Personal Sacrifice Necessary to Win the Kingdom of God
TEXT. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, “If any man 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; and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” Matt. 16: 24-26.
THIS scripture introduces the thought I should like to dwell on a little while tonight, and that is that every man whom Christ calls to himself, who goes through to the kingdom of glory, will be compelled, as it were, by the circumstances that surround him, to make personal sacrifices for the kingdom of God. This scripture declares very plainly that no man will be able to obtain the kingdom if he does not take up his cross and follow the Master; for Christ does not lead any of us into paths of pleasure, self-honor, and self-exaltation; apparently he always leads his followers away from these things, so that the children of God are continually going away from the natural inclination of the carnal heart. When they start to serve the Lord, it seems as if the call of God was for them to leave the things they love, to forsake the things that their natural heart would cling to, and to go in an opposite direction from that in which the natural bent would lead them. So the follower of Christ can never come to a place where the service of God will not entail on him self-sacrifice, self-abnegation, and the forsaking of his natural inclinations.
Christ makes the statement, “Whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.” It is a paradoxical teaching. These statements are placed in contrast to make an impression. If you think you save your life to serve self without God, you really do not save it; you lose it. That which you reckoned to be of great worth, which you counted as worth more than life, has proved your ruin. It is always a loss instead of a gain when you go contrary to the will of God.
How many times in the study of the lives of men who have lived before us do we find that some who have actually given their lives for God and given up everything in this world that they thought of any value, have received more honor than they could ever have hoped to gather to themselves in this world, and besides, they have the promise of the life to come.
I think of men like Judson, Carey, Moffat, Livingstone, Taylor, Morrison,—men who actually chose a life of service, and devoted all they had to the glory of God, abandoning everything in this world. They absolutely cut every tie that bound them to this earth. They never expected any glory or honor on earth, nor that their names would be mentioned in history. Yet it was because they took this path of self-denial and gave their lives to God, that not only has there come to them the promise of the life to come, but there has been given them a name among men that they could never have hoped to obtain in any other service that they could have rendered.
I think of Paul, who apparently, as far as human knowledge would have reasoned in his day, espoused the most unpopular and hated cause on earth. He despised and forsook all the honors that were his by inheritance and education, and engaged in the most unpopular service. He thought, of course, that his name would never be known in the days that were to come; and yet that very service brought to him more honor and renown among men on earth than it would have been possible for him to attain if he had most zealously followed worldly pursuits, and lived with his Jewish people, according to their religion. If he had been crowned emperor of Rome, there could have been nothing in his life that would have measured in importance with this life of humility that he chose.
So it is true in a double sense that men who forsake this world and give themselves a living sacrifice to God, do not really lose their lives. To human reasoning it is true they do lose their lives. Their friends turn against them, and become their enemies. They lose riches; they lose applause. But on the other hand, they are gainers. I believe that from the day when Christ spoke these words, there has been no person who has fully followed Christ and believed in him with all his heart but there has come to him more, even in this life, than was possible for him to attain had he chosen to follow the world. In addition to this, he has had the promise of the life to come. Christ promises such not simply what they would naturally get in this world, but life eternal in the kingdom of God. No man forsakes father, mother, wife, or child, or houses or the material things of this life, but he receives in this present time a hundredfold more than he could have obtained by himself,—father, mother, brothers, sisters, houses, lands,—and in the world to come, eternal life. No man can make me believe that it does not pay every one to take his stand on the Lord’s side and remain loyal and true to him, letting him fulfil his word. The promise is fulfilled in the life of every man and woman who fully follows the Lord.
“What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” Strange that Christ should raise that question! and yet he knew well the human heart. He knew that we are tempted to love money, and that the very sacrifice and self-denial demanded of the followers of Christ will seem more than we can bear. He tries to reason with us, and in such a sympathetic way he puts the question to every man, “What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” That is to say, Christ addresses us like this: Suppose you can make money and get rich; suppose the world offers you opportunities that appeal to you, and promises you great reward if you serve it faithfully; what will it profit you if you obtain that reward and lose your soul? You can have the wealth of the world only during this life.
It would be a big temptation to most of us tonight if we knew that we could make one hundred million dollars in our lifetime. It would almost stagger a man to be sure of that. But Christ says, That is not all. Suppose you could go beyond that and gain the whole world; were you to get it all, what would it profit you if you lost your own soul? Sometimes, while engaged in the activities of life here in this world, you feel that you would do almost anything to get riches or fame or honor, or persuade the people of the world to recognize your ability. What shall it profit you? When you come to the day of reckoning, and are asked to settle your account with God, what would you give of the things of this life to have your soul right with him? Did you ever hear of a man about to close his career who would not part with everything he had gained in this world if he could have a clear record above?
