Spiritual guidance powered by AI and grounded in Scripture
Your Question:
What if I lose my
Answer:
As a pastor, I've often reflected on the meaning of losing one's life, as Jesus teaches in Mark 8:35. To me, it's not about physical existence or even our soul, but about our self, our ego, our human personality. When we commit ourselves to Christ, we lose ourselves in a sense, but not our individuality. Our will is submitted to Christ's will, but we still remain who we are. The Scriptures promise that if we draw near to God, He will draw near to us. We must seek God with an open heart, and He will reveal Himself to us. This is the greatest assurance, as Jesus teaches in Matthew 7:7-8. We must not belittle man's achievements, but recognize that he is lost because he is separated from God, his true reference point, by true moral guilt. Our forefathers understood this, even though they believed man was lost, they saw his achievements as demonstrating that he is not junk. When we lose our life for Christ's sake, we will save it. This is not about gaining the world, but about finding our true self in Christ. As the apostle Paul writes in Philippians 3:8, "Whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things." This is the ultimate gain, to know Christ and be found in Him.
Sources:
biblical critical theory
christopher watkin
jesus on trial
david limbaugh
trilogy
francis shaeffer
god
j i packer knowing
basic christianity
john stott
historical reliability of the new testament
blomberg
reformed doctrine salvation
loraine boettner
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