Sin has perverted the character God gave you, and self-centeredness causes you to use it for your own benefit. If you allow God to redeem your character, you will be able to fill your role in the "body of Christ."
The question is, "How do you allow God to redeem your character?" We readily accept the cross's role in your salvation but now we will discover that the cross also has a major role in redeeming your character. Unfortunately, many Christians believe or act as if the cross's work stopped when they accepted Christ, and the only reason to continue thinking about the cross is to be thankful for the sacrifice Jesus made for their salvation. But spiritual salvation is only the beginning of the cross's work. As you submit to the continuing work of the cross, God will overhaul your character and it will operate as he originally intended.
The wages of sin is death, and since everyone has sinned, everyone deserves to die for his sins. Jesus died in your behalf, so the cross has become the vehicle and symbol of your redemption. "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God" (1 Cor 1:18).
Your salvation experience was the redemption of your spirit, when it was "born again." You are currently experiencing the redemption of your mind, as it is renewed and transformed; this is your primarily your responsibility, although you work in cooperation with God to do it. When the Lord returns, you will experience the redemption of your body, as your mortal existence puts on immortality.
The on-going redemption of your mind is also part of the work of the cross. Because it is, we see references to the cross in scripture passages dealing with the believer's life.
"He Must Deny Himself"
When Jesus told his disciples that he would be executed, Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. Jesus responded:
"Out of my sight, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.
"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done" (Mt 16:23-27).
Jesus knew his purpose in life and he knew what was required to achieve it; and he clearly stated that he was setting the pattern for us to follow. The first step to accomplishing God's plan for your life is denying yourself. The word "deny" implies there was once a relationship with someone, but that relationship is now broken; the word applies only to people. The word's basic meanings are: to say "no," to have a negative attitude toward, to refuse, to resist, or to reject someone. To deny yourself means to reject your own desires, self-interests and priorities. This is extremely unnatural, because your primary motivation is to please yourself.
Most of what God asks you to deny yourself is motivated by pride, or self-centeredness. At times he will even ask you to deny yourself good things, but his purpose still is to confront your self- centeredness. That self-centeredness motivates you should be no surprise, since it was the original sin and is the primary characteristic of your sinful nature. If you think about them, you will begin to realize that your sins originate with an attitude of self-centeredness. God calls on you to deny yourself whatever advances and protects your pride.
The word "deny" also means to refuse to accept the validity or worth of someone. By laying aside your pride, you denounce the great worth you see in yourself and your accomplishments. You must consider everything that you do in your own power as worthless as a pile of garbage (Php 3:8) and as repulsive as a pile of filthy rags (Isa 64:6). When you completely humble yourself before God, recognizing your own lack of value, you have denied yourself.
It is easy to see that you should deny yourself desires or motivations that are wrong, sinful or destructive. The phrase "deny yourself," however, is not limited to "bad" things. It includes all the right, good, worthwhile and even godly things you do, if you are doing them by your own ability or for your own benefit. When Paul said, "I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature" (Rom 7:18), he did not mean he only had bad thoughts and actions. Anything motivated or empowered by your sinful nature displeases God.
Your carnal nature is inherently self-centered and everything it does is ultimately for selfish reasons. You can be nice to others because it makes you feel good about yourself. You can give lavish gifts because you enjoy giving. You can dedicate your life to serving others because you want to receive honor for doing it, or because it makes you feel good, or even because you feel you must punish yourself for some reason, all of which are self-centered motives. You can preach the gospel or be an evangelist because you want to receive heavenly rewards. To deny yourself is to reject those selfish motives, regardless of whether the goal is good or bad.
Denying yourself is the first step in the process, and the other steps are contingent on it. You can go through the motions of "taking up your cross" and "following Jesus," but if you have failed to deny yourself, they are only empty motions. In fact, they will be deceptive and a waste of time because they will look good, but will produce nothing of eternal value.
"Take Up His Cross"
The cross was an instrument of physical torture and death, but God used it to achieve a higher purpose through Jesus: the salvation of mankind. You do not need to die on a physical cross to obtain your salvation; in fact, you cannot. Yet, symbolically, Jesus said that each believer had "his cross" and must "take [it] up." What could he have meant?
Convicted criminals had to carry a part of their cross to their execution site, where they would be hung on it until dead. The wood beam they carried was the instrument of their death.
For you to take up your cross means, in part, to accept that which has the potential for great harm or will reveal your old nature so it can be destroyed. Such situations come very naturally in life, so you do not need to look for one. Your cross may be any burden or pressure that threatens to break you down; anything that will hasten a crisis in your life. It is not something you choose for yourself; only God knows what is appropriate for you at the time. You will have more than one cross to carry in your lifetime, in my opinion, because your needs change as you mature. It may be something unique to you, or it may be a common situation, but it will be appropriate for you at that stage of your life.
The primary purpose of the cross was to kill. God will work on the many aspects of your character that must die, including greed, arrogance, lust, anger, laziness, and so on. God will identify or create crosses for you, situations that force you to confront your sins and decide whether to deal with them.
If you refuse to deal with them, you have chosen to ignore God's will. If you choose to address the sin, you can try to overcome it yourself, which of course is impossible because that would be salvation by your own works. The best way is to admit your inability to overcome the sin, rely totally on God's power and be willing to do whatever he asks. You are unable to overcome sin by your own effort, because anything motivated or empowered by human effort is sin, and sin cannot overcome the effects of sin. You must rely on God's power because you do not have what it takes, but God does. The sooner you realize this, the sooner God can get on with his work in you.
There will be times when it is impossible for you to obey God in your own ability, but you can choose to be willing to obey. Remember: What God asks you to do is voluntary, but essential. God never asks you to do something for empty or frivolous reasons. Embrace the hazardous or painful situation God places you in and allow it to destroy your self-centeredness.
This article is a brief excerpt of a book chapter which addresses the following topics: