Transcript

Losing My 'Self'

John 3:22-36
Sunday, October 6, 2002
Pastor Randy Smith

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We knew something was wrong when we saw thousands of little black bugs swarming around a window in our living room. After calling for some information, we received the news that we feared. This summer, Julie and I had our first encounter with termites. We were prepared to go to any extreme to remove those little buggers from our house!

Now, the way I see it, there are three aspects in removing termites. The initial goal is to kill as many as possible, to bring a decisive end and general extermination to the population. The intermediate goal is to have the house treated every year to remove any existing termites or new ones who have chosen to take up residence. In termite removal there is a need for ongoing maintenance. Finally, the long-term goal is simply to keep the house standing, maybe replace any damaged supporting beams. It is one thing to tear your own house down; it is another to have a bunch of pests reduce your home to saw dust! It is much work, but following these three goals will prove successful.

Now, if I care this much about removing pests from my home, how much greater should I care to remove pests from God's home. You might be saying, "I didn't know God has pests in His home." Well, He does and He doesn't care for them either! As you know, God's home or His temple is our body. It is a place where He chooses to be at rest. It is a place that He desires sole supremacy. It is a place where He will not tolerate any nasty intruders.

Ironically, the nasty intruder that I am speaking about in God's temple or my body is my "self." Self is similar to a termite. Self desires to rule in a location that's not its own. Self desires to eat away at the glory of the structure. Self desires to bring total ruin if it is left unchecked. Self needs to be exterminated from God's house! But how?

Comparable to dealing with termites, I see three aspects in terminating the menace of self. Initially, self must be removed once and for all. We call this conversion. Unfortunately self is very resilient. Therefore self must receive continual treatments to keep it suppressed and under control. We call this sanctification. Finally, we know we have successfully defeated self if the temple of God is still standing in the end when it is time to tear the body down. We call this glorification.

This morning I would like to extract an essential principle from the remainder of John chapter 3. Correctly understanding this concept will guarantee every believer the opportunity to better glorify the Lord and better experience the joyous, peaceful and abundant life as promised to us by our Savior. For the past three weeks we have spoken about "losing my religion." I've entitled this sermon, "Losing My 'Self.'"

1. THE INITIAL LOSS OF SELF-CONVERSION

Let's begin with point 1, the initial loss of self, conversion. Allow me to read verses 22-23. "After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He was spending time with them and baptizing. And John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there; and they were coming and were being baptized."

Based on both of these verses, the Apostle makes it clear that both Christ and His disciples and John and his disciples had a prolific ministry of baptism. Naturally, when we talk about baptism, we think of conversion. As all of the accounts in the Bible demonstrate, water baptism is often the initial act of obedience following conversion.

As a matter of fact, both baptism and conversion are closely related. Baptism is an outward picture of an inward reality. It should not come as a surprise for us to see in verse 23 that John was baptizing in a town with "much water." That is because the act of baptism, whereby an individual is completely immersed in water, symbolically pictures his or her new union with Jesus Christ.

At conversion self dies with Christ on the cross. It goes into the tomb with Him to be buried and then the new self rises in the newness of life with Christ at the resurrection. In the same way, the newly converted individual illustrates this glorious truth through baptism. While in the water they stand in death. During the immersion the old self is buried in the tomb. And then during the ascension from the water the new self is raised with Christ.

The Apostle Paul described this process in Romans 6. "Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection" (Rom. 6:3-5)

What I am trying to say here is that at the moment of conversion, illustrated through baptism, self is exterminated. The old self that demanded "my rights" and "my way" and "my esteem" and "my glory" has been crucified and buried in the grave. Oh yes, I still live, but it is a new self that allows Christ to live through me.

Let me clarify this crucial concept through some biblical verses. Romans 6:6, "Knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, that our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin." Galatians 5:24, "Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." Galatians 2:20, "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me."

