"Take up your cross" seems an impossible demand

[Robert8102]

I vary back and forth from proclaiming the gospel and wondering how can one obey it. I believe the gospel but find, sometimes at least, it impossible to be willing to live it.

As to taking up one's cross, I just read this somewhere:

"...an active involvement in choosing to walk towards the death of self in order to gain Christ. Taking up our crosses isn’t a passive act but an active one. It’s something we should choose every day."

How can one choose to walk towards death of self? That violates every instinct I have.

 

[SarahsKnight]

I vary back and forth from proclaiming the gospel and wondering how can one obey it. I believe the gospel but find, sometimes at least, it impossible to be willing to live it.

As to taking up one's cross, I just read this somewhere:

"...an active involvement in choosing to walk towards the death of self in order to gain Christ. Taking up our crosses isn’t a passive act but an active one. It’s something we should choose every day."

How can one choose to walk towards death of self? That violates every instinct I have.

Perhaps it is an impossible demand. That's why we continue to need the Lord's grace even after the moment the Spirit leads us to come to belief in Jesus Christ. After a little stunt I pulled yesterday, I can definitely admit that I was failing in the way taking up my cross and denying myself to follow Him, and that may happen again in the future. We can keep getting closer to achieving this goal of self-denial and following Christ's way, however, with that very same grace from God day by day, even if we might never come to realize it 100%.

 

[Charlie24]

I vary back and forth from proclaiming the gospel and wondering how can one obey it. I believe the gospel but find, sometimes at least, it impossible to be willing to live it.

As to taking up one's cross, I just read this somewhere:

"...an active involvement in choosing to walk towards the death of self in order to gain Christ. Taking up our crosses isn’t a passive act but an active one. It’s something we should choose every day."

How can one choose to walk towards death of self? That violates every instinct I have.

It's speaking of putting to death your abilities to live for Christ. It's saying you can't do it, you must allow the Holy Spirit to do it through you in faith.

Rom. 8:13
For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

 

[hluke]

To extend on Charlie's post, taking up the cross is reliant on the Spirit and its transformative work. The connotations of Jesus carrying the cross are obvious: death, suffering, shame, guilt, insecurity etc...

To take up the cross and follow the Lord is not necessarily referring to becoming a monk (not that you even remotely suggest this), or giving up all our possessions for Christ. Rather it is a continuous act of denying the pleasures of the world: fleshly things. Before receiving the Holy Ghost, one is probably secure, content, happy: seeks pleasure in worldly things, thereby loving the world. However upon receiving the Spirit, we live for Christ and this doesn't promise goodness and prosperity like before, but suffering such as the connotations of Jesus carrying the cross to Calvary and being crucified. However Christ promises Spiritual peace and joy in our sufferings.

So yes, its about 'crucifying' fleshly desires and living for God. It means that our faith in God is sufficient enough to accept the reality of suffering and facing persecution for the gospel: "even unto death" Such is evident in martyrs, the believers who will do anything for Christ, as we should be, and unfortunately (in this world) like many of our brethen in Nigeria, Iran, China and other places do suffer in this way but are gifted and blessed in heaven, receiving the crown of life from our Lord Jesus.

This ties directly with the way to heaven being "narrow": to take up the cross is to die to the flesh and as Paul puts it: "count everything as rubbish in order that I may gain Christ Jesus my Lord".

And this teaching is absent in a lot of the western church.

Edit: its not an impossible demmand at all. Its required of us for Christ dwelling in our bodies.

 

[Pavel Mosko]

How can one choose to walk towards death of self? That violates every instinct I have.

I believe it is "daily" take up your cross...

Don't worry God will allow trials to come your way... They will help you shift your priorities...

 

[A_Thinker]

I vary back and forth from proclaiming the gospel and wondering how can one obey it. I believe the gospel but find, sometimes at least, it impossible to be willing to live it.

As to taking up one's cross, I just read this somewhere:

"...an active involvement in choosing to walk towards the death of self in order to gain Christ. Taking up our crosses isn’t a passive act but an active one. It’s something we should choose every day."

How can one choose to walk towards death of self? That violates every instinct I have.

Every time you deny yourself something that you desire, ... in order to follow the will of God, ... you are on that road ...

 

[Danigt22]

Ephesian 1
"13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,"

You are save the moment you believe the gospel of your salvation. You can not lose it. Have faith in the promises of our lord Jesus Christ. Dont listen to the judaizer and lordship salvationists, they dont trust God.

 

[Robert8102]

Theoretically, if I knew I was going to heaven, i would be willing to die for Jesus. I don't know about willing to be tortured, but to die a quick and painless death? Yes. But I understand "taking up the cross" to be something to be done on a daily, moment-by-moment basis. Voluntarily dying to self in an ongoing manner, every minute, all day long. I might try voluntarily keeping that up for two seconds!

As I have been contemplating this, since I first posted the above, I began trying to bring this matter directly to God, asking Him, "How is one supposed to voluntarily walk toward death of self!?" One thing that came to mind was, "We walk by faith, not by sight." I tried to start walking by faith, but I kept up the effort only momentarily. I've tried to start again, a few more times since then. But at best, I can keep up the effort for only a second or few. I guess I don't have saving faith.

