May 21
“Whoever desires to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”
MATTHEW 16:25
but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”
MATTHEW 16:25
Some will say, “I am willing to die now that I have followed.” The person who knows the Cross says, “I am fit to follow now that I have died.”
Why is this important? Because Jesus knows that no human being is qualified to follow Him until they have first died. Jesus knows a man cannot live until he has died and been raised to life again. He therefore bids us to die right away, that He may raise us from the dead by His Indwelling Spirit and place us immediately upon the correct path.
Source: “Embrace the Cross” by Chip Brogden
Related Posts:
CHIP BROGDEN is a best-selling author, teacher, and former pastor who shares "real, simple, truth" about a Christ-centered faith that is based on relationship, not religion. Learn more »
So true. Stay focused on The Word.
Merci Seigneur Jésus,
Pour cette vie de résurrection !
Pour ce don de Vie qui est ta Personne elle même !
Gloire à Dieu pour un si grand salut manifesté en JÉSUS !
You have beautifully emphasized the need for death of the “old man,” or “independent self.” The one set of footprints in the sand correctly depicts the glorious truth of the believer in Christ, and Christ in the believer. Rom.6:13 says it well: “…….yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.” The indwelling Christ would live His life through us, as us!
I appreciate your kindness in sending these encouraging words. I do have a question though?
You say the believer should die “right away”, so that we may be raised from the dead.
This issue is the heart of the gospel, certainly. Can we die through self determination on our own
or is that death provided already in actuality at the Cross and obtainable through faith as an
accomplishment of Christ and not our own?
My personal experience has been that no matter how hard I have tried, I have never escaped except
for varying lengths of time without seeing some manifestion of carnality in myself. My conclusion
has been that looking to myself to die has been non productive and have only found confidence that
in the Cross, the Father has found the Son of His Love and my only hope is in trusting that Son’s
accomplishment, believing that He has already put me and my body life to death. How that could be
I cannot explain even to myself. I do believe in a New Creation, a New Heaven and a New Earth, not
just what may be revealed at some point in the future but what is spiritually received and revealed to
our hearts and minds right now while we continue worshipping in spirit and truth and walking not
by sight. I think I will probably die never having been able to “crucify my old man”,
In my own soul I feel and I confess it to the whole world even now, I have no hope except what I find
in “Looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith”.
Hi Bill, thank you for reading so carefully. My thoughts and teachings have evolved since this writing to make it even more clear. I now focus more on “transformation of Self” than “death to Self” for some of the reasons you point out. I believe the “death” part has been overemphasized, and I make some very important adjustments and corrections to that understanding here: https://www.chipbrogden.com/the-deeper-work-of-the-cross