Grace is the answer-- we cannot for a MOMENT dispense with following Christ!

Bonhoeffer- Chapter 1 - Costly Grace.   (Continued)

"If grace is God's answer, the gift of Christian life, then we cannot for a moment dispense with following Christ.

But if grace is the data for my Christian life, it means that I set out to live the Christian life in the world with all my sins justified beforehand. I can go and sin as much as I like, and rely on this grace to forgive me, for after all the world is justified in principle by grace. I can therefore cling to my bourgeois secular existence, and remain as I was before, but with the added assurance that the grace of God will cover me. It is under the influence of this kind of "grace" that the world has been made "Christian," but at the cost of secularizing the Christian religion as never before.

The antithesis between the Christian life and the life of bourgeois respectability is at an end. The Christian life comes to mean nothing more than living in the world and as the world, in being no different from the world, in fact, in begin prohibited from being different from the world for the sake of grace. The upshot of it all is that my only duty as a Christian is to leave the world for an hour or so on a Sunday morning and go to church to be assured that my sins are all forgiven. I need no longer try to follow Christ, for cheap grace, the bitterest for of discipleship, which true discipleship must loathe and detest, has freed me from that. Grace as the data for our calculations means grace at the cheapest price, but grace as the answer to the sum means costly grace. It is terrifying to realize what use can be made of a genuine evangelical doctrine. In both cases we have the identical formula-- "justification by faith alone." Yet the misuse of the formula leads to the complete destruction of its very essence.

The only man who has the right to say that he is justified by grace alone is the man who has left all to follow Christ. Such a man knows that the call to discipleship is a gift of grace, and that the call is inseparable from the grace. But those who try to use this grace as a dispensation from following Christ are simply deceiving themselves.'

My thoughts--

This here- 'The Christian life comes to mean nothing more than living in the world and as the world, in being NO different from the world, in fact, in being prohibited from being different from the world for the sake of grace.' 

This is truth! It is very true that this is the sort of lie people have fallen victim too.  We can scarcely tell a Christian from a worldly person any more.  Shouldn't it be inevitable that a person following Jesus Christ will be markedly different than those following Satan? I'm not saying markedly different in putting on AIRS as the Pharisees and scribes and such. Jesus tells us to not appear as if we are fasting when we fast but He does not tell us to blend in with the world in all ways, never does He say that! When we pray we are to pray in secret as well, so Jesus isn't telling us to go about SHOWING by prayer and fasting that we are His.  Jesus gave us three chapters worth of teachings in Matthew (5,6,7) and those teachings were all about FOLLOWING Him, all about being HIS DISCIPLE in our every action and interaction. 

So many people just love to throw this saying out there- 'A Christian is a sinner, but a forgiven sinner.'  And they use this saying so they can pacify themselves for sinning. They shout to the world that YES they sin, but they're forgiven for sinning.  But how does that look to the world when that person blatantly sins over and over and over and over never striving to keep from sinning, even joking that the sin is something they'll never be able to stop? Is that what Christ told us would happen? No. Being a Christian isn't a joke, it isn't something to wave about while sinning. We need to be truly contrite, truly REPENTANT when we sin, not ACCEPTING it at all! When we get to the place of accepting sin and making excuses for it, such as we'll never be good enough, strong enough to stop that sin, then we are DENYING CHRIST because it is CHRIST who will work in us to keep us from sinning.  We aren't supposed to be strong enough, we are supposed to be surrendered enough. That surrendering will reveal the weight of the sins we have and we must repent of them! We aren't to become accepting of their evil weight upon us. Satan wants us to accept our sins as a part of who we are because he knows as soon as we do that then we are denying our Savior's power.

We CANNOT accept being like the world, we have to detest being like the world.  We have to grasp hold of COSTLY GRACE and become a TRUE DISCIPLE of the LORD'S!  A true disciple comprehends that their life will NOT be easy at all, but a constant struggle mainly with ourselves and that part of us that Satan will exploit at every opportunity. Satan does NOT want us to deny ourselves and take up a cross to follow Jesus. Satan loves us right where we are living our "normal" worldly lives, being no different from the world, telling ourselves it's our duty NOT to appear different, if we do these things then we will fall under the great deception called CHEAP GRACE.

This--'But those who try to use this grace as a dispensation from following Christ are simply deceiving themselves'

--  is true as well.  If we DARE to use grace as the reason we do not have to truly follow Christ in the way He commands us to, then we are deceiving ourselves!

Satan would have us despair of ever being 'good enough' because then he's trapped us in one of many cages he uses to snare us. If we are caught up in despair then we are denying Christ is good enough for us. Despair leaves us no hope, not even in Christ.  But right next to that trap is another one that has us caught up in believing we do not have to do anything at all, we can sin as much as we want because Jesus only is good enough and doesn’t expect us to even try to be good enough, that'd be blasphemy.  There are many variations of these traps and the doors to them are constantly open to catch us all.   Jesus wants us to believe that HE died for us and by HIS grace which cost so much we are given SALVATION, we are forgiven of our sins. Jesus also wants us to believe Him when He tells us to 'go and sin no more', and when He gives a sermon with instruction after instruction teaching us, that we will LEARN from Him and FOLLOW HIM, trusting in HIM when we do falter, but all the while striving not to falter.

All by HIS GRACE!

In HIS LOVE forever and ever!

"Following Christ...the divine command for all Christians without distinction."

Bonhoeffer- Chapter 1 - Costly Grace.   (Continued)

'By and large, the fatal error of monasticism lay not so much in its rigorism (though even here there was a good deal of misunderstanding of the precise content of the will of Jesus) as in the extent to which it departed from genuine Christianity  by setting up itself as the individual achievement of a select few, and so claiming a special merit of its own.'

My thoughts- 

These are very honest words from Bonhoeffer.  Setting up monasteries and entering the monastic lifestyle truly is setting up an organization where only a select few of the millions and billions of people alive can achieve. If we believe that God has called ONLY those who enter those monasteries to follow Christ by living a life of costly grace then we are in BIG trouble! And as the author of this book said- even living the life of a monk has been perverted the will of Jesus.  The idea that a few are called to a special kind of following Christ isn't truly Biblical. Yes, like I mentioned yesterday some are called to be preachers, some to evangelistic life, some to prophecy, some to teach and so on.  But all are called to follow Christ and the person who is called to be a wife and mother can follow Christ as fully as one who is called to preach the gospel.  To say that one has to live a certain superior way in following Christ is wrong! Jesus was talking to all when He preached His gospel! Jesus didn't separate people into different classes- all the mothers over in this group, all the tentmakers over here, all the fishermen in the next group, all the fieldworkers go line up there- Jesus didn't do that! He didn't say that only the tentmakers are to take of their crosses. He didn't say only the bakers are to deny themselves.  He didn't say only the preachers are to give to the poor.  It is man who has perverted God's word twisting it around to suit their own selfishness in so many ways.

More from Bonhoeffer- talking about Martin Luther of the Reformation-

'But God, shattered all his hopes. He showed him through the Scriptures that the following of Christ is not the achievement or merit of a select few, but the divine command to all Christians without distinction. Monasticism had transformed the humble work of  discipleship into the meritorious activity of the saints, and the self-renunciation of discipleship into the flagrant spiritual self-assertion of the "religious." '

My thoughts-  I love this - '... the following of Christ is NOT the achievement or merit of a select few, but the divine command to ALL Christians WITHOUT DISTINCTION.' 

TRUTH!

There is NO distinction between any of us! We are ALL called to follow our SAVIOR equally!  Even Christ had this to say when questioned about who was the greatest among the Apostles.

Mar 9:33  And he came to Capernaum: and being in the house he asked them, What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way?

Mar 9:34  But they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest.

Mar 9:35  And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.

Christ's idea of being the greatest and man's idea are entirely different! We think that being the greatest is something we even need to contemplate when it's NOT.

It's no wonder we as a people have tried to manipulate Christ's word to suit our selfishness rather than hold ourselves to the true COSTLINESS of true GRACE!

Continuing with Bonhoeffer-

'The bottom having thus been knocked out of the religious life, Luther laid hold upon grace. Just as the whole world of monasticism was crashing about him in ruins, he saw God in Christ stretching forth his hand to save. He grasped that hand in faith, believing that "after all, nothing we can do is of any avail, however good a life we live."  The grace which gave itself to him was a costly grace, and it shattered his whole existence. Once more he must leave his nets and follow. The first time was when he entered the monastery, when he had left everything behind except his pious self. This time even that was taken from him. He obeyed the call, not through any merit of his own, but simply through the grace of God. Luther did not hear the word: "Of course you have sinned, but now everything is forgiven, so you can stay as you are and enjoy the consolations of forgiveness."  No, Luther had to leave the cloister and go back to the world, not because the world in itself was good and holy, but because even the cloister was only a part of the world.