Some men will sell their souls for sin. They say, “Let me have the satisfaction of my passions and appetites. I will not bring myself under control.” They are on the highway to destruction. Others claim to love the Lord, and do love him some, but they hold on to their sins. They give up some things, to be sure; but they do not make a full surrender. They go on in a half-hearted way, hoping against hope, saying they are trying to be Christ’s. Although they know that an evil disease is destroying their life, they will not abandon their pet sin,—the weak thing in their life,—and finally they conclude they cannot gain the victory. That passion, that appetite, which has held control, makes them its slaves, when they could be God’s freemen if they would. They let that passion dominate their lives until they lose all hope of the kingdom of God.
Some sell their hope of eternal life for the honors of this world, but O, what a weak exchange that is! To sell the prospect and promise of eternal life for what men may think, for the honors, the flattery, the praise, or the social prestige that men may give if one will follow the paths of sin,—there cannot be a more losing exchange than that. Public favor and popularity is all as fickle as the wind. The honors of today will not last, they will all be blown away tomorrow.
Christ presses the question, “What shall a man give in exchange for his7soul?” Shall he abandon all the honors of the world, which are vanity? Shall he say, There is nothing in this world of any benefit to me? All will eventually come to this conclusion, some when it is too late. We must reap the fruit of our doings.
A man’s salvation, of course, does not depend upon works alone. No man can work out salvation for himself by making a great sacrifice. There has to be an abandoning of the world, and there must come into the soul and life a living faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, before any man can be saved.
God is not going to save us because of our professions. He is not going to save me because I am a minister, or another because he is a doctor. God is not going to save any of us that way. There is only one way that we can find salvation, only one way for every man and woman here, and that is for us to bring our poor, unworthy, undeserving lives to God, and give them gladly as a freewill offering, laying them upon the altar of service to be consumed in God’s way, as he will, and then believe in Jesus Christ as the divine Son of God, who saves from sin. If you and I could go out and work with all wisdom and diligence, continuing as long as we live, we could not earn salvation. It must come through the personal exercise of living faith in Jesus Christ. There is no other way.
“Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Acts 4: 12. That is a very strong declaration. We can never be saved as a denomination. You and I can never go to heaven simply because we are Seventh-day Adventists and belong to the church. We must have personal faith in Jesus Christ. I must have faith, regardless of any other man or woman in the whole world. This faith must be yours in the same way. No man has the power to take our faith from us; but we may lose it. We may abandon our faith, and refuse to give our life to God, but no power can compel us to do it.
If you and I get to heaven, we shall have to go as poor, undone sinners who have been lifted up and saved through our faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God. Everything else will fail us ultimately. If you say that works will count in your salvation, and that you trust in your godly life to earn salvation, I bring to you the word of God: “Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
But you say, “Why not abandon myself to sin, then?”—No, you cannot do that. You must give your life unreservedly to Jesus Christ, you must believe in him with all your heart; then you will know that Christ has taken upon himself your deliverance from sin; that he himself has paid the penalty for the sins you have committed, and answers for your life, giving to you his own life as a free gift; and you will take it by faith in him.
It will never do for a man to drift on with this denomination, saying, “I have great confidence in it, and in the doctrines it holds; for I know it has the truth.” My brother, you will not go to heaven that way. You must give your life to God freely and willingly, for him to use and consume as he will. You must believe in his Son Christ Jesus as your Saviour. All your hope must be in him. Christ Jesus is your Saviour. If heaven is ever yours, it must be through faith in Christ.
God seldom gives any of us what we expect and plan for in this life. Again and again he seeks to teach us that our life does not consist in the “abundance of the things” that we possess. He would repeatedly impress on us that there must be a complete abandonment of our lives,—a giving of ourselves to God to be used where and as he will, while we trust him for salvation.
It is a wonderful thing for a man to come right up to the Lord and say, “Lord, I give my life back to thee, with all that there is in me. I am thy free agent to do thy will wherever thou sendest me.” And yet we must live that life, not simply a year or two years; we must hold ourselves a living sacrifice to the end of our days. That is what God wants. When he says, “No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God,” he is only trying to encourage us to hold on to the end.
I am more and more convinced that we must abandon all idea that our righteousness counts with God. It is of no worth. You may say, “I am a great deal better than my fellows.” I do not think we are good judges of ourselves. We do not know what we are. You may say, “Other men do things that I cannot tolerate.” But you do not know the depths from which God has lifted them. You do not know about the passions that surge in their hearts, over which they have battled for mastery. Therefore you are not to look at your brethren. Your only wisdom is to say, “I am going to serve God with all my heart, and be true to him and believe in Jesus Christ his Son.” Otherwise you will make shipwreck of your faith.
Often I read Matthew’s statement: “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” Matt. 7: 21-23.
