In the previous essay in this series, we looked at the command of Jesus to deny ourselves and take up our cross and follow Him. This essay takes the thought of self denial a bit further. The goal of this essay is to help us bring glory to God by helping us realize that everything we do, and are, or ever will be, should bring glory to God; to help us realize that a self centered religion, where everything, including salvation, is for our benefit rather than for the glory of God can turn into selfish idolatry.

The key to everything in life is found in Isa. 43:7 - "I have created him [mankind] for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him." There is no other reason for life than to glorify God. Life is empty without that one realization. But once we understand that, everything in life fits into place, and life has meaning and purpose. One of my favorite songs of all time is titled My Tribute. The words are as follows:

  How can I say thanks for the things You have done for me?

  Things so undeserved, yet You give to prove Your love for me.

  The voices of a million angels could not express my gratitude;

  All that I am and ever hope to be - I owe it all to Thee.



  To God be the glory,

  to God be the glory,

  to God be the glory

  for the things He has done.



  With His blood He has saved me.

  With His pow'r He has raised me.

  To God be the glory for the things He has done.



  Just let me live my life - let it be pleasing - Lord to Thee;

  And should I gain any praise, let it go to Calvary.



  With His blood He has saved me.

  With His pow'r He has raised me.

  To God be the glory for the things He has done.

However, rest assured, there is a crown for those who bear their cross and follow Jesus. There is glory at the end of the road, but not necessarily before the end of the road.

In this lesson, we want to zero in on one phrase in one of the verses used in the previous essay, 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."

We have not been called to Christ to get the goodies. We have been called to Christ to abandon ourselves in service to Him. A good test to divide the wheat and the tares is to see whether or not they are willing to deny themselves, and take up their crosses for Christ. And it is not a "sometimes" thing. Luke adds a wonderful word. His account says to "take up your cross daily." It's a way of life - an everyday decision.

When we go on a trip, the first thing we do is say goodbye to those we leave behind, then we pick up our luggage and we move down the road. If we are going to follow Jesus, we are going to have to say goodbye to ourselves (and leave ourselves behind), take up our cross, and follow Jesus down the road to glory. We should not expect it to always be easy. In fact, we can expect the road to be rather rough at times. In Act 14:22, Paul taught that "we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God." Paul also said, in 2 Tim. 3:12 "All that will live Godly in this present age shall suffer persecution."

There is a strong temptation to do what's easy, comfortable, safe or profitable rather than what we know to be right. This is the opposite of denying ourselves. Some Christians seem to think that they are supposed to never suffer, or that God has abandoned them when they do suffer. Not so. They are just being purified. They are having the dross burned out.

Note Isa. 48: 9-11 (God, rebuking the house of Israel, says) "For my name's sake will I defer [delay] mine anger, and for my praise will I refrain [hold it back] for thee, that I cut thee not off. (10) Behold, I have refined thee, but not with [as] silver; I have chosen [tested] thee in the furnace of affliction. (11) For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: for how should my name be polluted? and I will not give my glory unto another."

1. When we admit that we are a sinner (i.e. we confess our sins).
2. When we give up the pleasures of sin.
3. When we walk spiritually, not carnally.

In order to "come to Jesus Christ," we must acknowledge that, in our flesh, there dwells "no good thing" (Rom. 7:18). This is not easy for most of us to do. We would like to think that we have better control over ourselves than that. But if the apostle Paul declared that to be true, how much more the rest of us should admit that simple truth.

We sometimes leave the impression that we are the standard by which all others will be judged. We leave the impression that we are the Super Saints.

We even sometimes thank God that we have learned these special truths. We brag about how righteous we are, and readily leave out how righteous God is. We look at our lives, and our worship services, and declare for all the world to hear, "We are doing well. We are doing everything just like the Lord commanded." Well, maybe we are. That certainly must be our desire. We strive to do precisely that. But we should never conclude that we have finally arrived, nor brag about how far we've come. Maybe we are not doing everything like the Lord commanded.

