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what in the world makes us so embarrassed about the gospel I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified you let's open the Word of God now to the chapter of Mark's Gospel as we continue through this wonderful historical account of the life and ministry and teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ mark chapter 8 verses 34 through 38 the concluding portion of this eighth chapter let me read these verses for you as we establish the setting for our message and he summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them if anyone wishes to come after me he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me for whoever wishes to save his life will lose it but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it for what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul for what will a man give in exchange for his soul for whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation the son of man will also be ashamed of him when he comes in the glory of his father with the Holy Angels this very familiar portion of Mark's Gospel is paralleled as you know in the ninth chapter of Luke and in the sixteenth chapter of Matthew and elements of it appear in other places in the Gospels it is in a very real sense the diamond in Matthew the diamond in mark and the diamond in Luke for which everything else is the setting this is the crown jewel of our Lord's teaching because this is in his own words the invitation to sinners to follow him into his kingdom where there is forgiveness blessing joy peace and eternal life if you have been in the church at all you know that invitations have been common in churches thousands of invitations are given by preachers every week I'm afraid however that few of them are repeats of this archetypal this model invitation by our Lord Jesus Christ this invitation deals a deathblow to man centered self centered invitations that are so common in churches for all of the deviant invitations to come to Jesus for health or wealth or prosperity or healing or psychological fulfillment or self-image boosts or trouble-free living as if Jesus is somehow the one who wants nothing more than to give you everything you desire for all of those this is the true antidote this is the true cure this is the true invitation that shatters all the false invitations and it comes right from the lips of our Lord Himself the invitation is gracious because no sinner deserves such an invitation no sinner deserves such an opportunity because we are all unworthy of salvation we are all unable to do anything that can gain salvation or earn salvation it is an undeserved invitation at the same time that it is a gracious invitation it is also a severe invitation it has overtones of judgment for those who don't receive it it is not only a gracious invitation and a severe invitation with its implications for those who reject it but it is a difficult invitation this call of our Lord to salvation demands a us the sacrifice of everything that we hold near and dear now i remind you that what we hear from our Lord in Mark's Gospel should sound familiar because this kind of invitation is consistently what our Lord gives throughout his ministry and therefore is recorded as such throughout the Gospels for example if you go back to Matthew chapter 10 and verse 32 you hear him say therefore everyone who confesses me before men I will also confess him before my father who is in heaven but whoever denies me before men I will also deny him before my father who is in heaven do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth I didn't come to bring peace but a sword for I came to set a man against his father and a daughter against her mother and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law and a man's enemies will be the members of his household he who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me and he who doesn't take his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me he who has found his life will lose it and he who has lost his life for my sake will find it you find as well in the Gospel of Luke similar words that repeat the nature the quality of this kind of invitation listen to what our Lord says in verse 57 he's going along a road someone said to him I'll follow you wherever you go jesus said the foxes have holes birds of the air have nests the son of man has nowhere to lay his head and he said to another follow me but he said Lord permit me first to go and bury my father and he said to him allow the dead to bury their own dead but as for you go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God another also said I will follow you Lord but first permit me to say goodbye to those at home jesus said to him no one after putting his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God it is a gracious invitation it is however a severe in invitation in what it threatens to those who reject it but it is a hard invitation as we hear repeated in those passages that call for a complete breach if necessary with those who are most intimate family and friends in the 51st verse of Luke 12 we read do you suppose that I came to grant peace on earth I tell you no but rather division for from now on five members in one household will be divided three against two two against three they will be divided father against son son against father mother against daughter daughter against mother mother-in-law against daughter-in-law daughter-in-law against mother-in-law the gospel by its very nature is a call to an invitation that when received brings division in a family in the 22nd verse of Luke 13 he says he was passing from one city and village to another on his way to Jerusalem and somebody said to our Lord Lord are there just a few who are being saved and he said to them strive to enter through the narrow door for many I tell you will seek to enter and will not be able it's not easy it's difficult it's hard in fact in one place Jesus says it's humanly impossible in the fourteenth chapter of Luke verse 25 large crowds were going along with him and he turned and said to them here's another form of the same invitation if anyone comes to me doesn't hate his own father mother wife children brothers sisters yes and even his own life he cannot be my disciple whoever doesn't carry his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple you better count the cost he gives an illustration