The Crucified Life

Introduction

There is no denying that modern day popular Christianity bears little resemblance to the Christianity that we find represented in the lives of the early disciples of Jesus Christ.

“Much contemporary success proves that if you demand little and put on a good show, you can get a crowd. In the long run, however, the crowd means nothing. Obedience to the commission is the determined dedication to disciple making”

If there is any hope for our community, our state, and our nation, there must be a revival of Biblical Christianity and it must start with us!

In this passage we have a record of what the Lord Jesus said would be required of those who would “come after Him.”

This means that if you and I desire to be “Christians” in the truest sense of the word, we must do as Jesus here instructs. Anything less is not sufficient to be called a follower of Christ.

The Crucified Life is a life marked by...

Self-Denial

This is the first and most crucial step that we must take if we will “come after Him.” It is also the most difficult step in this journey to live the crucified life.

This is the greatest barrier to those who would become true disciples of Jesus Christ. So many attempt to live for Christ and to live for themselves at the same time and yet these two are contrary the one to the other such that no man can both live for Christ and for himself.

There are so many believers who speak of their commitment to Christ and of their desire to follow Him and yet they are unwilling to deny themselves and thus theirs are nothing more than empty words.

We can all easily understand that it is not a natural thing to deny oneself and yet this is exactly what the disciple of Christ must do.

The vast majority of believers spend their entire lives struggling with this all-important decision. So many are never truly willing to deny themselves and thus are never in a position to be mightily used of God.

The context of this instruction is important as Jesus has for the first time declared the fact that He will suffer and die at the hands of sinful men. Peter responds as many of us would have responded rebuking Jesus and assuring Him that they would not let this happen.

Peter could not understand the fact that Jesus had come for this very purpose, to present Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of mankind.

Peter was only viewing the statements of Jesus from a fleshly perspective and failed to recognize the spiritual ramifications.

So many have a desire to follow Christ and yet they are intent on following Him on their own terms and are unwilling to deny themselves. They want to follow Him so long as it is convenient and it does not conflict with their own wishes.

The word deny here means to utterly deny or to completely disavow. What Jesus is saying is that we must totally renounce our rights to govern our lives as we choose.

The true disciple does not simply think less of himself but absolutely refuses to think of himself at all. He has no concern for himself. He is concerned only with the impact his life may have for the cause of Christ.

The Crucified Life is a life marked by...

Surrender

The key to living for Christ is not your effort, your talent, your intellect, only your willingness to yield yourself to Christ.

You must surrender your:

Identity (“take up your cross”)

When Jesus speaks of taking up the cross, He is not speaking of a nice little necklace placed around your neck, or of an ornate decoration hung upon your wall, but of truly identifying yourself with Christ and His cross.

The disciple of Christ must be willing to surrender his own identity to be identified with Christ.

Philippians 3:4-9- Paul was willing to give up what He once was to become what Christ wanted Him to be.

Whatever you were before you came to know Christ is unimportant, now you are a Christian (follower of Christ) above all else.

It is better to be a nobody for Jesus Christ than to be held in high esteem in the eyes of the world.

Many believers consider themselves Christians but this is not their primary identity, rather they attach this identity to what they already are, but this will never be sufficient.

Our core identity must be our faith in and relationship to Christ and every other element of our identity must be subject to our desire to follow Christ.

This is not to suppose that we shall become carbon copies of one another, for Christ’s plan for each of may be very different. Notice that Jesus says take up “his” cross, speaking of the personalized nature of this identification with Christ.

This identification with Jesus and His cross means simply that our supreme devotion is to Him, not to our boss, not to our friends, not even to our family, but to Him first of all.

You must surrender your:

Will (follow me)

If we are to live the Crucified Life, we shall no longer go our own way, but rather we will be determined to follow Christ.

Consider the song that we sing, “I have decided to follow Jesus” or the song “Wherever He leads I’ll go”. These are speaking of the fact that we are no longer determining the direction of our lives, but now we are determined only to follow His leadership.

We must take the attitude of Jesus as He faced the suffering of the cross. “Not my will, but thine.”

Luke 22:41–42 KJV 1900

And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.

John 6:38 KJV 1900

For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.

We must be willing to forsake our own will in favor of the will of God. We may be led in a direction that we never imagined and through trials we never would have chosen, but we must remain committed to following Christ.

The plans which you have for your life could never compete with the plans which Jesus has for your life. You may go your own way and find some measure of success, but if you want to make the greatest impact for eternity, you must follow Christ!

You must surrender your :

Life (Vs. 25)

Those who will come after Jesus must be prepared to place their very life in God’s hands. This was a striking statement for the disciples and many of them would literally lay down their lives for their faith in Christ.

It may not be that Jesus would require you to die for your faith, but if that were to be the case are you willing to place your life in His hands?

If you are concerned only with preserving your life, you can be certain that it will not be greatly used by God, but if you are willing to lose your life for Christ’s sake your life will have real meaning and purpose.

Coronavirus crisis- many literally refused to live for fear of death

Are you spending your entire life trying to avoid conflict, difficulty, persecution, and opposition and in the process losing your life to gain the approval of the world?

Would you instead be willing to give your life to God and let Him choose how it can best be used to bring glory to God?

Where are the believers like the apostle Paul:

Acts 20:22–24 KJV 1900

And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there: Save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me. But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.

From Paul’s perspective, his life was simply a resource to be spent for the cause of Christ not something that must be preserved at all costs.

Conclusion

Galatians 2:20- can you make this statement? Have you been crucified with Christ, are you living by the faith of the Son of God

What is it that is hindering you from living “The Crucified Life”?

Is it an unwillingness to deny yourself or is it a refusal to surrender to the Lord?

Jesus wants to live through you, but you must deny yourself and surrender your all to Him in order for this to become a reality.

It is really not about trying harder for you do not have the power or the ability to live for Christ, it is simply in yielding to the Spirit of God that you will find yourself enabled and empowered to live “The Crucified Life.”