Subject 13 : The Gospel According to MATTHEW
[Chapter 16-4] If Anyone Wants to Follow Me, Let Him Deny Himself! (Matthew 16:21-28)
(Matthew 16:21-28)
“From
that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to
Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and
scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day. Then Peter took Him
aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, ‘Far be it from You, Lord; this
shall not happen to You!’ But He turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind
Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the
things of God, but the things of men.’ Then Jesus said to His disciples,
‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up
his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose
it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what
profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own
soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of
Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He
will reward each according to his works. Assuredly, I say to you, there
are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son
of Man coming in His kingdom.’”
Today’s
Scripture passage records a conversation that took place between the
Lord and Peter. The Lord said here, “If anyone desires to come after Me,
let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” Let’s
examine why Jesus Christ said these words.
As
we carry on with our lives of faith, there are times when we find it
very hard to continue on. Haven’t you also had times like this, when you
found yourself struggling to carry on with your life of faith even
though you wanted to follow the Lord faithfully? In general, this
happens often because of the fact that you love yourself too much. If we
love ourselves more than the Lord, then it’s very hard for us to follow
Him. This is the issue that the Lord is addressing for us in today’s
Scripture passage.
After
Peter made his confession of faith, the Lord said, “I will go to
Jerusalem, be sold to the chief priests in three days, and be crucified
to death.” Peter then objected to this and trying to stop the Lord, he
said the following: “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to
You!” Jesus then turned around and said to Peter, “Get behind Me,
Satan!” You can imagine just how embarrassed Peter must have been then.
He probably hung onto the Lord’s garments and held Him back, insisting
adamantly, “Lord, You must not be crucified to death! You can’t let this
happen!” But the Lord just said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan!”
On
his part, Peter undoubtedly cared deeply for the Lord with all his
heart, but the Lord only told him to stay away from Him. Just a while
before, the Lord had praised Peter for his good faith, saying that it
was the Father who had made him realize Jesus’ divinity, but now Peter
was rebuked for his acting like Satan all of a sudden. The Lord said to
him, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not
mindful of the things of God, but the things of men,” and then He said
to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny
himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.”
What
we must remember clearly when we are following the Lord is the fact
that Jesus told us to deny ourselves. If we sometimes feel feeble, weak,
and desperate while following the Lord and our hearts are not directed
toward the Lord, then it’s all because we love ourselves too much. When
we are reluctant to be led by the Lord, we lose sight of the Lord and
instead we only see ourselves. When this happens, we don’t care about
the Lord at all. So we end up completely clueless as to what it really
means to follow the Lord, to be led by Him, and to love Him.
Do You Know Why You Must Deny Yourself?
As
we carry on with our lives of faith, sometimes we find out that we love
ourselves more than the Lord. In times like this, darkness envelops our
hearts and our ship of faith flounders and sinks. We end up
shipwrecked, crashing into the reef. Among those trying to lead a life
of faith, there are some people whose ship of faith, hope, and love have
withered away, because they have loved themselves more than the Lord.
It’s because people love themselves too much that each of their ships of
faith end up sinking. When we analyze the cause as to why so many
Christians’ faith have floundered while following the Lord and are no
longer able to follow Him, we see that it’s because they were mindful of
the things of men, just as the Lord had said to Peter, “You are not
mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.” It’s also because
they failed to deny themselves, even though the Lord had said, “If
anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his
cross, and follow Me.”
Who
among us does not love himself? Robert H. Schuller, an American pastor
famous for his Crystal Cathedral, argued in his book titled Self-Esteem:
The New Reformation that Christians must love themselves first. This
book made a tremendous impact on not only Christians, but also
non-Christians. His main point was that countless Christian believers
had been abusing themselves all this time for being sinners with sinful
hearts. Yet in this book, Schuller argued that even though human beings
are sinful like this by nature, because Jesus has blotted out their
sins, they must love themselves. That’s why his book was so acclaimed by
many Christians.
However,
Schuller’s assertion was something actually standing against the Word
of the Lord. Because this book’s teachings had come out of a man,
although it was immensely popular for a while, it soon withered away. In
contrast, the Lord’s Word is the everlasting Truth. Just as the Lord
had told Peter, unless we deny our heart’s love for ourselves, we cannot
follow Him. All of us must grasp this clearly. This Word is
indispensable for all of us to understand clearly in order to follow the
Lord.
If
we love ourselves, we will fall into self-pity without even realizing
it and lose sight of the Lord to see only ourselves. We will then end up
losing the Lord and our ship of faith will flounder and sink.
