glory to God. Many times we want to serve Jesus without giving up anything. It can't be done! It may not be riches that are standing in our way; it may be something as delightful as our families.

Jesus said in Luke 14:26-27 "If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple."

Both of these are specific examples of having priorities other than following Jesus as He went about bringing glory to God. So maybe we have a problem that's not included in either example. There is a general principle that Jesus gives us in Matt. 16:24 - "Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." The same thought is recorded in Mark 8:34, Mark 10:21, and Luke 9:23. It is affirmed many, many times throughout the New Testament.

Taking up the cross is not something we do only once. The account in Luke 9:23 says to take up our cross daily. This should serve as a warning to us of just how tempting and easy it is to lay our cross down. We must get used to carrying the cross. There is no stopping point until we are overcome by death.

I wonder what went through the apostles' minds when they heard this? They knew very well what it meant to "take up your cross." They no doubt had seen many people carrying their crosses to their deaths by crucifixion. Historians tell us that crucifixion was quite common during that period of time.

They understood that no one took up their cross for punishment, or for suffering. It's not like being put in jail for a while. There was only one reason anyone ever took up a cross, and that was to die.

But there is much glory brought to God by our spiritual deaths. John 12:24 says "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit." This concept is taught throughout the New Testament. Paul said in 1 Cor. 15:31 "... I die daily."

The ministry of Jesus was going along pretty good, and the disciples were getting ready to go into the kingdom, and share the glory of the kingdom with Him. They wanted to sit on His right hand and on His left hand, and reap lots of honor for themselves. And then Jesus began to talk about going to Jerusalem, and dying. And as if that wasn't bad enough, He began to talk about them dying with Him.

So what is the cost of a cross? Put as simply as I know how, it is nothing less that self denial. John the baptist gave us an example of this principle when he said "He must increase, but I must decrease."

So, how do we go about denying ourselves? In many, many ways, too many to look at in one, or even in ten, essays. But here's a few.

We are oftentimes like the little boy who told his Mother that he always wanted to do what she wanted him to do, but that he wanted her to want him to do what he already wanted to do. We are sometimes like that with God. We don't actually desire to disobey Him, but we do desire to fulfill our own wants first. For instance, when God tells us to love our neighbors as ourselves, we may be tempted to think that He was not really serious. Everyone knows that "charity begins at home!" And if we have trouble with that one, what about the verse that tells us to love our enemies? Surely that one must be a mistranslation. Surely God knows that we must hate our enemies. Otherwise, they wouldn't be our enemies.

I confess right now that, as far as I am concerned, one of the most difficult verses I know to obey is "In everything, give thanks." Another very difficult verse is "Lean not to your own understanding."

We do not have a right to do what we want to do. Our duty (indeed, our joy, once we've been "born again") is to do what God wants us to do. Luke 17:10 says "So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do." When we fall short of what we ought to be (as we always do), we are failing in our duty.

Paul, James, Peter, Jude, and John all referred to themselves as servants of Jesus Christ. (The word 'Servant' appears 163 times in the New Testament, showing us that God has strong feelings about this concept.) The Greek word that Paul and the other apostles used when they referred to themselves as servants is doulos. Vine's says it frequently indicates subjection without the idea of bondage. It refers to a bond servant as in the Old Testament. Notice these verses from Exodus 21:

1. Now these are the judgments which thou shalt set before them.
2. If thou buy an Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing.
3. If he came in by himself, he shall go out by himself: if he were married, then his wife shall go out with him.
4. If his master have given him a wife, and she have borne him sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out by himself.
5. And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free:
6. Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall serve him for ever.

Here's the attitude we should have:
Luke 22:42 "Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done." Whenever we reach the conclusion that the cost of the cross involves the denial of our own selfish will, then we must also reach the conclusion that we are helpless of ourselves to bring about our own salvation. Our own wills no longer exist. Only His will has any relevance to our lives.

God spoke from heaven on different occasions, and said "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." He never said that about any of us. That is why salvation is based on Jesus, and his work, not ours. The works of Jesus were pleasing to God. Ours are not, unless they perfectly coincide with those of Jesus.

Jesus and Paul suffered because they refused to give in to those who demanded to be pleasing to God because of their own goodness.

Notice Gal. 5:11 - "And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? then is the offense of the cross ceased." Some claim to think that Paul is just talking about circumcision, or possibly they will expand it to include all of Judaism, but that's not it at all. Look back at verse 4 in Gal. 5 - "Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by [the] law; ye are fallen from grace." Paul is talking about salvation by grace vs. salvation by the keeping of law. Fancy footwork in an attempt to destroy the grace of God by calling it a New Law (unscriptural term that it is), or that it is a period of time during which we can be saved by following a set of laws unknown to Moses (unscriptural concept that it is) is nothing more than an attempt by satan himself to keep people from being saved.

I have heard lessons where the speaker taught that the offense of the cross mentioned here by Paul was singing without instruments, having no women teachers, and drinking out of one cup. That's absurd! People who are seeking to live to the glory of God do not have a problem with those things. They may not agree with them, but if they can be convinced of them, they have no problem with them. In an effort to earn God's approval, people do all sorts of things that are far more difficult to understand than those things.

Some people think they have to crawl on their hands and knees for a certain distance and do certain acts of piousness before God will receive them. Some think that they have to plow their fields with a team of horses instead of a tractor, and wear black clothing, and never ride in a car, and do all sorts of strange things before God will receive them. There is a monastery where the priests all take an oath of silence before they move there. And never again are they permitted to speak, as long as they live. The Bible says to "Go forth, and teach all nations." That would be hard to do if you could never say anything. Some people fight wars, commit murder, even suicide, in their efforts to gain God's approval. It's incredible what people will do in an effort to earn salvation. Our little distinctives are no problem at all.

