The video above, though at first sounds negative, may prove to be incredibly encouraging to you today. It reminds us of Jesus’ call for all his disciples, and that it is actually in turning away from our own way that we are saved and find life.
“Look at what Jesus says to his disciples in verse 24, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life you are going to lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your soul?” (Matthew 16:24-26 NLT).
“Turn from your selfish ways.” That happens initially when we come to Jesus as sinners looking for forgiveness. We have lived selfish lives contrary to God, in rebellion to God, doing our own thing. And the call of Scripture is that we would repent of our sins, turn to God, put our faith in Christ and what he has done, and be forgiven, be given brand new life—the burden of guilt and shame and condemnation removed. New life and eternal life given.
So there’s a context in which specifically he speaks to that with regard to salvation. And some of you, that’s what you need today, as I already said. You need to repent of your sins, turn to God, put your faith in Jesus, and be saved.
But he doesn’t only speak it for salvation. He continues to speak it to the Christian. And he continues to say to me today, “You need to turn from your selfish ways,” because by and large I am a selfish man. And what I don’t want is sacrifice, loss, and the way of the cross.
But what I find when I turn to Scripture is that sacrifice, apparent loss, and the way of the cross is the Christian life. That doesn’t mean that it’s always a bummer or that we are forever losing. But let’s be honest. There are profound elements of apparent loss in our lives. There are profound calls of selfless sacrifice in our lives.
Jesus says explicitly to you and I today to take up our cross. But what we want to do is hang on to whatever we have. Jesus said, “If you try to hold on to your life, you’re just going to lose it. You give it away to me—in repentance and faith that you might be saved, and then, in continual selfless following, that you might be a vibrant part of my mission—you give up your life in that way, you will actually find it.”
And he says, in that there is great benefit. It doesn’t benefit you anything to gain the world and not have the life of God functioning in you.”