Therefore, it’s critical that we ruminate and reflect on this issue in
depth. You may find yourself wondering, “I have run toward the Lord in
full sprint out of my love for Him. Why then have I fallen into a slump
all of a sudden, with my love for the Lord disappearing and my desire to
run toward the gospel fading away as well? What explains this? I wasn’t
like this before.” In times like this, if you turn around and examine
yourself, you will surely discover that it’s all because you have too
much love for yourself.
I
am not saying that your self-love is wrong in and of itself. On the
contrary, it is only too normal for one to love oneself. That’s because
we all live in our flesh. However, even if we love ourselves, we must
still deny this. All Christians ought to do this. We must deny our
self-love, realize and admit that this is not a heart that loves the
Lord; it’s a heart that loves oneself. We must turn our hearts around,
saying, “Even though I love myself, isn’t it more proper for me to love
the Lord? Isn’t it more fitting for me to love the Lord rather than
myself?” Is it only proper for you and me to love the Lord? Of course it
is. Yet even though this is only too proper, we sometimes forget all
about it in our lives of faith without even realizing ourselves. In
times like this, we have to reestablish our faith asking ourselves, “Why
am I like this?” and look toward our Lord and follow Him.
The
Lord said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let
him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” This passage
also applies to us living in this present age. If we really want to
follow the Lord, then even though we all want to love ourselves, we must
deny this desire and love the Lord first. And we must follow the Lord.
If we deny ourselves and follow the Lord, He will take care of us. That
is the way of life for us Christians. It’s absolutely necessary for us
to deny ourselves if we are to follow the Lord. You must remember this
clearly. I admonish you to deny yourself.
Just
how much love do you have for yourself? And just how many wonderful
dreams do you have for yourself? It’s not as if I don’t know this, nor
do I want to bind you with the Law to dissuade you from pursuing your
dreams. Nevertheless, it is in the Lord that you should desire your
hopes and dreams to be fulfilled. And you must deny yourself. The
purpose and reason as to why you and I must do this is all in order to
follow the Lord. Even though everyone loves himself, to love the Lord
more than oneself is the very way to follow the Lord. In other words,
although I know very well that you love and cherish yourself, because
this is an obstacle that prevents you from following the Lord and
serving the gospel, it’s only when you deny this self-love that you can
follow the Lord.
That
is what the Lord had said to the Apostle Peter. This Word was also
spoken to us today. How much do we love ourselves? All of us clearly
love ourselves. We must admit this and obey the Word of the Lord
commanding us to deny ourselves to follow Him. Even though we all have
too much love for ourselves, the right thing for us to do is to deny
ourselves and follow the Lord. Denying ourselves, following the Lord,
loving Him, dedicating our hearts to the lost souls, serving the Lord,
and seeking His will first—these are what are right for us to do.
We Must Set Our Hearts on the Lord
As
we carry on with our lives of faith, we often find ourselves wavering
back and forth between the love that we have for the Lord and the love
that we have for ourselves. However, as Christians, our hearts must love
the Lord without fail. Because the born-again Christians have the Holy
Spirit dwelling in their hearts, they are bound to love the Lord even
without trying hard, saying to themselves, “I should love the Lord.”
Since the Holy Spirit, who is one with the Lord, dwells in our hearts,
we do love the Lord fundamentally. At the same time, this love for the
Lord is inevitably accompanied by our self-love as well. We ourselves
want to be treated the same as the Lord. The ego wants to receive the
same treatment as the Lord. If we want ourselves to be treated at the
same level as the Lord, then we must quickly choose between the Lord and
us. Whom should we choose then? We should choose the Lord, realizing
that it is more blessed to think of Him first. It’s when we consider
rationally what is right and we go forth by faith, that we can deny
ourselves and follow the Lord first, rather than being seized by our own
lust. It is then that we put on the love of the Lord and are treated
well by other saints in the Lord.
As
we carry on with our lives of faith, such conflicts are inevitable for
us, the born-again. Just as we love the Lord, so do we love ourselves.
And sometimes our self-love is at the same level as our love for the
Lord. What should we do in times like this? We should lower one side a
little. Whom should we lower then? As John the Baptist said, “He must
increase, but I must decrease.” We ourselves must decrease. This is what
is meant for a heart to follow the Lord and put on His love. However,
Peter had not done this, and instead he had placed himself at the same
level as the Lord. So he held back the Lord and insisted that He should
never die. That’s why Jesus rebuked Peter, saying, “You are not mindful
of the things of God, but the things of men,” and went as far as calling
him Satan. Peter was rebuked by Jesus like this, precisely because he
had not denied himself. You and I, who have been born again, must break
down and deny ourselves. It’s only then that we can follow the Lord
unwaveringly. It’s none other than Satan who makes us follow our lust.
However,
no matter how hard we try not to, our self-love continues to arise.
