Today we die!

 Today We Die!

Galatians 2:20 KJV

20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Isn't it crazy how death changes a man. When confronted with the reality of our frailty and our temporal, short, seemingly insignificant life it changes us in ways we could never have imagined. It changes a man, but only temporarily, only up and until it fades out of sight and then out of mind. I mean, we all know we're going to die yet when someone close to us passes away it's always a shock. Death has that effect doesn't it, it's certain yet unexpected. What if we practiced dying? Yes, you read that loaded question correctly. But what if we were so accustomed to death that it bore no impact? What if death was our normal? The reason that death has such an effect upon the man who is confronted by it, is that, in the midst of the unexpected, the unknown, and the unaccustomed we shrink back in fear and forget that death has been defeated and declared so by the resurrection of the crucified Christ! Why do we forget that? How could we forget that? Maybe we don't forget it at all but simply fail to trust or believe it in the face of our fears. We read throughout church history of the obedient martyrs of the faith and their unwavering allegiance to Christ even unto death! We can look to scripture and read of Stephen and his willingness to preach the Gospel and to lose his life at the hands of evil men! What about Polycarp, Wycliffe, Tyndale, or John Huss? Find yourself a copy of John Foxe's Book of Martyrs and read through its pages and witness the countless brave, committed, devoted, obedient, and willing followers of Christ who understood, believed, and rested in the truth that this life is not the prize nor is death the victor! When we read such stories don't you think its odd that we celebrate? That we glory in their willingness to lay their lives down yet if we were put to the test we would weep and tremble and possibly or probably would recant! Many of the early martyrs sang, praised God, rejoiced, smiled, preached, and testified as they were burned at the stake, crucified, boiled, laid upon the chopping block, or secured at the gallows and we in our spoiled, rebellious, self-aggrandizing nature aren't willing to sacrifice in the slightest. But let's not think they just made it to that level devotion  without sacrifice or practice! Our idea of sacrifice is volunteering at the soup kitchen for an hour or passing a five dollar bill to the guy at the corner. True sacrifice is the call of the Gospel, self-sacrifice, dying to one's self and living unto Christ. In The Cost of Discipleship, Deitrich Bonhoeffer declares “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” It's all throughout the teachings of Christ and yet we seem to be blind to it's presence! 

Luke 9:23 (KJV)

23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me

Matthew 10:37-39 King James Version (KJV)

37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.

39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

Mark 10:21-22 King James Version (KJV)

21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.

22 And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.

Luke 14:26-28 King James Version (KJV)

26 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

27 And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.

28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?

Galatians 6:14 King James Version (KJV)

14 But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.

Romans 12:1 King James Version (KJV)

12 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

Matthew 8:19-22 King James Version (KJV)

19 And a certain scribe came, and said unto him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.

20 And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.

21 And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.

22 But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.

Luke 9:61-62 King James Version (KJV)

61 And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house.

62 And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

Do we believe that Christ was speaking in allegory? In metaphor? Were these mere suggestions or commands? Was Christ serious when he proclaimed that it would be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich man to go to Heaven? We may not say as much but we sure do live like it! Obedience is better than sacrifice but true obedience ALWAYS requires the sacrifice of death to self! PERIOD! Now lets go back to before and I'll pose the question again, why don't we practice dying? Daily, with discipline, dying to ourselves, our pride, our desires, our plans, our comfort, our wealth, our pleasures, our time, our possessions, our families, our friends, our luxuries, our ___________ fill in the blank. Would we die for the faith? How can we say that we would die for our faith in Christ when we boldly refuse to die to ourselves every day? I've said it before and it bears repeating here, for our priorities to be rightly placed nothing should be above God and nothing below ourselves! Do we live like that? 

The Apostle Paul speaks of the truth that if Christ is not risen then his labor is in vain. He also says that if we have hope in Christ in this life only we'd be of all men most miserable. He then speaks of his devotion to the call of Christ and the cost of it all, how he has wagered his life many times for the Gospel's sake and that the truth that grounds him in those moments is the reality of Christ's victory over death! This is our call, to remember, to believe, to discipline ourselves, to practice dying daily!

1 Corinthians 15:30-32 King James Version (KJV)

30 And why stand we in jeopardy every hour?

31 I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.

32 If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink; for to morrow we die.

What's the point of confessing Christ, of religious piety, of sacrifice, of any work for and in the kingdom of God if this life is of any inherent value outside of Christ and his work? The reason that the Christian can die to self is the proclamation of the redemption of our bodies and the gift of eternal life! Practicing this daily, self-denial, self-mortification, you know, that old King James word temperance or what we would call self-control, practicing dying daily will prepare us to sacrifice for Christ whatever he may desire, even unto family, wealth, or even death! Isn't it crazy how death changes a man? You remember right? The day you died to this world and was raised unto new life in Jesus Christ. That moment that you publicly displayed and confessed that truth in your baptism where you was joined unto Christ's death and risen in His resurrection. How much more would we be conformed unto the image of Christ if we practiced dying daily? Never let it fade, this is why we partake of the Lord's supper, to remember and proclaim His death until He comes!

Meditate on this anonymous poem

When you are forgotten, neglected, or purposely set at naught, and you don't sting or hurt with the oversight, but your heart is happy being counted worthy to suffer for Christ;

That is dying to self.

When your good is evil spoken of, when your wishes are crossed, your advice disregarded, your opinion ridiculed, and you refuse to let anger rise in your heart or even defend yourself, but take it all in patient, loving silence;

That is dying to self.

When you lovingly and patiently bear any disorder, any irregularity, any annoyance; when you can stand face to face with waste, folly, extravagance, spiritual insensibility, and endure it as Jesus did;

That is dying to self.

When you are content with any food, and offering, any raiment, any climate, any society, any solitude, any interruption by the will of God;

That is dying to self.

When you never care to refer to yourself in conversation or record your own good works or itch after commendation, when you can truly love to be unknown;

That is dying to self.

When you can see your brother prosper and have his needs met, and can honestly rejoice with him in spirit and feel no envy, nor question God, while your own needs are far greater and you are in desperate circumstances;

That is dying to self.

 

When you can receive correction and reproof from one of less stature than yourself and can humbly submit, inwardly as well as outwardly, finding no rebellion or resentment rising up within your heart;

That is dying to self.

Remember, practice, pray, for today you die!