Mark 8:34-38

Mark 8:34-38 - Then He called the crowd to Him along with His disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels."

What a passage. There is so much meaning that I know that I don't comprehend it all.

"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it."

He is calling us to crucify our earthly flesh, our earthly desires. Crucify as in to put to death. Death meaning as they exist no more, that they no longer live in us. This would seem to be a single action and when we crucify our flesh; that from that point forward we would no longer have our sinful nature. For me then the question is; have I not fully crucified my earthly flesh? Because I still have my sinful nature. Or is this an action that l must do each and every day? Am I to pick up the cross each and every day and crucify my earthly flesh over and over and over again? Either I am not good at the crucify bit or we are to continually work on it for our entire life.

"What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?"

We've all heard and read the first question. I want to focus on the second. What can a man give in exchange for his soul? This is Jesus blowing a huge hole in the whole "works" to be saved doctrine. It doesn't matter how good we think we are, how much time and effort or money we put into the Church, helping the poor, etc... These things do not save our soul. Only the acceptance of the amazing gift of Jesus saves our soul. The "works" we do, the money we give the time and effort...these are the things we do because Jesus saved us. These are the things we do to help promote the gospel so that others can know Jesus as well.

"If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels."

Do you water down the gospel, the Word of God because you find it offensive? Are you letting the influence of this world change the meaning of the word of God? Do you think that the adulterous and sinful generation that Jesus talks about is long past? Just look around at the world we live in. If we are watering down the truth, by denying sin is sin, by saying it's ok to do one thing or the other when the Bible is clear...Jesus is and will be ashamed of you when he comes again.

There is only one thing, one person who matters. Jesus. Jesus. Jesus. Put Him first and foremost in your life, follow his commands; so on that day you will hear the words "Well done, good and faithful servant."