SELF DENIAL PT.2

SELF DENIAL

Part 2

John 14:6

6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

I believe it is a necessary addition for us to look at the role of the soul as it pertains to this walk of fellowship with the Father. Does the soul have a role in salvation? I think this is a valid question. It is something worth our pondering. Once again let us turn to the scriptures and allow them to enlighten our obscurity.

Luke 9:23

23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

Truly, ‘self’ is an offence to God. When we are only mindful of those things that pertain to us, we can never love perfectly. Self will always be a stumbling block for the efforts of the Father to love through us. One may ask the question, “Is everything bad about my soul? Why is it that God would ask me to lay aside all my wants, desires, likes, dislikes, goals and agenda? I am sure these can fit in the agenda of God somewhere.” Well in answering this question, we must look to the inspiration of these identifiable qualities of your soul. Examine the root of these emotions, are they of God or of the devil? What do you want? Why do you want it? Who will receive glory? Who will it benefit and bless most? It goes without saying that the devil will always try to point us towards our self, and seek to steal God’s rightful glory. But once again the question may be asked, “What is self’s role (if any) in this Christian Faith?”

1 Corinthians 6:17

17 But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.

This is a concept that needs to be understood by the church. We have been joined to the Holy Spirit by our souls being totally submerged within it. This caused us to be physically one entity. One Spirit. This took away the individuality as it relates to the Son and God, they are now truly one. We are no longer living souls, we are spiritual beings. Self, therefore, refers to that which makes the soul peculiar from Christ. Truly the soul was in dire need of a savior. There is much that we have gained from being joined to the Holy Spirit. We have been transformed from being earthly creatures into spiritual creatures. We have been circumcised with the circumcision made without hands: in the putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ. The Holy Spirit remains in our flesh giving us power over sin. His presence also is a comfort to us in suffering and a succorer in times of need. His Spirit of truth guides our souls into all truth and convicts us of any sin, thus leading the way to heaven. All these are beneficial to the soul, however, what did God gain from being joined to us?

Romans 6:11

11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

We literally died at salvation. We have no right to the flesh. Our bodies belong to God. Therefore, there is no room for self as it pertains to the flesh. However, your soul has been brought alive by the Holy Ghost, to live unto God. This means that your death is only relevant as it relates to the flesh, but unto God you are alive. By the resurrection of our souls, God has gained Himself children that he can fellowship with. He is in them and they are in Him. Also, seeing it is the self-same Spirit in each believer, they are all made one, though they are many. Our bodies have given God a holy habitation, but our souls have granted Him Children of his kind, who truly love Him.

It is not the nature of a Son to rebel against God, or to be distinct from His character. No, a Son is equal with God. This equality simply means that God is given free course to live through the flesh, because there is no soulful restriction on Him. Hence, the soul can be tried and tested and proven worthy of the Kingdom. When someone chooses to allow Christ free course through them, this is what the Father defines as love. Truly there is no room for self in God, because self has been done away with at salvation. You are no longer an individual as the word ‘self’ describes, rather you are one with Christ. Now, whether there be likes, dislikes, goals, ambitions, or passions, they must be within the boundaries of righteousness.

In other words, when we walk in the Spirit there is nothing in our soul that is void of the influence of Christ. In whatever we do, let us do it unto the Lord. It may be my passion to cater to children; another may be passionate about helping the needy; another may simply have a passion for sports; and another may love to cook. All these may be peculiar to that particular soul. However, they are all done unto God. God gains the opportunity to experience the passions of the soul, the end result being fellowship. With that being said, there may be some likes and dislikes that we had even before we were saved. These may not necessarily be sinful; however, how can one say such a like is inspired by Christ when it existed before receiving Christ?

For example, one may love pancakes, is it that Christ loves pancakes? Choice and preference is given to the soul; however Christ establishes the boundaries of those choices and preferences. Take for instance, our homes; they serve as a boundary for our children at night. No matter how badly they would want to, we do not permit them to frolic outside by themselves. The walls of the house set the boundary for what they do. They can enjoy themselves within the house just as long as they don’t go outside. One may like to sit on the couch, another may like to read books or play with toys; that is alright with us, just as long as it is done within the house.

Likewise, Christ has established the boundaries as it pertains to sin and righteousness. As long as we stay within the boundaries of the faith, we are free to express preference within those boundaries. But to have likes or desires outside of the set boundaries is a sin. This means that though our preferences may be of our souls, they cannot be void of Christ. It is most necessary that we ensure that our passions are well within the call of Christ for our lives. If they are not, then we will oppose ourselves and become stumbling blocks in the lives of others. Let us never use our bodies or minds to serve sin, but they are alive unto God for His use and glory.