Foundations of Truth

Guest (Male): You're listening to Foundations of Truth, the radio and podcast ministry of Firm Foundations. Our mission is to help you build your life on the unshakable foundation of God's word. Rooted in scripture, anchored in the grace of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Each week, Dr. Timothy Mann opens the Bible to bring clarity, conviction, and encouragement for everyday life. Here now is Dr. Timothy Mann.

Dr. Timothy Mann: There are many perspectives today about what it means to be a Christian. Some would say, "I grew up going to church. That means I'm a Christian." Some would say, "I took church classes and was confirmed as a Christian by my church when I was 12 years old."

Some would say, "I prayed the sinner's prayer and asked Jesus into my heart at Vacation Bible School when I was seven years old. That means I'm a Christian." Some others still would say, "I try to follow Jesus' example and be good to people. That means I'm a Christian."

It's popular today to say that, "I am declaring God has given me prosperity and health. That's what makes me a real Christian. My faith is activating the spiritual realm for my breakthrough to success. That proves that I'm a Christian." Other questions that come to mind would be: how do I live as a Christian? Is it just a private part of who I am? Does it mean that I occasionally attend a church service? Does it mean that I'm a good American? Does it mean that I have success as a Christian?

The most important question, though, is: can I have a biblically healthy Christian life? A lot of confusion exists today. So we're going to spend some weeks examining different aspects, essentials of a healthy Christian life. And we begin today in Matthew chapter 16. Turn your Bibles to Matthew chapter 16, verses 24 through 28.

The context of this particular passage of scripture in Matthew 16 is that Jesus and his small group of men are in Caesarea Philippi. They are there where pagans worshiped the false god of Pan. It was known locally as the gates of hell. Jesus is at that place and he's having a conversation with his men and he asked them, "Who do men say that I am?" They give all the different answers from John the Baptist, Elijah, others say some of the prophets.

He says, "Who do you say that I am?" Peter makes his great declaration, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus said, "You didn't come up with that on your own. The Father revealed that to you." Then he begins to tell them some things that they didn't like hearing about what was going to happen. That had to do with he's going to go to Jerusalem, he's going to suffer many things from the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed and be raised on the third day.

Peter took it upon himself to try to pastor the Son of God and tell him, "No, that's not the way we need to do this. Far be it from you that anything like that would ever happen." The Lord at that point turned to his main man and called him the devil. He said, "Get behind me, Satan. You're an offense to me. You don't even know what you're talking about." Then we come to this passage in verses 24 down through 28. We're going to read all of it.

The Bible says, "Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man will come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he will reward each according to his works. Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.'"

Essentials for a healthy Christian life. First essential of a healthy Christian life is to be a genuine follower of Jesus. That's the first essential: to be a genuine follower of Jesus. This is to be an actual Christian. Being a follower of Jesus is being a Christian. Let's examine this passage a little bit more in detail. Beginning in verse 24, Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone desires to come after me." If anyone desires to come after me. The old King James translates the verse, "If any man will come after me." In other words, if anyone wants to be a Christian. If anyone wants to be saved. If anyone wants to be with me. If anyone wants to be forgiven and be in my kingdom. That's what he's saying. If anyone desires to come after me.

When Jesus began his public ministry after being baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan and then being tempted of Satan in the wilderness, the Bible says in Mark chapter 1 and in Mark chapter 4 that he began to preach openly and he began to preach indiscriminately. This was his message: the time has come, the kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe in the gospel. This urging, this declaration by the Son of God was for anyone and everyone.

Jesus invites anyone and everyone into the kingdom of God. Do you believe that? Jesus invites anyone and everyone into the kingdom of God. There are some prerequisites, but it's an open invitation. It's an urgent invitation. It really even has the sense of a command. It has the sense of: do this and be in the kingdom. He explains it more in detail to this small group in Matthew chapter 16. I'm sure glad this morning that Jesus said "anyone," aren't you?

If anyone desires to come after me, it doesn't matter where you're from. It doesn't matter your background. It doesn't matter your past. It doesn't matter your financial status. It doesn't matter your education. It doesn't matter how good you've been or how bad you've been. It doesn't matter your pedigree or lack thereof. If you desire to come after Jesus, he welcomes you in. If you will and you want to be a follower of Jesus, he says, "Come on. Come on."

There are some things that have to be real in your life and I want you to know what they are up front. But if you want me as your Savior and Lord, it'll so be worth it. Listen, an essential to a healthy Christian life is being a Christian on Jesus' terms. Being a Christian on Jesus' terms. Not on your terms. Not on what terms the culture says. Not on the terms of what some so-called preacher or Bible teacher says, but what the Savior of the world himself says.

It really only matters what he says about anyone wanting to come after him because he is the one who was born of a virgin. He's the one who was and is perfect and sinless. He's the one who brought the good news of salvation. He's the one who opened deaf ears and gave sight to the blind and made cripples to walk and commanded creation to obey him, raised the dead, and forgave sins on the spot. He is the one who died on the cross as a perfect sacrificial substitute for sinners, got up out of the tomb with a new glorified eternal body, victorious over death and the devil.

