| Matthew 16:24-25 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.] | 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."] | 2 Corinthians 4:10-11 10 Always bearing about in the [our] flesh the same death [of the inward cross] of the Lord Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.2 11 For we who live are constantly progressing to death [crucifying the old man] for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus might be revealed in our mortal flesh. [As our selfish spirit, the old man, dies on the inward cross of self-denial, Jesus increases in us, like bread is leavened. From the Word of the Lord within: "I only know those who have been crucified." He knows everything, but his "knowing" you is for him to become one with you, which occurs after you have been crucified.] | Romans 6:6-7 6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified that the body of sin might be destroyed, so that we no longer be slaves to sin. [Christendom, with no knowledge of how to carry a cross, presumes that they have been crucified with Christ by imputation, which is make-believe Christianity. You must mortify your sinful nature on the inward cross of self denial so that you are freed of sin.] 7 For he who is dead [having crucified their lusts and affections on the inward cross of self-denial], is freed from sin. [But if you are still sinning, you are not freed from sin: "Truly, Truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin." John 8:34.] | 1 Corinthians 1:18 18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing; but to us who are being saved the cross is the power of God.5 [Those who take up the inward cross of self-denial quickly experience the power of God to begin freeing them from sin. From the Word of the Lord within: "With the true gospel there is ample proof along the way. 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. Every man that comes, must come through the cross;—I say every man!"] | Matthew 10:38 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."] | ||||