Luke 9 :35"A voice came from the cloud, saying, "This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him."
Luke 9:21-26"Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone. And he said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels."
you have Jesus saying I am going to be crucified and raised to Life. THEN Jesus says " whoever wants to be my disciple MUST deny themselves, pick up their cross, and follow me" he is in essence saying I am going to lay down my life for you, if you want to be my disciple, you must lay down your life pick up your cross and follow me."
"the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."
" those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires."
colossians 3:5-6 "Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming."
1 peter 1:22" Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart."
Jesus " I am the way, the TRUTH and the Life" " by obeying the truth. " if you Love me obey my commands"
John 7:17 "Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own."
john 8:42-43 "Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me. Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say"
" the one who has my commands and keeps them, He is the one who Loves me"
the "commands" are the instructions like " get rid of lust at all cost, and practice purity in thinking. get rid of greed and practice giving to the needs of others. get rid of Lies and tell the truth, get rid of slander and encourage. get rid of anger and practice peace, get rid of the sinful nature and practice the nature of Jesus. this is what is meant by " lay down yourself, pick up your cross and follow me" the gospel is the death of a sinner and resurrection of Gods children. this is why its important to accept it as it is. " why do you call me Lord and do not do what I say?" Christians follow Jesus to the cross, noit naturally, but spiritually or inwardly. by choosing to lay down our self, pick up our "cross" and follow Jesus in order to die and be resurrected. we can haggle words till judgement day, but the words OF Jesus the Christ are the ones with the power to make the old die and the new come forth
2 Corinthians 5:14-15 "For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 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."
if you believe in Jesus, you no longer belong to yourself, you have another whom you Live after, His will, His way. you live your life for the one who died for you to give you eternal Life. he does not die for you, so you go enjoy your life and do as you will. He is Lord. He is your king and master now. He loves you, yes, but that does not remove His authority over you. He died that you will live your life TO honor Him, you honor Jesus by learning and obeying His word. like when someone " honors anothers wishes" it means you do what the person wanted you to do. Jesus gave His Life, and His spirit so that you would return His Love by giving your Life for His purpose. there is a reason He came and taught Gods will and said " obey my commands"
Luke 9:21-26"Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone. And he said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels."
you have Jesus saying I am going to be crucified and raised to Life. THEN Jesus says " whoever wants to be my disciple MUST deny themselves, pick up their cross, and follow me" he is in essence saying I am going to lay down my life for you, if you want to be my disciple, you must lay down your life pick up your cross and follow me."
"the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."
" those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires."
colossians 3:5-6 "Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming."
1 peter 1:22" Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart."
Jesus " I am the way, the TRUTH and the Life" " by obeying the truth. " if you Love me obey my commands"
John 7:17 "Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own."
john 8:42-43 "Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me. Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say"
" the one who has my commands and keeps them, He is the one who Loves me"
the "commands" are the instructions like " get rid of lust at all cost, and practice purity in thinking. get rid of greed and practice giving to the needs of others. get rid of Lies and tell the truth, get rid of slander and encourage. get rid of anger and practice peace, get rid of the sinful nature and practice the nature of Jesus. this is what is meant by " lay down yourself, pick up your cross and follow me" the gospel is the death of a sinner and resurrection of Gods children. this is why its important to accept it as it is. " why do you call me Lord and do not do what I say?" Christians follow Jesus to the cross, noit naturally, but spiritually or inwardly. by choosing to lay down our self, pick up our "cross" and follow Jesus in order to die and be resurrected. we can haggle words till judgement day, but the words OF Jesus the Christ are the ones with the power to make the old die and the new come forth
2 Corinthians 5:14-15 "For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 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."
if you believe in Jesus, you no longer belong to yourself, you have another whom you Live after, His will, His way. you live your life for the one who died for you to give you eternal Life. he does not die for you, so you go enjoy your life and do as you will. He is Lord. He is your king and master now. He loves you, yes, but that does not remove His authority over you. He died that you will live your life TO honor Him, you honor Jesus by learning and obeying His word. like when someone " honors anothers wishes" it means you do what the person wanted you to do. Jesus gave His Life, and His spirit so that you would return His Love by giving your Life for His purpose. there is a reason He came and taught Gods will and said " obey my commands"