A Disciple of Jesus … Denies Himself

Jesus came to this world, not just to reveal the way of salvation and perform miracles, but also to model for us the way we were designed to live. We become disciples of Jesus as we follow in His footsteps, and seek to live our lives according to His teachings. Jesus made it clear that the first step, the gateway to entering into a fruitful discipleship relationship with Him, was to "deny self":

"Then Jesus said to His disciples, 'If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?'"(Matthew 16:24–26)

This is counter-cultural to life in the UK where we are expected to thrust ourselves forward to better ourselves; acquire as much as we can to "make ourselves happy"; and look back with pride to all that we have achieved. It is the "me-first" attitude that is so prevalent in today's society, and is seen as some unalienable "right".

The Christian disciple denies his/ her "rights" in the pursuit of becoming more and more like Him. Here are just some of the rights the true disciple (Jesus follower) MUST surrender:

1. We surrender the right to a good reputation (Matt. 5:11)

"God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers."

1. We surrender the right to spend money however we please(Matt. 6:19–21)

"Don't store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be."

1. We surrender the right to live by our own rules (John 14:23–24)

"Jesus replied, 'All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them. Anyone who doesn't love me will not obey me. And remember, my words are not my own. What I am telling you is from the Father who sent me.'"

1. We surrender the right to hold a grudge (Col. 3:13)

"Make allowance for each other's faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others."

1. We surrender the right to put ourselves first (Phil. 2:3–4)

"Don't be selfish; don't try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don't look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too."

1. We surrender the right to sexual licence (1 Cor. 6:18–20)

"Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body. Don't you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honour God with your body."

1. We surrender the right to rebel against delegated authority (1 Peter 2:13–15)

"For the Lord's sake, submit to all human authority—whether the king as head of state, or the officials he has appointed. For the king has sent them to punish those who do wrong and to honour those who do right. It is God's will that your honourable lives should silence those ignorant people who make foolish accusations against you."

The above list is not exhaustive; there are more "rights" we need to give up, as we read and reflect on the Bible. Are we willing to deny ourselves (as Jesus did) by laying our lives down, becoming more like Him, in order that many will come to Him, and in turn, also become disciples of Jesus?