Denying To Self And Following Christ # 2

Denying To Self And Following Christ # 2

You will find, in many a biography, stories of men who have delivered themselves from sensitivity to the world and to intimates, but who have found that it means a terrible battle, an almost impossible fight not to be concerned about one's self, and one' own judgment of one's self. And as long as we are concerned about that we are not really safe even from the other two. So the key to it all, as George Muller reminds us, is that we must die to ourselves. George Muller had died to himself, to his opinion, his preferences, his likes and dislikes, his tastes, his will. His one concern, his one idea, was to be approved unto God. Now that is our Lord's teaching here, that the Christian is to get into such a state and condition that he can say that.

The next point is obviously that only the Christian can do this. That is where we find doctrine in this paragraph. No man can possibly attain to this except a Christian. It is the very opposite and antithesis of what is true of the natural man. It is difficult to imagine anything further removed from what the world generally describes as a gentleman. A gentleman, according to the world, is one who fights for his honor and his name. Although he no longer challenges to a duel the moment he is insulted because it is prohibited by law, this is what he would do if he could. That is the world's idea of a gentleman and of honor; and it always means self-defense. It applies not only to man individually but to his country and to everything that belongs to him. It is surely true to say that the world despises a man who does not do that, and it admires the aggressive kind of person, the person who asserts himself and is always most ready to defend himself and his so-called honor.

We say, therefore, plainly and without apology, that no man can implement this teaching who is not a Christian. A must must be born again and be a new creature before he can live like this. No man can die to himself except the man who can say, "I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me." It is the doctrine of rebirth. In other words our Lord says: "You have to live like that, but you can do so only when you have received the Holy Spirit and there is a new life in you. You have to become utterly different; you have to become entirely changed; you have to become a new being." 

Having thus stated the doctrine, we must now ask a practical question. "How am I to live like that?" Someone may say: "You have confronted us with teaching; but I find it difficult; I tend to fail in practice. How can one live that kind of life?"

Let us, first of all, approach the matter on a purely practical level. The first thing we must do is to face this whole problem of SELF in an honest manner. We must cease to make excuses, cease trying to evade and circumvent it. It is to be faced honestly and squarely. We must hold all this teaching before us and examine ourselves in the light of it. But it is not enough that we should do that in general only; we must do it in particular also.

Whenever I notice in myself a reaction of self-defense, or a sense of annoyance or a grievance, or a feeling that I have been hurt and wronged and am suffering an injustice - the moment I feel this defensive mechanism coming into play, I must just quietly face myself and ask the following questions, "Why exactly does this thing upset me? Why am I grieved by it? What is my real concern at this point? Am I really concerned by some general principle of justice and righteousness? Am I really moved and disturbed because I have some true cause at heart or, let me fact it honestly, is it just myself? Is it just this horrible, foul self-centeredness and self-concern, this morbid condition into which I have got? Is it nothing but an unhealthy and unpleasant pride?

Such self-examination is essential if we are to conquer in this matter. We all know this by experience. How easy it is to explain it in some other way. We must listen to the voice that speaks within us, and if it says: "Now you know perfectly well it is just yourself, that horrid pride, that concern about yourself and your reputation and your own greatness" - if it is that, we must admit and confess it. It will be extremely painful, of course, and yet, if we want to rise to our Lord's teaching, we have to pass through such a process. It is the denial of self.

Another thing on the practical level which is of the very greatest importance is to realize the extent to which SELF controls your life. Have you ever tried doing that?

Examine yourself and your life, your ordinary work, the things you do, the contacts you have to make with people. Reflect for a moment upon the extent to which self comes into all that. It is an amazing and terrible discovery to note the extent to which self-interest and self-concern are involved, even in the preaching of the gospel. It is a horrible discovery! We are concerned about preaching well. Why? For the glory of God - or for our own glory? All the things we do and say, the impression we make even when we meet people casually - what are we really concerned about? If you analyze the whole of your life, not only your actions and conduct, but your dress, your appearance, everything - it will amaze you to discover the extent to which this unhealthy attitude towards self comes in.

But let us go on one step further. I wonder whether we have ever realized the extent to which the misery and the unhappiness and the failure and the trouble in our lives - is due to one thing only, namely, self!  Go back across last week, consider in your mind and recall to your conscience the moments or the periods of unhappiness and strain, your irritability, your bad temper, the things you have said and done of which you are now ashamed, the things that have really disturbed you and put you off your balance. Look at them one by one, and it will be surprising to discover how almost every one of them will come back to this question of self, this self-sensitivity, this watching of self.

There is no question about it. Self is the main cause of unhappiness in life. "Ah," you say, "but it is not my fault; it is what somebody else has done." All right; analyze yourself and the other person, and you will find the other person probably acted as he did because of self - and you are really feeling it for the same reason. If only you had a right attitude towards the other person, as our Lord goes on to teach in the next paragraph, you would be sorry for him and would be praying for him. So ultimately it is you who are to blame. Now it is a very good thing on the practical level just to look at it honestly and squarely. Most of the unhappiness and sorrow, and most of our troubles in life and in experience, arise from this ultimate origin and source, this self!

Let us come to a higher level, however, and look at it doctrinally. It is a very good thing to look at self in a doctrinal and theological manner. According to the teaching of Scriptures, self was responsible for the fall. But for it, sin would never have entered into the world. The devil was subtle enough to know its power, so he put it in terms of self. He said: "God is not being fair to you; you have a legitimate grudge and a grievance." And man agreed, and that was the whole cause of the fall. There would be no need of international conference to try to solve the problems of the nations at the present time - if it were not for the fall. And the whole trouble is just self and self-assertion. That is self regarded doctrinally.

But self always means defiance of God; it always means that I put myself on the throne instead of God, and therefore it is always something that separates me from Him.

~Martyn Lloyd-Jones~

(continued with # 3)