Doubt & Devotion

Matthew 16:24 is a very popular verse, and one that you’ve probably heard a thousand times. It’s one famous passage, but it’s also one of the most ignored. Why? We will find out. It says, 

Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.“

The Christian life is a life of sacrifice. That the person whom we follow sacrificed himself for us is a proof of that. 

The Price of Discipleship 

“Jesus told his disciples.” 

His expectations from his disciples are different from his expectations of the world. He does not expect the world to obey him, but he expects his disciples to, for his disciples are not of this world. The phrase “not of this world” does not talk about heaven or any spiritual experience. It talks about not being one with the corrupted system of society. 

Christianity is not easy. But what makes it difficult? To answer this question, we have to ask ourselves, “What makes not being a Christian easy?” The answer: Conforming to the patterns of this world. 

What makes Christianity difficult? The answer: 

Going against the flow
Dancing to your own tune.
Running in the paths of God’s commands.  

What does this tell us? It tells us that discipleship has a price, and it’s a costly one. God’s grace is free, but discipleship is not. 

Unfortunately, discipleship is a lifestyle or mentality that is not embraced in today’s society, even by so-called Christians. Sacrifice is shunned. It is despised. 

Religious Experience Versus Discipleship

Christianity nowadays is being marketed as a religious experience. People are more interested in the experience of being in church. Even pastors make this mistake. In my time in the seminary, I have met a few students who have enrolled only because they perceived the work of a pastor to be easy and convenient. 

There is a huge market for religious experience but very little enthusiasm for discipleship and a lifestyle of sacrifice. When we talk about discipleship, it’s not limited to a weekly bible study.  

Discipleship is a long apprenticeship. It is signing up for holiness. It is signing up for sainthood.

Sainthood does not mean perfection or being sinless. Sainthood is the willingness to forgo one’s pleasure for the sake of the Gospel. 

What we see in today’s Christians is a lack of affection for God and his work and a lack of endurance. So many people come to Jesus expecting to live their best life here on earth. But God will never bow down to our agenda. We cannot mock God. Our works will be tested by fire.

Many people “receive Christ” but do their best to manage him. But never will you find in the Bible where it says you can divide or manage the Person of Christ according to your whims. 

Many are fascinated by the idea of “accepting Jesus as their Savior” but these same people forget that Jesus is also Lord. You will hear this being preached in the pulpit:

“Accept Jesus as your Savior and you will be blessed.”
“Follow Jesus and your life will be easy.”

There is some truth to that, because when you follow Christ, you are following peace. But that is not the whole truth. Salvation apart from obedience and sacrifice is unknown in the sacred Scripture. 

It’s a tragedy that many preachers today preach about following Christ and not having to change anything about yourself. They tell the congregation, “You are enough.”

But we are never enough. If we are enough, we wouldn’t need Christ.

God’s love is unconditional, but following Christ is conditional. Before you pursue a project, you need to count the cost first.

“If anyone would come after me…”

Deny Yourself

This is the first condition. If you want to go after Jesus and become his follower, you must deny yourself. What does it mean to deny one’s self?

The Greek word for “deny” here is the highest form of denial and is the same denial of self that Jesus did when he came to earth. In a sense, Jesus was saying, “If you want to follow me, be willing to give up everything the same way that I gave up everything.”

The Greek word “deny” means to utterly separate, to completely disown from something. This is the word Jesus used for Peter’s denial of Him (Mt 26:34). Believers are to deny themselves of selfish purposes. The self to which Jesus refers here is not the person but personal goals. The idea is that the disciple is to put himself on the line for the Lord.

In a sense Jesus is saying that:

You must be willing to give up your life.

You must be willing to give up your comfort.

You must be willing to give up your resources.

You must be willing to give up your rights.

You must be willing to do anything for Jesus when the situation asks for it.

By challenging his would-be followers to deny themselves, Jesus was showing them that “the way is hard that leads to life.” (Matthew 7:14). He is telling us right now that the Christian life is hard. This is not to scare you, but to make sure you don’t develop unrealistic expectations.

If anyone wants to follow Jesus, he needs to understand that Jesus is going to uproot this selfish nature and that the process will be very painful. Jesus is not intimidated by our love for things and our natural tendency to allow God’s gifts to take his place in our hearts.

However, he also understands that in order for a man to follow him completely, there needs to be a transformation from within, a change of heart, a turning of a heart of stone into a heart of flesh. Are you considering the idea of following Jesus? Know for sure that it would involve denying of self.

This is a very difficult challenge for today’s generation where everything seems to be of the self.

Does this mean we shouldn’t buy branded clothing anymore?

