| Matthew 16:25 25 For whoever will save his life, shall lose it; and whoever will lose his life for my sake, shall find it.3 [if you live after the flesh (the sinful nature), you will die; but if through the Spirit you mortify (put to death) the deeds of the body, you will live. Rom 8:13. To find the superior life of God, you must crucify your selfish life on the inward cross of self-denial, and thereby find the Life of God in union with God. You lose your life at the conclusion of your crucifixion of self, with many many acts of commanded repentance, several trials with suffering, and then the baptism of fire, which is the baptism of death. For detail on this baptism of fire and death, see the footnote to Matthew 3:11-12 on this site.] | John 12:25 25 He who loves his life shall lose it; and he who hates his life in this world shall keep it to life eternal.2 [From the Word of the Lord within: "Few will be saved because of their love of life." It is not easy to lose your life. The narrow way to the superior, eternal life of God is hard; as kingdom-dwelling Isaac Penington wrote: "the way is long, the travel hard, the enemies and difficulties many, and that there is need of much faith, hope, patience, repentance, watchfulness against temptations, etc., before the life (the superior, eternal life of God) in them arrives."] | Mark 8:35 35 For whoever would save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it.2 [Those who live in the flesh (sinful nature) cannot please God. Rom 8:8. You must mortify all sin in your body to save your soul and obtain the superior life of God, making Christ the Lord of all your words and deeds, while on earth, and then forever. You lose your life at the conclusion of your crucifixion of self, with many many acts of commanded repentance, several trials with suffering, and then the baptism of fire, which is the baptism of death. For detail on this baptism of fire and death, see the footnote to Matthew 3:11-12 on this site] | Matthew 10:39 39 He who finds his life shall lose it; and he who loses his life for my sake shall find it.4 [To find the superior life of God, Christ must put off the body of the sins of your flesh by circumcising your heart, destroying all sin in you; which occurs by you following Jesus on the inward cross of self-denial, to thereby save your soul to live the superior Life of God in union with God. If you live after the flesh (the sinful nature), you will die; but if through the Spirit you mortify (put to death) the deeds of the body, you will live. Rom 8:13.] | Luke 17:33 33 Whoever tries to preserve his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. [If you love your current life, and avoid the inward cross of self-denial, you will lose the small measure of the life of God, the light of men, that all men have who come into the world; but if you bear the inward cross of self-denial to lose you selfish, fleshly life, you will preserve and increase the life of God in you, to be restored into the spiritual image of God, which Adam lost for all men in the garden of Eden. You lose your life at the conclusion of your crucifixion of self, with many many acts of commanded repentance, several trials with suffering, and then the baptism of fire, which is the baptism of death. For detail on this baptism of fire and death, see the footnote to Matthew 3:11-12 on this site.] | 2 Timothy 2:11 11 This is a faithful saying: If we have died with him, we will also live with him. [To have died with the Lord is to have had your sinful nature mortified and crucified on the inward cross of self-denial, and to have undergone the baptism of death: Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death, Rom 6:4; and being buried with him in the baptism of death, you will be raised with him. Col 2:12. Like the resurrection of Lazarus, after you undergo the baptism of death, the Lord calls you by name to "come forth." This is not to be presumed; it must be experienced. You lose your life at the conclusion of your crucifixion of self, with many many acts of commanded repentance, several trials with suffering, and then the baptism of fire, which is the baptism of death. This death is not a figure of speech. For detail on the baptism of fire and death, see the footnote to Matthew 3:11-12 on this site.] | Luke 9:24 24 For whoever desires to save his life shall lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. [When you continually deny yourself and obey the Lord's commands, you will eventually die to your selfish life on the inward cross of self-denial, and thereby save your soul to live Life in union with God. You lose your life at the conclusion of your crucifixion of self, with many many acts of commanded repentance, several trials with suffering, and then the baptism of fire, which is the baptism of death. For detail on this baptism of fire and death, see the footnote to Matthew 3:12 on this site.] | Romans 12:1 1 I beseech you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service and worship.1 [At the conclusion of the death of our selfish, sinful nature, we are washed on the inside with holy water, we are burned with the Holy Spirit's baptism of fire, the blood of Jesus is sprinkled in our consciences, (the door to our heart), and we offer the incense of prayerful praise, joy, and thanksgiving for being freed from the darkness of this world to enter the kingdom. These are the events that you must see, feel, and experience before your belief has yielded salvation.] | Romans 7:9 9 For I was alive apart from the law once; but when the commandments came, sin was alive again, and I died.4 [Paul, (when still a Jew), had been strictly observing the law of Moses; but then Paul began to hear more commands from the Spirit that were tailored to the circumstances of his life. These new commandments caused him to realize that sin was still alive in his body; sin was alive again. One then dies and becomes dead to the law by hearing the Spirit's many commands that restricts the fleshly mind, words, and actions; and if those spoken commands are heeded and obeyed, one gradually loses their fleshly life, dying daily, until their spirit and mind are crucified. Christ is then revealed in their body. The Lord condemns sin in your flesh by revealing it to you and commanding your repentance, (the commandment came); sin of which you are often not even aware, (sin lived); with your acknowledgement of His revelations being true, you obey His commands; by grace He then removes even the desire for that sin from your heart. This process is repeated, first with your actions, then your words, and then your thoughts; until you have crucified your carnal mind and sinful nature, (I died). Now you are free from the law, walking under total rule of the Lord to your thoughts, words, and deeds. (Through the law, I died to the law.) From the Word of the Lord within: "There are no laws when you are under complete control of the spirit; you walk in love in obedience as prompted — you don't walk in restricted flesh."] | |