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*Intro* – Truly saved.
That is the theme of this passage.
It asks and answers 3 great questions – Who is Jesus?
(18-20); What Did He Do? (21-22); and What Must I Do?
There is no salvation if we deny the deity of Christ.
That’s the cost to God the Father – He gave His Son.
There is no salvation if Jesus did not die for our sins – that’s the cost to Him.
Now, what about the cost to me?
What Must I Do? Warning!
It’s not easy.
You say, “I thought we do nothing!
We come to Christ by faith.
Believe in Him.”
And that’s right, but to believe in Him is to disbelieve in self, and that is so tough most people won’t.
*I.
What Must I Do?*
Lu 9:23, “And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”
Jesus lists 3 things – deny self, take up one’s cross and follow Him.
We’ll look at the first today.
*A.
Deny Self*
“Deny himself” is in the Gr aorist tense.
That means it’s a once-for-all action.
Truly saved people have renounced self in favor of Jesus.
They have said, “So long, Self.
I choose Jesus” and meant it!
We still slip into selfishness.
But at some point we gave our heart unreservedly to Him.
Many of us think we did, but when we walked that aisle or prayed that prayer, we were actually holding something back.
We thought we could just make whatever move we thought would save us and then go on with life as usual.
We wanted Jesus, but we wanted something else worse, so we gave Him everything except that little idol hiding in the corner.
We have been trying to have Jesus and that.
Our self-denial was really self-deception -- but God was not deceived!
Mortimer Adler was a philosopher who believed in God, but refused to come to Christ.
He feared the cost.
“I was on the edge of becoming a Xn several times, but didn’t do it.
. . .
If one converts by a clear conscious act of will, one had better be prepared to live a truly Christian life.
So you ask yourself, are you prepared to give up all your vices and the weaknesses of the flesh?”
He understood self-denial, but refused at that point.
Ken Myers interviewed Adler at age 79 in 1980: "I asked him why he had never embraced the Xn faith himself.
He explained that . . .
there were moral – not intellectual – obstacles."
Adler understood the cost of following Jesus, and he did not want to pay the price.
Happily, at age 83, he accepted Jesus as and discovered the truth of v. 24, “but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.”
But what does it mean to deny self?
Let’s consider 5 areas we hold back this morning.
They are not comprehensive; your hold back may be in some other area.
But let’s ask, Am I truly saved?
Or have I held back, consciously or unconsciously in one of these areas or some other area?
*1.
Prestige (reputation)*
Reputation keeps many from Christ.
Their status, personal or social, might be affected if it became known they were followers of Jesus.
They desire the benefits of a relationship with Jesus.
But only if they can keep it quiet.
They would be “on the outs” should anyone think they had gotten serious about Christ.
But Jesus warned against such “secret agent” believers in Matt 10:33, “but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.”
You can’t be saved and secret!
You must be all in or it ain’t real!
Sound harsh?
Would we think it harsh at all for a girl to say, “If you deny me before your friends, I will deny you the privilege of marrying me.”
She’s just saying, “I must be most important of all, or I am not important at all!” She’s just wisely sorting out, Do you love Me? Do you merely want Me?
So – are we holding back because we fear how we’d tell the ladies at the bridge club or the kids at school or the guys at the office or the golf club?
Are we worried that we won’t be cool, will lose our “in” status, will be thought a religious fanatic?
Then we value prestige over Christ and don’t deserve Him! We’re like the woman sitting in a life raft dressed to the nines, sparkling with jewels.
In the background a plane is about to sink.
She and her huz have survived a crash.
But what she treasures is unveiled when she asks, “Alfie, are we still in first class?”
She’s fixated on status more than survival.
You can go to the Circus Maximus in Rome and you will find an amazing carving.
It's a carving of the figure with the body of a man in the head of a jackass.
The figure includes a man bowing down to this figure on the cross.
Underneath are the words, "Alexei Menos” – Alexei Menos worships his god.
Who would worship the crucified jackass?
That was the world's view.
That was a tough sell.
Following Christ will lead to some people to mock.
So what?
What if Noah had been concerned with reputation?
Where would we be?
We’d be nowhere.
Nobody would be anywhere.
God says, “Noah, do you believe in me?” “I believe in you, Lord.” “You confess Me as your Lord?” “Yes, sir.” “You’re truly saved, Noah?” “That’s right.
Thanks to your grace, I am truly saved.”
“Means you’ll do anything I ask, right?” “That’s right, Lord.
I’m yours.”
“Good, I want you to build an ark.”
Imagine the rest of that conversation.
What’s an ark?
What’s float?
What’s water?
How high?
Two of every animal?
You’re kidding, right?
For the next 120 years Noah’s reputation took a huge hit.
Laughingstock of the community.
It’s tough to follow Christ.
It is.
Let’s admit it.
But fast forward another year when Noah and his family are the only ones left on a renewed earth.
Friends, it’s not important who gets the first laugh; it’s important who gets the last laugh.
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