Matt. xvi. 24, 25. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man ivill come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and folloiv me. For ivhosoever will save his life shall lose it : and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
THE precepts of the Gospel are often considered as harsh and severe; but, if they were duly considered, there is not one of them, which would not appear highly reasonable. Perhaps there is not a stricter precept in the whole Bible than this before us, since it plainly declares, that no man shall ever enter into heaven, who is not willing to renounce every thing in
the world, yea, even his own hfe, for the sake of Christ. But can we think this too strict, if we observe the time and manner of its dehvery? Our Lord had just fore- told his own sufferings and death ; and had reproved Peter with great severity for attempting to dissuade him from subjecting himself to such miseries : and *' then" it was, that he gave this injunction to his followers. In this view we may conceive our Lord as saying, ' Do I deny myself, and take up my cross, and even surrender up my life, from love to you? then do ye the same in obedience to me ; if I do it willingly for your salvation, surely you cannot hesitate to do it for my glory.'
This precept then leads us to point out, L The extent of a Christian's duty —
To be Christians indeed, we must enter in at a strait gate, and walk in a narrow way : we must,
1. Deny ourselves —
[Since the first introduction of sin into the world men have cast off the love and fear of God, and have subjected themselves to the dominion of self. Instead of conforming themselves to the v^^ill of their Maker, and living wholly for his glory, they have made their own will, the principle, and their own honour or interest, the end, of all their actions. Christianity is intended to bring us back to the state from which we are fallen. The very first step towards our restora- tion is, to " deny self," and to restore God to the dominion of which we have robbed him. Our inquiries must henceforth be, not. What do I choose? or, What will gratify self? but What does God command? and. What will glorify him? To *' put oif the old man," to " mortify the deeds of the body," to " crucify the flesh with the affections and lusts ;" in a word, to deny self in all its actings, is the course, on which every Chris- tian must enter, and which he must resolutely follow to the end of life.]
2. Take up our cross —
[Every Christian must of necessity have some cross to bear: for though there will be seasons of comparative rest, when the storms of persecution shall subside, yet, as long as there are any of " the serpent's seed" on earth, " the seed of the woman" will be treated by them as " the filth of the world, and the off-scouring of all things." But to this the Christian must submit : he must not expect to be above his Master, but