What is the first lesson our Lord teaches His disciples? It is just this, "If any man will be my disciple, let him DENY HIMSELF;" that is, he will renounce his own wisdom, his own righteousness, his own plans and ambitions! He will be content not only to lie down at the feet of Christ as a "wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked sinner" to receive all mercy through free grace, but he will also count all personal, material, and fleshly ambitions but loss for Christ. sometimes the latter is harder to part with than the first! WHICH IS EASIER TO GIVE UP, my rags of righteousness for His robe of spiritual holiness or to give up my comfortable home and living and live by the gospel as a missionary or a preacher? WHICH IS EASIER TO PART WITH, my trust in works and law to save or to give up some of my money, lands, and treasures to help send the gospel to others and relive the needs of God's people? TO DENY MYSELF goes much deeper than idle doctrine; it reaches to those things which I treasure and trust to make me happy and comfortable in this world.
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