Just as the termites needed to be destroyed through the violent means of borrowing into their nests and injecting deadly poison, all three of these verses (which I just read) speak of the old self being crucified at the moment of conversion. The old self was dealt a fatal blow. It was crucified with Christ on the cross. Think about that, the crucifixion of self meant finality to your own plans and your own way of life.

Commenting on this, T. S. Rendall wrote, "Too many Christians are trying to face in two directions at the same time. They are divided in heart. They want Heaven, but they also love the world. They are like Lot's wife: running one way, but facing another. Remember, a crucified man is not coming back. The cross spells finisfor him; he is not going to return to his old life. Also, a crucified man has no plans of his own. He is through with the vain glory of this life. Its chains are broken and its charms are gone."

Augustine, the great theologian was saved out of a life of filth and sexual immorality. As he was passing through his former town a previous mistress of his happened to notice her ex-lover. She chased him and cried out, "Augustine, Augustine, It is me!" Augustine turned and replied, "Yes it is you, but it is not I."

In addition to Augustine, John the Baptist demonstrated this death to self in our text this morning. As we read earlier in verses 22-23, both Jesus and John the Baptist had their respective disciples and both of these men were baptizing new converts. However, Jesus was beginning to gain a larger following. A fact that was not very appealing to the disciples of John. Verse 26, "And they came to John (the Baptist) and said to him, 'Rabbi, He (Christ) who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have borne witness, behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him.'"

Now, put yourself in the shoes of John the Baptist. You spent the early years of your life in the wilderness eating locust and wild honey. You lived an isolated lifestyle. You experienced rejection and alienation from your culture. You put in your dues. At last your time in the spotlight has come. You are headline success! The multitudes begin flocking to you in droves. You reach the zenith of spiritual popularity. People ask you if you are Elijah or even the Messiah!

But now your fame is fading away. Jesus is gaining more popularity by the day. Your role and status are diminishing. Your ship is sinking. Your loyal disciples feel threatened for your sake. They are prepared to defend this injustice. They cry out to you in exaggeration, "all are coming to Him!" How would you respond? How would John the Baptist respond?

John first said in verse 27, "A man can receive nothing, unless it has been given him from heaven." In other words, John did not allow his "self" to get the best of him. He had no animosity over the success of Jesus because he knew that God is the sovereign bestower of all gifts (1 Cor. 4:7). God doesn't make mistakes. He gives what He chooses to give, and people should be content with what He has given them. Despite his disciples' complaints, John was willing to take the back seat to Jesus. He found no need to stand up for his rights. He was satisfied with his calling.

Second, in verse 28, John said, "You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, 'I am not the Christ,' but, 'I have been sent before Him.' Given the opportunity, self will always seek the place of honor, even at the expense of Christ! But when the crucified self stays buried in the grave where it belongs, the born-again believer now seeks to glorify God. John made it clear, "I am not the Christ." Neither are we the Christ. We are dead! Christ now lives through us. It doesn't matter what self wants. All that matters is what Christ wants!

And when we see Christ get what He wants, we receive the fullness of joy. Isn't that beautiful! We no longer are destined to pursue our God-given desire for joy in self, but now we can receive the fullness of joy in seeing Christ work through us. To explain this, John gives a brief parable in verse 29. "He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. And so this joy of mine has been made full."

It was common in antiquity for a "best man" to arrange all the details of the wedding. He did the majority of the work but received little of the attention. Yet he rejoices over the joy that is brought his friend. In the same way, John the Baptist says that he is content with his self out of the picture. He finds his joy, complete joy, in seeing Christ take center stage. We must remember that Jesus Christ is the Bridegroom of His church. Based upon this context, we are just the best men. We are simply servants for His wedding. Our joy comes when we see our Bridegroom glorified.

2. THE ONGOING LOSS OF SELF-SANCTIFICATION

We have just learned that self was crucified at the moment of conversion. But unfortunately, like the termites, self has this persistent ability to reappear. The moment you think it's gone for good, it rears its ugly head in a variety of forms. Because of this we must be ever vigilant to commit ourselves to the ongoing battle with self. We call this, as we move to point 2, sanctification.

