Self Preservation Over All — E.A. Johnston

The Demands of Discipleship and Self-Denial

The Christianity found in my Bible comes with certain demands. In Matthew's Gospel we hear Jesus as he speaks of what it means to follow him in a life of discipleship. Matthew 16 and verses 24 and 25 state,.

Then Jesus said unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it, and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.

The American Church's Turn Toward Self-Preservation

But the American church seems to have a brand of Christianity that stands in stark contrast to those words of Christ Jesus. Our American brand is more into self-preservation than self-denial. We so-called Christians today rather indulge ourselves for the moment to be happy than deny ourselves for the future of eternity.

Historical Examples of Sacrificial Christian Service

But it wasn't always this way. America has produced many self-denying followers of the Lamb, the roll call in heaven, of all the missionaries who have gone out from America through the years to die on foreign soil as a long list of men and women who sacrificed all to bring the gospel to the lost and perishing, and old-time preachers who labored and palled for revivals like George Whitefield and Nettleton and Finney were men of self-sacrifice.

Nettleton contracted typhus fever in his labors, and he often would rise from a sick bed to go preach a crucified Christ as he lived a crucified life. I had before me the memoir of Charles Finney, as he relates how he ignored doctor's orders time and time again to cease preaching and rest for several months instead of laboring in revival.

Finney on Sacrificing Health for the Work

Finney wrote, Jesus Christ laid down his life, and I can afford, if necessary, to lay down mine. It is not the point how long any one lives, but what he does. If a man is endeavoring to spare his own health, setting it before his duty, he is not doing very much.

It is often our duty to sacrifice life, or at least to risk it, and the man who cannot do this will never accomplish very much or great things. The work must be done, come life or come death. That's what the old boy said, and I tend to agree with him, friends.

Following Christ's Sacrifice at Calvary

Christ held nothing back from Calvary but laid down his all. How can we hold anything back from him? The self-preservation in our churches in this country is an embarrassment to my Bible. God's desire for his church today is to reestablish his prominence and preeminence in his sanctuary.

Revival and the Restoration of God's Presence

The church today has, unfortunately, grieved him away through carelessness, worldliness and sin. Only a heaven-sent revival can realign the people of God to the heart of an offended sovereign. The question remains, will we follow the pattern for seeking him found in scripture, or will we continue to play church and rely on man-made methodologies and man-centered theology to continue the business of church activity, which occupies the congregation while hardening them to the gospel at the same time?

Hardened Hearts and the Church's Loss of Focus

The people's hearts are hardened towards the things of eternity because our eyes are off him and on ourselves. We can do much in the church today with money, perspiration and personality, but why do we need God when we are on the grow and our assemblies are increasing?

The answer is, friends, we need God because our communities are growing more wicked every day and the church is not making a difference within the community. As a people of God, we have become self-focused, self-absorbed and self-obsessed to the point that our Christianity is merely self-preservation.

Self-Indulgence and the Cost of Following Christ

In America today, the bane of the church is self-indulgence, self-preservation and self-centeredness. The gospel message is all about us. Served on a man-centered platter at a sumptuous banquet table laden with delicacies, other generations knew the price of discipleship and the cost of following a crucified savior.

John the Baptist had a platter with his head upon it. Stephen was stoned as he saw Jesus rise from his throne. Paul finished his ministry, not with accolades and applause, but with a fallen axe. The blood of the martyrs cries out against the self-absorbed church of this generation.