What rights?

 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me." Matthew 16:24

There are some rights cited by the Preamble to the United States Constitution. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, and they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights. Among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Thomas Jefferson wrote these words nearly 250 years ago. America, for much of her history, lived by these principles. Life and Liberty were guaranteed. Happiness was not, only that her people would have the opportunity to pursue it. However, in recent years, our culture has slipped to where there are some who demand to be happy. They have a "right" to all the stuff everyone else has, without paying the price needed to obtain such things. 

So it is with the world. Men, apart from a relationship with God, can only go after vanity. However, to those following Christ, there is another reality: We understand that we do not have a right to ANYTHING, even our own lives. Do our lives reflect this? When we pray, are we praying for alleviation of suffering, or some worldly prize? Do we know that, in the end, we are but "unprofitable servants"? 

What does Jesus mean when He invites us to deny ourselves? Some well meaning groups have implemented strict rules as a way to deny the desires of the flesh. But this effort is also an effort of the self. Others have said, "We are free to do anything we want", but Paul warns us that we have died to the flesh, how then can we fulfill its desires? Neither law, nor an anything goes lifestyle works. This is a mystery. How can we no longer be under the law, but under grace? 

I am very much concerned about the state of the church in the West. We have preached a homocentric, shallow, gospel. Just pray the sinner's prayer, and be saved from God's wrath. Such preaching, however, seems unlikely to convert anyone. Jesus never said, "Pray this prayer and be saved". Rather "Ye must be born again". A prophet from North Carolina recently wrote that he believes the majority of Western Christians are not, in fact, born again. Why? Their lives do not reflect the character of their Lord. Some have insincerely prayed that prayer, but most prayed with the best of intentions, and try their best to live a "Christian life". However, in reality they are still trusting in their own strength, having never entered the Rest promised in Hebrews chapter 4. They may understand correctly that Jesus is the only way to Heaven, but they have no intimate knowledge of Him. 

So back to the top. Jesus invites us to deny ourselves. This, however, is the one thing we cannot do as long as we live. Our operating system is wired for self preservation. This system is what the Bible calls the flesh. Religion, as well meaning as it may be, is still flesh. Living a "Christian Life" is not difficult, it is IMPOSSIBLE! Paul makes it clear: The only way to live a life pleasing to God is to DIE. "I have been crucified with Christ, nevertheless yet I live, yet not I but Christ lives in me: And the life that I live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me". Galatians 2:20. 

How then to enter in? How then to be truly born again? We must pray for revelation. Once God opens our eyes, and we see that His goodness is leading to our repentance, our hearts are laid bare before Him. We can then understand that though we have absolutely NOTHING to offer Him and that He Himself is the righteousness that we need to live before Him. We know that being born again means that we have abandoned any hope of ever being anything except vessels, able to be filled. We rest because we know that what God requires of us He has already provided (I Pet 1:3). 

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