2 Cor. 10:12 "We dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise."

If you had a ten inch ruler and you decided that it was a foot long, and to prove it, you put it up beside another ten inch ruler, you would prove nothing other than the fact that you had two ten inch rulers, regardless of whether you called them both foot long rulers or not. Measuring ourselves by ourselves is like that - we have proved nothing when we measure up to one another. We are not the standard.

We should compare our lives with the life of Christ, and then we would see the truth of the statement in Romans 3:23 ("For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.") as well as the statement in Romans 5:12 "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned."

When we admit that we are sinners, and we have and still do come short of the glory of God, what we are really admitting is that we are not yet what we ought to be; we are admitting that we still need to make some changes in our lives.

When I hear people say things like "There's no need to change things. The church has been right ever since I _____________ (started preaching the gospel) (can remember) (was baptized)." I think "Can that possibly be true? Have we really achieved the state of perfection that no church in the Bible was ever able to achieve?" The only congregation that we read of in the Bible that was perfect in all of its ways was the church at Jerusalem during the period right after the church was established on the day of Pentecost, and they didn't brag about it. All other congregations mentioned in the Bible that I know anything about had one or more shortcomings.

However, the Bible does mention a church that thought they had no shortcomings. We read about them in Revelations chapter 3:17. This is part of the letter to the Laodiceans. The Lord promised to spew them out of His mouth because they were lukewarm (vs. 16) and (vs. 17) "Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked." How easy it is for us to be deceived in the same way.

The Lord then went on to give them some advice, and it's good advice for us today. He said (beginning in verse 18) "I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eye salve, that thou mayest see. (19) As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. [And finally, Jesus said to these Christians at Laodicea] (20) Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me."

The more we love ourselves, the less likely we are to need a Saviour. Until we know just how utterly wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked we are, we will never know just how truly great the riches of God are, and how precious His forgiveness is!

The psalmist said "The Lord is near to those that are broken hearted, and to those that are contrite [or crushed] in their spirit." 1 Pet. 3:4 says we are to be clothed with "a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price." People like that are out of resources of their own. Only desperate people really come to God.

Think about the Pharisee and the publican. It was the sinner who was justified rather than the man filled with "good works." Even the great apostle Paul, the world's greatest Christian, had the title of The Chief of Sinners.

We must realize that we are a sick sinner before we will ever feel a need for the Great Physician. Jesus said in Mark 2:17 "They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."

Jesus calls, and Jesus heals.

Some Christians seem to think that they can live like the heathens in the world, and still go to heaven because they have an outward profession of being a Christian.

When we become Christians, we have to deny ourselves of the pleasures of sin. (And we are fools if we don't admit that there is at least a temporary measure of pleasure in sin.)

Notice the following verses in regard to sanctification in our lives:

• 2 Tim. 2:19 Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.
• 2 Cor. 7:1 ... let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
• 1 Thess. 4:7 God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.
• Heb. 12:14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:
• 1 Pet. 1:15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation [manner of life]; (16) Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

What does the Bible have to say about fornication? Plenty. But, briefly, let's look at just a few verses:

1 Cor. 6:18 - "Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body." Does that then make it a victimless crime? No one else is hurt? Hardly! First of all, God is hurt. Our witness is destroyed. Our families are hurt. Our associates who have taken a stand against evil will all be hurt. We, ourselves, are hurt.

1 Cor. 6:13 "Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body."

1 Cor. 3:17 "If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are."

Eph. 5:3 "But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;"

We've got to make up our minds in advance what we're going to do when temptation comes your way. If one just cannot contain one's self, then they should get married. 1 Cor. 7:2 "To avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband."

And when we put it in context, what a beautiful thought it is. Eph. 5:25 "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; (26) That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, (27) That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish." Where does the cleansing action come from? From the Lord, washing us by His word. It works like an agitator in a washing machine. Or like water running from a faucet over a dirty dish. It will eventually get the dish clean.

