Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1902-03-08
SELF-RENUNCIATIoN.
1Aerein In Found the Very Heart OF
successful Life and Service
of the Christian.


SIX days before the TRANSPORTATION
Sesus told His disciples that He mus
suffer many things and be slain.
Mhereupon Peter began to rebuke
hlm, saying: Spare myself. Lord
tGreek. Matt. 16:22l. After Jesus had
Teouked Peter in the presence of the
disciples Mark s:33) He called unto
Him the people and preached sermon
on the law of se.f-sacrifce. In SUBJ
stance lie maintains that Peters doc
Urine OF spare thyself' is Of men.
not ofGod. IL makes Peter stumbling
block unto Christ; units one for dis
cipieship. and secures the loss of the
soul Matt. 1888 ~. But the very op-
Posite law OF denying myself" he
insists. obtains in His kingdom. In
mat law the disciple must condition
Ass life If he would save IL. To spare
myself" is loss. TO 'deny thyseIf" IS
gain. This was the lesson Jesus gave
His disciples TO learn the week prior
TO the TRANSPORTATION.
judging from Peters re buke and his
worldly philosophy. this was a lesson
haru Tor him to learn. To him 1t would
seem to involve loss rather than gain.
He rejected It. The rest of the dis
s1ples, according TO the context, failed
Mt that time TO understand il. But
Peter and the rest of the disciples must
understand IL ere the Master could
commit TO their leadership that mo-
mentous enterprise for the success OF
which He was about to die. For. since
Christianity was TO distinguish itself
from all other religions by the incor-
poratiou OF the law Of "deny thyself"
hrst into the life, teachings and passion
OF Its founder and then into the lives
OF His followers, it follows that II was
OF supreme Importance that the first
disciples believe in II.
Luke tells ms Il was after these
sayings" that is. while Christ's ser.
mon on deny myself" was both fresh
In the minds Of the disciples, and their
chief topic of conversation, that the
raushguratiop took place. With
Peter. John and James. Jesus went ND
into mountain TO pray. Doubtless
The purpose Of His praying with them
was 10 prepare their hearts o believe
the doctrine now about to be made
plain What doctrine was this? Evil
IDENTIFY that obedience to the law of
deny thyself" pays an exceeding great
reward.
To convince these foremost disciples
of this truth Christ brings upon the
scene Moses and Elijah. Surely in all
Jewish history there were no greater
examples of the law of self-denial than
these two men. The appearance of
Moses would remind the disciples of
his life OF selfdenial; how he refused
10 be called the son of Pharaoh's
daughter. choosing rather TO suffer
affiiction with the people of God than
to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a
seasons" how he accounted the re-
proach of the Christ greater riches
than the treasures of Egypt" how he
looked unto the recompense of the
reward; how "he endured as seeing
Him who is invisible" Heb. 11:24-271.
The presence of Elijah would call M
his life of self-abandon ment: how. like
Moses and Jesus, he refused the friend
ship aud honors of wicked rulers. how
when hungry God fed him, when cast
down God lifted him up. when he praved
God answered him; how he ESCAPED
the sword of Jezebel. DESTROYED the
prophets of Baal and finally was trans
lated into glory. Could these disciples
escape the conviction that these two
men conditioned their lives in Christ's
law of deny thyself?"
And now a. Moses and Elijah TAN,
with Jesus what is their topic of con-
versation? OF important and illus-
irous themes there could be no lack.
But Moses said not word about the
'sFtceiving o1the law, his miracles in
gypt, Inaryelous travels in the
pc glory of God on Sinai.
- S. p even refer to his rails
widows son. the pray
S IS S d and opened the foun-
In, the fire on Carmel. or
translation. They spake
s $ TIL; that's, the vicarious
~ & the sin of the world xrb;oL