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Institute in Basic Life Principles

Command 28 : Deny Yourself | Day 190

Choose to Come After Jesus!

"Am I willing to die for my faith in Christ?" John asked himself … For years he had been speaking out against the false teachings of the Church of Rome and boldly proclaiming that Christ alone was the Head of the Church. The Pope wanted him brought to trial and his writings destroyed; however, in spite of the risk, John remained firm in his commitment to follow Christ and proclaimed the truth of God's Word.

Later, his resolve faced the ultimate test as he was burned at the stake for His faith. However, the fire of his faith burned stronger and longer than the flames that consumed his earthly body, and the truth of God's Word spread throughout the land. The life of John Huss is a marvelous example of a man who demonstrated the following command of Jesus:

Command Twenty-Eight: "… If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it" (Luke 9:23-24).

Notice that this command involves a deliberate choice to follow Christ. When God created man, He designed us with a free will. Love that is not given and responded to voluntarily is not genuine love. God demonstrated His everlasting love for us through the sacrifice of His Son for our sins. In this command, Jesus invites us to voluntarily respond to His love by devoting our lives to following Him.

Jesus is not asking us to take up His cross, but instead to take up the cross that He has carefully designed for us. Before we can take up our cross, we must first die to self so that we can be fully submitted to the will of God. Then, we can carry our cross—the hardships given to us by God in the course of duty—and be victorious as we carry out God's will for our lives. It is a glorious paradox to realize that dying to self for Christ's sake and taking up our cross is the means through which we will experience all the fullness of life.

At this important point in our study of the commands of Christ, we are brought to a decision: choosing to embrace a glorious life that is achieved by denying ourselves and following Christ's example of obedience to the will of His Father or choosing to continue to cling to the desires of the flesh and the unfulfilling routine of our own existence. Now is the time to make this critical decision, not as a half-hearted commitment, but as a total surrender to Christ of all that we are and all that we have.

“If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23).

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Contributing writer: Bill Gothard