Thursday, March 3, 2016

Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them,  “Who do the crowds say I am?”  They replied,  “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life.” “But what about you?” he asked.  “Who do you say I am?”  Peter answered,  “The Christ of God.”  Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone.  And he said,  “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.” Then he said to them all:  “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.   – Luke 9:18-23

In the last 30 years, there has been an explosion of books, lectures, and articles written about the importance of having good self-esteem. Building your self-esteem and learning to love and accept yourself unconditionally are at the heart of the popular psychology and self-help movements.  Pay careful attention to the words in this add for a secular spiritual retreat focused on discovering self-esteem;  "Start the major love affair of your life by spending a weekend by yourself.  Take two days out of your life to spend just with you. to explore and discover yourself in ways that you cannot do by yourself.  Discover the most fascinating, wondrous, magnificent person you will ever know - you! - in an experience you’ll never forget."

The self-esteem philosophy is not just a secular phenomenon, it has firmly taken root in American Christianity as well.  It is like the thistle, which is not native to our forests, but has spread everywhere since it was introduced.  You can hardly pick up a Christian book or listen to a Christian radio program today without hearing something about the importance of self-esteem.

I have come to see that the entire self-esteem concept is actually opposed and even condemned by Scripture.  And I have grown increasingly concerned that as a result of the pervasiveness of this teaching in our culture and in our churches, there are many who think that they’re following Jesus, when actually they are only following self. They have been taught that the Christian faith and even Christian minis- try are the avenues toward self-fulfillment. They’ve been told that Jesus will help you learn to love yourself, when in fact Jesus taught nothing of the kind. Rather, He clearly taught that ...

If you’re living for self, you’re not following Jesus.

Jesus’ words about self-denial follow Peter’s dramatic confession that Jesus is the Christ of God, which was followed by Jesus’ jarring prediction of His own death and resurrection (9:20, 22).  In effect, Jesus was saying to the disciples, “I am not the kind of Christ you may think.  I am not going to fulfill your desires for power and glory, at least not yet.  I am not going to give you everything you want in this lifetime. I will come again in power and glory (9:26), but first comes the cross.  And all who follow Me must follow in the way of the cross.” So He outlines for them all what it means to be His follower or disciple.

The word “deny” is the same word used of Peter’s denials of Jesus. It means to repudiate, renounce, or disown. The verb tenses of the three commands in 9:23 indicate that denying self and taking up one’s cross are basic decisions that result in a life of continually following Jesus. Jesus wasn’t talking about denying yourself some little pleasure, like giving up chocolate for Lent.  He was talking about a complete way of life that involves renouncing your own selfish interests and embracing a life for the sake of Christ and His Gospel.  Self-denial means turning away from the idolatry of self-centeredness and every attempt to orient one’s life by the demands of self-interest.  It means to give up the right to control your life and to give that right to Jesus Christ. 


Pastor Jeff Frazier