Feb 18, 2017 | 11:12 AM
Jesus doesn't hand out "Get
Out Of Hell Free" passes — he hands out crosses.
With his typical candidness, he
said, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and pick up his cross
daily and follow me" (Matthew 16:24), and, in another turn of phrase, "Whoever
does not hate his life is not worthy to be my disciple" (Luke 14:26).
He warned it would not be those
who merely profess his lordship over their lives that inherit the Kingdom of
heaven, but those who demonstrate their love for God by doing the will of God
(Matthew 7:21).
And what is the will of God? In
his letter to the Thessalonians, Paul wrote:
"Finally, then, brothers, we ask
and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to
walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. For
you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. For this is the
will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that
each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in
the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one
transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger
in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. For God
has not called us for impurity, but in holiness." – 1 Thessalonians
4:3-7
The apostle specifies the sin of
sexual immorality at the start of this passage, but he broadens his scope in
verse 7: "God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness." We know from the
totality of Scripture's teaching that God's will is for us to abstain from all forms of sin. He calls us to love Him
with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Such love entails keeping
ourselves from what grieves and dishonors Him.
However, I think we would all
admit that desires to do things that dishonor God still exist within us — and
this is where Jesus' command to "deny yourselves" comes in. Though our flesh
influences us to sin, we are expected to resist its influences and "present our
members to God as instruments for righteousness" (Romans 6:13). God doesn't
expect us to do this perfectly. "He remembers we are but dust" (Ps 103:14), and,
through the inspired writing of John, he anticipated we would still commit sin
(1 John 2:1). But God does expect our lives to be characterized by self-denying, cross-bearing
submission to him.
I don't know if you guys have
experienced this, but as I have borne the cross of repentance, unbelieving
onlookers have frequently accused me of hating myself. Believing my self-denying
pursuit of Christ is poisonous to my wellbeing, they warn that the longer I
continue down this road of wretched "self-deprecation," the deeper I will
descend into all kinds of mental madness.
However, it is no self-hating
thing to embrace Christ's call to self-denial. Sure, he used the phrase "hate
your life." But
as I wrote a few months
ago, he was speaking in hyperbole. He no more meant we should literally hate our
lives than he literally meant we should hate our mothers, fathers, sisters, and
brothers. With dramatic language he was beckoning us to love God supremely. He
was calling us to prioritize God's will above all else — obviously including
(but not limited to) our fleshly desires to sin.
Is Jesus inviting us into a dark
and depressed state of existence when he calls us to abstain from the passions
of the flesh? No — he is inviting us into his joy!
The demonically ruled world
contends that we must satisfy every desire of our heart to lead a fulfilled life
(as long as we don't harm ourselves or anyone else). But Jesus, who is unmatched
in knowledge and wisdom, contends that freedom from self-centered, sinful living
leads to true fulfillment.
The darkened mind believes
self-denial is detrimental to our emotional health, but the omniscient God
asserts that our souls are most healthy when we flee from sin and indulge
ourselves in God.
Read
more at
http://www.christianpost.com/news/self-denial-is-not-self-hatred-174979/#V4JWz78BdY2TZKmp.99 
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