| Luke 9:23-24 23 And he said to them all, "If any man desires to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. [To follow is to be led by the Spirit. To be led, you must persistently and patiently sit in humble silence to wait on the Lord, as you listen for his word within your heart to speak to you; then you must obey Him. Self-denial occurs by obeying the Lord's commands you hear instead of your will, (His will, not your will); this is the inward cross of self-denial. First, He will lead you out of darkness to a sinless state; to then guide your thoughts, words, and works; which works show His glory and love to the world.] 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.] | Galatians 5:24,6:14 24 Those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh [the sinful nature] with its passions and desires [lusts and affections].6 [After your sinful nature has been put to death on the inward cross of self-denial, then you belong to Christ as you walk in love, following the Spirit, fulfilling the law; and then you receive an imputed righteousness. Having suffered on the cross, you no longer live the rest of your time in the lusts of men, but you live to the will of God, 1 Pet 4:1-2; which is to be obediently led and guided by the Spirit in thoughts, words, and deeds. From the Word of the Lord within: "The purpose of this website is to teach you how to carry your cross."] 14 But God forbid that I should boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world is crucified to me, and I to the world. [How could the world be crucified to Paul? It is the world that is within every man that Paul writes of being crucified, which world within George Fox wrote a detailed explanation, and which is the world in the Book of Revelation that is purged of Babylon and sin — or crucified. From the Word of the Lord within: "The world in every man is destroyed by the Lord. I am He who destroys the world."] | Matthew 10:38-39,16:24-25 38 He who does not take his cross, and follow after me, is not worthy of me. [To follow after Him is to expose yourself to the Lord's commands and then obey Him; to obey all of his commands, you must love the Lord more than you love your family; so, despite their opposition, you obey his commands — that is following Him. To follow Christ you must sit in humble silence to wait on Him as you listen for Him to speak to you from his word within your heart; when you hear Him, then you must obey Him. Self-denial occurs by obeying the Lord's commands heard instead of your will, (His will, not your will); this is to take the cross — the inward cross of self-denial. From the Word of the Lord within: "There are many that deny the cross and all that is necessary. He who is not on the cross is not worthy of me. The purpose of this website is to teach you how to carry your cross."] 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.] 24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If any man desires to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. [To follow Christ you must persistently (daily) and patiently go to Him to sit in humble silence as you wait on Him, listening and watching for his word within your heart; when you hear Him, then you must obey Him. To obey is to follow. Self-denial occurs by obeying the Lord's spoken commands heard instead of your will, (His will, not your will); this is taking up the cross, which is the power of God to free you from sin. The cross is to your will and your carnal mind, which must be denied.] 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.] | Mark 8:34-35 34 And when he had called the people and his disciples to himself, he said to them, "Whoever would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. [To follow Jesus we must first seek to hear the Lord speak to us by patiently and persistently listening in humble silence. To obey what we hear Him command us to do is to follow Jesus. From the Word of the Lord within: "Stop following men. Everyone listen to what the Spirit says; this you follow. Master following. Follow precisely; do not deviate."] 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] | Luke 14:27,33 27 And whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.4 [The blind guides of Christendom ignore the cross and tell their followers that they are already saved just by believing in Jesus; but unless you carry the inward cross of self denial to crucify your selfish lusts, passions, and desires, you will be banned from heaven at death. To come after Christ you must wait in humble silence, listening for Him to speak to you from the Word within your heart; faith is to hear Him, and then you must obey Him. Self-denial occurs by obeying the Lord's spoken commands instead of your will, (His will, not your will); this is bearing the cross — the inward cross of self-denial.] 33 So likewise, whoever does not forsake all that he has cannot be my disciple.6 [Everyone who has forsaken houses, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold, and will inherit everlasting life. Mat 19:29. When you continually deny yourself and obey the Lord's commands, you will forsake your entire selfish life, and thereby save your soul to live Life in union with God.] | |||||