Let Him Deny Himself

And Jesus said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.” (Luke 9:23-26)

When Jesus Christ came to this earth in order to be our sacrificial lamb to die on a cross for our sins, it was not just to forgive us our sins so we can escape hell and so we can go to heaven when we die. Sadly, that is what many are teaching as the gospel message today, but that is a half-truth gospel they are teaching which is giving people a false promise of heaven when they die based on a lie. For that is not the gospel that Jesus taught.

For we read in the Scriptures that Jesus died that we might die to sin and live to righteousness and that we might now live for him and no longer for self. He shed his blood for us on that cross to buy us back for God (to redeem us) out of our lives of slavery (addiction) to sin so that we will now honor him with our bodies. So we are to no longer let sin reign in our mortal bodies to obey its desires, for if we do, it will end in death, not life eternal.

[1 Peter 2:24; 2 Corinthians 5:15; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Romans 6:1-23]

And we also read in the Scriptures that if sin remains our practice, and if righteousness, godliness and obedience to our Lord are not what we practice, that we will not inherit the kingdom of heaven regardless of what faith in Jesus Christ we profess with our lips. For if we claim to be in fellowship with him while we walk in sin, we lie. And if we claim to know him but while we do not obey his commands (New Covenant), we lie.

[Romans 2:6-8; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Galatians 5:16-21; Galatians 6:7-8; Ephesians 5:3-6; Hebrews 10:23-31; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10]

So, we need to pay close attention to Jesus’ words here, for they teach the essence of the gospel message. For if any of us want to come after Jesus, to believe in him as Lord and Savior of our lives, and to claim his salvation for our lives, and heaven as our eternal destiny, then we must deny self, die daily to sin, and follow our Lord in obedience to his commands. And this is what is taught all throughout the New Testament regarding the gospel.

If we claim him as Lord and as Savior of our lives, but while we continue living in sin, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if, instead, we deny self, die daily to sin, and follow him in obedience – all in his power and strength – then we have the hope of salvation from sin and eternal life with God. And this means that we must give our lives up to follow him wherever he leads us in doing whatever he calls us to do regardless of how others treat us.

For we can be those people who do all sorts of things to make everyone else happy with us, so that we are well liked, and we may gain popularity among the people that way because we blend in with the culture and because we don’t stand out as different, but if we do not sacrifice our own lives to serve the Lord Jesus with our lives, then we lose. We have gained nothing, in reality, for we loved the world more and so we lose out on salvation.

For if we are ashamed of Christ and of his words in this life, then he will be ashamed of us and he will deny us when he returns one day for his faithful bride. If we are not willing to deny self, die daily to sin, and follow our Lord wherever he leads us in doing whatever he has called us to do, for we loved self more, and we loved the approval of other humans more than the approval of God, then heaven is not our eternal destiny.

[Matthew 7:21-23; Matthew 10:32-33; Matthew 15:7-9; Luke 9:26; 2 Timothy 2:11-13; 2 Timothy 3:1-5; Titus 1:15-16; 2 Peter 2:1-3; Jude 1:3-4]

So, we need to take this to heart. For, again, Jesus didn’t die on that cross that horrible death just to forgive us our sins so that we can escape hell and so we can go to heaven when we die. He died to change us, to transform us, to make us more like him, and to deliver us out of our lives of slavery (addiction) to sin. But if sin is what we practice, and if righteousness and obedience to our Lord are not what we practice, we don’t have eternal life.

Gentle Shepherd

By Gloria Gaither / William J. Gaither

Gentle Shepherd come and lead us

For we need you to help us find our way

Gentle Shepherd come and feed us

For we need your strength from day to day

There's no other we can turn to

Who can help us face another day

Gentle Shepherd come and lead us

For we need to you to help us find our way

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gJwuh61eHA

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