He is the one who spent 40 days showing himself to be alive by many infallible proofs to over 500 eyewitnesses and then ascended back to the Father where he sat down and now he empowers and rules and reigns over his church. That's the Jesus who is speaking right here. That's the Jesus who's talking. And really, it only matters what he says about being a Christian. Jesus is speaking here to anyone who wants what he has to offer. He offers real life. He offers eternal life.

He offers life beyond this temporary life. He offers you a present and a future kingdom. He offers you salvation and forgiveness. He offers you a future reward. He is saying that these prerequisite items in Matthew 16 belong together as a composite picture of what being a Christian, of what being a genuine follower of Jesus is all about. All three are necessary. All three are necessary.

Guest (Male): You're listening to Foundations of Truth, the teaching ministry of Firm Foundations Ministries. Our mission is to help people build their lives on the truth of scripture in a world filled with confusion and compromise. If this program is strengthening your faith, would you consider partnering with us? You can give and find more resources at firm-foundations.org. That's firm-foundations.org. Now back to today's message on what it truly means to follow Jesus. Here's Dr. Timothy Mann.

Dr. Timothy Mann: So if I'm to be a genuine follower of Jesus, what does that look like? What does that mean? According to this passage, according to what Jesus said, first of all, you are to be a follower of Jesus by saying no to yourself. You're to be a genuine follower of Jesus by saying no to you. Jesus said, "If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself." When we think about what it means to deny ourselves, we are at once brought to a radical distinction here between a Jesus-oriented life and a life of unrepentant self-seeking.

Self-seeking is the opposite of self-denial. The problem with self-seeking is that it has been the essence of sin from the beginning. The word deny here, "if anyone desires to come after me, let him deny." It's come to mean something different today. The word deny does not mean to act as if it does not exist. We use deny that way a lot. That's not what this means. It doesn't mean to act as if it does not exist. The word deny here means to forsake, to renounce, to reject, to refuse, to do without. It means to subdue, to disregard oneself and one's interest.

Very simply, it means to say no. To say no. But note here, the call is not to say no to some behavior or no to some thing, but to say no to self. To say no to self. This correlates to Jesus saying, "The kingdom of God is at hand, repent." That's what it correlates to. Repent means to turn. There is a legit change of mind that results in a change of will. It means putting aside self-righteousness, putting aside self-indulgence, putting aside everything that belongs to you.

Your self-seeking desires, your self-seeking ambitions, your thoughts, your self-seeking dreams, your self-seeking possessions. It means that I'm not going to follow after those things that flow out of self anymore. In the original Greek language that the gospel was written, the word deny is actually in a tense which means that the person enters a new state or a new condition. It means let him at once begin to deny self. Let him at once begin to deny self.

I am to be a genuine follower of Jesus by saying no to me, to the old self. If you have a genuine desire to come after Jesus, God will give you the desire and the power to repent, to deny yourself. Self will rise up and demand its way, but you say no once again, and again, and again, and again. It just keeps on going. Have you denied yourself? Are you denying self today? That's what it means to be a Christian according to Jesus. Being a follower of Jesus by saying no to self is what this is all about.

Not only that, being a follower of Jesus is not only saying no to self. It starts with just "no to me" and then it means other things in real life terms. Being a follower of Jesus means saying no to self, but being a follower of Jesus also is this: you be a follower of Jesus by trusting him enough to say yes to the cross. Not only are we to say no to self, but we're also to say yes to Jesus in faith, which is what taking up our cross involves.

Remember as I told you, at the beginning of Jesus' public ministry, he said repent, kingdom of God is at hand, and repent and what? Believe the gospel. Believe the gospel. That's not just mental belief. The Greek word for believe has the idea of firmness or commitment. Believing the gospel to the degree that you are firmly committed to the gospel. What is the gospel? The gospel is that Jesus died in the place of and for sinners and was raised from the dead to give eternal life.

That is the good news of the kingdom of God. This is not just intellectual belief. Jesus is saying, "Believe in me to the degree that you want to come after me and take up your cross. Believe in me to the degree that you want to come after me and take up your cross." People in Jesus' day knew what it meant to take up a cross. They saw scores of criminals bear the cross to the place where they were executed. Anyone carrying a cross was a dead man walking.

The cross does not mean merely bearing your particular hardship in life. How many of you have ever heard somebody say, "That's just my cross to bear"? Bearing the cross does not mean simply bearing your particular hardship in life, such as poor health or unemployment or a wayward child or an unsaved spouse or financial hardship or whatever. The Greek word for that is called life. That's called having problems. The cross is always an instrument of death, not just an object to bear or carry.

