SCARCELY SAVED (John Newton)

The righteous are said to be scarcely saved (1 Pet 4:18); not with respect to certainty of the event, for the purpose of God in their favor cannot be disappointed, but with respect to their own apprehensions, and the great difficulties they are brought through. But when, after a long experience of their own deceitful hearts, after repeated proofs of their weakness, willfulness, ingratitude, and insensibility, they find that none of these things can separate them from the love of God in Christ, Jesus becomes more and more precious to their souls. They dare not, they will not ascribe anything to themselves, but are glad to acknowledge, that they must have perished (if possible) a thousand times over, if Jesus had not been their Saviour, their Shepherd, and their Shield. When they were wandering He brought them back, when fallen He raised them, when wounded He healed them, when fainting He revived them. By Him, out of weakness they have been made strong: He has taught their hands to war, and covered their heads in the day of battle. In a word, some of the clearest proofs they have had of His excellence, have been occasioned by the mortifying proofs they have had of their own vileness. They would not have known so much of Him, if they had not known so much of themselves.

Self-Denial: The First Lesson of Discipleship (Henry Mahan)

 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.