Our society is being attacked by several dangerous philosophies. Women are said to have the right to choose whether their baby lives or dies. We are taught to be tolerant of any and all beliefs and lifestyles (except Christianity and Judaism). Homosexuality is an accepted lifestyle, no matter what the Bible has to say. There is no absolute truth, they want us to believe.
Ideas dangerous to our eternal destiny are being taught even in religious circles. “Just believe,” but then Satan also believes. “He went to the altar as a child, and that’s all that matters.” “Religion is a personal thing; I am a secret believer; I don’t want to talk about it.” “Recite the four spiritual laws and you are saved.” This is what is called ‘easy believism.’ A. W. Tozer said, “The whole transaction of religious conversion has been made mechanical and spiritless. Faith may now be exercised without a jar to the moral life and without embarrassment to the Adamic ego. Christ may be ‘received’ without creating any special love for Him in the soul of the receiver. The man is ‘saved,’ but he is not hungry or thirsty after God.”
For whom were the following statements meant? “I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live” (Gal. 2:20). “Let him deny himself and take up his cross” (Luke 9:23). “He who loves his life shall lose it” (John 12:25). “You must be born again” (John 3:7). “If any man be in Christ he is a new creature” (11 Cor. 5:17). And why did Jesus tell the rich ruler to sell all he had in order to follow Him?
There seems to be a conflict. Is there a low requirement for entry into the kingdom, and a higher standard for super saints?
There seems to be two extremes to avoid: “easy believism” which expects forgiveness without a change of life; accepting Christ as Savior, but not as Lord. The other extreme is self-righteousness, which says, “I have arrived.” Paul had not attained perfection, but was still striving (Phil. 3:10-13).
I believe the rest of my life after conversion, is a process of dethroning self and making Christ the center, the goal, and the highest love of my life.
Let’s look at what others have said.
If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me (Luke 9:23).
I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live but Christ lives in me (Gal. 2:20).
Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life (John 12:24, 25).
It is not a question of giving up sin, but of giving up my right to myself, my natural independence and self assertiveness. Oswald Chambers
Are you willing for all that is involved in growing spiritually? What then will you do about the cross—where your will must bow to His? Sinclair Ferguson
The passion of Christianity is that I deliberately sign away my own rights and become a bondslave of Jesus Christ. Unknown
Having received Christ, he is to this world as one who is utterly dead. C. H. Spurgeon
Must Jesus bear the cross alone, and all the world go free? No; there is a cross for everyone, and there’s a cross for me. T. Shepherd
It is no longer a question of right and wrong. Is it Christlike? Madame Guyon
We have all been called to the depths of Christ just as surely as we have been called to salvation. Madame Guyon
I must choose whether I will be dominated by the hideous monster self, or Christ. L. E. Maxwell
When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die. Only the man who is dead to his own will can follow Christ. Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Cheap grace is – the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance. Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field, for the sake of it a man will gladly go and sell all that he has. Dietrich Bonhoeffer
The salvation which so many professed Christians have got is not worth the price the Savior paid – the trip from glory; the infinite humiliation of the Incarnation; the ignominy of the cross. F. I. Huegel
And did my Lord on earth endure
sorrow, and hardship and distress,
that I might set me down secure
and rest in self-indulgent ease? Charles Wesley
No wound? No scar?
Yet, as the Master shall the servant be,
and pierced are the feet that follow me;
but thine are whole; can he have followed far who has no wound or scar? Amy Carmichael
The cross is the means of death on which we must kill:
Self-esteem
Self-pity
Self-seeking
Self-centeredness
Self-satisfaction
Selfishness
Self-defense
Self-confidence
Self-indulgence
Self-justification
Self-complacency
Self-righteousness
How can one tolerate the softness of the flesh, the love of ease, the self-pity and self-serving which has all but killed Christian testimony? L. E Maxwell