Disciples of Christ are called to forsake the world by utilizing self-denial. This daily devotional looks at how we are called to forsake all to expand the kingdom of God.
Nuggets
- When God calls us to our ministry, there will be things that we have to give up.
- We need to be obedient to whatever God call us to do.
- Because everything pales to knowing Jesus, disciples of Christ count everything as loss.
- We have to go against our flesh.
Devotions in the Forsaking All for Jesus series
In the last devotion, we began looking at how disciples of Christ are called to be in the world but not of the world. We looked at two ways disciples of Christ are called to forsake. This devotion finishes the discussion.
Let’s Put It into Context #1
Forsake, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, means “to renounce or turn away from entirely.”
Resource
Let’s Put It into Context #2
- Disciples have to look different than worldview people.
- We are called to be reformed sinners.
- Switching to a life of self-denial does not make up for all the sins we have committed.
- God doesn’t call us to works-based salvation.
Disciples Are Called to Forsake Our Relatives
“Then he said to another, ‘Follow me.’ ‘Lord,’ he said, ‘first let me go bury my father.’ But he told him, ‘Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and spread the news of the kingdom of God” (Lk. 9: 59-60 CSB)
When God calls us to be His children, there will be things that we have to give up. One may be family or close friends. Let’s look at what Jesus said about let the dead bury the dead really meant self-sacrifice.
This is one of those instances when we ask ourselves, “Did this really come out the way Jesus intended it?” The answer would be, “Yes.”
I know. Most of us are family oriented. Yes, there are those that have a dysfunctional family rather than the ideal family.
But family doesn’t have to be blood. I would say that we have people in our lives that we have made family and wouldn’t want to give up.
Edwards contended that Jesus was not meaning that we should not love our parents. That we should is a commandment. “Honor your father and your mother so that you may have a long life in the land that the Lord your God is giving you” (Ex. 20: 12 CSB).
We just have to love God more. We have to put a higher priority on our relationships with God than with our family members.
Resource
If we shelve the emotions of giving up loved ones and the pity we feel for him who was asked to, we can really look at what this person said. We see that he is willing to do what Jesus asked. He is wanting to join Jesus on His mission.
It wasn’t a no. It was a wait.
But what could change our judgment of the man asking for Jesus to wait? Right off the bat, we assume that the father is dead. What if he isn’t?
Oh, yeah. That throws a wrench into it, doesn’t it?
Maybe Dad isn’t even sick. It could be that he is waiting for his responsibilities to be complete.
Maybe he is just using Dad as an excuse because, even though he agrees with Jesus’s mission, he is conflicted on how much he wants to commit. What if he is waiting for something better to come along?
It sounds like he wants to be a disciple of Christ when he gets around to it. He wants to call the shots, not God.
Worldly relationships can’t save us. Only by admitting we are sinners separated from God, believing Jesus is our Savior and Redeemer, confessing God as Sovereign Lord, and demonstrating that commitment by changing our character to be more like His are we saved.
Sovereignty means God is supreme. There should be nothing over Him. He should be our priority.
The point is that we need to be obedient to whatever God call us to do. Manton wrote, “Ready obedience is a good evidence of a sound impression of grace left upon our hearts.”
Resource
What is described here is not a way in which we should wait. We are told to wait and watch for God to do His work. That is waiting in belief.
This is waiting in disbelief. He didn’t believe God had a plan for His life, He didn’t believe God knew what was best for Him.
No, things do not go well when we wait in disbelief. They do when we are correctly navigating the Sanctification Road.
What Jesus was saying was that our priority should be God whatever God has for us.
Maclaren cautioned us not to be too judgmental of the disciple. It is human nature for us to squirrel from one thing to another, juggling conflicting responsibilities. Don’t we have the urgent, important, not urgent, not important grid?
Maclaren also warned us that to talk about the dead Jesus was discussing. Our default is physical death. Jesus was all about salvation and regeneration making us spiritually alive.
Resource
Jesus was all about life — eternal life. But He was also about engaging us in the ministry to expand His kingdom.
Yes, it is all about our individual relationships with God. As we navigate the Sanctification Road, we grow as we witness to others. It helps us solidify our beliefs.
To read a related devotion, click the button below.
True, we are not all called to be preachers. We are all called to be witnesses. No one is exempt from that call.
Disciples Are Called to Forsake Our Lives
“Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ” (Phil. 3: 8 ESV)
Everything pales to knowing Jesus. Because of that, disciples of Christ count everything as loss. Let’s look at how, in forsaking our lives, we gain through Christ.
Yes, we are called to forsake all. The reasons for doing this is.
