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Chapter 37 Truths of Deepest Importance “And when he had called the
people unto him with his
disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny
himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his
life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the
gospel’s, the same shall save it. For what shall it profit a man, if he shall
gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in
exchange for his soul? Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my
words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of
man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy
angels.” (Mark 8:34-38) The words of
our Lord Jesus Christ in these five verses of Scripture are solemn and
weighty words. They separate the precious from the vile. They are a winnowing
fan in the Master’s hand, by which he distinguishes wheat from the chaff.
These are words which ought to be read often, prayed over much, and mediated
upon continually. These few words define true Christianity more distinctly
than all the volumes of theology and apologetics written by men. Robert
Hawker observed… “A single soul is of more
value than the whole world; and for this plain reason: The time is coming,
when the whole world and all that is in it will be destroyed; but the soul of
every individual must live, either in happiness or misery, forever. Reader,
pause over the subject, and calculate, if possible, the value of a single
soul. The creation of it called forth the council of the whole persons of the
Godhead. The redemption of it cost Christ his blood. The regeneration of it
was the work of God the Holy Ghost. The everlasting happiness of it engageth
the services of angels and of men continually. Angels rejoice in heaven in
the recovery of every sinner. Hell rageth in the event of their salvation.
The soul hath a capability of grace here, and glory forever. And therefore
what a loss, incalculably great, must it be, that a being of such qualities,
and so formed, should be exposed to everlasting destruction.” Coming
to Christ Throughout the Scriptures faith
is portrayed as a matter of coming to Christ. To believe on the Son of God is
to come to him. To come to him is to believe on him. We come to him by
following after him, as disciples follow after their Master. Our all glorious
Christ says, “Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself” (v. 34). Coming to
Christ is the result of a deliberate, purposeful choice. It is an act of the
will. Our Master says, “whosoever will”.
Let us never alter his Word. I know that faith is a gift of God. I know that
none will ever come to Christ unless God the Holy Spirit graciously,
effectually causes them to come. Yet, it is certain that any who come to him,
come to him because they want him and choose him. God does not save sinners
by knocking them in the head and dragging them to Christ. He saves sinners by
causing them to want Christ more than life itself. Faith in
Christ is not a matter of conscription, but a voluntary act. The soldiers in
Christ’s army are not drafted, forced soldiers, but volunteers. It is
written, “Thy people shall be
willing in the day of thy power” (Psalm
65:40). — “Blessed is the
man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy
courts” (Psalm 65:4). Coming to
Christ is an act of the heart, a spiritual, not a carnal thing. No one has
ever come to Christ by walking a church aisle, kneeling at an altar, saying a
prayer someone taught them to repeat, or signing a decision card. If you
would come to Christ, you must do so without moving a muscle. You must come
to him in your heart. Faith is a heart work (Romans 10:8-10). True faith is
the willful, deliberate, voluntary confidence of my heart in the power and
grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is trusting the merits of his blood and
righteousness as my only acceptance before God. Faith in Christ involves the
willing surrender of my heart to him as my Lord. It is the bowing and
submission of my heart to him as my Lord (Luke 14:25-33). Coming to
Christ is a continual thing. Our Savior does not speak of coming to him as a
one time thing, as a single act, but as a constant, continual, lifelong
thing. Faith in Christ is not an event in life, but a way of life. — “If
so be ye have tasted that the Lord is
gracious. To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed
of men, but chosen of God, and
precious” (1 Peter 2:3-4). Not only are
sinners bidden to come to Christ, we are commanded to come (1 John 3:23). The
warrant of faith is not my feeling, my emotion, my meeting certain prescribed
conditions, but God’s Word. If the Son of God says for me to come to him,
then I may come to him! Any sinner in
all the world who will come to Christ may come to Christ. Our Master uses
that blessed world of universal application and uses it frequently — “Whosoever”. I am so thankful he said, “Whosoever
will,” rather than, “if Don Fortner
will.” Had he said that, I would have concluded he must have meant some other
Don Fortner. But I cannot doubt that “whosoever” includes me! “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give
you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in
heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30) “He that believeth on the Son
hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life;
but the wrath of God abideth on him.” (John 3:36) “And the Spirit and the bride
say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst
come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” (Revelation
22:17) Carrying
the Cross of Christ The first aspect of faith is
coming to Christ. The second is carrying his cross. This is not an optional
thing. Here, and throughout the Word of God, our Master tells us plainly that
if we would follow him, if we would be his disciples, if we would be saved,
self-denial is an absolute necessity. — “And when he had called the
people unto him with his
disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny
himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” (v. 34). Again, this is
a matter of personal, deliberate choice. Carrying your cross for Christ is
not enduring providential hardships with patience, but deliberately choosing
a course that is sure to bring trouble upon you, because trouble lies in the
path of following Christ. Salvation is
by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. We are not saved by
what we do, but by what God does and has done. We are saved by grace alone
(Ephesians 2:8-10). Yet, if we are saved by the grace of God, we must through
much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God; and we must deny self. J. C.
Ryle was correct when he wrote, “A religion which costs nothing is worth
nothing. It will do us no good in the life that now is. It will lead to no
salvation in the life to come.” If I am saved by the grace of God, I take up
my cross and follow my Master. I must take up the cross of his doctrine, the
cross of his will, and the cross of his honor. Our Savior’s words here are as
plain as the noonday sun. If I choose not to bear his cross on this earth, I
shall never wear his crown in heaven. Our
Master teaches us that true, saving faith involves deliberate and persevering
self-denial and consecration. Matthew Henry wrote, “The first lesson in
Christ’s school is self-denial.” Those who deny themselves here for Christ
shall enjoy themselves in Christ forever. Grace is free; but it is not cheap.
