“And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, ‘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 and the gospel's will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.’” (Mark 8:34-38 ESV)
If you have heard about Jesus Christ, and if you are at that point of wanting to believe in him as your Lord and Savior, it is critical that you understand what it means to believe in him. For first of all the word “believe” means to be persuaded, and if that belief is in Jesus Christ, it means to be persuaded of God, for not one of us can come to faith in Jesus Christ unless God the Father first draws us to him. And we also need to understand that faith in Jesus Christ comes from God, and it is gifted to us of God, and it is not of our own doing – not of the will nor of the flesh of man.
[Jn 1:12-13; Jn 6:44; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Eph 2:8-10; 1 Peter 2:24; 2 Pet 1:1; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Co 10:1-22; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 12:1-2]
Therefore, we do not get to define faith nor to decide what that faith should look like. God does, and his word does, and so we need to read the Scriptures to see what they say (IN CONTEXT) regarding what faith in Jesus Christ looks like. And this passage of Scripture here in Mark is one of the primary passages of Scripture which tell us what it means to believe in Jesus Christ and what it means if our faith in the Lord is not of God, and so it is not genuine faith. For there are many people who have been taught wrongly about what it means to believe in Jesus, and they need to hear the truth.
So, if we are desiring to be in a relationship with Jesus Christ, and to have him as our Lord and Savior, and to be saved from our sins, and to have the hope of eternal life with God, then the first thing we must do is to deny self, to give up the flesh and living according to the flesh and to die with Christ to sin and to be raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as slaves to God and to his righteousness. We are to no longer let sin reign in our mortal bodies to make us obey its desires, for if sin is what we obey, it leads to death, but obedience ends in eternal life.
Now this death to sin and these walks of obedience to our Lord are something that we are to put into practice in our lives every day. This is not saying that we will be absolutely perfect in everything that we do from this point forward but that sin should no longer be our habit, our practice, but now holy living and walks of obedience to our Lord should be what we practice, instead. For if we try to hold on to our old lives of living in sin and for self, we will lose them for eternity. But if for Jesus’ sake we deny self, die daily to sin, and follow our Lord in obedience, then we have eternal life.
So, don’t buy into the lies which are so popular these days, at least here in America, which are telling people that they can make a one-time decision to believe in Jesus and now all their sins are forgiven (past, present, and future), and heaven is secured for them, and it can’t be taken away, but regardless of how they live. For the Scriptures teach that we must no longer walk (in conduct) according to the flesh, but now according to the Spirit, and we must no longer make sin our practice, but righteousness and obedience to our Lord must be our practice, if we want eternal life with God.
And if we deny Jesus Christ by how we live, then when he returns he will deny that he ever knew us. For it is possible to profess him with our lips but to deny him by our actions. And we deny him whenever we are ashamed of him and of his words, and whenever we refuse to obey his commands and to follow him wherever he leads us. And if we do not share him and his gospel message with others, but we withhold the truth about Jesus from others, out of fear of their rejection of us, that is being ashamed of him and of his gospel message, and it is preferring the approval of humans, instead.
[Matthew 7:21-23; Matthew 10:32-33; Matthew 15:7-9; Luke 9:23-26; 2 Timothy 2:11-13; 2 Timothy 3:1-5; Titus 1:15-16; 2 Peter 2:1-3; Jude 1:4]
For, as followers of Jesus Christ, we are to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth in taking the message of the gospel to the people of the world. And we are to proclaim to others the excellencies of him who called us out of darkness into his wonderful light. And we are to make disciples of Christ of people of all nations, teaching them to observe all that our Lord has commanded us to do as his followers. And we are to be his witnesses to the people of the world, but not just with our lips, but with our lifestyles, by how we conduct our lives in walks of obedience to our Lord in holy living.
[Matt 5:13-16; Matt 28:18-20; Jn 4:31-38; Jn 13:13-17; Jn 14:12; Acts 1:8; Acts 2:14-18; Acts 26:18; Rom 10:14-15; Rom 12:1-8; Rom 15:14; 1 Co 12:1-31; 1 Co 14:1-5; Eph 4:1-16; Eph 5:11-27; Eph 6:10-20; Php 2:1-8; Col 1:9; Col 3:12-16; Heb 3:13; Heb 10:23-25; 1 Pet 2:9,21; 1 Jn 2:6]
So, please take this to heart, for our salvation depends upon not only God’s grace but on us believing and putting into practice the truth, by God’s grace.
As the Deer
By Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1
As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after You
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
You alone are my strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZv3jzOTE70
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