Self Denial

Mark 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

Notice that self denial is required to bear our cross. We Christians make much of our cross-bearing, don’t we? We want everyone to know the times we bore our cross, the circumstances involved and what it ended up costing us, to the end that others are more envious than edified. If a brother loses a tooth while witnessing on the street to an enraged lost man, you can be sure he will tell about his cross-bearing experience. But how much effort do we give to denying ourselves? Such a thing is often preached on but seldom acted upon. Our Lord not only commanded self denial, He expressed it in His life to give us an example that we should follow.

Now I ask you, Is the servant above his Master? If Christ had to deny Himself to be exalted by the Father, how much more must we deny ourselves to obtain exaltation? All Christians want a crown. Some Christians even desire a cross. But few consider the prerequisite to both. Every spiritual work requires self denial. Can you fast without self denial? Try praying without self denial and see how far you get. Would it be possible to obey the command to be pure on your wedding day without self denial? Consider any spiritual task, from Bible study to faithfulness to the house of God, and you will find self denial a requirement to success. Bearing our cross
or any other spiritual duty is simply the fruit of self denial. We often think that saints of yesterday had greater opportunities to bear their cross. We think the crosses they bore are much greater than anything we have opportunity to bear today. But in truth, there are no less opportunities today to bear a cross for the cause of Christ. There are only less Christians willing to bear the cross today. Deny yourself and you will soon see how large a cross you can bear.

Paul bore a great cross for the Lord only because he died daily (1 Corinthians 15:31). Do you not see the symbolism? A cross is an instrument whereby the result of its use is death to the one placed upon it. Had Christ Jesus refused to deny Himself, He would have never bore the cross. Even so we, if we refuse to deny
ourselves, shall never bear our cross. He wore a crown upon His head when they removed Him from those timbers to show us how to obtain a crown for our head. Those who seek a crown must seek a cross. Likewise, those who seek a cross must seek to deny themselves in order to take up that cross and follow Christ. Let us therefore as many as be thus minded, embrace the afflictions of the Gospel (2 Timothy 1:8), the foolishness of preaching (1 Corinthians 1:21), the sojourning life as strangers and pilgrims (Hebrews 11:13), and the shame and reproach that comes from proclaiming the wisdom of God to those who think it foolishness. We will find in the end that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us (Romans 8:18). We will find that self denial will enable us to bear a cross for Jesus Christ that we will be able to trade in one day for a crown. With that in mind, remember these steps: No self denial, no cross! No cross, no crown! No crown, no rule! No rule, no reign! No reign, no happiness in the kingdom! The list begins with self denial. The choice is yours. What will you choose?

Mark 8:34b …Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.