This is a series on sayings of the Bible about self.
Deny Yourself. To deny oneself is to think my self is worthless, that my own efforts are worthless—I have nothing to offer God in exchange for my salvation. The word Jesus uses (Mt. 16:21-28; Mk. 8:31-37; Lk. 9:21-27) is the same used in the passage where Peter denies Jesus; it means a dissociation with something. My self wants to “gratify the desires of the flesh” (Gal. 5:16-18; 1 Pet. 2:11), and I should deny that, or have nothing to do with it.
It is important to understand that Jesus does not mean what we usually think of as “self-denial.” By this we usually mean that we are giving up something. It is like how some Christians observe Lent, by giving up something, perhaps it is the giving up of a bad habit in life, or something really important (although this may be a good spiritual exercise). That is not what Jesus is talking about. He is not only concerned with what we do, but even more importantly what we are. Therefore he is not talking about denying ourselves luxuries or even necessities, but about “denying self” which is entirely different. Denying self means that we renounce our right to ourselves, the right to rule our own lives.
John MacArthur writes, “The self to which Jesus refers is not one’s personal identity as a distinct individual. The self of which Jesus is speaking is rather the natural, sinful, rebellious, unredeemed self that is at the center of every fallen person. To deny that self is to have the sincere, genuine conviction that one has nothing in his humanness to commend himself before God, nothing worthwhile to offer Him at all. It is only the person who realizes how poor he is (Mat. 5:3) who will ever know the riches of Christ. It is only the person who realizes how sinful and damned he is who will ever come to know how precious the forgiveness of God is. To be saved calls for a sinner to deny self so as to “lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and … be renewed in the spirit of [one’s] mind” (Eph. 4:22–23).
Deny Yourself. To deny oneself is to think my self is worthless, that my own efforts are worthless—I have nothing to offer God in exchange for my salvation. The word Jesus uses (Mt. 16:21-28; Mk. 8:31-37; Lk. 9:21-27) is the same used in the passage where Peter denies Jesus; it means a dissociation with something. My self wants to “gratify the desires of the flesh” (Gal. 5:16-18; 1 Pet. 2:11), and I should deny that, or have nothing to do with it.
It is important to understand that Jesus does not mean what we usually think of as “self-denial.” By this we usually mean that we are giving up something. It is like how some Christians observe Lent, by giving up something, perhaps it is the giving up of a bad habit in life, or something really important (although this may be a good spiritual exercise). That is not what Jesus is talking about. He is not only concerned with what we do, but even more importantly what we are. Therefore he is not talking about denying ourselves luxuries or even necessities, but about “denying self” which is entirely different. Denying self means that we renounce our right to ourselves, the right to rule our own lives.
John MacArthur writes, “The self to which Jesus refers is not one’s personal identity as a distinct individual. The self of which Jesus is speaking is rather the natural, sinful, rebellious, unredeemed self that is at the center of every fallen person. To deny that self is to have the sincere, genuine conviction that one has nothing in his humanness to commend himself before God, nothing worthwhile to offer Him at all. It is only the person who realizes how poor he is (Mat. 5:3) who will ever know the riches of Christ. It is only the person who realizes how sinful and damned he is who will ever come to know how precious the forgiveness of God is. To be saved calls for a sinner to deny self so as to “lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and … be renewed in the spirit of [one’s] mind” (Eph. 4:22–23).