Bought and Paid for By Christ on the Cross
Matthew 10:32-39
32 “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven. 34 “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to turn “‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law— 36 a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’ 37 “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38 and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
This Sunday we will start a new sermon series titled – The Cost of Following Jesus. This whole week I have been looking at the above passage – preparing us for that series.
Monday we searched the first part of this passage – “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven.” We mentioned that most of us like to hear Atta boy/girl when we have done well. We asked the question: how do we acknowledge God before men and women?
Tuesday we searched the second verse in this section of Scripture and saw what happens when we do not acknowledge God before people. It is a part of this passage I’m sure some wish Jesus hadn’t included: “But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.”
Wednesday we looked at a few verses: 34-37 – “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” For I have come to turn “‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law— a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’ “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;
Thursday we covered verse 38: and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
Today we close this study with a look at verse 39: Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
The whole concept behind being a disciple of Christ is that we have been bought and paid for by the blood of the Lamb.
1 Corinthians 6:18-20 – 18 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. 19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.
All we do in this life – once we have been saved – bought and paid for – is to live for Jesus. Being bought and paid for by Christ means we are His – our life is to be lived for Him – rather than live for ourselves.
2 Corinthians 5:15 – And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
Just something to think about today as you go on your way.
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The Signs of a Christian – Denying Self and Following Christ
Matthew 10:32-39
32 “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven. 34 “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to turn “‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law— 36 a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’ 37 “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38 and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
This coming Sunday we will start a new sermon series titled – The Cost of Following Jesus. This whole week I have been looking at the above passage – preparing us for that series.
Monday we searched the first part of this passage – “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven.” We mentioned that most of us like to hear Atta boy/girl when we have done well. We asked the question: how do we acknowledge God before men and women?
Tuesday we searched the second verse in this section of Scripture and saw what happens when we do not acknowledge God before people. It is a part of this passage I’m sure some wish Jesus hadn’t included: “But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.”
Wednesday we looked at a few verses: 34-37 – “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” For I have come to turn “‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law— a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’ “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;
Today we will cover verse 38: and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
There is a debate in the Christian church that is probably as old as the church itself. The two extremes would be a) salvation is free and we do nothing to get it or keep it, and b) we earn or work for our salvation and to keep it. I certainly do not believe we earn our salvation – it is a free gift – Ephesians 2:8-9 – 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. Having accepted that we cannot earn our salvation – there are signs that we have received this free gift. We need to persevere as Scripture says – we need to show forth a changed life – we need to have a new heart. Changes must be evident – or the possibility that we haven’t been saved arises. Here are some Scriptures to consider today.
2 Corinthians 5:17 – Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
Ezekiel 36:26 – I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
John 15:5 – “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
Hebrews 10:35-36 – 35 So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. 36 You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.
Today’s passage says anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Taking up our cross is denying self and doing the things God would have us do – in other words – loving obedience to God more than life itself. Isn’t that what Jesus did when He faced His cross for us?
Just something to think about today as you go on your way.
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Loving Jesus More Than Others
Matthew 10:32-39
32 “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven. 34 “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to turn “‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law— 36 a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’ 37 “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38 and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
This coming Sunday we will start a new sermon series titled – The Cost of Following Jesus. This whole week I have been looking at the above passage – preparing us for that series.
Monday we searched the first part of this passage – “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven.” We mentioned that most of us like to hear Atta boy/girl when we have done well. We asked the question: how do we acknowledge God before men and women?
Tuesday we searched the second verse in this section of Scripture and saw what happens when we do not acknowledge God before people. It is a part of this passage I’m sure some wish Jesus hadn’t included: “But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.”
Today we are moving on with verses 34-37 – “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” For I have come to turn “‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law— a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’ “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;
When I was younger – I didn’t get this one. I mean – it didn’t sound like Jesus to me. I thought of Jesus as a peacemaker – one who would strive to connect families. God gave me to my family and then He gave me my family – my wife and children. Another Gospel even use the word hate when referring to our feelings toward those we love – compared to the love we are to have for God.
