Personal Commitment to Jesus Christ

MATTHEW 16:24, 25

THE true Christian life is one that is wholly devoted to doing God’s will as it is revealed through Christ and the holy prophets and apostles, the various expressions of the divine will recorded by the prophets and apostles being amplifications of what the Master himself taught and what he exemplified by his life. A true disciple of Christ is a member of his body, which means that Christ is his Head, and the will of God is expressed through the Head, for the Head of Christ is God.—I Cor. 11:3

One who wishes to be a disciple of Jesus must “deny” himself and “take up his cross” and “follow” him. Each of these expressions denotes a great deal more than the significance usually attached to them. Self-denial, for example, is generally thought of as merely the giving up of some little thing for a period of time, such perhaps as candy. But this is not what the Master meant. What he spoke of was the denial of self.

Perhaps a good illustration of this is Peter’s denial of the Lord at the time of his arrest. Peter refused to admit that he even knew Jesus. So the denial of self means that we turn our backs upon self, denying the flesh the right of expressing itself with respect to our course in life. When we accept Christ’s headship, he becomes the controller of our lives, and we become “new creatures” in him. (II Cor. 5:16,17) Henceforth we know no man after the flesh, not even ourselves, for self, with all its interests, is denied.

We also take up our cross and follow Christ. Paul says we are “crucified” with him. (Rom. 6:6) This language simply denotes that having denied self, we follow Jesus into death; that we suffer and die with him, inspired with the hope of living and reigning with him. Cross-bearing involves a great deal more than bearing patiently with some unpleasant circumstance of life. It means to die with Jesus.

As Jesus further explains, to take up our cross and follow him means the losing of our life; but having entered upon the “narrow way” of sacrifice and covenanted to die with him, faithfulness unto death is the only means of saving our lives in the resurrection, the only way to obtain that “great salvation” which began to be spoken by our Lord and was confirmed unto us by those who heard him.—Matt. 7:14; Psa. 50:5; Heb. 2:3

MARK 1:16-20

CHRISTIANS are not invited to be crucified with Christ merely in order that they might suffer. They are called, rather, to be associated with Christ in the outworking of the divine plan, and their faithful performance of duty leads to suffering. The work of this age is that of calling from the world, through the proclamation of the Gospel, a people for Christ’s name—the church, the “little flock” to whom it is the Father’s good pleasure to give the kingdom. (Luke 12:32) Each one, as called, becomes a co-worker in calling others, so Jesus said to his disciples, “I will make you to become fishers of men.” This is our work, and in this work we lay down our lives, suffering and dying with Jesus.

PHILIPPIANS 1:19-26

THE essence of this passage is stated in verse 21—“For me to live is Christ, and to die gain.” Paul gloried in the privilege of living for Christ, although he knew that it would mean continued suffering, persecution, and weariness. This, he realized, was all involved in his commitment to Christ, his being crucified with Christ. To fall asleep in Christ, on the other hand, would be gain, because it would mean that having proved his faithfulness, his suffering was over, and that a crown of righteousness awaited him and would be given to him in “that day,” and not to him only, but to all who loved his appearing.—II Tim. 4:8

For Paul there were advantages both in living and dying, and he was unable to decide which would be best, although he strongly expected that he would be permitted to live for a while and continue to serve. However, there was something else which he would very much prefer, a third thing which was much more desirable than either living for Christ during this time when it entailed suffering, or falling asleep in death to await the “first resurrection” at the end of the age. This third thing was, as the King James Version puts it, “to depart, and to be with Christ.” This, the apostle declares, would be “far better.” But Paul knew that this “far better” consideration was not possible, so he was left with a choice between the other two, and of these two he had no preference.

According to Prof. Wilson, the word translated “depart” in this text can be better translated “return,” or “returning.” Thus Paul was actually speaking, not of his own departure, but of the returning of Christ when all of his true followers will be with him. But this, too, was out of the question at that time. So, whether we use the word “depart” or the improved translation “returning,” it does not change the fact that Paul was referring to that which was impossible at the time, hence the text cannot be used to prove that Paul expected to go to heaven the moment he died.

QUESTIONS

Explain what Jesus meant by self-denial.

What does it mean to take up our cross and follow Jesus?

How does a Christian save his life by losing it?

What is the Christian’s vocation?

Explain what Paul meant by saying that he desired “to depart, and to be with Christ.”

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