- We are told to.
- Because of his love, Jesus sacrifice to Himself for us; we are called to be prepared for no less.
- If we ask him, Jesus will give us the ability to do it.
- We are rewarded with more than what we give up.
However, it shouldn’t be about what we lose when we ABCD. What we gain is so much more than we give up.
The ABCDs of Salvation
If you have not become a believer in Christ, please read through the
Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
A – admit our sins
B – believe His Son Jesus is our Redeemer
C – confess God as Sovereign Lord
D – demonstrate that commitment by making any changes needed in our lives to
live the way in which God has called us
The Disciple’s Job Description
.We gain knowledge. Hodge told us how Scriptures addresses knowledge. He wrote that it “… is not mere intellectual apprehension; it includes the proper apprehension not only of the object, but of its qualities; and if those qualities be aesthetic or moral, it includes the due apprehension of them, and the state of feelings which answers to them.”
To me, that makes it heart knowledge over head knowledge. We need to intimately know Jesus as God and as Man. We need to personally know the benefits of salvation: justification, adoption, sanctification, and eternal life.
Resource
Glossary
If we do not make the knowledge heart knowledge, we have not admitted our sins and are still separated from God.
The worldview way is to accumulate knowledge so that we can explain creation and predict the future. But we do that to show we don’t need God.
We need knowledge of Christ as that gives us knowledge of God. We have to understand Jesus’ sacrifice for us — what He did and the reasoning behind it.
Disciples are called to forsake world knowledge. We are to use our knowledge to be obedient to the all-powerful God.
That means we have to go against our flesh. The flesh is our human nature.
We are to want to change our characters — and then work to do it. We should know that our nature before conversion follows Satan.
We win with Christ.
- “In him we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Col. 1: 14 CSB).
- “He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit” (Ti. 3: 5 NASB).
- “And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering” (Rom. 8: 17 NLT).
Making the Connections
Yes, Jesus has the authority to require those who submit to God to forsake everything. “Jesus came and told his disciples, ‘I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth’” (Mt. 28: 18 NLT).
There are two reasons Jesus has this authority. He is our Creator, and He is our Savior.
- “All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made (Jn. 1: 3 ESV).
- “For you have given him authority over everyone. He gives eternal life to each one you have given him” (Jn. 17: 2 NLT).
I can just hear worldview people jumping up and down screaming. They have so many objects to this.
- There is no reason why Jesus shouldn’t ask us to submit to Him. He has created us and saved us.
- We are not entitled to anything just because we are made in God’s image.
- No one is making them submit to God, but those who do not will have to pay the consequences for their refusal.
We have to remember a couple of things. God provides for us.
God promises to restore us. “Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; today I declare that I will restore to you double” (Zech. 9: 12 ESV).
I don’t think it will always be a strict double restore. Yes, Job got double of the kids and livestock restored.
I think we could be restored to a different job that has double the satisfaction. Or the reward will be waiting for us in Heaven.
God promises to bring those who submit to Him to Heaven. That will be more than a double portion.
How Do We Apply This?
Winslow told how how we need to use our knowledge to know Jesus.
- Know Jesus as God.
- Know Jesus shows us the Father.
- Know Jesus as our Redeemer.
- Know Jesus as provider of the Holy Spirit.
Resource
Miller told us that we must come as “… an empty handed, empty hearted sinner to Christ.”
Resource
What else do we have to do?
- Grow in grace and knowledge
- Be humble
- Read His Word
- Fellowship with like-minded believers
- Seek God
Searching for and Seeking God
Hearing His Word (Rom. 10: 17).
Reading His Word (Rev. 1: 3).
Praying to Him (Heb. 4: 16).
Studying His Word (Ac. 17: 11).
Meditating on His Word (Ps. 1: 1-2).
Memorizing His Word (Ps. 119: 11).
What we are forsaking is sin. We are gaining a character like God’s.
We are gaining eternal life.
Father God. We thank You that You forgive us of our sins. We pray that we will help us to forsake that which is not in Your Will. We want to have Your character. Amen.
What do you think?
Leave me a comment below (about this or anything else) or head over to my Facebook group for some interactive discussion.
If you don’t understand something and would like further clarification, please contact me.
If you have not signed up for the email daily or weekly providing the link to the devotions and the newsletter, do so below.
If God has used this devotion to speak with you, consider sharing it on social media.
Great post! Thank you for sharing this!
You’re welcome. Glad you liked it.
Pingback: Diligently Forgetting Sin and Focusing on Godliness – Seeking God with Elaine
Pingback: A Ministry of Love – Seeking God with Elaine