What Jesus is trying to say – IMHO – is that our love for Christ – for God – must be so intense – so great – that we would choose serving and loving God over even our family – who we are called to love as well. Another passage that brings this truth to us is found in Luke:
Luke 12:49-53 – 49 “I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50 But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is completed! 51 Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. 52 From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
Think about your walk with Jesus. Now think about how you courted your spouse or how you love your children or how you love your parents. Our love for God is supposed to be so much more! So much in love with Jesus we should be that it may cause family members – who do not love Jesus – angry or upset with us.
In the day this was written – some families would have committed Jews and from that family one member might choose to follow the Messiah – Jesus – and that would cause a divide. Others came to know Jesus in the Gentile world and that divided their family. Today – your decision to follow Christ may cause friction in your family if they are not Christians as well. Loving Jesus is our highest calling – Mark 12:30 – Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.
Just something to think about today as you go on your way.
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Whoever Doesn’t Acknowledge God
Matthew 10:32-39
32 “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven. 34 “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to turn “‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law— 36 a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’ 37 “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38 and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
Coming this Sunday – a new sermon series – The Cost of Following Jesus. This week – for my devotional thoughts – I want to break down this passage – preparing us for the series. I believe that this will be fruitful for us as we search for what it costs to follow Jesus over the next few Sundays.
Yesterday we searched the first part of this passage – “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven.” We mentioned that most of us like to hear Atta boy/girl when we have done well. We asked the question: how do we acknowledge God before men and women?
Today we want to face the second verse in this section of Scripture and see what happens when we do not acknowledge God before people. It is a part of this passage I’m sure some wish Jesus hadn’t included: But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven. Believe me – we do not want to be disowned by Jesus before the Father.
Some passages that share this same truth are: 2 Timothy 2:12 – if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; and 1 John 2:23 – No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.
So the question might be – how do we disown God? We disown God whenever we choose something or someone over God or when we do not give God the credit He deserves. Examples might be when Peter denied that he knew our Lord in the courtyard after Christ was arrested. Another example might be finding time for our stuff – hobbies and projects – while not finding time to read the Bible regularly – attending worship – giving a proper tithe – spending time in prayer. We seem to find time to do what we deem important – we find the funds to buy what we think is important. Most all of us are living beyond our needs and living in the world of our wants – and the question might be – are we giving God the time, glory and honor He deserves? Are we giving God leftover time and surplus possessions?
None of us – I hope – would simply deny Him – but we do so with our actions when we are not on fire for Him. Jesus faced the cross for us – He was sold out – standing up for us. Maybe – as Pastor David said Sunday – something free – like our salvation – often fails to be appreciated. We take our salvation for granted. Read this passage about those who are not on fire for Jesus. Revelation 3:14-16 – 14 “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. 15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm — neither hot nor cold — I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
Just something to think about today as you go on your way.
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Whoever Acknowledges God!
Matthew 10:32-39
32 “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven. 34 “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to turn “‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law— 36 a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’ 37 “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38 and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
This coming Sunday we will begin a new series – a three-part sermon series – on the cost of following Jesus. This week I want to break down some thoughts in this passage that will be fruitful for us as we search for what it costs to follow Jesus.
Jesus – talking to His disciples – was equipping them and giving them marching orders. He begins this section of Scripture with these words: “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven.”
Most if not all of us like to be acknowledged for doing a good job. As a child I can remember that my father’s Atta boys meant a great deal to me. To hear him say well done was a good feeling. I imagine that most of us would like to hear that from God the Father as well. Those whom the Father – the Master – gave a task to accomplish – and they did what was asked – got an Atta boy from Him.
Matthew 25:21 – “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
How do we acknowledge God before men and women? By the way we live – by where we set our heart (remember where your treasure is there your heart will be – Matthew 6:21) – by the way we worship and place God first in our lives – by our witness. What has stayed with me is this truth – anytime I sin – I have placed something above God in my life and I have not been a very good witness.
“Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven.” Let us think on ways to acknowledge God before men and women daily – that God might be glorified by our witness and our life.
Just something to think about today as you go on your way.
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