“Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay every man according to his deeds.’” (Matthew 16:24-27 NASB1995)
[Cf. Luke 9:23-26; Mark 8:34-38; John 12:25-26; Romans 8:17: Philippians 3:10; Galatians 2:20; 1 Peter 2:21; 2 Timothy 2:11-12; Romans 6:6; Matthew 10:38; 1 Corinthians 9:24-27; 2 Corinthians 4:10-11; Luke 14:27; John 15:18-20; Colossians 3:3-4]
There are many people professing faith in Jesus Christ, convinced that their sins are all forgiven and that heaven is now guaranteed them when they die, but they have not died with Christ to sin. They have not been raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness. Sin has not been put to death in their lives, but they are continuing to live in their sins, doing what their evil hearts desire, deliberately and habitually, for they believe the lie.
Some of them may make a pretense of having put sin to death in their lives, while secretly they continue in their habitual sinful practices. Among them are many who are habitual liars, deceivers, manipulators, fakes, malicious, morally unclean, opportunists, and untrustworthy egomaniacs whose pride and selfishness keep them locked into their sins while outwardly they profess to be followers of Jesus Christ. But they are not followers of the God above, but of the gods below who convince them that God will not judge them.
Some of them may go through the motions of religious practice while their hearts are far from God. They regularly attend religious gatherings, and they may even be involved in what are called Christian ministries. Some of them are even pastors, elders, and deacons of “church” congregations. But secretly they are still living to please the flesh, and not God, for they are serving the gods of this world, and not the God from above who created us and who made us to be a people who would worship him with our lives.
And the Lord may be speaking to some of them, warning them that if they continue on their sinful course that they will die in their sins and that they will not have eternal life with God. He may be calling out to them to repent of their sins, to die to sin daily, and to follow him in walks of obedience to his commands in daily practice. And they may even give a show (performance) that they have done that. But then it comes out that they did not do that, but they kept on in their sinful course and just covered it up with lies.
Honestly, this is where many are who profess faith in Jesus Christ, convinced that God is going to let them into his heaven when they die, but while they continue to live for self, and not for God, while they live on this earth. And this doesn’t have to include really offensive and outrageous sinful practices. This can be people who just live to please their flesh, and who do whatever they want to do with their lives without regard for what God wants for their lives. For they are still the lord and master over their own lives, not God!
So please take this passage of Scripture in Matthew 16 to heart, for this is the will of God for our lives. If we want to come after Christ, and to be his people by faith in the Lord Jesus, then we must deny self, die daily to sin, and follow our Lord in walks of surrender to him as Lord, in obedience to his commands. And this is not saying we will never sin again (1 John 2:1-2) but that sin must no longer be what we practice, deliberately and habitually. But now surrender to God in obedience to his commands must be our practice.
For if we choose to hold on to our sinful lifestyles, we will lose our lives for eternity. Heaven will not be our eternal destiny. Hell will be where we are headed, instead. But if we die with Christ to sin and to self, and we now submit to him as Lord (Owner-Master) of our lives, and we now walk in his ways, doing what he commands, by his grace, and if we continue in these walks of faith to the end, then we have the hope of eternal life with God. For we are all going to be judged by God in the end, according to our deeds.
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]
Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer
Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897
Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897
Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.
Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking the wandering sinner to find.
O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer others to save.
O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.
Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,
Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.
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