which of you when he wants to build a tower doesn't sit down calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it otherwise when he's laid a foundation and is not able to finish all who observe it begin to ridicule him saying the man began to build and wasn't able to finish or another illustration what King when he sets out to me another King in battle will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand to an the one coming against him with 20,000 or else while the other is still far away sends a delegation and asked for terms of peace so then none of you can be my disciple who doesn't give up all his own possessions you have to let go of them in the case or if the will of God is such that he asks that these kinds of strong demands are always associated with the invitations of Jesus and that is why in Luke 16:16 it says the law and the prophets were proclaimed until John since that time the gospel of the kingdom has been preached and every one is forcing his way into it it's not easy it takes passion zeal determination born of the work of a sovereign God and launched and initiated and empowered by the Blessed Holy Spirit to break through self-will self love love of sin love of iniquity in to the place of submission and obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ in the seventeenth chapter again of Luke verse 33 whoever seeks to keep his life will lose it whoever loses his life will preserve it in John 12 25 it says the same thing if you don't hate your own life you can't be my disciple the reason I go through all of those is because I want you to understand this is consistently the way our Lord gave an invitation consistently the way he gave it now let's go back to our text at the end of the eighth chapter of mark here is this demanding threatening and yet gracious invitation it is a paradoxical invitation always it is winning by losing it is gaining by divesting and there are three elements that are wrapped up in this invitation I want to give them to you the principle the paradox and then the punishment the principle the paradox and the punishment this text is paralleled in Matthew 16:18 to 28 Luke 9 23 to 27 let's look at the principle here it comes in verse 34 he summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them if anyone wishes to come after me he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me that is really unmistakably clear that is not obscure language that is not veiled language that is absolutely matter-of-fact simple clear language it suits the fact that our Lord always wanted as verse 32 says to state matters plainly and that is as plain as it gets well he summoned the crowd with his disciples for his disciples this of course was the moment to capture them all now that they understand who he is remember the confession back in verse 29 Peter answering on behalf of all the disciples you are the Christ Matthew gives the full statement you are the Christ the Son of the Living God they now have affirmed clearly who Jesus is they know he is deity they know he is the Messiah he is the Messiah he is the son of the Living God so you have in verse 29 a full confession and now the question comes how does one enter into an eternal relationship with the Son of God with the Messiah he is the Messiah he will bring his eternal Kingdom he will build his church as he said in the same occasion as recorded by matthew death will not stop him how does one then enter into this kingdom now before we answer that question just to back up and try to understand they have just come to the conclusion that he's the Messiah this is a very very high moment this would be the pinnacle moment of their experience with him over two years of date today experience leads to this culminating realization revealed to them by God himself in heaven this is their crowning moment you are the son of God you are the Messiah that's a euphoric moment with that confession comes the full anticipation that they would immediately begin to experience the kingdom that they would begin to see him fulfill the promises made to Abraham the promises made to David the glories of the promises of the kingdom that are delineated through the prophets and even the wonders of the new covenant given to Jeremiah would spell out the salvation of the nation and through that nation extending the power and the presence and the purposes of God across the face of the earth they have big visions of what the kingdom means now that they have acknowledged the Messiah however fast on the heels of their confession verse 31 our Lord immediately says that he must suffer many things be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed and after three days rise again this is so inconceivable so objectionable so far from what they expect that Peter rebukes him and the Lord has to say Peter you're letting Satan talk through your mouth get behind me Satan you're setting your mind on not setting your mind on God's interest but man's their interest was in the glories of the kingdom God's interest was in the sacrifice of Christ on the cross for sin so they have gone from the highest high to the lowest low they have just affirmed that Jesus is their Messiah that he is God he is of the same nature as the true and living God they anticipated the kingdom but before they could begin to imagine what that might be like they are all that he will suffer and die this makes they're following him all the more difficult it is in that context that he offers this invitation he pulls them together with the whatever crowd was there at the time and says here's the invitation you now know that the way to glory is through suffering you will soon know that the way to the crown is going to be through the cross and by the way I will suffer to enter into my glory and so will you so will you if anyone wishes to come after me it is set in that context if you want to come after me in spite of the fact that I'm going to be killed in spite of the fact that it's not going to be an instant Kingdom that your own interest would desire God has a different plan and a different path if you want to come after me if you want to follow me there are three ingredients to that commitment let's look at them number one self-denial he said to them verse 34 if anyone wishes to come after me he must deny himself he must deny himself the verb is a very strong verb in the Greek language means to disown it means to refuse to associate with it