The Minister’s God-given Goal – Part 3
Matthew 28:16:20
Some ministers are nullifying the doctrine that salvation depends on repentance by twisting the doctrine so that it will be compatible with their faulty conception of God’s grace. By their new definition, repentance is a change of the mind about who Jesus is and may not necessarily affect a person’s behavior. When the apostles called people to repent were they calling people to change their minds about whom Jesus is, or were they calling people to change their behavior?
Paul believed that true repentance required a change of behavior. He told King Agrippa,
“I did not prove disobedient to the heavenly vision, but kept declaring both to those of Damascus first, and also at Jerusalem and then throughout all the region of Judea, and even to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds appropriate to repentance (Acts 26:19-20).
John the Baptist also believed that repentance was more than just a change of mind about certain theological facts. When his convicted audience responded to his call for repentance by asking what they should do, he enumerated specific changes of behavior (Luke 3:3, 10-14). He also derided the Pharisees and Sadducees for only going through the motions of repentance, and warned them of hell’s fires if they did not truly repent (Matthew 3:7-10).
Jesus preached the same message of repentance as John (Matthew 3:2; 4:17). He once stated that Nineveh repented at Jonah’s preaching (Luke 11:32). Anyone who has ever read the book of Jonah knows that the people of Nineveh did more than change their minds. They also changed their actions, turning from sin. Jesus called it repentance.
When a minister preaches the gospel without mentioning the need for a genuine change of behavior that authenticates repentance, he is actually opposing the desires of Jesus. Moreover, he deceives his audience into believing that they can be saved without repenting, thus potentially insuring their damnation if they believe him. He is working against God and for Satan, whether he realizes it or not.
If a minister is going to make disciples as Jesus commanded, he must begin the process with a call to repent.
Jesus not only called the unsaved to turn from sin, He also called them to commit themselves to follow and obey immediately. He never offered salvation on lesser terms, as is often done today. He never invited people to accept Him, promising them forgiveness, and then later suggested that they might want to commit themselves to obey Him. No, Jesus demanded that the very first step be a step of whole-hearted commitment.
Sadly, Jesus’ call to repent and commitment are often ignored by professing Christians. Or, if they are acknowledged, are explained away as being calls to a deeper relationship that are supposedly addressed, not to the unsaved, but to those who have already received God’s saving grace. Jesus’ call to repent and commitment is often interpreted to be a call to a deeper walk, supposedly addressed to those who are already saved. Is this call to repent and commitment, Jesus summoned the crowd with His disciples and said to them “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what will it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? For what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels” (Mark 8:34-38).
First, notice that the people Jesus was speaking to consisted of “the crowd with His disciples (v 34). The crowd did not consist of His disciples. Jesus called them to come with His disciples, He wanted them to hear what He was about to say to His disciples. Jesus wanted everyone, followers and seekers, to understand the truth He was about to teach. Notice also that He began by saying, “If anyone, this included the disciples and the crowd.
The expressions, “come after Me,” “deny himself,” “take up his cross,” “save his life,” not “forfeit his soul,” and be among those whom He will not be ashamed of when He “comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” All of these expressions indicate Jesus was describing people who desired to be saved. He was talking about gaining eternal salvation.
We need to heed what Jesus said in this passage of Scripture.
“If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Mark 8:34). This is the only relationship Jesus initially offers to those who want to follow Him. Some people want to be Jesus’ friend without being His follower, but such an option does not exist. Jesus did not consider anyone His friends if they did not obey Him (John 15:14).
Some people want Jesus to be their big brother, without being His follower, but, again, Jesus did not extend that option. He considered no one His brother unless he was obedient (Matthew 12:50).
Some people want to be with Jesus in heaven without being His follower, but Jesus conveyed the impossibility of such a thing. Only those who obey Him will be in heaven with Him (Matthew 7:21).
In this passage Jesus informed those who wanted to follow Him that they could not follow Him unless they denied themselves. They must be willing to put their desires aside, making them subordinate to His will, self-denial and submission is the essence of following Jesus. That is what Jesus means when He said, “take up your cross.”
In Verse 35 Jesus said, “For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s shall save it (Mark 8:35).
Here Jesus contrasts two people, the same two people who were implied in the first sentence, the one who would deny himself and take up his cross to follow Him and the one who would not. Now they are contrasted as one who would lose his life for Christ and the gospel’s sake and one who would not. If we look for the relationship between the two, we must conclude that the one in the first sentence who would not deny himself corresponds to the one in the second sentence who wishes to save his life but will lose it. The one in the first sentence who was willing to deny himself corresponds to the one in the second sentence who loses his life but ultimately saves it.