So, to put the verse in context, we see that the cleansing of the church is actually done by the Lord Himself when the word of God constantly runs over it. This should give us great comfort, to know that, when we are not what we ought to be, there is still cleansing possible. Forgiveness is available. We must never get apathetic about our Christian walk.

Galatians 5:16 - "This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh." And then Paul gives us the works of the flesh, and then the fruit of the Spirit. Then he says in Galatians 5:25 "If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. In Rom. 8:6, Paul says "For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace."

Too often we see nothing around us but the temporal world. The word "temporal" implies that it is temporary. We fail to see God at work in this world. This concept is foreign to the Bible. In the Bible, everything happens as a result of the workings of God. The thing about David that was so outstanding is the fact that he saw everything in his world through God-colored glasses. We must see the workings of God in everything. In the events of life. In all of nature. Even in the everyday things of life. The rain doesn't just happen. God sends the rain on the just as well as on the unjust. He is the one in Whom we live, and move, and have our very being. He is the one Who set the worlds in motion. That is the reason we must say "If the Lord wills, we will do thus and so." To fail to see God at work in all aspects of our lives is to reduce His glory in every way we fail to acknowledge Him. One of my favorite verses is Prov. 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not to your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.

There are always the nay-sayers who reply that this concept takes away our free will, and I admit that it seems to do that. And furthermore, it is true that the Bible teaches free will for man. "Whosoever will may come." How then do we reconcile the apparent conflict. I have given up trying. Both concepts are taught in the Bible, and my puny little mind cannot understand this mystery. But I do not think that God is handicapped in that way. It makes perfect sense to Him. Perhaps, when we get to heaven, we can understand some of these mysteries. Until then, it is my belief that we have to live with the Divine tension, and believe and teach it both ways, depending on the verses we are studying at the time. Anything else requires us to deny some verses which clearly teach what they teach, whether we agree with them or not. We can spend our whole lives trying to explain away some very clear verses because we cannot reconcile the apparent conflicts, or we can learn to live with the conflict and decide that God is true, and every man is a liar. And that's the truth, because God said it was.

When we learn to let God be God, and say what He says without our trying to change it and make it say something that we can understand or explain, we take away that much of God's glory. Let Him be GOD, and say what He wants to say, and accept what it says, even when we cannot explain it. It is true regardless of how much we may or may not understand.

What does it mean to die to self?

John MacArthur, Jr. once made this statement. I am not sure if it was original with him or not, but it is well worth repeating.

1. When you are neglected, unforgiven, or purposely set at naught, and you sting, and you hurt with the insult of that oversight, but your heart is happy, being counted worthy to suffer for Christ; that is dying to self.
2. When your good is evil spoken of, when your wishes are crossed, and your advice is disregarded, and your opinions are ridiculed, and you refuse to let anger rise in your heart, or even defend yourself, and take it all patiently in loving silence, you're dying to self.
3. And when you lovingly and patiently bear any disgrace, any irregularity, any annoyance, when you can stand face to face with folly, and extravagance, and spiritual insensitivity, and endure it as Jesus did, that is dying to self.
4. When you're content with any food, any money, any clothing, any climate, any society, any solitude, any interruption by the will of God, that is dying to self.
5. And when you never care to refer to yourself in conversation, or record your own good works, or itch after commendation from others, and when you truly love to be unknown, that is dying to self.
6. And when you see your brother prosper and have his needs wondrously met, and can honestly rejoice with him in spirit, and feel no envy, and never question God though your needs are greater and still unmet, that is dying to self.
7. And when you can receive correction, and reproof from one of less stature than yourself, and humbly admit inwardly as well as outwardly that "He is right," and find no resentment, and no rebellion in your heart, that is dying to self.
8. Are we dead yet?