Dying to self

[missmuffet]

Matthew 16:24

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.

 

This is the true quality of the Christian life, in which we take up our cross and follow Christ.

Dying to self is part of being born again, the old self dies and the new self

comes to life John 3:3-7.

We continue to to die to self and that is part of the process of sanctification.  It is both

a one-time event and a life long process.

Dying to self means to forego the selfish, physical and egotistical desires of this world

and wholeheartedly seeking the Kingdom of God.

2 Corinthians 5:17

 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

 

[D. Adrien]

If a person sincerely seeks the Kingdom of God above everything they will be blessed abundantly in life as is promised in The Sermon On The Mount. Also not necessarily in the way one may imagine.

[enoob57]

One of the major facts in helping with this is the realization of the value system of God in this fallen world... He has revealed His heart in regard to this first heaven and earth. It is slated to be burnt up and forgotten... so, if God has this towards His plan of eternity and plans to keep you forever what should He find in your heart? If your motive in anyway is affection for world or things in it / then you are not aligned with God's Word, are you?

1 John 2:15 (KJV)

[15] Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

[16] For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

[17] And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

 

[AdHoc]

22 hours ago, missmuffet said:

Matthew 16:24

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.

 

This is the true quality of the Christian life, in which we take up our cross and follow Christ.

Dying to self is part of being born again, the old self dies and the new self

comes to life John 3:3-7.

We continue to to die to self and that is part of the process of sanctification.  It is both

a one-time event and a life long process.

Dying to self means to forego the selfish, physical and egotistical desires of this world

and wholeheartedly seeking the Kingdom of God.

2 Corinthians 5:17

 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

 

A vital but unpopular theme. In Matthew 16:24 above there are a number of players.

1. As always, our Lord Jesus is the central point. It is His Kingdom, it is His road that is traveled and He only takes VOLUNTEERS He only wants those who DESIRE. Judas was chosen and promised a throne over a Tribe in the Kingdom. But his desire was the present evil system of betrayal and wealth.

2. The spirit of man who is not born again is a silent world, but the man who is born again has God Who declares Himself and His will from the spirit (Rom.8:11-14). But His voice is not strident. It makes demands in a still small way for he does not infringe on the free will of man.

3. The flesh of man is hopelessly lost. Flesh will opposes God at every turn (Gal.5:17). A man's past life is one of fulfilling the clamoring flesh. It screams for legal and illegal fulfillment. It is lost and the main reason that we are even kept alive is that it the Outer Court of the Temple of God. But the outer court houses the ALTAR - and that is all that the flesh is good for - to be executed. It is destined to be replaced (2md Cor,.5:1-5). And so it must be crucified. This has implications.

First, it is NOT dying for Christ that is meant. It is YOUR cross. It is not martyrdom. It is a necessary duty of putting an end to a "vile" body (Phil.3:21 - KJV).

Second, a cross was not developed by the Romans for nothing. It is death with extreme prejudice. It is a denial of any mercy and any relief. The man at the stake, however horrendous burning is, is robbed of oxygen within a few minutes. But the crucified heaves for oxygen for more than a day from a distended diaphragm. The thieves alongside our Lord were still alive as the six p.m. (sunset) deadline approached. Who knows how long they would have lived if their legs were not broken after nearly 9 hours. Though your flesh cry out you shall have no mercy.

Third, asceticism does not count. It is were the flesh makes demands and is refused that counts

4. The soul of man is caught in between a God Who makes legal demands and a flesh in whose veins courses sin from conception.  The man who is not born again has, since birth, made every effort to meet the demands of the flesh. The soul, which is made of mind, emotion and will, is well-trained to meet these demands. Now suddenly, with the spirit occupied by the Triune God, new and contrary demands are made. Bible students note the cross in our verses above, but often forget the "DENY YOURSELF". Death is also meant here - the death of the soul. A trivial example is perhaps keeping your mouth shut for ten seconds during the next argument with your spouse. But Jesus was faced with the horror of horrors in Gethsemane. He cried out "my SOUL is sorrowful unto DEATH. And so our Great Forerunner bids us in Revelation Chapters 2 and 3 to "OVERCOME". And some do - but at an awful cost. In Chapter 12:11 they ... "....overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their SOUL-LIVES (lit. Gk.) unto the death."