Even though we love ourselves, we must still follow virtue and that is
why mankind suffers from so much agony. Referring to this, Buddhism
calls it 108 Defilements. Self-love is aroused in us endlessly. Yet
despite this, even though self-love keeps on arising endlessly, we must
never allow ourselves to be completely drawn to it or continue to run
toward it. That’s because it’s the path to destruction to love oneself
and to love the world. Of course, we do admit that we all have
self-love, but even so, the proper thing for us to do is to follow the
Lord first. It’s when we have such a proper disposition of the heart
that the Lord is exalted in us, and our souls, our lives, and our
everything are made beautiful. That’s why it’s so imperative for you and
me to know how to deny ourselves. This must be put into practice
everyday and every moment in our lives of faith.
Let
me provide an illustration here. Imagine that a dog is walking with his
owner, and while walking he smells something. So this dog leaves the
owner for a while and follows the trace of the smell. Even though the
owner continues to walk straight ahead, the dog keeps on sniffing
around, going off to the side and busying with himself for a while. But
after some delay, the dog eventually turns his head around and once
again resumes following his owner.
We
are like this dog. Because each of us has a body, it’s our basic
instinct to love ourselves, just as it is a dog’s instinct to follow the
trace of smell. However, what we must be mindful of first is the work
of the Lord. When we think about the Lord’s love first and follow Him,
not only are we blessed, but the Lord is also pleased. That’s because
it’s in times like this that the Lord can take care of everything and
lead us.
Such
battles must be fought continuously, particularly for those who want to
follow the Lord in their lives of faith. What, then, should we do in
these battles? We can defeat our carnal thoughts and overcome them only
if we have a clear understanding of our basic nature. Can we really
overcome ourselves, no matter how hard we fight against ourselves? No,
we are incapable of defeating ourselves. Let’s say that you resolved
yourself not to touch any food in your fasting, saying to yourself, “I’m
hungry, but I won’t eat for the sake of the Lord.” What would be the
result then? You will in the end give into your hunger. No matter how
hard we struggle against ourselves like this, we simply cannot win. Even
if we prevail over ourselves, nothing is really gained; on the other
hand, if we lose, then we feel completely wretched, falling into
self-hatred and turning into slaves to ourselves in the end.
In
our battle against self, we have no winning chance. As such, the right
thing for us to do is to say to ourselves, “You, my flesh, may want to
do that. But I will first do the work of the Lord, the work of saving
the soul, of serving the Lord and following Him.” We should leave our
flesh alone and just follow the Spirit. The reason why we are able to
say to ourselves, “Even though my flesh is like this, I will still
follow the Lord,” is because it’s not just we who are in us, but the
Holy Spirit who dwells in us also. In other words, it is by the power of
the Holy Spirit that we are able to follow the Lord. Because we have
the Holy Spirit in our hearts when we follow the Lord, we are able to
surrender ourselves to Him and follow His footsteps.
Everyday,
the desire to seek the Lord’s interest and the desire to seek our own
interest are in constant conflict and friction in our hearts, just like
David and Saul did. Just as David had followed the Lord rather than
killing Saul with his own hands, all that we have to do is just leave
our own desires unfulfilled and seek the Kingdom of God and His
righteousness first instead, rather than trying to seek our own
interest. None other than this is self-denial. We must realize just how
imperative and indispensable it is in this present age to deny ourselves
and put our priority on the Lord.
We
cannot help but wage this battle constantly. Just as a dog sometimes
goes off to the side and other times follows his owner closely, so do we
sometimes go off to a side road while following the Lord. Even though
we admit that we always love ourselves and try to ensure our own
interest first, still we must not lose the Lord. There are times when we
waver back and forth between the Lord and ourselves. Let’s admit this.
I’m not saying here that you should not waver like this. I know very
well that if I ask this from you, you will probably waver even more.
Rather, what I am saying here is that we should admit honestly that this
is who we really are and even though we are such people, we should
never forget the Lord, never forget to follow Him, but look toward Him,
discern what His will is, be mindful of the things of God first rather
than the things of men, and follow His work. That is the right thing for
us to do.
There
are various organizations in our church, ranging from the Sunday school
to youth gatherings and adult gatherings, as well as various
departments responsible for different tasks such as literature ministry,
Internet ministry, publication, translation, and so forth. We work
through these different organizations and departments and this is all to
think of the Lord first and follow Him. As we are mindful of the work
of God first, it sometimes brings physical hardships, but even so we
must still think of God’s work first, push this work ahead, and set our
hearts on these tasks.
Jesus
said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself.” You
and I must remember this clearly, think of the Lord first, be trained to
follow Him first, and wage our battle against self endlessly in
following the Lord’s footsteps. It is then that we can truly follow the
Lord, put on His grace, and serve Him. For our ship of faith not to
flounder and sink, we must think of the work of God first, deny
ourselves, and carry out the Lord’s work to follow Him.
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