Luther's return from the cloister to the world was the worst blow the world had suffered since the days of early Christianity. The renunciation he made when he became a monk was child's play compared with that which he had to make when he returned to the world. Now came the frontal assault. The only way to follow Jesus was by living in the world. Hitherto the Christian life had been the achievement of a few choice spirits under the exceptionally favorable conditions of monasticism; now it is a duty laid on every Christian living in the world. The commandment of Jesus must be accorded perfect obedience in one's daily vocation of life.  The conflict between the life of the Christian and the life of the world was thus thrown into the sharpest possible relief. It was a hand to hand conflict between the Christian and the world.'

My thoughts-

'The only way to follow Jesus was by living in the world.' TRUTH.

'The commandment of Jesus must be accorded perfect obedience in one's daily vocation of life.' TRUTH.

We have NO excuses! We can use NOTHING as an excuse as to why we do not follow our Savior's teachings. When we are faced with choices and choose the one that self serves we are accountable for that choice. We have NO excuses.  We cannot console ourselves by saying we aren't pastors, we aren't nuns, we aren't prophets so of course we're not going to be like they strive to be, we aren't going to be THAT close to Christ. LIES! We have to be as close to Christ as any other human being can be, we are all called to follow HIM equally! If we believe any differently then we are saying that Christ has made it impossible for people to follow Him, the average person just cannot do it.  Christ NEVER said that. Christ has made it POSSIBLE for ALL to follow Him...you, me, those all around us! It is a call to COSTLY GRACE, not cheap grace that lets us make up our own truths, we must believe Christ's truths and ONLY Christ's truths.

More tomorrow by the GRACE of God. Through HIS MERCY, HIS LOVE!  Please LORD help us, teach us, save us with your COSTLY GRACE. Teach us the cost of true discipleship in YOU.

All in YOUR LOVE always!

Costly Grace Pt. 2

Bonhoeffer- Chapter 1 - Costly Grace.   (Continued)

'As Christianity spread, and the church became more secularized, this realization of the costliness of grace gradually faded. The world was Christianized, and grace became its common property. It was to be had at low cost.'

'...monasticism became a living protest against the secularization of Christianity and the cheapening of grace. But the church was wise enough to tolerate this protest, and to prevent it from developing to its logical conclusion. It thus succeeded in relativizing it, even using it in order to justify the secularization of its own life.

Monasticism was represented as an individual achievement which the mass of the laity could not be expected to emulate. By thus limiting the application of the commandments of Jesus to a restricted group of specialist, the church evolved the fatal conception of the double standard -- a maximum and a minimum standard of Christian obedience.'

My thoughts so far--

Becoming a monk, entering the monastic life, has truly even today been something that is set aside for only a few compared to the masses. There are monks of many sorts, taken from many religions- Eastern religions, Western, Catholic, Protestant religions. When you hear the word monk, what do you think of? What is the first thing that comes to mind?  For me is it a long robed, shaved bald on the top of the head only man, that is what comes to my mind. My thoughts about this monk are that he lives with a bunch of others like him and they strive to deprive themselves of worldly things even speaking if needed and they live to help others all the while their thoughts are on God and living for Him.

It is TRUE that I hold the misconception that this sort of life is only for special people, not for the common believer. In fact, I often wished there were protestant nuns (of my faith), thinking I would have joined them if there had been.  But there weren't and aren't any nuns of my faith and so I'm left to figure out how to live a life with this COSTLY GRACE, all the while fighting against the world and the worldliness that is in my life.

I believe these words of Bonhoeffer- they ring true because they come straight from our SAVIOR.  It is us who have twisted them to mean things different than they do so we can placate ourselves and indulge our worldliness, our selfishness, not denying ourselves and shunning any true cross.

That last bit I copied of his up there- 'Monasticism was represented as an individual achievement which the mass of the laity could not be expected to emulate. By thus limiting the application of the commandments of Jesus to a restricted group of specialist, the church evolved the fatal conception of the double standard -- a maximum and a minimum standard of Christian obedience.'

This is how it is truly viewed today!  We aren't expected to be like monks, or ministers, or pastors, or priests, or nuns, or any such people who have a SPECIAL CALLING. We are the average people and as average people we won't be expected to be as religious as those others. This is what we've been taught! This is what we've grown up on! We've made following Christ into an occupation that NOT everyone is truly called to. We've put labels on the levels and our Christ following. Do you go to church every week? You're devout. Do you pray every day? You're devout. Do you study your Bible every day? You're devout. If you don't do those things, you're not that devout but that doesn't mean you aren't following Christ you're just doing it in your own way.