actually means to refuse to be in companionship with it means to separate and the one you are separating from is yourself you are disdaining any further association with the person that you are the natural depraved selfish impotent sinful self in whom dwells no good thing you are invited to disassociate yourself with all that you are all that you have all that you are related to all that you desire all ambition all possessions all people all self we'll all plans all agendas to full self-denial to refuse to associate any longer with the person that you are sort of like Peter later denying Jesus and saying I don't know the man this is what our Lord says you have to say about yourself I don't know that man this is true conversion this is the first essential of becoming a Christian the heart sees in itself only what is undesirable the heart sees in its desires and ambitions and plans and purposes and relationships something to be rescued from it wants its self rescued from itself self is cast away everything submits to Christ to his purpose his plan his will his people a person who desires to hold on to self cannot make this commitment that's why Paul says libyans 1 for to me to live is Christ Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ that is to say I died I live but really it's Christ living in me it is exchanging my life for his life my will for his will my plans for his plans subjecting not only myself to the spiritual power of Christ to change me to subject myself to the gift of forgiveness by grace but it is to subject myself to the lordship of Christ in utter rejection of self-sufficiency and self-will Paul the Apostle in Philippians 3 this is a good illustration is a very devout and religious Jew he says I was circumcised the eighth day of the nation Israel a tribe of Benjamin Hebrew the Hebrew is as to the law a Pharisee as to zeal a persecutor of the church as to the righteousness in the law blameless very devout very religious but whatever things were gain to me not the things that were bad but all the good religious things those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ you give away not only the bad of your life but you give away the artificial good of your life all the supposedly noble things and you say with Paul and Romans 7:18 I know that no good thing dwell in my flesh this is the hard-hitting attitude of the Beatitudes isn't it blessed are the poor in spirit that's the foundation of all movement toward God that's the foundation of all salvation the foundation of all virtue to say you're poor in spirit means I'm spiritually bankrupt spiritually bankrupt unless we know how doomed we are how sinful we are how incapable we are of pleasing God unless we know that in us dwells no good thing unless we realize that only to borrow the experience of Sampson out of the carcass can come the honey will never be saved it is the sense of our deadness the sense of our alienation the sense of our hopelessness that drives us to this despair where we are willing to give up our cells Psalm 34:18 says the Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit salvation is for the spiritually crushed the spiritually bankrupt psalm 51:17 the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit a broken and a contrite heart O God thou wilt not despise you know there are so many invitations given to people that just completely ignore this but this is the very essence of what our Lord taught it's the attitude of the publican in Luke 18 who pounds his chest won't even lift his eyes to look toward heaven he feels so unworthy so crushed under the weight of his sin and says God be merciful to me a sinner a parable or two that tie into this are found in Matthew 13 44 to 46 a man finds a pearl of great price and in order to purchase it he sells everything he has a man finds a treasure in a field and in order to purchase it he sells everything he has that's the kind of language we have here you give up everything for Christ you're willing to release all relationships all possessions all ambitions all desires doesn't mean the Lord is going to strip you of everything like that but if you're willing for him to strip you then you're serious about how important how valuable how priceless the gift of salvation and forgiveness really is when you deny yourself you take Christ on his terms not yours the proud sinner sure are proud sinners will take Christ and their own pleasure Christ and their own plans Christ and their covetousness Christ and their immorality but the crushed and the broken and the poor in spirit are so desperate that they will give up anything and everything for what Christ provides and by the way then that becomes a way of life as the disciple grows upward like a tree this is your experience in mine as believers we grow upward like a tree in the knowledge of God our roots grow down ever blur more self-denying as we go deeper I love what Arthur pink said growth in grace is a growth downward it is the forming of a lower estimate of ourselves it is a deepening realization of our nothingness it is a heartfelt recognition that we are not worthy of the least of God's mercies and the longer you're a Christian and the longer you grow up in knowledge the more you grow down in humility it is a constant ever-increasing rejection of sinful realities that even remain in us after we're saved self-denial then becomes a life pattern we say no to sin and yes to the truth of God and the Spirit of God the second aspect of this is cross bearing self-denial is followed by cross bearing if anyone wishes to come after me he must deny himself and take up his cross luke 14 27 whoever does not come after me and carry his cross cannot be my disciple you can't be a disciple unless you take up the cross now what does this mean this isn't some mystical kind of notion by the way Jesus hasn't yet told them he's going to die on a cross he's told them he's going to die but he hasn't told them he's going to die on a cross so they don't know that yet when he here refers for the first time to a cross it's their crucifixion that he's talking about not his and what is he referring to the possibility and the reality that they may die they all understood what it meant to be crucified thirty thousand people were crucified in that era of time around Jerusalem and throughout Israel it was very very common there were occasions when 800 Jews were crucified another occasion when 2,000 Jews were crucified