Does this mean we should stop eating expensive food?

Of course not. The point of denying self is to prioritize God’s will over your will. It’s finding out what God wants and then doing it.

Denying self is not the same as self-denial. Self-denial is what we do when we occasionally give up pleasure for a greater cause. Denying self is giving your ALL to Christ.

Giving to the Gospel mission is a lifestyle rather than an occasional activity. I don’t blame Christians for their mindset. I blame prosperity preachers who teach that giving to the church is the key to receiving material blessings. That is a big lie.

True giving is giving without expecting anything in return. And this is the challenge to us: to make giving a lifestyle. To give to the cause of the Gospel without expecting anything in return.

Take Up Your Cross

Popular Jewish teaching of the day was that the Messiah would come and provide financial prosperity to Israel. Jesus’ message here is the opposite of that kind of hope. Following Jesus may mean leaving family and friends for a mission. 

The words “take up” indicate that a person is willing to pay a price for the cross. The Greek tense indicates that he is to do this at once. The “cross” was an apparatus of execution in Jesus’ day. Jesus Himself carried His own cross down the Via Delarosa street to His execution. By taking up His cross, Jesus commenced His death walk with the cross on which He would die. 

The disciple is ready to accept what the Lord consigns to him. He is willing to pay any price for Him. There are no shortcuts. Did you know that the verse prior to this was about Jesus rebuking Peter for saying that he didn’t want Jesus to die? Peter said, “That’s never going to happen!” Jesus replied, “Get behind me, Satan!”

The same is true for us. We often hear the enemy whispering in our ears, “Why work hard when you can take the path of least resistance? There is no reward for self-discipline. Get the pleasure the easy way. Just pay for it.”

But then Jesus challenges us to take up our cross. 

“Cross bearing does not refer to some irritation in life. Rather, it involves the way of the cross. The picture is of a man, already condemned, required to carry his cross on the way to the place of execution, as Jesus was required to do.” (Wessel, commentary on Mark) 

When we decided to follow Jesus, we were already dead.

Follow Me

Did you know that the hashtag #followme is used 300,000 times on Instagram? One preacher said that the original meaning of the words “Follow me” has been lost.

Our understanding of ‘Follow me’ is different now. Nowadays, when we say ‘Follow me,’ what enters our minds is following on social media.

It’s crucial that we restore the true meaning of these words. Otherwise, we will be in danger of becoming like the people who only liked Jesus but never had the intention or desire to follow Him. 

You cannot be a Christian and not be a follower of Christ. Jesus commanded his first disciples to go and make disciples, not mere converts. If you do not have any affection for God and his Word, evaluate yourself and ask whether you have indeed been regenerated or born again. Many people associate themselves with Christ, and yet they don’t make any effort to know him.

 One of the biggest heresies in the church today is this: We are saved by accepting Christ as our Savior; We are sanctified by accepting Christ as our Lord; we may do the first without doing the second. 

But Christ is not divided. His being Savior and being Lord are not separated. He is both Lord and Savior, and he calls us to follow him in a life of sacrifice for God’s service. 

The term we’re looking for is “sainthood.” In his epistles, Paul addresses the believers as “saints,” and that what we are. But we cannot be saints without living a life of wholehearted obedience to Christ, and most of the time that involves sacrifice. The Christian life is not a relaxed life. It’s full of action. There’s this teaching about “resting” in the “finished work of Christ.” There is truth to this, but it’s just one part of a whole. We rest and trust that God works in us, but God has also given us the ability to choose to obey him or not. 

God provides the wave; our part is to jump in and ride that wave. 

The Reward of Sacrifice

It’s not easy, but Jesus promises that when we choose sacrifice and lose our lives for the sake of God’s kingdom, we will find it. “Everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.”  

Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, “When Christ calls a man, he bids him to come and die.” 

And why? Why is it so important for us to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Christ? 

Because if not, we will only seek pleasure elsewhere and become a burden to society. Because that is our tendency as humans. Just look at your reflection in the mirror and you will immediately see what a wicked and sinful person you are. 

Without sacrificial living for God, without dying to ourselves every day, we will only add to the darkness in this world. 

We are left with two choices: Be a burden to society or live a life of sacrifice in God’s service.

Just recently, I was able to meet a lady who is very dear to me and whom I haven’t seen for four years. She has been diagnosed with anxiety and depression and would shake and tremble whenever she experiences attacks. She said her condition improved after being accepted to work for a Medical facility that gave her the opportunity to serve the public. 

I asked her, “Do you know why your condition improved? That’s because now, you are no longer looking inward but outward. You are no longer living for yourself, but are now living for others.”