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Does Jesus Require Us to Give Up Our Lives in Order to Gain Eternal Life?
Did
Jesus warn His followers that they must be willing to give up their physical
lives in order to live forever?
According to Matthew 10:38, Jesus warns His true followers that total
commitment is expected of them, including laying down their lives if necessary.
In order to explain verse 38 better, it’s helpful to quote the verses just before it and after it as well in order to put it in context: “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who has found his life shall lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake shall follow it” (Matthew 10:37-39).
Notice
that Jesus expects us to love Him more than any other person on earth,
including our closest family members.
We are to put God first, and in this context, it’s worth remembering
that Jesus is God (John 1:1-3, 14; Hebrews 2:8). Likewise, when we compare the two “Great Commandments,” we have
to love God more than our neighbors.
The first one says in part, “You shall love the Lord your God with all
your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your
strength,” but the second one “merely” commands by contrast, “You shall love
your neighbor as yourself.” (See Mark
12:30-31).
Can
our commitment to God conflict with our duties to our families? It’s indeed possible, if obeying or
following what family members tell us to do conflicts with God’s law. Although John and Peter said this
specifically in the context of being told by government leaders (here, the
Jewish leadership as found on the Sanhedrin, their ruling council under ruling
Rome’s greater power), the principle applies generally to all our human
relationships compared to our relationship with God (Acts 5:29): “We must obey God rather than men.” For example, if an unconverted husband
orders his Christian wife to not go to church, she shouldn’t follow that
command even though Scripture does generally tell wives to obey their husbands (Ephesians
5:22-24). It’s necessary to show our
greater love for God by obeying Him even when it costs us a lot materially,
psychologically, mentally, or emotionally in this life with other people. It’s also important to realize that the term
“cross” here would mean not just the ordinary nuisances, tests, and trials of
life, but among the worst possible that could cost us our lives. The “cross” was an instrument of
excruciating death for rebels, murderers, and other criminals in the hands of
the ancient Greeks and Romans.
Likewise, Christians one day may once again face being put into jail
cells or face execution if they affirm their faith before intolerant government
officials. This has happened
extensively in many Communist and Muslim countries, and it still does
today. People who profess the name of
Christ publicly are at a risk of being killed in northern Nigeria and North
Korea.
Now
Matthew Henry, the bible commentator, has a useful analysis of the meaning and
application of this section of Scripture.
(See p. 1664 of the one-volume edition). We shouldn’t be drawn away from Christ by our love for our family
members (or other people, including friends).
We also have to be willing to give our comfort and safety in order to
serve God if He requires it of us. We
have to expect that just as Christ endured many trials and tests, which finally
climaxed in His death by crucifixion, we may have a similar life before dying
as well. We should be willing to endure
those trials, temptations, and tests with a similarly good, God-focused
attitude just as Jesus did. It should
also encourage us, as we endure suffering in this life, to remember that Jesus
Himself endured the same kinds of troubles before we would ultimately be given
glorious eternal life.
The
key summary point is that we need to be willing to give up happiness in this
life in order to have eternal life if God requires it of us. Of course, He may choose to not do so,
depending on His plans for each person who chooses to serve Him. Notice that Christianity demands total
sacrifice from all of its human disciples (John 12:25; Luke 9:23-25) even as it
correspondingly demanded a total sacrifice from God also, when Jesus laid down
His life in order to redeem humanity through a dreadfully costly and painful
personal self-sacrifice.
Notice
that the point of Matthew 10:37-39 is similar to what Jesus said in John
12:23-25, which deserves in this context some careful analysis: “And Jesus answered them, saying, ‘The hour
has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth
and dies, it remains by itself alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. He who loves his life loses it; and he who
hates his life in this world shall keep it to life eternal.’”
Notice
that self-sacrifice in Christianity has a transformative, ultimate goal. Self-destruction isn’t for the sake of
self-destruction alone. God wants
something positive accomplished by our self-sacrifice as an outcome. Here, Jesus’ own sacrifice makes our
salvation possible, the “fruit” in question.
Let’s
cite cases of Christians who died instead of denying Christ when they were
martyred. For example, Ignatius, the
bishop of Antioch, was condemned to death by being eaten by lions around c. 110
A.D. by the Roman emperor Trajan. Ignatius
responded by saying: “I am God’s wheat,
ground by the teeth of beasts, that I may be found pure bread.”