Though we have already read many verses that speak of our self crucified at the cross, other verses speak of an ongoing mortification that calls for the destruction of self's remnants. Ephesians 4:22, "That, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit." Colossians 3:9, "Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices." In 1 Corinthians 15:31 Paul said, "I die daily."

John the Baptist indirectly spoke of this process in verse 30. These are his last words recorded in the Gospel of John. These words were described by one commentator (Leon Morris) as "some of the greatest utterances from any human lips." John said, "He must increase, but I must decrease."

Two brief observations: First, the Scriptures give the believer no other options. In the Christian life, "He must increase but I must decrease." How much has your self decreased for the sake of Christ. Is self less in your life than it was last month? Second, grammatically in this verse, the "He" and "I" are set over against one another in emphatic contrast. Or in other words, Christ and self mix like oil and water. They are not compatible!

Throughout our lives there should be steady progress of spiritual maturity as we are conformed to the image of Christ. Another way to describe this maturity is a weaning off of self and an increasing dependence on Christ. It is a growth whereby Christ continually increases and self continually decreases. It is a growth whereby Christ continually receives greater preeminence and submission as we follow Him. The great missionary William Carey learned this lesson when he cried from his deathbed, "When I am gone, don't talk about William Carey; talk about William Carey's Savior. I desire that Christ alone might be magnified." John Newton said, "Young Christians think themselves little; growing Christians think themselves nothing; full-grown Christians think themselves less than nothing." Later on this "full-grown" man wrote these popular words, "Amazing Grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me." That was the spirit of the Baptist. "He must increase but I must decrease."

This process of spiritual growth, sanctification, becoming more like Christ, crucifying the self, discipleship, were all spelled out clearly by the words of our Savior. "And He was saying to them all, 'If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me'" (Lk. 9:23).

In comments related, popular theologian, J.I. Packer once said, "Jesus Christ demands self-denial, that is, self-negation (Matt. 16:24; Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23), as a necessary condition of discipleship. Self-denial is a summons to submit to the authority of God as Father and of Jesus as Lord and to declare lifelong war on one's instinctive egoism. What is to be negated is not personal self or one's existence as a rational and responsible human being. Jesus does not plan to turn us into zombies, nor does he ask us to volunteer for a robot role. The required denial is of carnal self, the egocentric, self-deifying urge with which we were born and which dominates us so ruinously in our natural state. Jesus links self-denial with cross-bearing. Cross-bearing is far more than enduring this or that hardship. Carrying one's cross in Jesus' day, as we learn from the story of Jesus' own crucifixion, was required of those whom society had condemned, whose rights were forfeit, and who were now being led out to their execution. The cross they carried was the instrument of death. Jesus represents discipleship as a matter of following him, and following him as based on taking up one's cross in self-negation. Carnal self would never consent to cast us in such a role. 'When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die,' wrote Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Bonhoeffer was right: accepting death to everything that carnal self wants to possess is what Christ's summons to self-denial was all about."

Michael Horton said, "Never before, not even in the medieval church, have Christians been so obsessed with themselves. Never before have people entertained such grandiose notions about humans and such puny views of God." These two quotes are almost a fulfillment of prophecy when you consider Paul's final epistle. In writing to Timothy he said, "In the last days…men will be lovers of self" (2 Tim. 3:1-2)

3. THE CONSUMMATED LOSS OF SELF-GLORIFICATION

Our self was crucified with Christ at the cross. We are called to continually declare a lifelong war on the remnants of self. And finally, as we move to point 3, we are to long for the consummated loss of self when we will be glorified with Christ in heaven.

Verse 35 says, "The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand." Do you love the Son? Have you too given all things into His hand, including your self? Are you living for self's glory or His glory? In Colossians 1 Paul said, "All things have been created by Him and for Him" (Col. 1:16). Surrendering all into the hands of Christ. That's the gospel beloved!