Faith in Christ involves the total surrender of myself to him, to his
dominion as my Lord and Savior, my Priest and King. That is what it is to
take up your cross and follow Christ. Christianity, true Christianity, true
saving faith involves a total surrender to Christ the Lord. Either you will
be a servant under the dominion of King Jesus, voluntarily giving up all to
his claims, or you will go to hell. You may not have to give up anything in
actuality. But surrender to Christ must be just as real and complete in your
heart as if you had actually given up everything, even down to life itself.
Our Lord Jesus Christ requires total and unreserved surrender to himself.
Christ will be Lord of all, or he will not be Lord at all. Is Jesus Christ,
the Son of God, your Lord? Is he truly your Lord? But
we must never imagine that this is a matter dealt with only in the initial
experience of grace and in the initial act of faith. Here our Lord Jesus
addresses these words to men who had been his faithful disciples for a long
time. How graciously he warns us and teaches us to guard against the terrible
tendency of our sinful flesh to rebel against his rule and his will. How much
evil we bring upon ourselves by our carnal misapprehensions! We are all, like
Peter (v. 33), inclined to judge things by our emotions, personal desires,
and carnal reason. We must not. Rather, we must seek grace to know and bow to
the will of God our Savior in all things. Oh, for grace to savor the things
which are of God, and not those which are of men! Consecration
to Christ. Faith is
coming to Christ, carrying the cross of Christ, and consecration to Christ. “For whosoever will save his
life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the
gospel’s, the same shall save it. For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and
lose his own soul? Or what
shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (vv. 35-37). If I would
save my life, I must loose it to Christ. I repeat myself deliberately.
— Salvation is neither more nor less than surrender to the rule and
reign of Jesus Christ as my Lord and King. “And there went great
multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them, If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother,
and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life
also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and
come after me, cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a
tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to
finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, Saying, This man began to
build, and was not able to finish. Or what king, going to make war against
another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with
ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? Or
else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth
conditions of peace. So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not
all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:25-33) Faith in Christ is giving over the rule of your
life to Christ; but that is no great sacrifice at all. — “For what
shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own
soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” That question is so well known and so often
repeated that I fear that few take it to heart. It ought to sound in our ears
like a trumpet, whenever we are tempted to neglect our eternal interests.
Each of us has an immortal soul, a soul that will live forever, either in the
bliss of eternal life or in the torment of eternal death. There is nothing
the world can offer, nothing money can buy, nothing a man can give, nothing
to be named in comparison with our souls. We live in a world where everything
is temporal. We are going to a world where everything is eternal. Let us
count nothing here more valuable than we shall when we have to leave it
forever! It is a very
easy thing for you to lose your soul. You can murder it, by loving and
clinging to the world. You can poison it with the deadly wine of false,
freewill works religion. You can starve it, by neglecting God’s ordained means
of grace, the preaching of the gospel, by keeping from it the bread of life,
by the neglect of prayer, the neglect of worship and the neglect of his Word.
There are many ways to hell. Whichever way you choose is a matter for which
you alone are responsible. But there is only one way to life eternal. Christ
is that Way. Confessing
Christ Faith in Christ involves coming
to Christ, carrying the cross of Christ, consecration to Christ, and
confessing Christ. — “Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and
of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the
Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the
holy angels” (v. 38). Who
is capable of being ashamed of Christ and his words? None among the sons of
men can be compared to him. We do not have to guess what it is to be ashamed
of Christ. It is to refuse to confess him, to refuse to identify ourselves
with him. Every son and daughter of Adam show themselves ashamed of him and
his gospel who refuse to seek salvation in his name, trusting him alone as
Savior and Lord. All who seek to add their own works to his righteousness and
his precious blood for acceptance with God prove themselves ashamed of him.
To refuse to trust the Lord Jesus Christ is to deny him. That is what it is
to be ashamed of him. If you are
ashamed of Christ’s doctrine, you are ashamed of him (Romans 1:16-17). If you
are ashamed of Christ’s ordinances, you are ashamed of him. If you are
ashamed of Christ’s people, ashamed to identify yourself with them, you are
ashamed of him. If you are ashamed of Christ in this adulterous and sinful
generation, he will be ashamed of you when he comes in the glory of his
Father with his holy angels to judge the world. “Jesus! and shall it ever be A mortal man ashamed of Thee? Ashamed of Thee, whom angels praise, Whose glories shine through endless days? Ashamed of Jesus? Sooner far Let evening blush to own a star. He sheds the beams of light divine O’er this benighted soul of mine. Ashamed of Jesus? Just as soon Let midnight be ashamed of noon. ‘Tis midnight with my soul till He, Bright Morning Star, bids darkness flee. Ashamed of Jesus, that dear Friend On whom my hopes of heaven depend? No; when I blush, be this my shame, That I no more revere His name. Ashamed of Jesus? Yes, I may When I’ve no guilt to wash away, No tears to wipe, no joys to crave, No fears to quell, no soul to save. Till then, nor is the boasting vain, Till then I boast a Savior slain. And oh, may this my portion be, That Christ is not ashamed of me!”
Don Fortner Listen to sermons
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