THE LIFE OF SELF DENIAL
Jesse M. Hendley
Romans 15
Let us turn now to this great 15th chapter of Romans.
We are to live like Christ and follow Him in His great
self-denial. Paul said we that are strong are to bear
the infirmities of the weak. Let us please our
neighbor in that which is good and edifying. For
Christ pleases not himself, but as it is written, "The
reproaches of them that reproached thee, fell upon
me." There we are told to follow our Lord Jesus Christ
and not please ourselves. We are born in this world
and live the life of being pleased. So many children
today are being brought up by parents who continually
try to please them, and friends; it is having its
effect. God have mercy on us. To give in to a child's
self-centeredness is to do it a definite injury.
The Christian life is the opposite of self-pleasing.
It is self-denial. We are not to please ourselves but
bear the infirmities of the weak. We are to help
others. If Christ had pleased Himself, He would never
have left heaven to this world of sin. He never would
have gone to the Cross to die in our stead. "He
pleased not Himself." His life was one of self-denial.
He came to help man and to glorify God, and that ought
to be the two-fold purpose of all of us. We are to
please our neighbor for edifying, for good. Not for
bad; if our neighbor wants us to come and drink liquor
with him, that wouldn't be for edifying, for good. If
he wants us to come play cards and do other things
outside the will of God, we are not to please our
neighbor. But in that which will build up in the
Christian faith, we are to please him. We are always
to help others, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Christ does not ask us to do anything that He Himself
did not do. He does not ask us to go beyond His own
sacrifice. He asks us to follow in His steps.
"Whatsoever things were written aforetime were written
for our learning, that we through the pa ...
Jesse M. Hendley
Romans 15
Let us turn now to this great 15th chapter of Romans.
We are to live like Christ and follow Him in His great
self-denial. Paul said we that are strong are to bear
the infirmities of the weak. Let us please our
neighbor in that which is good and edifying. For
Christ pleases not himself, but as it is written, "The
reproaches of them that reproached thee, fell upon
me." There we are told to follow our Lord Jesus Christ
and not please ourselves. We are born in this world
and live the life of being pleased. So many children
today are being brought up by parents who continually
try to please them, and friends; it is having its
effect. God have mercy on us. To give in to a child's
self-centeredness is to do it a definite injury.
The Christian life is the opposite of self-pleasing.
It is self-denial. We are not to please ourselves but
bear the infirmities of the weak. We are to help
others. If Christ had pleased Himself, He would never
have left heaven to this world of sin. He never would
have gone to the Cross to die in our stead. "He
pleased not Himself." His life was one of self-denial.
He came to help man and to glorify God, and that ought
to be the two-fold purpose of all of us. We are to
please our neighbor for edifying, for good. Not for
bad; if our neighbor wants us to come and drink liquor
with him, that wouldn't be for edifying, for good. If
he wants us to come play cards and do other things
outside the will of God, we are not to please our
neighbor. But in that which will build up in the
Christian faith, we are to please him. We are always
to help others, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Christ does not ask us to do anything that He Himself
did not do. He does not ask us to go beyond His own
sacrifice. He asks us to follow in His steps.
"Whatsoever things were written aforetime were written
for our learning, that we through the pa ...
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