So many people think that following Christ is like shopping at the grocery store. You stroll down the aisles of life and say, "Hmmm, a little modern psychology, looks good. I'll put that into my cart. And you stroll a little further; worldly wisdom, I sure could use some of that. And what's this box? Jesus Christ. You read the side. Guaranteed joy, peace and hope. Wow, sounds good! Into my cart Jesus Christ. Keep your fingers inside. I have more shopping to do.

And Jesus says, stop! You have it all wrong my friend. First of all you need to discard all of this self stuff. I will not share my allegiance with another. And second of all, you get into the cart! I'm in control! I'll be pushing you around from now on! Quit striving and let Me live my life through yours. You just have faith and believe that I know what I am doing. Love Me through your acts of obedience. Get in for the ride of your life and let me push you all the way to the Celestial City.

John said it this way in verse 36, "He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."

Where are you at, beloved? Who are you obeying? Where is your self? Is it crucified, lying dead in the grave or is it ruling in the place that Christ has demanded for Himself? Who are you living for? Who is ruling in your life? Self may choose to relax on Wednesday nights; Christ may want you at the prayer meeting. Self may desire to only let others serve you; Christ may be calling you to use the gifts He has given you for the building of His church. Self may prefer to protect its reputation and avoid persecution; Christ may be calling you to faithfully proclaim His name. Self may thrive on rivalry and jealousy and insecurity and bitterness and gossip and slander; Christ may be asking you to walk in the Spirit. Self may be more concerned about self; Christ may desire you to be more concerned about others. Self may want to extend the house and extend the vacations and extend the retirement plan; Christ may want your finances to extend His kingdom. Self may attempt to produce a superficial means of joy and peace; Christ wants you to experience His joy (Jn. 15:11) and His peace (Jn. 14:27).

Is Jesus Christ your Lord? Are you receiving your marching orders from Him? Is your self remaining crucified in the grave? It did for John the Baptist. He had his priorities in order. For Him, God and others came before self. And do you know where it got him in this life? A trip to prison (vs. 24) and martyrdom! He wasn't in it for himself; he was in it for Christ. Is it any wonder that Jesus could say, "Among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist" (Mt. 11:11)? How ironic. Greatness in the eyes of the world comes through self. Greatness in the eyes of Christ, comes through the absence of self. Who do you want to be please? You answer is defined by what you do with self.

Praise God that that ugly pest of self was crucified at the cross. Praise God that He has enabled us to win the daily battles over self. Praise God that He allows us to be delivered from trust in self to trust in Him so that we might have eternal life where the nuisance of self will be terminated once and for all.

"When you are forgotten or neglected or purposely set at naught, and you sting and hurt with the insult or the oversight, but your heart is happy, being counted worthy to suffer for Christ-that is dying to self. When your good is evil spoken of, when your wishes are crossed, your advice disregarded, your opinions ridiculed and you refuse to let anger rise in your heart, or even defend yourself, but take all in patient loving silence-that is dying to self. When you lovingly and patiently bear any disorder, any irregularity, or any annoyance, when you can stand face to face with waste, folly, extravagance, spiritual insensibility, and endure it as Jesus endured it-that is dying to self. When you are content with any food, any offering, any raiment, any climate, any society, any attitude, any interruption by the will of God-that is dying to self. When you never care to refer to yourself in conversation, or to record your own good works, or itch after commendation, when you can truly love to be unknown-that is dying to self. When you see your brother prosper and have his needs met and can honestly rejoice with him in spirit and feel no envy nor question God, while your own needs are far greater and in desperate circumstances-that is dying to self. When you can receive correction and reproof from one of less stature than yourself, can humbly submit inwardly as well as outwardly, finding no rebellion or resentment rising up within your heart-that is dying to self."

When the will of God crosses the will of man, somebody has to die. Victorious Christians are those who have died to self to live for Christ!