There are many things I try, many verses I repeat to myself at different times, to try to come to faith, to try to be born again, to try to be saved. One of the ones I try is, "By grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves but it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." I will start out with that sentence, then shorten it to, "By grace are you saved," and repeat that a few times. But whatever I do, it does not seem to result in salvation.

Just now, I thought, maybe I'd be willing to walk toward death of self, by faith, if I realized God loves me. So, I tried again. Same result. I can't stand the concept of death of self!

 

[xaris]

I vary back and forth from proclaiming the gospel and wondering how can one obey it. I believe the gospel but find, sometimes at least, it impossible to be willing to live it.

As to taking up one's cross, I just read this somewhere:

"...an active involvement in choosing to walk towards the death of self in order to gain Christ. Taking up our crosses isn’t a passive act but an active one. It’s something we should choose every day."

How can one choose to walk towards death of self? That violates every instinct I have.

We have already been crucified with Christ and have risen with Him, seated in heavenly places. He did all the obedience and denying in our stead and we enter the fruit of His labor.

 

[1watchman]

I vary back and forth from proclaiming the gospel and wondering how can one obey it. I believe the gospel but find, sometimes at least, it impossible to be willing to live it.

As to taking up one's cross, I just read this somewhere:

"...an active involvement in choosing to walk towards the death of self in order to gain Christ. Taking up our crosses isn’t a passive act but an active one. It’s something we should choose every day."

How can one choose to walk towards death of self? That violates every instinct I have.

Note, friend, that as the Lord Jesus says: 'in Him is Life eternal' and it is not about just believing. It speaks of a personal RELATIONSHIP. God says: "He that HAS the Son HAS life, and he that has not the Son has not that life" (note the Epistle 1 Jn. 5:10-12); and meditate on John 3; John 14; Romans 8, and hear God speaking to you. Don't be speculating, friend, and worrying about your 'instincts', and read what God wants to say to you in His Word. Look up always! You can write me personally if you would like to discuss the Scripture. -1watchman

 

[plain jayne]

How can one choose to walk towards death of self? That violates every instinct I have.

Are you speaking of literal death because that's not what Jesus is talking about. Although there are many who have died for their Christian beliefs.

Jesus is talking about letting go to some things - sometimes important things - to follow him.

For example, what if becoming a Christians costs you:

• your job
• a particular circle of friends
• your reputation
• your wealth
• family members who would cut your off

I have a cousin-in-law who is Indonesian. She became a Christian while a young woman. Her family disowned her, kicked her out of the house - beating her, and spitting on her. Following Christ cost her dearly.

What if following Christ convicts you and you have to give up:

• the mistress
• the quest for more and more money
• the porn
• the abuse of food, drink, alcohol, and more

There is a cost that comes with being a Christian and it is dying to the flesh. Dying to self. Willing to suffer loss. Willing to give up the vile.

Many people believe [both non-believers and believers] that Christianity is about the good life - rainbows and candyland.

It is not. Dying to self - suffering loss from the hands and actions of others and struggling with giving up what's sinful - isn't easy. Persecution is horrible in many places around the world.

But it is worth it! At least it is to me.

 

[bling]

I vary back and forth from proclaiming the gospel and wondering how can one obey it. I believe the gospel but find, sometimes at least, it impossible to be willing to live it.

As to taking up one's cross, I just read this somewhere:

"...an active involvement in choosing to walk towards the death of self in order to gain Christ. Taking up our crosses isn’t a passive act but an active one. It’s something we should choose every day."

How can one choose to walk towards death of self? That violates every instinct I have.

You are right to know we have been given a wonderful survival instinct, which causes us to want to live forever. This gives eternal life value to us. The death talked about is spiritual death of selfishness. Working to try to keep selfishness in check is not the way to go, since we can operate out of a wonderful gratitude for what we have been given.

 

[aiki]

I vary back and forth from proclaiming the gospel and wondering how can one obey it. I believe the gospel but find, sometimes at least, it impossible to be willing to live it.

As to taking up one's cross, I just read this somewhere:

"...an active involvement in choosing to walk towards the death of self in order to gain Christ. Taking up our crosses isn’t a passive act but an active one. It’s something we should choose every day."

How can one choose to walk towards death of self? That violates every instinct I have.

Yup. Mind you, all those instincts to preserve yourself come from Self which is the source of all of your sin. Self doesn't want to die; it wants to rule, to be served and pleasured! Paul the apostle wrote that Self - the "old man" you are without God, self-centered, fleshly-minded and temporally-focused - is incorrigibly evil. Your "old man," your unregenerate Self (also called the Adamic nature), cannot be remediated, it cannot be improved. (Romans 7:14-18; Romans 8:5-8) And so, God's solution to this situation is to remove Self, the spiritually unregenerate "old man," by crucifying him with Christ on the cross of Calvary. Read Romans 6. In this chapter, Paul details what God has done through Christ to render the "old man" powerless, to put him to death, so that we might be free to live for God. Every born-again believer has, at the moment of their conversion, been co-crucified with Christ and thereby freed from their old, carnal nature. It remains only for the saved child of God to believe it and, in humble, moment-by-moment surrender to God, live it out.