I'm a firm believer in people following Christ as they are convicted to follow Him. I don't go to any organizational church at all, no church near me believes in the word of God as I've been convicted to believe. However this does NOT mean I'm at liberty to attach myself to CHEAP GRACE and not study and pray to understand the true COSTLY GRACE of our Savior!

Way too many people have done this, their lives exist around CHEAP GRACE and they believe this is normal, this is expected of them, because they weren't called in any special way to become something more. The truth is we are ALL called to COSTLY GRACE, every single follower of CHRIST.

More on this tomorrow all by the GRACE and MERCY of our SAVIOR! All through the LOVE Of CHRIST. Help us to truly FOLLOW YOU! Save us!

Costly Grace vs. Cheap Grace

Going back to the beginning of this book- probably where I should have started rather than jump in at the 17th chapter where I was currently reading. Ah, well.

Bonhoeffer- Chapter 1 - Costly Grace.

'Cheap grace means grace sold on the market like cheapjacks' wares. The sacraments, the forgiveness of sin, and the consolations of religion are thrown away at cut prices. Grace is represented as the Church's inexhaustible treasury, from which she showers blessings with generous hands, without asking questions or fixing limits. Grace without price; grace without cost! The essence of grace, we suppose, is that the account has been paid in advance; and because it has been paid, everything can be had for nothing. Since the cost was infinite, the possibilities of using and spending  it are infinite. What would grace be if it were not cheap?

Cheap grace means grace as a doctrine, a principle, a system. It means forgiveness of sins proclaimed as a general truth, the love of God taught as Christian "conception" of God. An intellectual assent to that idea is held to be of itself sufficient to secure remission of sins. The church which holds the correct doctrine of grace, has it is supposed, ipso facto a part in that grace. In such a church the world finds a cheap covering for its sins; no contrition is required, still less any real desire to be delivered from sin.  Cheap grace therefore amounts to a denial of the living Word of God, in fact, a denial of the Incarnation of the Word of God.

Cheap grace means the justification of sin without the justification of the sinner. Grace alone does everything, they say, and so everything can remain as it was before. "All for sin could not atone."  The world goes on in the same old way, and we are still sinners "even in the best life" as Luther said.'

'Instead of following Christ, let the Christian enjoy the consolations of his grace! That is what we mean by cheap grace, the grace which amounts to justification of sin with the justification of the repentant sinner who departs from sin and from whom sin departs. Cheap grace is not the kind of forgiveness of sin which frees us from the toils of sin. Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves.

Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.

Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it a man will gladly go and sell all that he has. It is the pearl of great price to buy which the merchant will sell all his goods. It is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble; it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him.

Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock.

Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it cost a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son: "ye were bought at a price." and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us. Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon his Son too dear a price to pay for our life, but delivered him up for us. Costly grace is the Incarnation of God.

Costly grace is the sanctuary of God; it has to be protected from the world, and not thrown to the dogs. It is therefore the living world, the Word of God, which he speaks at is pleases him. Costly grace confronts us as a gracious call to follow Jesus, it comes as a word of forgiveness to the broken spirit and the contrite heart. Grace is costly because it compels a man to submit to the yoke of Christ and follow him; it is grace because Jesus says: "My yoke is easy and my burden is light."'

*

My thoughts so far…

I think the above is worth reading a few times to let it really sink in.

Cheap grace or costly grace, which applies to you?

Cheap grace tells us we do NOT have to pick up a cross or deny self at all.

Costly grace tell us we must pick up our cross and deny self.

Costly grace comes from the mouth of our Savior who desires true followers. Cheap grace gains Him millions of false followers and we know what He is going to say to them in that day of reckoning--

Mat_7:23  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Please LORD help us to comprehend the difference between cheap grace and costly grace and through the Holy Spirit please guide us down the path of costly grace in so much as that means we will be known by You as Your true followers.

All in YOU!

A life of service, a life of self renunciation

Continued from yesterday - Self Denial-

'Strict exercise of self-control is an essential feature of the Christian's life.

Such customs have only one purpose-- to make the disciples more ready and cheerful to accomplish those things which God would have done.

Fasting helps to DISCIPLINE the SELF-INDULGENT and SLOTHFUL WILL which is so reluctant to serve the Lord, and it helps to humiliate and chasten the flesh.