The Master went on a road and is looking for companions. The song says that the road is long with many a winding turn (The Hollies - 1969). If you want to travel the same one as our Lord, you will not only have to deal with the enemy, but you are required to die two deaths. Verses 24 to 27 paint a rocky road with the loss of your soul's enjoyment and a contrary and brutal dealing with your flesh. But verse 28 shows who will GAIN his SOUL-LIFE in the Millennial Kingdom.

[angels4u]

On 11/3/2024 at 2:38 PM, missmuffet said:

Matthew 16:24

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.

 

This is the true quality of the Christian life, in which we take up our cross and follow Christ.

Dying to self is part of being born again, the old self dies and the new self

comes to life John 3:3-7.

We continue to to die to self and that is part of the process of sanctification.  It is both

a one-time event and a life long process.

Dying to self means to forego the selfish, physical and egotistical desires of this world

and wholeheartedly seeking the Kingdom of God.

2 Corinthians 5:17

 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

 

Amen , when we become a new creation God will change us from the inside out and slowly transform us to be more like Him, I think how older we get and how more trials we face,we realize that this life is nothing more then a vapour,we don't belong here and we strangers on our way home,we should care for the most is lost souls ,we don't know how long wants us here but we're here for a purpose,to tell people the Salvation message,where would we we if we didn't receive such a big gift ? The Holy Spirit lives in us ,Jesus is living in us and He will lead us and knows everything about us,should we want to live to self and this world? What would it have to offer us? Lets make everything as God lead us to count for Him . ( Jesus is my all in all) PTL ! His mercy never ends...

[missmuffet]

3 minutes ago, angels4u said:

Amen , when we become a new creation God will change us from the inside out and slowly transform us to be more like Him, I think how older we get and how more trials we face,we realize that this life is nothing more then a vapour,we don't belong here and we strangers on our way home,we should care for the most is lost souls ,we don't know how long wants us here but we're here for a purpose,to tell people the Salvation message,where would we we if we didn't receive such a big gift ? The Holy Spirit lives in us ,Jesus is living in us and He will lead us and knows everything about us,should we want to live to self and this world? What would it have to offer us? Lets make everything as God lead us to count for Him . ( Jesus is my all in all) PTL ! His mercy never ends...

We have a choice while we are on this earth. Either we spend an eternity in heaven with God or an eternity in hell.

[enoob57]

ah oh... here come the calvinist 

[Indentured Servant]

One may ask, "HOW do I deny myself? 

How would we answer?

What exactly is meant by "taking up" (or carrying) a cross?

There is also a verse that tells us to "work out our own salvation."

What do each/all of these obscure statements actually mean? 

 

 

[Michael37]

12 minutes ago, Indentured Servant said:

What exactly is meant by "taking up" (or carrying) a cross?

Hi @Indentured Servant

This is my offering . . .

[missmuffet]

9 hours ago, angels4u said:

Amen , when we become a new creation God will change us from the inside out and slowly transform us to be more like Him, I think how older we get and how more trials we face,we realize that this life is nothing more then a vapour,we don't belong here and we strangers on our way home,we should care for the most is lost souls ,we don't know how long wants us here but we're here for a purpose,to tell people the Salvation message,where would we we if we didn't receive such a big gift ? The Holy Spirit lives in us ,Jesus is living in us and He will lead us and knows everything about us,should we want to live to self and this world? What would it have to offer us? Lets make everything as God lead us to count for Him . ( Jesus is my all in all) PTL ! His mercy never ends...

Well said angels, we do have to be sorry for those who think this world is all they have.