Romans 6:6-14 (NASB)
6 knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin;
7 for he who has died is freed from sin.
8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,
9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him.
10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.
11 Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts,
13 and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.
14 For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

Galatians 2:20 (NASB)
20 "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

Galatians 5:24 (NASB)
24 Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

Colossians 3:2-3 (NASB)
2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.
3 For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

So it is that, when the Christian chooses salvation, he is choosing to be crucified with Christ; for the latter is a necessary feature of the former. In other words, you can't be born-again and not be crucified with Christ. "Taking up your cross" is simply to live by faith (Paul called this "reckoning it so") in the truth of one's co-crucifixion with Christ and so walk in a state of daily self-denial, of self-sacrifice, in moment-by-moment surrender yielding the throne of one's heart to God.

 

[xaris]

So it is that, when the Christian chooses salvation, he is choosing to be crucified with Christ; for the latter is a necessary feature of the former. In other words, you can't be born-again and not be crucified with Christ. "Taking up your cross" is simply to live by faith (Paul called this "reckoning it so") in the truth of one's co-crucifixion with Christ and so walk in a state of daily self-denial, of self-sacrifice, in moment-by-moment surrender yielding the throne of one's heart to God.

And this is not a Stoic resolution of I WILL, I WILL, I WILL, but is a heart felt desire enabled by the New Birth.

 

[terryjohn]

Many today teach DIY self help programs to help people over come many of the problems facing them. Unfortunately much of such teaching tends to degenerate into more works based worship of their own self and will power through which they may boast and through which they in turn may become teachers of others who do not share their will power. Their gospel is a motivation, self appreciation and worth lesson which seeks to undermine the work of Christ by making men rely on their own sense of self worth and courage. They use great and loud words to build up when there is no reason for such given the sin that so easily binds us. Humility is something for losers and poverty is for the poor and unworthy. The way forward and upward is less about what we do and more about who we become. The simple fact is it is the motivation behind us that steers us towards life or death. It is what steers us away from evil towards Christ. It is not a great teaching or secret or even a mystery, although it is in the sense that it is so little understood these days. It is for the sake of the love of God that we forsake all things and are transformed and even die for. The simple fact is we do not love correctly or enough to be saved. Avoid the ten steps to being saved lessons of men for if you can not fall in love with Christ nothing can save you. For the sake of this love men forsake all things even life itself. We all need desire that which is greater than that which we currently have before we give up what we have.

 

[RepentingSinner]

For me, before being 'born-again', and feeling all of Jesus's love, forgiveness, peace and grace that I have never experienced before, and has never left me since; I first had to self examine to see I was not 'good', and felt all the shame and guilt of my actions that caused my own pain, and the pain I have cause others from my actions which put me on my knees to Jesus in tears asking for forgiveness of sin and peace from my torment and pain, then I was saved, and has never left me since.

After being born again I continue seeing my sin, so I don't live in sin, I can see it so I can avoid it and fight against it with the power of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, and I still pray, ask for forgiveness, repent, and each day sins will come up from the past, I will repent from them, changing my thoughts, learning from them and just let them go to Jesus in his hands to forgive me and give me peace and rest and grow stronger against sin and denying the flesh.

I love Jesus and continue to build a relationship with him, and ever since being saved just craved to learn more and more about Jesus and know everything I could and get as close as I can to Him, while still understanding that I am a sinner and Jesus saved me, died for me and rose from the dead, and is the living God.

So taking up my cross is something often and I think about and try to do my best at, and having to come to terms of losing things, like for me, I have lost relationships and created divisions because of my faith in Jesus, because Jesus brought a sword to divide (for example: my father, friends, aunt, sister, relatives, neighbors, do not believe and even say insults and I can see they are in sin and don't care or don't think it means anything, they are in darkness, like I once was.) But I am never alone with Jesus, and never felt that much love from my own mother, and my world-father, who as far as I can remember has not even said he loves me, he is all about business and money, but I thinks he loves me, but can't say the words, which I think is weak he can't say I love you, but he probably thinks it weak if he does say it, even though I openly will say that I love family members.

Also, I have lost my Job, (not officially due to my Faith, but it just so happened that the the Friday after work, I privately preach Jesus's words on salvation for a few minutes, I got no feedback or response, and the next Monday morning I was fired for "restructuring reasons",) so I am unemployed after following Jesus, but to be honest I feel more like when God pulled Lot out of Sodom or when He got Noah out of the flood, because the company I was with like most companies in the world, do not share my values and aligns with more with world, not God.

But even though, because of my faith in Jesus, I have division or lost relationships (including own family), potentially lost my job, in major financial debt, and then on-top of that the virus, lockdowns etc.. I am still at total peace and rest with Jesus, as I put my trust in Him. I pray that things will get better, but only if it's God's will.

These words from Jesus Christ come to mind to give me strength, peace and rest when picking up my cross:

Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV)

28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

 

[1watchman]

Much good counsel shown here, and I hope and pray Robert sees this and takes it to heart.