When Paul speaks about the offense of the cross, he is talking about the rejection that the natural man feels when he hears that the work of salvation was done on Calvary, by the death of Jesus on the cross. We all seem to want to pay our own way in virtually everything that we do. Our pride prevents us from being any other way. There are two types of people who don't mind having their way paid for them: (1) beggars - who have already lost their pride since they have no other way to survive, and (2) children - who are not expected to pay their own way.

When it comes to the works of salvation, we are all beggars. Jesus said, "Blessed (or happy) are the poor [beggarly] in spirit." They are beggars. If we are not willing to admit that, we are too proud. We are offended at the cross. When the Publican prayed "Lord have mercy on me, a sinner," he was admitting that he was a beggar. He had no other basis for coming to God. And, wonder of wonders, God heard his prayer, and justified him. The Pharisee whose prayer was an attempt to remind God of just how good he was, was not justified.

God accepts sinners. Jesus came to seek and to save "that which was lost." Those who are well do not need a physician, but rather "they which are sick." If we do not admit that we are sick, weak, lost sinners, we cannot recognize our need for a Savior. That's the only way God will accept any of us. Only desperate people really come to God.

As soon as we come to the realization that our salvation depends on the work of Jesus, and the grace of God, and we start saying that with our mouths, and living that principle out in our lives, we learn that the cost of the cross is even higher than that. We learn that ....

• Matt. 5:11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
• Matt. 10:22 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake:
• Acts 5:41 ... that they [the apostles] were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.
• Acts 9:16 I [the Lord] will shew him [Saul a.k.a. Paul] how great things he must suffer for my name's sake.
• Rom. 8:17-18 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
• 2 Cor. 4:17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
• 2 Cor. 6:4-10

When we suffer, we either suffer rightfully or wrongfully. If rightfully, we deserve what we get. If wrongfully, we should suffer as a Christian. Notice 1 Pet. 2:20-23 - "For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:"

Also notice 1 Pet. 4:13-14 "But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified." Sometimes we may find ourselves tempted to complain because "our rights" have been violated by someone. Normally, we have just gotten our feelings hurt, and we feel sorry for ourselves. But what we had better think about is this: we are to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Jesus. We are to be dead to ourselves. Dead men have no rights!

We must not be afraid of suffering. When Peter, speaking of Jesus's crucifixion, said to Jesus "No Lord, be it far from thee," Jesus called Peter satan, and said that is why He came to earth in the first place. Suffering plays a great role in the life of a Christian. It is one of the means by which we bring glory to God. Think about this - Who would pay any attention to the apostles today if they had not suffered? Their message would carry no weight. If Peter and Paul had lived in castles and rode around in golden chariots with servants waiting on their every need, people would think that their message was tainted to say the least since God had blessed them so much. It is the fact that they refused to deny God in the midst of their suffering that gives their message any impact today.

Keep in mind that there is an end to the suffering, and great glory beyond. "Be not weary in well doing, for ye shall reap if you faint not." Notice also 1 Pet. 5:10 - "But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you."

When we learn that suffering because of our identification with Jesus is just part of the cross that we have been called to bear, we should have little trouble learning ....

But is that what we see in the world today? Look at all the health spas, tanning booths, "Body Beautiful" clothes designed to attract attention to the wearer. We tend to glorify our bodies instead of the One Who created them. Notice 1 COR. 6:20 - "For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." Our bodies and spirits are not even ours; they belong to God.

There is a great deal of difference is taking care of our bodies because they belong to God, and in getting our bodies in good shape so we can attract attention to ourselves. Who are we trying to bring glory to?

I believe that we should not do things that are harmful, or damaging to our bodies, because, to do so would be to destroy the property of God. Many of us are negligent in this area, myself included. But neither should we be carried away with the glorification of our bodies, whether it be with exercise, clothing, diet, jewelry, makeup, or anything else, because to do that is to complain to God that we are not happy with the way He made us, and we know better how to make ourselves than He does.

Paul took a different approach. He tried to persuade God to change his body to something better than it was, and God set him straight. Notice 2 Cor. 12:7-9 "And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me."

Denying self involves dressing for the glory of God instead of ourselves. What do we think when we get up in the morning to get dressed? "What can I put on today that will really knock them out at the office, or at school?" What we should be thinking is "What can I put on that will bring the most glory to God?"

I'm really concerned about the fashions of the devil that the world accepts that creep, and sometimes run, into the church. One man told me that he stopped going to church because it seemed to him that church was nothing but a fashion show, and he didn't think that God was all that impressed with the latest fashions. I think God probably is impressed with them, but not in a positive way.

And it's not just the exposure in some of the fashions that concerns me. You can over dress just as easily as under dress. Anytime, anywhere we dress to bring attention and glory to ourselves instead of to God, we are stealing God's glory. He made us the way we are to bring glory to Him, not to ourselves.

Start at our feet (shoes, high heels, painted toenails, etc.) and go up describing some of the things we do to bring glory to ourselves. Include neckties, earrings, teeth straightened, rings on our fingers, and some of the things we do with our hair.

I'm not saying we should look like Wanda Wallflower, or like we just came in from the fields, but neither should we decorate ourselves to bring attention to ourselves.

Notice 1 Pet. 3:3-4 (Speaking of wives) "Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price."

Also notice 1 Tim. 2:9-10 "In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array. But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works."