It seems wonderful to me that Christ would take some of the very things that we prize the most highly and use them to illustrate the lesson he desires to enforce. The power to cast out evil spirits is a wonderful gift. It is surely a great thing for a man to feel the impressions of the Holy Spirit upon him, and to open his mouth and speak words that relate to the future, to utter prophecies in the name of the Lord. Thus God spoke through Elijah, Elisha, Jonah, and Ezekiel . He gave them visions of the future ages,—of God’s dealings with the world and his people. Those were wonderful experiences. And yet Christ says that some will stand up before the bar of God and say to him, “We have prophesied in your name, and it came true. In your name we have cast out devils. In your name we did many wonderful works. You surely must remember me; I am Dr. So-and-so,” or “I am Pastor Blank.” And then those awful words, “I never knew you,” fall from his lips. Think of that!
Here is a demoniac, a man possessed of the evil one. You lift your hand and command the unclean spirit to come out. It obeys, and the man is restored to his right mind. If I had that power tonight, you would almost bow down and worship me; it would be so marvelous.
“And in thy name have done many wonderful works.” Yes, you have done works that have astonished men. You have gone into the sickroom, and knelt at the side of the sick one in prayer. Then you have anointed him with oil, and he has arisen at your command. All this and more you have done; but listen to what the Master says: “Depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” How strange! It does not matter who one is,—doctor, preacher, or nurse,—only, the higher the position the greater the opportunities and the greater the responsibility. He says, Away! You never forsook your sins. All your service was a pretense. You fooled everybody, but you were never anything but a pretender. All the time, while you were working those miracles, your heart was filled with sin. You were a hypocrite; you were not genuine. There was something wrong in your life.” Brethren, I do not want those words to be spoken to me. I want to put away my sins, through the mercy and help of God, and have the blood of Jesus Christ atone for them. Let us hold steadily on to our faith in Jesus Christ.
There is nothing that the church can do for us that will save us. Yet the church is of God. The truth of the third angel’s message is of God, but that can never save us unless we abandon sin. And you can do that only through Jesus Christ your Saviour. When you close your life record, then, O, then you will want Jesus Christ as your Friend!
It will pay well while here to have a settlement every day with God. Never let a night go by without settling your account. Keep your “title clear” to the “mansions in the skies.” Has some one crossed your pathway, and aroused your natural resentment? Fix up every day’s work with God before you sleep. Say, “Lord, take my poor soul and save me from sin.” God will do it. Then you will have joy in his service. Then you can go out into the service of the day, and work with a glad heart, and everything that you thought was sacrifice and self-denial will be joy.
It is the easiest thing in the world to give up worldly pleasures when once your heart has been touched with the love of God, and you live for God and8the future, and not for the present. The sacrifice that the Bible speaks of is only in the mind; for when one has given his life to God, and abandoned sin, then all heaven comes with its precious promises, all the eternal riches come flooding his soul, and he says, “How could I ever have been so foolish as to think it was hard to serve God?”
It seems to me that there is only one reasonable course for us to take, and that is to abandon everything in this life for the kingdom of God. You say, “It means poverty.” I answer, The Master was poor. You say, “It means self-denial.” I answer, No greater sacrifice than Jesus Christ made for us. He had all that heaven possessed, yet he abandoned it, and came down to this earth and tasted death for every man.
There will be something of satisfaction in eternity to have been a sharer with Christ in his sufferings,—to have tasted self-denial, to have abandoned this world and all its pleasures, and all the things that would hold us here, for Christ. He calls for us to abandon ourselves to the kingdom of God, not with longing hearts ever looking toward our earthly possessions, as Lot’s wife did; but to set our faces as a flint Zionward, and to travel the road the Master trod, with a determination that we will lead as many men and women to Christ as we can.
I like the story of that young man who had gone down to the seashore, where there had been a great wreck on some rocks in the ocean, and toiled so self-sacrificingly to save others, pulling one and another, and another, and another, out of the water, until he brought nine persons out of the ruin. His friends said to him, “Now you have done all you can do. You could have done no better.” But he looked out and saw another man on the wreckage. He fought his way out again, and saved this man. Then he got another, and another, and another; and again his friends tried to get him to abandon his work. Pretty soon he looked out and saw another. He plunged in and brought another, and a second, and a third. Then he had no more strength. In the night, in his delirium, he cried out, “O, couldn’t I have done better? O, if I had saved just one more—one more! Did I do my best?”
That is a good example for us as Christians. Let us every day put the question straight to our own hearts, “Have I done my best?” and tomorrow be ready for the same service. That is the only thing that is going to give us lasting joy.
May the Lord help us to believe in Jesus Christ as a personal Saviour, believe that he died for us, so that we may have our own salvation assured through faith, and then give our lives to save others. May God make that the burden of every heart, for Jesus’ sake.