By practicing abstemiousness we show the world how different the Christian life is from its own.

If there is no element of asceticism in our lives, if we give free rein to the desires of the flesh (taking care of course to keep within the limits of what seems permissible to the world), we shall find it hard to train for the service of Christ.

When the Flesh is satisfied it is hard to pray with cheerfulness or to devote oneself to a life of service which calls for much self-renunciation.

So the Christian needs to observe a strict exterior discipline.

But we are not to imagine that that alone will crush the will of the flesh or that there is any way of mortifying our old man other than by faith in Jesus.'

Sentence by sentence now--

1. 'Strict exercise of self-control is an essential feature of the Christian's life.'

This is Biblical. Just read through Matthew Chapters 5-7 and realize just how much a Christian is being told to control themselves by God's grace. We are not by God's grace, free to let our flesh rule us, our passions control us, our pleasures have free rein- there is NOTHING in our Savior's teachings that tells us to lose control over ourselves- to lose control of our emotions, our physical self. Yet so many up us get hung up on those two words-  SELF and CONTROL. As if by exacting self control we are no longer relying upon our Savior.  NONE of my self control will ever save me! I could have perfect control over myself- never losing control of my temper, my passions, my appetites and I still would NOT be saved if I didn't have my SAVIOR saving me under HIS power, none of mine. When we, as Christians, strive for self-control we are students endeavoring to follow our Master's teachings, not students seeking to become the Master. There is a HUGE difference. We could NEVER die and save ourselves, never! We will forever be in need of SAVING no matter how well we are able to follow our Savior's word and live as He tells us to live.  So, YES, 'STRICT EXERCISE OF SELF-CONTROL IS AN ESSENTIAL FEATURE OF THE CHRISTIAN'S LIFE.'   Say what you want, but it's truth and if you don't believe it then ask yourself why not, is it because you selfishly do not want to feel obligated to control yourself?

2. 'Such customs have only one purpose-- to make the disciples more ready and cheerful to accomplish those things which God would have done. '

When we have our self under control we aren't being consumed by fulfilling selfish desires. Our purpose is NOT our own pleasures, our own needs, our own life.  Our purpose becomes the purpose that God has for us.  If our focus leaves our selfishness and takes of selflessness, we truly will be able to accomplish things that God wants to accomplish in us, through us. 

3. 'Fasting helps to DISCIPLINE the SELF-INDULGENT and SLOTHFUL WILL which is so reluctant to serve the Lord, and it helps to humiliate and chasten the flesh.'

Fasting. Going without food. I've been thinking a lot about food lately because of this study and I contemplate fasting, but I'm just not sure about it all. I don't want to fast just to say I fasted (even if it's only between God and I) and yet I want to fast because I've learned this is something God wants of us, something that Jesus honestly expected from us. Maybe I just need to take the plunge, choose a meal to miss.  Yes, I'm thinking that small right now because I don't want to attempt something huge and fail miserably. I think if I set my mind to a fast and prayed about it and then changed my mind, it wouldn't sit well with me at all. So maybe I will begin by skipping a meal, then two meals, and then three and so on.  I just need to pray on this more and hope I'd be doing it for the right reasons, in the right way. If fasting helps to DISCIPLINE the self indulgent and slothful will then I need it, because I believe I am far from where I should be in my walk with Christ.  To humiliate and chasten my flesh, to bring it into subjugation wouldn't this be a good thing? Granted that it would all be accomplished through the power of God,  by His grace. Does God mean more to me than I mean to myself? He should.

   4.    'By practicing abstemiousness we show the world how different the Christian life is from its

           own. '

For all that we aren't to go about mourning and sad, with ashes on our faces and a tearful expression so that others see and realize what we are doing, when we do fast we are to be cheerful about it. We are NOT to publicize what we are doing to others, taking glory to ourselves for our 'self-control'.  Our fasting truly should be between us and God. The world may notice and when it does hopefully what it will see is someone devoted to God more than someone devoted to selfishness, to self-serving.

5. 'If there is no element of asceticism in our lives, if we give free rein to the desires of the flesh (taking care of course to keep within the limits of what seems permissible to the world), we shall find it hard to train for the service of Christ. 

The service of Christ is a call to SELF DENIAL and CROSS BEARING.  