When Jesus spoke these words to the crowd and disciples, He was not speaking about one losing or saving his physical life, Jesus had eternal losses and gains in mind. A similar expression by Jesus is recorded in John 12:25, “He who loves his life loses it; and he who hates his life in this world shall keep it to life eternal.”
The person in the first sentence who would not deny himself was the same person in the second sentence who wished to save his life. The man who “loses his life for Christ and the gospel’s sake” denies himself, takes up his cross, and now is living for spreading the gospel. He is the one who will ultimately save his life. The person who seeks to please Christ rather than self will ultimately find himself in heaven, while the one who continues to please himself will ultimately find himself miserable in hell.
Jesus asked the disciples and the crowd, “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? For what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? (Mark 8:36-37).
In these verses, the person who will not deny himself is also the one who wishes to save his life but ultimately loses it. He pursues what the world has to offer and ultimately forfeits his soul. In these verses, Jesus exposes the folly of such a person by comparing the worth of the whole world with that of one’s soul. Of course, there is no comparison. A person might theoretically acquire all the world has to offer, but, if the ultimate consequence of his life is that he spends eternity in hell, he has made the gravest of errors.
From these verses, we gain insight into what pulls people away from denying themselves to become Christ’s followers. It is their desire for self-gratification, offered by the world. Motivated by love of self, those who refuse to follow Christ seek sinful pleasures, which Christ’s true followers shun out of love and obedience to Him. Those who are trying to gain all that the world has to offer pursue wealth, power and prestige; while the true followers of Jesus seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. Any wealth, power or prestige gained by them is considered a stewardship from God to be used unselfishly for His glory.
Verse 38 is a warning, Jesus told the disciples and the crowd “whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels (Mark 8:38).
This again is the person who would not deny himself, but pursues what the world had to offer, and who thus ultimately lost his life and forfeited his soul. He is characterized as one who is ashamed of Jesus and His words. His shame, of course, stems from his unbelief. If he had truly believed that Jesus was God’s Son, he certainly would not have been ashamed of Him or His words. He is a member of an adulterous and sinful generation, and Jesus will be ashamed of him when He returns. Clearly, Jesus was not describing a saved person.
What is the conclusion to all of this? The entire passage cannot be considered a call to a more committed life addressed to those who are already on the way to heaven. It is a revealing of the way of salvation by means of comparing those who are truly saved and those who are unsaved. The truly saved believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thus deny themselves for Him, while the unsaved demonstrate no such obedient faith.
In Matthew 11:28 Jesus promises those who are weary and heavy-laden will come to Him He will give them rest. Jesus offers rest to those who are weary and heavy-laden. He is not offering physical rest for those who are physically weary and burdened, but rest for the soul.
If we want to receive the rest that Jesus is offering, we must do two things, we must come to Jesus and take His yoke upon us.
False grace teachers often twist the meaning of the expression “taking Jesus’ yoke.” Some actually claim that Jesus was speaking of a yoke that must be around His own neck, which is why He called it “My yoke.” Others claim Jesus is referring to a double yoke they say, one half of which is around His neck and the other half of which is empty, waiting for us to take on our necks. We should understand, however, that Jesus is promising to do all the pulling of the plow because He said that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. Thus our only job, according to such teachers, is to make sure we stay yoked to Jesus by faith, allowing Him to do all the work for our salvation, while we just enjoy the benefits offered through His grace.
When Jesus said that weary people should take His yoke, He meant that they should submit to Him, making Him their master, allowing Him to direct their lives. That is why Jesus said we should take His yoke and then learn of Him. Unsaved people are like wild oxen, going their own way and ruling their own lives. When they take Jesus’ yoke, they give up control to Him. The reason Jesus’ yoke is easy and His burden is light is because He empowers us by His indwelling Spirit to obey Him.
In this passage of the Bible, we see Jesus calling people to salvation, in this case symbolized as a rest for the weary, by calling people to submit to Him and make Him their Lord.
The minister who obeys Jesus’ commandment to make disciples, and who knows that repentance, commitment and discipleship are not options. They are the only authentic expression of saving faith. Therefore, the minister that preaches a biblical gospel to the unsaved. The minister who calls the unsaved to repent and follow Jesus, and he does not assure the uncommitted of their salvation will reap his reward in heaven. He will hear the words, “Well done good and faithful servant, enter into your rest.
