Today’s evangelistic message seeks to obliterate the offense of the cross!
THE CROSS is offensive … because it is about losing it ALL for Jesus.
And the consequences are the difference between eternal life and death.
The easy-believism, grace-only teachers lead Christains away from the believer’s cross.
They are enemies of the cross, and they teach a whole different gospel than this …
“If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross,
and follow Me. For whoever desires to save (4982) his life will lose (622) it, but
whoever loses (622) his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man
if he gains the whole world, and loses (2210) his own soul?”
(Matthew 16:24-26, Mark 8:34-36, NKJV)
“save” (Strong’s #4982, sozo) “of the spiritual and eternal salvation”
“lose, destroy, perish” (Strong’s #622, apollumi) “of the loss of eternal life”
“loses, lost” (Strong’s #2210, zemioo) “Mark 8:36, of losing one’s soul or life”
(from Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words)
Luke 9 goes deeper than the above passage to add some clarity!
He repeats the warnings about losing eternal salvation, but by equating (in 9:25)
#622 with #2210, he also shows that to lose one’s soul means to lose eternal life …
“If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily,
and follow Me. For whoever desires to save (4982) his life will lose (622) it, but
whoever loses (622) his life for My sake will save (4982) it. For what profit is it to a man
if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed (622) or lost (2210)?”
(Luke 9:23-25, NKJV)
To follow means to obey! (No, we’re not talking about obeying Jesus’ invitation to believe.)
Jesus’ gospel of the cross tests how much love people have for Jesus,
and how much appreciation they have for what He has done for them.
Jesus says 3 times in John 14, “He who loves Me will obey My commandments.”
However, most believers today have been deceived into thinking this is not necessary!
“He who loves his life will lose (622) it, and he who hates his life in this world
will keep it for eternal life (2222).” (John 12:25, NKJV)
“life” (Strong’s #2222, zoe) “eternal life … John 5:24, 1 John 3:14”
(from Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words)
“And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.
He who finds his life will lose (622) it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.”
(Matthew 10:38-39, NKJV) … This speaks of losing (622) eternal life!
“And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.”
(Luke 14:27, NKJV)
“For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and
count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it – lest, after he has laid
the foundation, and is not able to finish … so likewise, whoever of you
does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.” (Luke 14:28-33, NKJV)
The “tower builder” is the believer who has counted the cost, and has decided
to make a serious commitment to take up his cross and follow (obey) Jesus!
“Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you.”
(Matthew 28:19-20, NLT)
It is NOT too late to become a real disciple of Jesus!
And please realize that this is NOT about absolute perfection, but it is about having the
correct and acceptable “heart attitude” toward God, which includes repenting of your sins!
It’s easy to co-operate with the Holy Spirit … after He has taken away your desire to sin.
THE CROSS is offensive … because it is about losing it ALL for Jesus.
And the consequences are the difference between eternal life and death.
The easy-believism, grace-only teachers lead Christains away from the believer’s cross.
They are enemies of the cross, and they teach a whole different gospel than this …
“If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross,
and follow Me. For whoever desires to save (4982) his life will lose (622) it, but
whoever loses (622) his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man
if he gains the whole world, and loses (2210) his own soul?”
(Matthew 16:24-26, Mark 8:34-36, NKJV)
“save” (Strong’s #4982, sozo) “of the spiritual and eternal salvation”
“lose, destroy, perish” (Strong’s #622, apollumi) “of the loss of eternal life”
“loses, lost” (Strong’s #2210, zemioo) “Mark 8:36, of losing one’s soul or life”
(from Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words)
Luke 9 goes deeper than the above passage to add some clarity!
He repeats the warnings about losing eternal salvation, but by equating (in 9:25)
#622 with #2210, he also shows that to lose one’s soul means to lose eternal life …
“If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily,
and follow Me. For whoever desires to save (4982) his life will lose (622) it, but
whoever loses (622) his life for My sake will save (4982) it. For what profit is it to a man
if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed (622) or lost (2210)?”
(Luke 9:23-25, NKJV)
To follow means to obey! (No, we’re not talking about obeying Jesus’ invitation to believe.)
Jesus’ gospel of the cross tests how much love people have for Jesus,
and how much appreciation they have for what He has done for them.
Jesus says 3 times in John 14, “He who loves Me will obey My commandments.”
However, most believers today have been deceived into thinking this is not necessary!
“He who loves his life will lose (622) it, and he who hates his life in this world
will keep it for eternal life (2222).” (John 12:25, NKJV)
“life” (Strong’s #2222, zoe) “eternal life … John 5:24, 1 John 3:14”
(from Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words)
“And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.
He who finds his life will lose (622) it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.”
(Matthew 10:38-39, NKJV) … This speaks of losing (622) eternal life!
“And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.”
(Luke 14:27, NKJV)
“For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and
count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it – lest, after he has laid
the foundation, and is not able to finish … so likewise, whoever of you
does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.” (Luke 14:28-33, NKJV)
The “tower builder” is the believer who has counted the cost, and has decided
to make a serious commitment to take up his cross and follow (obey) Jesus!
“Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you.”
(Matthew 28:19-20, NLT)
It is NOT too late to become a real disciple of Jesus!
And please realize that this is NOT about absolute perfection, but it is about having the
correct and acceptable “heart attitude” toward God, which includes repenting of your sins!
It’s easy to co-operate with the Holy Spirit … after He has taken away your desire to sin.