Self-denial and spiritual commitment in Matthew 16:24-28

Matthew 16: 24-28

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Self-denial is not a fashionable thing to preach today. People wish to think that they can 'have it all' and try to relegate their spiritual life to the weekends. But committing one's self wholly to Christ is a seven day a week, not a Sunday activity. It is a constant pastime of setting an example for others -- friends, family, and strangers -- and is not merely about rhetoric or occasional church attendance. In Matthew 16: 24-26 Christ says that one's spiritual life and attention to God must come before all else -- the demands of secular life cannot be subsumed to religious demands. Christ means we cannot put aside our morality when we are engaged in daily decision-making. God's Kingdom can be here on earth, provided we act as if He is always present in every moment of our earthly lives. When Jesus preached his version of Judaism he was speaking to a population that was struggling to find the right way to live: should spirituality be something merely rooted in a national faith, and associated with a narrow range of activities designated as sacred, or was it required of the believer to infuse spirituality into every facet of life? Jesus, of course argues the latter, which is what made his belief system so radical. Jesus argued that the interior life of the believer is more important than the exterior trappings of faith. Everyday life must be infused with thoughts of spirituality and humility. In his "Sermon on the Mount" above all else Jesus stressed that the poor, meek and the despised would inherit the Kingdom of God through their inner spiritual wealth

Section 3: Personal reflection

The idea that one cannot 'buy' one's way to heaven accumulating material goods is an important idea. All too often people believe they have 'done right' by their families if they provide their families with material rather than spiritual wealth. They use working hard in their jobs as an excuse to shut spirituality out of their lives. They may use the need to make a living as a justification for living an unethical life. But a life without a spiritual grounding is bankrupt, because it focuses on what is transitory, rather than what is eternal. The soul has no price: "What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul" (Matthew 16:26).

D. Martin Lloyd-Jones, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, (Banner of Truth, 1971), Best Commentaries, http://bestcommentaries.com/book/4043/studies-in-the-sermon-on-the-mount-d-martin-lloyd-jones/

Donald Senior, The Gospel of Matthew, (Abington Press, 1997), Best Commentaries, http://bestcommentaries.com/book/4802/the-gospel-of-matthew-donald-senior/