If we DO NOT deny our flesh in any way and claim that we are blessed that we don't have to deny ourselves, then we are depriving ourselves of true service for Christ. IF we honestly believe that only some people have to deny themselves, then we are not in the service of Christ. Because we are blessed with so much that we aren't forced into a life of deprivation, we are even MORE accountable to deny ourselves than those who have so little to deprive themselves of. Do you want to be in the service of Christ? Then you have to follow His teachings and He has taught us that we are to deny ourselves and bear our crosses.  He did not tell us that we will be FORCED to deny ourselves and just accept that FORCED self-denial when it comes. If someone else is FORCING us, or if circumstances are forcing us to deny ourselves then it isn't truly SELF DENYING at all!  When the will to choose to deny self is taken away, it is no longer self denial at all. We are STRIVING to live as our Savior desires of us and this takes conscious thought, conscious action, not passiveness.

6. 'When the Flesh is satisfied it is hard to pray with cheerfulness or to devote oneself to a life of service which calls for much self-renunciation. '

How true. When we are content in our lives and not denying self, we are NOT in truth living our lives for CHRIST, but for OURSELVES. Satan loves to trick us in this way, He loves to manipulate us. He wants us to desire self contentment if not self pleasure and he wants this to be our standard for life, our goal to achieve. Satan does NOT want us to deprive ourselves, he does NOT want us to give us anything of our self because as long as we do NOT give up anything of ourselves the service we believe we are giving to Christ, isn't for Christ at all. Self service is what we are living for, not Christ service, unless we are truly willing to follow our Savior's teachings and they include self-denial. The richest of the rich to follow Christ, to be in Christ's service will have to deny self and carry a cross, and the richer find it harder, almost impossible to do.

Mat_19:24  And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

7. 'So the Christian needs to observe a strict exterior discipline.'

Truth. We will be tempted to follow the world in all its ways, but by the GRACE of God may we choose rather to follow CHRIST and His will, His ways!  Observing a strict exterior of discipline will not merit us a thing. We will not get a gold star by our name every day we discipline our selves. We will be blessed with a deeper more meaningful relationship with CHRIST in following HIS WILL and that alone is all we need.

8. 'But we are not to imagine that that alone will crush the will of the flesh or that there is any way of mortifying our old man other than by faith in Jesus.'

TRUTH!  Only through Jesus Christ can we LIVE a life devoted to HIM. If we are able to deny ourselves it will be through the power of CHRIST, all glory to HIM ALWAYS! 

Please Lord, help us to truly understand YOUR will for us! We would be in YOUR SERVICE! Help us to comprehend our NEED to deny our selves and pick up our cross, as Your love  for us, and our LOVE for YOU is realized in our lives and how we live.  All to YOU LORD, all for YOUR eyes only, YOUR GLORY not ours!

All praise, all glory, all honor unto YOU LORD! ALL IN YOUR GRACE and MERCY, YOUR LOVE!

Self Denial

More from the book 'The Cost of Discipleship' By Dietrich Bonheoffer.

Self denial.

Dietrich Bonheoffer has this to say -

'Chapter 16  The Hiddenness of the Devout Life.'

'Jesus takes it for granted that his disciple will observe the pious custom of fasting.'

*My take*

I never thought of it this way before reading that statement.

Mat 6:16  Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

Mat 6:17  But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;

Mat 6:18  That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.

Moreover WHEN ye fast…

When ye fast.  Not - Moreover *IF* ye fast, but WHEN.

When was the last time you fasted for religious reasons? Do you, or did you ever belong to a church that encouraged fasting for religious reasons? The Catholic church uses the period they call 'Lent' in which they give up certain things, fasting concerning certain things, but is that enough and is that the way Jesus wants us to fast?

Jesus  honestly DOES seem in this statement of His to take it for granted that those who follow Him WILL fast. He even goes on and tells us HOW we should fast.

More from Bonheoffer-

'Strict exercise of self-control is an essential feature of the Christian's life. Such customs have only one purpose-- to make the disciples more ready and cheerful to accomplish those things which God would have done. Fasting helps to DISCIPLINE the SELF-INDULGENT and SLOTHFUL WILL which is so reluctant to serve the Lord, and it helps to humiliate and chasten the flesh. By practicing abstemiousness we show the world how different the Christian life is from its own.  If there is no element of asceticism in our lives, if we give free rein to the desires of the flesh (taking care of course to keep within the limits of what seems permissible to the world), we shall find it hard to train for the service of Christ. When the Flesh is satisfied it is hard to pray with cheerfulness or to devote oneself to a life of service which calls for much self-renunciation.