Similarly,
Polycarp, the bishop of Smyrna, was told by the Roman governor: “Swear, and I will set you free: execrate Christ.” Polycarp replied by saying: “For eighty-six years, I have been
His servant, and He has never done me wrong:
How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?”
During
the Roman persecution campaign in Gaul (modern France) during the time of the
Emperor Marcus Aurelius (161-180 A.D.), some Christians who had denied Jesus
later affirmed him when questioned again, thus ensuring their own deaths. Those who were Roman citizens were beheaded
while the rest were handed over to the beasts.
The Catholic Church historian Eusebius described how they had determined
their fates: “These were individually
examined with the intention that they should be released, but they confessed
Him and so joined the ranks of martyrs.”
This
problem could return in our lifetimes when the European Beast power arises
again once again (Revelation 13), which would be some form of the European
Union when it turns dictatorial and warlike.
This kind of discussion is not just theoretical stuff in the end times
for believers today. True, tests are
not necessarily spectacular like this.
Some would do well in such cases, but would fail at long, slow, nagging
issues that deny pleasure in this life as we obey God’s law. They may get worn down by trials, tests,
temptations, and troubles in life, and fall away like the third class of
believers described in Christ’s parable of the sower (Matthew 13:7, 22).
It’s
important to realize what I can call the hedonistic calculus argument for
obeying God’s law isn’t always right.
That is, we can maximum pleasure and minimize pain in life by obeying
God. For example, often we will tell
young people that doing drugs, getting drunk, having sex outside of marriage
may give some pleasure in the short term, but results in more pain in the long
run. If you get dreadfully drunk at night,
you will have a painful hangover the next day, thus it wasn’t worth it. So we’ll conclude that we’ll get happiness
from obeying God’s law now than if don’t.
However,
suppose this isn’t the case? For
example, a single or divorced person who can’t marry or get remarried lawfully
(according to God’s law) may well end up with less pleasure in life than if he
or she did (re)marry unlawfully. So
then, are we willing to still obey then, despite it doesn’t help us in this
life, but hurts us? Do we have the
faith to believe the next life really exists then? Those considering baptism should keep in the mind the deadly
serious issues of the faith required for obeying God’s law out of
self-sacrifice.
Let’s
remember in this context the near sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham. His greatest earthly desire was to have an
heir by Sarah, and he had one miraculously.
But then God tested him on this crucial potential weak point. Abraham passed the test since he proved that
he was willing to give Isaac up. (See
Genesis 22:2, 12, 16; James 2:21-23).
So
in conclusion, we as Christians have to be willing to sacrifice ourselves as
Jesus did. We must be willing give up
pleasure in this life while obeying God’s law when God requires this of us. It could be in a spectacular test in the
years to come: God may require us to
die at the hands of the government if it demands that we deny Jesus as our
Savior. Or the trial could be a long,
nagging, life-long test in which some earthly goal that would give us happiness
can’t be had by us lawfully if we wish to obey God. True, He might not require such a sacrifice of us. But we had better be ready if He does!
Eric
V. Snow
Click here to access
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essays that explain Christian teachings: /doctrinal.html
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notes for sermonettes: /sermonettes.html
Why does God Allow Evil?
Click here: /Apologeticshtml/Why
Does God Allow Evil 0908.htm
May Christians work on
Saturdays? Click here: /doctrinalhtml/Protestant
Rhetoric vs Sabbath Refuted.htm
Should Christians obey
the Old Testament law? /doctrinalhtml/Does
the New Covenant Abolish the OT Law.htm
Do you have an immortal
soul? Click here: /doctrinalhtml/Here
and Hereafter.htm
Does the ministry have
authority? Click here: /doctrinalhtml/Is
There an Ordained Ministry vs Edwards.html
Is the United States the
Beast? Click here: /doctrinalhtml/Are
We the Beast vs Collins.htm
Should you give 10% of
your income to your church? Click here: /doctrinalhtml/Does
the Argument from Silence Abolish the Old Testament Law of Tithing 0205 Mokarow
rebuttal.htm
Is Jesus God? Click
here: /doctrinalhtml/Is
Jesus God.htm
Will there be a third
resurrection? Click here: /doctrinalhtml/Will
There Be a Third Resurrection.htm
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