The teachings of Christ and His Word are contrary to our natural thinking. This is seen most clearly in the repeated truth our Lord Himself states in three of the four Gospels. He says, “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul” (Mark 8:35-36). It is also found in Matthew 16:18 to 28, and in Luke 9:23 to 27. This is the often neglected pinnacle of our Lord’s teaching. It clarifies, defines, and reasons out the only two directions for every person. Either we will trust and obey Jesus Christ or take the natural path that follows this temporary world and forfeit our eternal soul. The meaning of those wishing to save their life is referring to our natural sinful inclination to make this fallen and temporary life our chief desire and hope. Instead, we are called by Christ to believe what He has promised but have not yet seen.

We must forfeit this world to save our souls in the next. We must in faith leave our heart’s attachment to the physically known, which is polluted and temporary, and instead trust God for what we can only see through the eyes of faith. This is both a warning and an invitation by our Lord. It rules out the weak invitations often seen in churches or crusades that offer glory, but without dismissing the world. This is an invitation to self-denial, cross bearing, and obedience. This is the Lord’s true invitation. It requires a choice of the exclusive way of obedience to Christ, or continuing in our attachment to the passing pleasures of sin. The Lord presents His reality that we can only win by losing. It is paradoxical. The ways of our Lord and His great salvation do not fit man’s natural thinking.

A primary issue with our Lord’s teaching is our self-denial. He tells us that if we truly want to have the eternal life promised of Christ, we must deny ourselves. If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself” (Matt. 16:24). What does that mean? Fundamentally it means we must disown and refuse our old selves.  We must say, “We no longer want to associate with the person we have been. We realize our sinfulness, and the sinfulness of the path of which we have been living. If we have been religious, we abandon our self-effort, and our self-confidence. We further abandon our self-will which includes our old natural ambitions, plans, and agenda. We put all this behind us to follow our Lord.

John in addressing this same theme says we are to hate our old life (John 12:25). We come to see that all of our desires were directed by the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (1 John 2:16). In Christ hearts become alive to see ourselves in sin’s rebellion and we realize all of it must be abandoned in our desire for a true relationship to God.  We give up our independence and our trust in ourselves, and depend on Christ alone. This is why Paul would say, “For to me to live is Christ” (Phil. 1:21), or as he stated to the Galatians, “I’m crucified with Christ. I no longer live; but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20). We are bringing ourselves joyfully under His sovereign Lordship and saying, “Christ is the Lord of my life; He is in charge of my life; His will, His desires, His plans, His purposes, that’s what I want in my life. That is the basis of losing our life to find it.

This is Christ on His terms, not ours. Every proud sinner wants to have Christ’s promised future but also his own sinful pleasures.  But instead, we must find ourselves crushed, bankrupt, and desperate with a willingness to give up everything for Him. This becomes a way of thinking and living for those who have truly found Christ. And as we desire to learn more of the Lord we not only grow in sanctification, but also grow in humility. We have a lower estimation of ourselves and a growing love and appreciation for the Lord and His holiness and grace. It is our new way of life.

The longer I have lived I have repeatedly witnessed the great dilemma of so many living their life without God. I have seen people relentlessly strive to attain, and if all their striving has been focused only on this life, they lose everything. On the other hand, I have witnessed the life of those whose testimony was a continual reflection of faith in God. They too, at death, have lost everything they have had here, but their letting go at the end carried a sense of joy, for they moved into that which has been promised of God which is far better. These had the blessing and privilege of walking with God in this life, and then for all eternity in glory. Yes, what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?

Nothing could be more foolish and incredibly tragic.  Does the offer of Christ have enough value that we would give up everything in this life for Him? True salvation and eternal glory with Christ is so precious that no personal sacrifice is too great. Our time in this present world is accurately shown as likened to a vapor that only appears for a little while. The reasoning of having Christ is so powerfully weighed toward those who embrace Him and love Him that there is nothing that can compare. As we approach another weekend to worship together, be reminded of the wonder of knowing Him by faith and our privileged command to live out our faith by walking worthy of our calling.  We should in all ways seek to live for Him fully, and to glory in Christ Jesus, and put no confidence in the flesh.