"Three Laws of the Discipleship"
Pt. 1 -- Self Denial
Matthew 16:24-28
Introduction: As I begin today's message let me say that the definition of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ has changed radically from what the Savior spoke of in this section of Matthew's Gospel. In this chapter it is easy to see that even the disciples who were intimately acquainted with the Master had a very superficial view of what it meant to be a follower of Jesus. They were wrong in their concept of His office as the Messiah and this misconception led them to make statements that the Lord knew had no real depth of commitment. Peter in particular was ready to "die" for the Lord but instead he "denied" the Lord on at least three occasions. Within the space of just a few verses the Lord turns from commendation to condemnation. Like many Peter knew the right doctrine and made the right declaration but because of the lack of real understanding of the Lord's mission he went from "rock" to "rebuke!" This man who in one moment had heard the gracious word from the Master's lips became a "mouthpiece" from hell! Jesus shakes the horror of this moment like Paul "shook of the serpent in the fire" and proceeds to clarify what it means to be His true disciple.
Many of you are here this morning and you can probably articulate what you think it means to be a disciple of Jesus but the only definition that really counts is what Jesus himself says about the subject. Over the next three weeks we are going to make an in-depth study into the subject of discipleship. Notice that Jesus begins His teaching with "...if any man will come after me..." that is, be a disciple and follower of him, it being usual for the master to go before, and the disciple to follow after him: now let it be who it will, rich or poor, learned or unlearned, young or old, male or female, that have any inclination and desire, or have took up a resolution in the strength of grace, to be a disciple of Christ. John Gill
Today we will examine the first aspect of the Lord's teaching about true discipleship and His kingdom found in the phrase, "...let him deny himself..." What does this mean? Listen to the words of John Gill:
"...let him deny sinful self, ungodliness, and worldly lusts; and part with them, and his former sinful companions, which were as a part of himself: let him deny righteous self, and renounce all his own works of righteousness, in the business of justification and salvation; let him deny himself the pleasures and profits of this world, when in competition with Christ; let him drop and banish all his notions and expectations of an earthly kingdom, and worldly grandeur, and think of nothing but reproach, persecution, and death, for the sake of his Lord and Master." John Gill
How then do we deny self-denial...?
I. Surrender of self to Christ v. 25
a. We follow the pattern of surrender
The pattern for surrender is Jesus himself. In the garden when in the agony of prayer our Lord prays a prayer that indicates His total yieldedness to God's will when He prays, "...Father, not my will but thy will be done..." and in Philippians 2:5-8 Paul writes:
Philippians 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
b. We focus on the paradox of surrender
There is no doubt that the reason that many do not understand the biblical principle of discipleship is because it is fundamentally a paradox. The paradox of surrender is that if we seek to preserve our life we will ultimately lose.
C. S. Lewis said: "Don't let your happiness (life) depend on something that you may lose"
c. We find power of surrender
The opposite is also true. To win we must lose, to live we must die, to be conquerors we must conquer ourselves. Jesus says that "...whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it..." Notice that Jesus does not imply that all those who "...lose their life..." will find it. There is a qualifier. It is a life lost "for His sake..." What do we find? We find a purpose for living that satisfies our soul. We find a power for living that is life changing. We find a presence Who is with us in every walk of life. We find a promise of life everlasting. We find a possession that no moth or rust can corrupt, nor can thieves break through and steal, and we find place of eternal, everlasting bliss in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ himself!
The second aspect of self-denial involves:
II. Sacrifice of self for Christ
We are called to a life of sacrifice. That sounds foreign in the church culture of our day but it is none the less true. Paul pleaded with the church to:
Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
And in the Ephesian letter he describes the life of Jesus as:
Ephesians 5:2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.
a. The risks of self-indulgence
There has been much in the news about the death of Robin Williams lately and by all accounts he was very generous with his time and talent in the support of different causes and we admire him for this. From all accounts he made many millions of dollars in his life time but at the time of his death he had placed a large mansion up for sale at a price of $29 million dollars and he was living in a relatively modest home with his 3rd wife. When asked why he was selling the mansion he replied that as a result of his divorces he could longer afford it. I was curious about his religious beliefs and did an online search and found that he was raised by an Episcopalian father and a staunch Christian Scientist mother. At the end of article the author indicated that Mr. Williams's comedy routine regularly included strong profanity and anti-Christian humor where he often made fun of the miracles in the Scriptures and Bible characters like Moses. The article concluded with the statement that Mr. Williams was probably and atheist. If he was in fact an atheist I believe that we can safely say that he now believes in God!
b. The rating of your soul
What do you think your soul is worth? Jesus asks the question: "...what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" The Lord tells the story of a man who sold his soul in the Gospel of Luke:
Luke 12:16 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:
17 And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?
18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.