To take up the cross means to fully identify with Christ in his rejection, his shame, his suffering, and his death. It means saying in saving faith, "Yes" to the gospel of Jesus to the extent that your life as you once knew it is now over. It means I am saying yes to taking up the cause of Jesus. It means I am willing to die for the gospel and the Savior. It means I am trusting him for my salvation and I believe the gospel and believe in him so much that I'm all in even if it means the cross.

I'm all in even if it means the cross. Jesus said that's what being a Christian means. That's why today we're having that ocean baptism. That's why believer's baptism is special and important for a follower of Jesus because immersion in the water is the public way to symbolically be marked as one who is dying to self and taking up their cross as a Jesus follower. It means my life is no longer mine. Cross bearing is difficult, but it means in saving trust, saying yes to Jesus as his follower. Have you been willing to say yes to the difficult parts of following Jesus? Have you said yes to taking up the cross? Are you saying yes to him now? Because that's what he said is a prerequisite to being his follower. Saying no to self and saying yes to Jesus.

If I'm going to be a genuine follower of Jesus, what has to happen? Well, you also be a follower of Jesus by actually following Jesus in your life. I know this is deep this morning; it's going to be hard for some of you to get a hold of. You be a follower of Jesus by actually following Jesus in your life. He said, "If anyone desires to come after me, look, if you want to be a Christian, if you want to be saved, if you want to be my follower, deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me."

Being a Christian or becoming a Christian is not simply a door to be entered, but it's a path to be followed. The follower of Jesus proves that his or her discipleship is genuine by following that path to the end. The word follow has the idea of seeking to be in union with or in the likeness of. It is following Christ, seeking to be just like him. Again, this is not a passive behavior, but it's an active commitment and walk.

It is energy and effort. It is action and work. It is going after Christ with zeal and energy, striving and seeking to follow in his footsteps no matter the cost. It's following Jesus as Lord. That's the sum of the Christian life. Following Jesus as Lord. That's the sum of the Christian life. Not following self-loves, not following self-rule, but Jesus as your first love and his rules as the best rules for living. It is giving up our own selves as Lord. It is saying Jesus is Lord and living like you mean it.

Saying Jesus is Lord and living like you mean it. That's good preaching right there. Saying Jesus is Lord and living like you mean it. As I was studying this over the last few days, it occurred to me, I think the Holy Spirit of God showed me this, helped me with this, it occurred to me that perhaps the four clauses in verse 24 all say the same thing. And the keyword is not cross or deny or follow, but the keyword is "me." Come after me. Follow me. Who's King: you or Jesus? Who's King? Is he really in your life?

This "follow me", "come after me" was Jesus' primary evangelistic invitation if you read the gospels. "Follow me." Jesus never came up to anyone and said, "Ask me into your heart." He never came up to anyone and said, "Pray to receive me as your Savior." He never said that. Instead, he called on people to repent, believe, and follow him. Repent, believe, and follow him. This is not a one-time event. This is a pattern of life. It is ongoing. You keep repenting, you keep believing, you keep following.

It's not a one and done. Have you followed Jesus? Are you following Jesus? Are you observing his commands? Are you obeying his commands? Is he leading your life? That's the question. Is he leading your life? Saying no to yourself, saying yes to Jesus and the cross, and actually following him in your life. This is the first essential of a healthy Christian life: actually being a Christian. When the cost of being a Christian is put in these terms, which is the teaching of Jesus Christ himself, any sane person ought to ask whether this is a good investment or not because the cost is high.

The cost is high. Those who follow Jesus will be rewarded by Jesus when he returns in glory with his holy angels. Deprivations and sorrows here, but rewards in the kingdom of heaven. Here a cross, there a crown. How can you reasonably suppose that you can come out on the short end by following Jesus? Matthew chapter 10 verse 37 and 38. Listen carefully to what he said. "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."

I think we could put grandson or granddaughter in there. I don't want to add to Jesus' words, but that's the implication. "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." Genuine repentance, genuine faith, genuine followership matter to Jesus.

Listen also to what Jesus said in John 12 verse 25 and 26. He said it this way: "Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him."

The genuine follower of Jesus is willing to pay whatever price faithfulness to the Lord requires. The genuine follower of Jesus is willing to pay whatever price faithfulness to the Lord requires. I will say to you the opposite, I'll put it in a negative way. If you are not willing to pay whatever price faithfulness to the Lord requires, you are not a genuine follower of Jesus. That's according to what he said. That's his terms, not mine. And he said, "The Father will honor you."

Are you saying no to self? Are you saying yes to Jesus and taking up the cross? Are you actively following Jesus in your life? Maybe today is the day that you begin. It is absolutely essential. Your eternity depends on it. It's absolutely essential.

Guest (Male): You've been listening to Foundations of Truth, the podcast of Firm Foundations Ministries with Dr. Timothy Mann. Today's message reminds us that following Jesus is not casual. We're called to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow him. To hear more messages like this or to support our ministry, visit firm-foundations.org. And remember: whoever loses his life for Jesus' sake will find it. That's from Matthew 16. Join us next time on Foundations of Truth with Dr. Timothy Mann.