A Paradox of choices
Yesterday we looked at the exhortation of Jesus to His disciples in Matthew 16. See yesterday's post for this.
The expanded statement to be drawn from study of this passage is "Die to death in order to live to life". There is no ultimate self denial, but only the choice to live rather than die and what kind of self denial is that!
That is called grace and that is called surrender and that is called "God is able and I am not". Ever tried to get out of a Chinese finger trap? What seems like giving up and surrendering is actually victory and freedom.
The expanded statement to be drawn from study of this passage is "Die to death in order to live to life". There is no ultimate self denial, but only the choice to live rather than die and what kind of self denial is that!
That is called grace and that is called surrender and that is called "God is able and I am not". Ever tried to get out of a Chinese finger trap? What seems like giving up and surrendering is actually victory and freedom.
Find the expanded idea to die to death and live to life in Romans 6:10 in the example of Jesus...
“10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God.” (Romans 6:10, ESV)
The grounding statement in this Matthew 16 passage is found in verses 27. The whole passage hinges on the fact that Jesus is going to come and He will repay each person according to what we have done. See Romans 2:6-10 for a comparison...
“6 He will render to each one according to his works: 7 to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; 8 but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. 9 There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, 10 but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek.” (Romans 2:6–10, ESV)
There are two options in Matthew 16 and here in Romans 2 when we consider the coming of Jesus. Death or life. Attain the world or attain your soul. Seek yourself or seek God. Follow a lie or follow the truth. See the two options in Matthew 16-
Option 1 is in verses 24-25.
Deny yourself this life (later clarified to be "the world") and get some different life (eternal life). Get Jesus. Remember that Romans 6:23 says that eternal life is in Jesus.
Option 2 is in verse 26.
Protect "your life". Take the world. Lose your soul. Don't get Jesus.
The paradox of dying to live comes alive in Romans 2 (pun intended) as Paul writes about how the selfish people (one who obey unrighteousness rather than the truth) will receive wrath and fury but the other people (I guess the unselfish people) will receive glory and honor and peace. I will take door number two thank you! But look at what it says. How does it describe the "unselfish people"? They seek for glory and honor and immortality! That doesn't sound very self denying or unselfish, does it?
Or does this maybe reveal the paradox of Matthew 16 for us? Maybe Paul is taking out the "means" of the kind of self denial that Jesus is explaining in Matthew and jumping right to the "end" of the self denial that Jesus is talking about. Do you see it? Do we fail to see that the kind of self denial that Jesus is calling us to for eternal life is no denial at all? Do we see that it is merely denying ourselves the lies of the world and choosing the truth of what we receive in choosing Jesus?
If we choose to follow Jesus, the world sees us as denying ourselves of certain pleasures and freedoms. But the truth is that we gain ultimate joy and freedom! So we are called to give up the pretend happiness and hollow pleasures for the real deal. Give up the broken copy for the real Mccoy...
“11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Psalm 16:11, ESV)
So do we settle for the hollow and fleeting and unfulfilling joys of this world or do we go for the glory and honor and immortality in Jesus? If we live for His glory we honor God and we live forever.
So let us not be enemies of God by making ourselves a friend of this world...
“4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” (James 4:4, ESV)
But let us be rich toward God and enjoy eternity with Him with all that it offers in great excess to this life...
“21 So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”” (Luke 12:21, ESV)
As a wise man once said "You gotta do a little dying to do a little living!" Now let us die to self with joy and only in the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit knowing that we are surely not losing anything valuable but rather, we are gaining Jesus- and He is everything!
So important questions-
- How do I do it and in what power?
- When do I get the gain?
More on these to come...but until then-
“11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 6:11, ESV)
Soli Deo Gloria!
