What does it mean to deny self or renounce all we have? Deny self of what? We battle self and desires all the time that are not pleasing to God. Some of this is temptations from Satan and some of it comes from our sinful nature. Our culture waters down the cost of following Christ and living to honor and glorify God. Our culture would say that serving God and denying self means giving up Sunday morning and attending church. Following Christ is not one morning per week activity. It is not a one hour per day daily devotional. It is so much more than this. The cost (if it is truly a cost) is heart, mind, and soul deep. It is a true desire and choice to live for Him. Denying self is to stop seeking what pleases my interests and start understanding and doing that which honors and glorifies God. Deny self for how money is spent, how thoughts are fermented, how time is utilized. Denying self is a daily battle that can easily be lost. Check your heart – what are it’s desires?
Matthew 16:24
Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul
Matthew 4:10
“‘You shall worship the Lord your God
and him only shall you serve
2 Timothy 2:12
if we endure, we will also reign with him;
if we deny him, he also will deny us
Luke 14:29
So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple
Psalm 49:7
Truly no man can ransom another,
or give to God the price of his life,
for the ransom of their life is costly
and can never suffice