they understood exactly what that and they understood that the condemned people commonly carried their own cross to their execution by the way this was invented by the Persians and became a capital punishment form used by the Romans never ever by the Jews the Jews were very familiar with it because it was used in the world surrounding them and since Jesus had not told them about his own crucifixion they wouldn't read anything mystical into this they would simply understand the fact that this is suffering Jesus had said look I am going to suffer I'm going to die and if you want to follow me get ready because the same may be required of you this is the message of suffering this is the promise of God that when you come to Christ there will be a price to pay you say no to self first and then you say no to safety second you are willing to come to Christ even if it costs you your life it may not it may but it's the willingness that we see desired here how important is your salvation how important is eternal life how important is the forgiveness of sin it ought to be so important that if you give up your life to gain this it's a very good bargain we are prepared to suffer the indignities of a condemned criminal for the cause of Christ self-denial up to and including persecution suffering rejection and for some people even death true conversion the offer of the gospel the offer of forgiveness joy peace eternal life is so precious that no personal suffering no personal sacrifice is enough to turn us back our savior offers us such a great gift of eternal life that we would pay any price the idea is to live in devoted abandonment as it were to Jesus Christ so that even death is not too high a price well I think we understand that and you know we're looking at each other saying wait a minute none of us is being persecuted none of us is being in prison none of us is suffering none of us is dying on a cross but some of our brethren across the world are everyday by the hundreds if not thousands in places where death is the world's judgment on confessing Christ fear not if that happens first Peter 4 says that when that moment comes to those who are martyred the Lord gives grace sufficient grace abundant grace overwhelming grace and we all know some of the most wonderful testimonies ever given by believers through the history of the church were given at the point of their death now look all suffering is not a cross all suffering is not a cross effort people say my mother-in-law's my cross no she's not mother mother-in-law might be a pain in the neck but she's not your cross and by the way she may feel the same about you to be honest but all suffering is not a cross the wicked suffer don't they I mean look at the world we live in it's a world of tragedy isn't it I don't know maybe it's as I grow older I just see people as pathetic I people suffer so many ways people who know not the Lord at all now Christians don't have any corner on suffering people suffer everywhere look throughout the world and many non-christians suffer far more severely than many Christians so all suffering is not a cross the wicked have much suffering and many sorrows but no cross what is the cross it is suffering that comes because of a faithful connection to Christ Christ bearing his cross leads all his disciples bearing their crosses one immense procession leading to crucifixion we don't come to Christ only for the benefits we receive but for the cross we bear because that cross leads to glory it's the cross before the crown the pain before the game it is the purging process Peter says after you have suffered a while the Lord make you perfect James says count it all joy when you fall into various trials because they perfect your faith the cross bearing of the believer the suffering is what prunes us cleans us drives us to the Lord deepens us enriches us makes us ever increasingly the true faithful disciples in Luke's account of this he adds a word daily take up your cross daily this becomes a way of life for a believer to be rejected by the world to be scorned by the world to be rejected by mother father sister brother parent child all those things that we read earlier but nonetheless the life of sacrifice we live gladly for like Jesus the joy that is set before us hebrews 12:2 hymn writer said must Jesus bear the cross alone and all the world go free no there's a cross for everyone there's a cross for me the consecrated cross I'll bear till death shall set me free and then go home my crown to wear for there's a crown for me discipleship means rejection it means persecution in the family among friends and for some it means even death self-denial cross bearing third aspect in this principle as loyal obedience and follow me literally in the original language let him be following me not some singular action but a way of life let him be following me and the word here acolo that can really mean imitate let him be imitating me the following is so intense that we literally mimic everything our Lord does we imitate what he does if we say first John 2:6 says we if we say we are Christ if we say we love Christ then then John says do what he did walk as he walked obedience then becomes the cynic wa non of discipleship if you if you follow me if you obey my word in the language of John 8:31 32 you are my real disciple or John 15 if you're my friends you do what I command you or James chapter 1 don't be a hero only but a doer or Matthew chapter 7 it's the hearers only whose religious house crashes the doers survived the judgment because they've built on Iraq so the life pattern then in response to this invitation is a pattern of self-denial cross bearing and loyal obedience loyal obedience kind of like three things necessary for a trip first you say farewell to self second you pick up your baggage a cross which is a symbol of the fact that you're going to suffer and then you start on your journey follow me it's that simple the principle is clear then the paradox so important paradox in verse 35 for whoever wishes to save his life will lose it but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it the message of the verse is very simple whoever lives only to serve you earthly physical life to preserve his life in ease and comfort and self-indulgence will lose his spiritual eternal life but whoever is willing to give up his earthly physical life denying self bearing the cross following and loyal obedience to Christ will save his eternal life that concept we saw repeatedly in the teaching of our Lord read earlier better to lose everything you have in this world to gain everything in the world to come right rather than to forfeit the world to come for this world and again for my sake is the key phrase whoever loses his life for my sake there are people who are philanthropic sometimes amazingly philanthropic who want to give up everything because they have a desire to satisfy their guilty souls and do to be charitable to others because it relieves certain guilt feelings they have there are people who want to be philanthropic because they are compassionate but at the end of the day the kind of sacrifice we're talking about is for my sake in the cause of Jesus Christ no other cause is in view here may mean rejection in the family it may mean hostility from others it may even mean martyrdom for Paul it meant martyrdom for a Pafford itis it meant sickness for many it means rejection but for all who give up their life for the cause of Christ they gain that which is eternal and that's again verse 36 what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul what value in that like the rich man who built bigger barns and the message came to him you fool tomorrow you die what does it gain what does it matter if you gain the world that's the ultimate by the way hyperbole nobody could actually gain the world that's hyperbole what would it matter if you owned the whole planet sum total of all earthly riches if you had it all and I guess it's the sum total of human delusion that the more possessions you have the happier you will be what does it matter if you forfeit your soul because your soul will live forever and verse 37 says what will a man give in exchange for his soul what would you give in exchange for your soul I'll tell you my answer anything and everything anything in everything does anything as valuable as your eternal soul no if there's anything in this life that I can give up to gain my eternal soul in the glories of heaven I can't give it up fast enough take it Lord whatever it is earthly gain the world earthly pain suffering pale compared to gaining my eternal soul and so there is a principle here and there's a paradox giving up to gain finally there's the parousia we'll call it or the punishment whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation the son of man will also be ashamed of him when he comes in the glory of his father with the Holy Angels if you're ashamed of Christ if you're ashamed of the gospel if you're unwilling to come to him if you're a part of this adulterous and sinful generation adulterous in the spiritual sense tied to the worship of other things than the true God the spiritual adultery you you have removed your affections wholly from the one worthy of them as if he were your husband God sees you as an unfaithful wife and if you have connected yourself prostituted yourself with the things of this world you will face one day the Son of God the Son of man when he comes in his glory the glory of his father with the Holy Angels and you having been ashamed of him he will be ashamed of you when he comes that's not just future tense by the way it literally in the Greek says he is about to come he is about to come in the full display of the glory of his father divine attributes fully manifest with holy angels who are the agents both of service and judgment and Matthew adds in his account of this Matthew 16:27 that he will find he will come and will then repay every man there's a payday coming there's a payment coming judgment based on whether you were ashamed of the gospel and rejected it or whether you embraced it this is the simple clear unmistakable invitation that our Lord gives and for every one of us it is a demand laid upon our hearts that requires a response jesus said whoever is not for me is against me against me if you are ashamed of him and his words him being Christ his words being the gospel the revelation of Scripture and you hold on to this adulterous and sinful Ganesha generation people that is the sort of national identity and international identity and historical identity of all the unbelieving world the Son of Man will be ashamed of you when he comes and when he comes as in full glory in judgment and you will be sentenced to an eternal hell scripture is abundantly clear on that I close with a reference to that because that's how the text closes it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you and to give relief to you who are afflicted the believers the second Thessalonians 1 and to us as well when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire there's the glory of God in judgment there the Angels just as they are referred to in mark and what is he coming to do dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus these will pay the penalty of eternal destruction away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power when he comes to be glorified in his Saints on that day and to be marveled at among all who have believed for a testimony to you was believed to this end also we pray for you always that our God will count you worthy of your calling he's coming in flaming fire and in judgment both to reward those who have denied themselves taken up the cross followed him thus not been ashamed of him and his gospel and to punish those who were ashamed and rejected question is what is your soul worth what's it worth it is eternal you will live forever in heaven or in hell the invitation of Christ is give up everything now and gain heaven forever Lord we thank you for this simple straightforward clear word from the lips of our Blessed Lord we thank you that there is no mistaking the gospel invitation we thank you that you have by your power enabled us to do what we otherwise could not do that the human heart trapped in its own wretchedness in its own love of often love of sin cannot extricate itself but you by the powerful glories of the gospel the call to salvation and the energizing power of the Holy Spirit giving a regenerating life have been able to overwhelm and overpower the natural controlling dominating power of sin they break the sinners will to crush the sinner and leave that sinner realizing how spiritually bankrupt he is and longing at any price at the level of any sacrifice for a Salvation that is forever thank you Lord for that great work done in our hearts through Christ we pray in his name amen you