So the Christian needs to observe a strict exterior discipline. But we are not to imagine that that alone will crush the will of the flesh or that there is any way of mortifying our old man other than by faith in Jesus.'

*Pausing here for my thoughts on all that--

'Strict exercise of self-control is an essential feature of the Christian's life.'  True or false?

So many people love to stand up at this point and firmly deny that they have to show any self-control because if they do, that means they are trying to WORK their way to salvation. Denying self means they believe by that action they are earning merit with Christ, which takes away salvation being only by grace and not of works. But it is CHRIST who spoke those words- 'When ye fast.' He DID say, NO LONGER FAST? No. But He said, 'WHEN YE FAST.'  He expects us to deny ourselves, for fasting IS denying yourself food, or drink, sometimes both. Christ expects this us to deny ourselves, tells us to deny ourselves.

Christ also said this-- 'Mat_16:24  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.'

So we don't have a leg to stand on if we want to deny the fact that we should DENY ourselves, it is truth!

Bonheoffer said- 'Fasting helps to discipline the self indulgent and slothful will which is so reluctant to serve the Lord.' 

My thoughts- We are extremely self indulgent. As a culture here in the United States we are very self indulgent. We are more concerned with ourselves and our own desires than others. We want our ease of living and will stop at virtually nothing to make sure we have relaxed lives, that we aren't taxed too much, that we don't go too hungry or thirsty. Are we slothful? I have to say, yes. The evidence of our slothfulness exists all around us. I don't have to expound on what is plain to see.  Does fasting help to discipline us? Is our call to be a disciple of Christ's a call to self-renunciation?  Jesus said it is-

'Mat_16:24  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.'

Not only DENYING ourselves, but PICKING UP OUR CROSS- all to follow CHRIST.

So, what does it mean when a person claims to be a follower of Christ and yet they NEVER deny themselves and they haven't picked up any cross at all?

We can imagine what it means to deny ourselves, there are a lot of things in our lives we can choose to give up IF we want to do that. We can deny ourselves various food stuffs, we can deny ourselves things that we do for amusement- tv, movies, games, etc. , we can deny ourselves wearing fancy clothing, jewelry, shoes, etc.  We have the ability to deny ourselves things and yet we do NOT want to believe that our God really wants us to do that. We'd much rather believe God wants us to indulge ourselves, that HE UNDERSTANDS!  WE want to believe that because then we don't have to sacrifice anything at all. We don't have to feel the pangs that come along when we deny ourselves things.  Sometimes we've been forced by circumstances to deny ourselves things, and we've moaned and groaned the whole while. The electricity goes out and we are instantly feeling deprived of all that it means to us. Tell me you haven't complained when you've lost electricity. Tell me when your food is served late you haven't grumbled. Tell me when a water main breaks and you have to boil water or get it elsewhere you don't complain. We can go on and on naming various situations where we've been denied things and we've despised having been denied.

Some people in very poor countries grow up denied so much, they live entire lives in what we call deprivation. The idea of living such an existence appalls us.

We are to deny ourselves and do so through our FAITH in Jesus. We are to deny ourselves NOT to gain salvation but because we have salvation already. We are to deny ourselves because our LORD has told us this is something we are to do.

More on all this tomorrow by the GRACE and MERCY, the LOVE of our SAVIOR Jesus Christ!

The Cost of Discipleship Pt 3 Excerpts & Thoughts

More from the book 'The Cost of Discipleship' By Dietrich Bonheoffer.

Continuing on with our study of our Treasures in Heaven, Not Earth as well as Being Anxious for Nothing.

Bonheoffer goes on to say, quoting Luther: '"Now mark ye, no beast worketh for his sustenance, but each hath his proper function, according to which he seeketh and findeth his own food. The bird doth fly and sing, she maketh nests and beareth young. That is her work, but yet she doth not nourish herself thereby. Oxen plough, horses draw carts and fight, sheep give wool, milk, and cheese, for it is their function so to do. But they do not nurture themselves thereby. Nay, the earth bringeth forth grass, and nurtureth them through God's blessing. Likewise it is man's bounden duty to work and do things, and yet withal to know that it is Another who nurtureth him: it is not his own work, but the bounteous blessing of God. It is true that the bird doth neither sow nor reap, yet would she die of hunger if she flew not in search of food. But that she fineth the same is not her work, but the goodness of God. For who put the food there, that she might find it? For where God hath put nought, none findeth, even though the whole world were to work itself to death in search thereof."' 