19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.
20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?
21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.
Easu sold his soul for a bowl of soup! Judging from the way men live today there are millions who would sell their soul for the next promotion, a large raise, the next big deal, a larger house or whatever.
c. The return of the Savior
The inevitable return of the Lord Jesus is the greatest incentive for making your life a "living sacrifice..." Why? Because when he comes again he is coming as the judge of all men. Paul writes the believers at Corinth:
2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
Jesus will the sole arbiter of our lives. He alone will judge whether or not we have "...gained the whole world..." or given our lives as a sacrifice that is pleasing to God.
In Mark's account of this same teaching he adds that if we are ashamed of him here, he will be ashamed of us there. That is, if we reject and disown him here, he will reject and disown us there.
Mark 8:38 Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.
The third aspect of self-denial is:
III. Submersion of self in Christ
Some of you are probably saying, "What is the world are you talking about preacher?" What does submersion of self-mean? It is easier for me to illustrate with an example from the Bible. John the Baptist was asked about Jesus and here is what he said:
John 3:29 He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.
30 He must increase, but I must decrease.
Self-denial can be measured by the words increase and decrease. John was in the spot light so to speak at the Jordan River. All of Judea was abuzz with talk about him and his baptism of repentance. Then Jesus comes and John is no longer the "center of attention" and we have his statement this 3rd chapter of John. Slowly at first and then faster and faster John fades from view until his death at the hands of Herod and Jesus becomes the focus. It that sense John decreased and Jesus increased and that's the way it must be if we are to deny ourselves and really become true disciples of our Lord. To decrease and let Jesus increase we must:
a. We must live an exchanged life
Paul writes, "...Yet not I but Christ liveth in me... and ...For me to live is Christ and to die is gain..."
To live and exchanged life Jesus must be the supreme object of your life.
Yes, in me, in me He dwelleth
I in Him and He in me!
And my empty soul He filleth
Now and through eternity.
Horatio Bonar
"... God made me a new man! God has made me a new man!"
Wonderful was the experience that had come in answer to prayer, yet so simple as almost to baffle description...
Do you know, I now think that this striving, longing, hoping for better days to come is not the true way to holiness, happiness or usefulness. It is better, no doubt, far better than being satisfied with poor attainments, but not the best way after all. I have been struck with a passage from a book... entitled Christ is All. It says,
"The Lord Jesus received is holiness begun; the Lord Jesus cherished is holiness advancing; the Lord Jesus counted upon as never absent would be holiness complete...
"He is most holy who has most of Christ within, and joys most fully in the finished work..."
... To let my loving Savior work in me His will, my sanctification, is what I would live for by His grace. Abiding, not striving nor struggling; looking off unto Him; trusting Him for present power... resting in the love of an almighty Savior, in the joy of a complete salvation, "from all sin" -- this is not new, and yet 'tis new to me... Christ literally all seems to me, now, the power, the only power for service, the only ground for unchanging joy...
How then to have our faith increased? Only by thinking of all that Jesus is and all He is for us: His life, His death, His work, He Himself as revealed to us in the Word, to be the subject of our constant thoughts. Not a striving to have faith... but a looking off to the Faithful One seems all we need; a resting in the Loved One entirely, for time and eternity.
... I looked to Jesus, and when I saw -- oh, how joy flowed!
It was resting in Jesus now, and letting Him do the work -- which makes all the difference. Whenever he spoke in meetings after that, a new power seemed to flow from him, and in the practical things of life a new peace possessed him. Troubles did not worry him as before. He cast everything on God in a new way, and gave more time to prayer.
It was the exchanged life that had come to him -- the life that is indeed "No longer I"... It was a blessed reality "Christ liveth in me." And how great the difference! -- instead of bondage, liberty; instead of failure, quiet victories within; instead of fear and weakness, a restful sense of sufficiency in Another. Hudson Taylor's Spiritual Secret
b. We must live a Christ exalting life
Eph 1:6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
Eph 1:12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
Eph 1:14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
Heb 13:15 By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.
Conclusion: Let's review what we've learned today about where we start in discipleship.
First, surrender (I surrender all)
Second, sacrifice
Third, submersion
