LUKE 9:23 – And Jesus said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”

THEME OF THE DAY:  THE FUNDAMENTAL TRUTHS OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE.  In today’s scripture, we have our Lord Jesus laying down the three fundamental truths of not only becoming His disciple but living the Christian life.  Without them being in place and pursued, we cannot enter into the Christian life, live the Christian life, or be used by the Lord in the world.  Before we look at them, a couple of things we must believe and embrace.

First, the three fundamental truths of being a follower of Jesus Christ are non-negotiable.  He will not lower the bar of commitment to be His disciples.  It is we who submit to Him, not Him to us.  So, let’s ensure we know the cost we must pay, daily, to be His disciples.

The other thing to grasp is these are not optional.  We simply cannot think we may pick and choose what commands and demands Jesus places upon us as His disciples.  Remember, Jesus is Lord of all in our lives, or not Lord at all in our lives. As Christians, we have one Master, the Lord Jesus, and that role will not be shared by Him.  Now the fundamental truths of the Christian life.

Initially, Jesus extends the gracious invitation to anyone who would follow Him – “If anyone would come after Me” and this is a wonderful look into His heart of grace.  Then, He begins with the truth of self-denial – “Let him deny himself.”  And what we encounter right out of the gate from our Lord is so counter-cultural.  We live in a world consumed with self; self-fulfillment, self-expression, and an unbridled appetite for anything focused on “me, my, and mine.”  Not only is such a life of death to self, counter-cultural, it is an enemy of our fallen sinful nature.  As Paul David Tripp once said, “The DNA of sin is selfishness.”  That is why we need the Gospel.  It only has the power to break the chains of selfishness and put us in the position to meet Jesus’ first requirement to follow Him, self-denial.  By the way, these requirements are in order.  They build on each other.  No willingness and embracing self-denial, and the path of becoming a disciple, living as a disciple, ceases.

Next, our Lord lays out the next requirement to follow Him and the second fundamental truth of the Christian life; the call to daily death – “take up his cross.”  The truth points to two things; a willingness to suffer, for the cross is an instrument of pain and it’s personal.  Friends, we are called to suffer for Christ, not only to suffer persecution, but to suffer the pain of saying “no” to our flesh’s scream for ease and comfort.  And should we be reluctant to daily suffering to be a disciple, our spiritual growth has just ceased.

Finally, the Lord points us to purposeful and intentional obedience to His commands which define “follow me.”  The Christian life is not lived by experience, feelings, or circumstances.  It is lived by studying the Word of God to do two things; know the Lord and obey the Lord.   The fundamental truth of obedience defines the Christian for Jesus said, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments: (John 14:15, 21).  May the Lord help us to define and live the Christian life according to His requirements clearly stated and directed.

PRAYER: “Father, forgive me when I put my interests ahead of Your Son and others, forgetting I don’t live for myself.”

QUOTE: “Low levels of joy and minimal impact for Christ may be traced to a life more self-centered than self-denying.”

Because of Him,

Pastor Jim