And Bonheoffer expounds:  'But if the Creator thus sustains the birds and lilies, should he not much more as a Father nourish his own children, who daily pray to him? Should he not be able to grant them the necessities of life, when all earthly goods belong to him, and when he can distribute them according to his pleasure?

Anxiety is characteristic of the Gentiles, for they rely on their own strength and work instead of relying on God. They do not know that the Father knows that we have need of all these things, and so they try to do for themselves what they do not expect from God. But the disciples know that the rule is "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." Anxiety for food and clothing is clearly not the same thing as anxiety for the kingdom of God, however much we should like to persuade ourselves that when we are working for our families and concerning ourselves with bread and houses we are thereby building the kingdom, as though the kingdom could be realized only through our worldly cares. The kingdom of God and his righteousness are sharply distinguished from the gifts of the world which come our way. That kingdom is none other than the righteousness of Matt. 5 and 6, the righteousness of the cross and of following Christ beneath that cross. Fellowship with Jesus and obedience to his commandment come first, and all else follows. Worldly cares are not a part of our discipleship, but distinct and subordinate concerns. Before we start taking thought for our life, our food and clothing, our work and families, we must seek the righteousness of Christ. This is no more than an ultimate summing up of all that has been said before. Again we have here either a crushing burden, which holds out no hope for the poor and wretched, or else it is the quintessence of the gospel, which brings the promise of freedom and perfect joy. Jesus does not tell us what we ought to do but cannot; he tells us what God has given us and promises still to give. If Christ has given us, if we are called to his discipleship we are given all things, literally all things. He will see to it that they are added unto us. If we follow Jesus and look only to his righteousness, we are in his hands and under the protection of him and his Father. And if we are in communion with the Father, nought can harm us. We shall always be assured that he can feed his children and will not suffer them to hunger. God will help us in the hour of need, and he knows our needs.

After he has been following Christ for a long time, the disciple of Jesus will be asked "Lacked ye anything?" and he will answer "Nothing, Lord." How could he when he knows that DESPITE HUNGER, and NAKEDNESS, PERSECUTION and DANGER, the LORD is always at his side?'

*

My take:

I love the last bit because it is such TRUTH! 

Lacked ye anything? Nothing Lord.  How could he... how can WE say we lack ANYTHING when Jesus is at our side?  If we can say we lacked anything then we are in essence saying that Jesus and His Righteousness are NOT everything we need, that HIM first is NOT paramount, that our Savior is NOT enough!

Seek FIRST, not seek only, but seek FIRST the kingdom of God and HIS righteousness.

Mat_6:33  But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

And they'll be added unto us according as our Savior knows our need. If our need is to suffer hunger and cold, to suffer being poor and be persecuted then Christ KNOWS this and we will hunger and we will be cold, and we will be poor and we will be persecuted all to HIS GLORY and it will be for reasons we might not have a clue about.

I was relating to my daughter an experience I had many years ago, something I'd forgotten.  I'd been persecuted, bullied, name called (as an adult not a child) and the result was my emotional devastation. That emotional devastation led to my returning to the Lord and not only me but the Holy Spirit guiding one of my sister to Him as well.  I had NO clue at the time I was being emotionally tortured that the result would be so amazing, but now years later I can look back and see the Hand of God working in my life, all GLORY TO HIM! 

We can't know why our suffering, why our trials come, but our God is enough to see us through it all.

God FIRST, God's kingdom FIRST, and all else later.

We who do profess to believe in Christ as our very real Savior have to truly comprehend that we do rely on CHRIST for all things, and all glory belongs to Him whether or not we are experiencing goodness or trials. Truly those who are suffering can believe in Christ and His teachings. Even as they suffer they KNOW that Christ must come first, and HE really is ENOUGH. If we suffer unto death- it won't be because our Savior couldn't save us, but because He did SAVE US and His ways are far beyond ours.  If we can't realize our place in the grand scheme of things, that we are the creature with VERY limited comprehensions on the ways of God, then we are guilty of putting ourselves on level with God and wanting to be like the Most High, the very thing that Satan is guilty of.  We might suffer in many ways and through it all we must know that Christ loves us, has always loved us, and will always love us even to the end of the world, and into eternity with HIM.

Is the Kingdom of God real to us?! If it is then we can have faith in God that His will in our lives is DONE, no matter what we must endure.

All by HIS GRACE, HIS LOVE, HIS MERCY, HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS, HIS FORGIVENESS!