Up to this point, it is been brought out, hopefully clearly, that those who are saved are not striving to be crucified with Christ; WE ARE crucified with Christ. Sadly, I hear so often individuals testifying that they wish to have their flesh crucified every day! How tragic that many are attempting to accomplish daily what Christ accomplished once for all! In the previous post, I examined a few scriptures that are commonly used by those who wish to have their flesh crucified daily. In every scripture that they use, the Bible plainly states that the believer’s crucifixion of the “old man” is not something done daily; it is rather something done when Christ died! Our crucifixion of our “old man” is WITH CHRIST. This means that we died when Christ died. At this time, I would like to examine one more passage used by these people.
Take up your Cross Daily
Luke 9:23 – “And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.”
If the reader is one who advocates this “crucified daily” doctrine, I can hear him now. “See there,” he says, pointing to the above verse. “Let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.”
Yes, I believe that believers should take up their cross daily and follow Christ. But notice – this scripture does not command me to be crucified daily; it rather commands me to take up my cross daily. What is meant by the phrase, “Take up his cross daily”? Jesus defines this phrase for us in the previous verse. Let us look at the verse preceding our verse of study:
Luke 9:22 – “Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day.”
In this verse, Christ tells us plainly what His cross is. Christ’s cross is defined clearly. He would be slain, and He would rise again on the third day. Then, He admonishes His disciples to likewise take up a cross for themselves. Somehow, however, when many speak of the cross of the believer, they want to be “crucified every day,” and they wish to stop there! Christ’s cross did not end with His death upon the cross. Look at Luke 9:22 again – “Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and BE RAISED THE THIRD DAY.” Christ was not just crucified; He was also buried! Christ was not just buried; He was raised from the dead! He was not just raised from the dead; He LIVED upon the earth for forty days! He did not just live upon the earth for forty days; He ascended to the Father and He lives forevermore!
After Jesus tells His disciples that He would bear a cross, be slain, and be raised again, He then commands them to take up their cross daily. What is the meaning of “Take up thy cross daily”?
Every day, I need to realize that when Christ died, my old man died, as clearly shown in the following verses:
Galatians 2:20 – “I AM CRUCIFIED with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”
Galatians 5:24 – “And they that are Christ’s HAVE CRUCIFIED the flesh with the affections and lusts.”
Galatians 6:14 – “But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world IS CRUCIFIED unto me, and I unto the world.”
Colossians 3:3 – “For ye ARE DEAD, and your life is hid with Christ in God.”
Romans 8:10 – “And if Christ be in you, the body IS DEAD because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.”
“Taking up my cross” does not just mean realizing that I died with Christ, when Christ died, but it also is composed of realizing that when Christ was buried, I was buried with Him:
Romans 6:4 – “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death…”
Colossians 2:12 – “Buried with him in baptism…”
The meaning of the phrase, “Taking up my cross” is not limited to merely understanding that I died when Christ died; or that I was buried when Christ was buried; but it also includes the understanding that when Christ rose from the dead, I rose with Him!
Romans 6:4 – “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”
Colossians 2:12 – “Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.”
Colossians 3:1 – “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.”
The meaning of the phrase, “Taking up my cross” does not even stop with my “new man” being resurrected when Christ rose. Christ ascended into heaven, and is set down at the right hand of the Father (Hebrews 12:2); and every believer ascended with Christ when Christ ascended, and we are, as far as God Almighty is concerned, set with Christ in heavenly places:
Ephesians 1:3 – “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.”
Ephesians 2:4-6 – “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”
This phrase, “Taking up thy cross” does not even stop with believers ascending with Christ into heavenly places. Now that Christ has ascended, He lives forevermore, never to die again! We, who are saved by the grace of God, have been given eternal, or everlasting life NOW! Just as Christ ascended to live forevermore, believers have ascended with him into heavenly places to live forevermore.
John 14:19 – “Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.”
Romans 5:10 – “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.”
This phrase, “Taking up thy cross” does not end with the believer being crucified every day. Rather, it is fulfilled when we daily identify with Christ – realizing that we died when Christ died; that we were buried when Christ was buried; that we rose when Christ rose; that we ascended when Christ ascended; and because Christ lives forevermore, we live forevermore! Yes, I want to live as though my “old man” is dead, and should certainly do so. However, I do not want to stop there! I want my “new man” to live! I have heard people say (sincerely yet erroneously) that “Christ died so I could live.” That’s not entirely right. In reality, Christ died so that my “old man” could die. He rose again so that I could live! Jesus said, “Because I live, ye shall live also!” Listen to me very carefully. The “new man” living in newness of life is every bit as much part of “taking up your cross” as the “old man” being crucified. Don’t stop with the crucifixion of the “old man!” And don’t try to crucify the “old man” every day; the Bible couldn’t be plainer – your “old man” died when Christ died!
I hear people say (again, sincerely yet erroneously), “I want to live the crucified life.” NOT ME! I don’t wish to live a “crucified life.” When Christ died, my “old man” died a crucified death. Now, I wish to live a resurrected life! I want my “new man” to LIVE! It is God’s will for us to LIVE! Paul states in Philippians 1:21, “For me to LIVE is Christ and to die is gain!” Jesus stated in John 10:10, “…I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” Christ rose so we could live! And His resurrection is part of the way of the cross.
A Look at Romans 6
The best definition of the phrase, “Take up thy cross” is found in the sixth chapter of Romans. In this chapter, Paul gives three steps to victory over sin. To have victory, there is first, something we must KNOW; second, there is something we must RECKON; and third, there is something we must YIELD. First, there is something we must know:
Romans 6:6 – “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.”
“Knowing this,” Paul says, “that our old man IS CRUCIFIED with Him!” The first step to gaining victory in our lives is knowing that the crucifixion of our “old man” was WITH CHRIST – it took place when Christ died.
I am not trying to be critical, but I am trying to be honest. Out of all the individuals who are trying to crucify their flesh every day, I have never met one of them who have victory. I have never met one of them who are confident in Christ’s work. They are, for the most part, living in torment. They constantly live in fear that maybe they are not “crucified enough.” The only way I can’t be ‘crucified enough’ is if Christ wasn’t crucified enough, because my “old man” was crucified with Him! Those who KNOW THIS live in deeper depth of victory than those who do not KNOW THIS!
Second, there is something we must reckon:
Romans 6:11 – “Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
“Reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin,” Paul says. Noah Webster defines “reckon” this way: “To count; to number; that is, to tell the particulars.” I know that I died when Christ died, but simply knowing it won’t give me victory. I must reckon my life to be that way. I must live outwardly what I know inwardly. This is reckoning! And notice what it is exactly we are to reckon – “Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, BUT ALIVE UNTO GOD!” The crowd who tries to crucify their flesh daily is not big on being “alive unto God!” Don’t just count, or reckon, your “old man” dead, but count your “new man” alive unto God!
Third, there is something we must yield:
Romans 6:13 – “Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.”
The third and most important step to victory is YIELDING. Allow me to look briefly at two verses at which I have already examined:
Colossians 3:5 – “Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry.”
In this verse, as I previously pointed out, the “members” we are to destroy are SINS. Fornication, uncleanness, and so forth.
Romans 8:13 – “For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.”
In this verse, similar to the previous verse, we see that it is, not the body to be mortified, but rather the DEEDS of the body.
I humbly ask the reader to follow me just for a brief moment. The reader may ask, “If our ‘old man’ died when Christ died, then why are we still tempted to sin?” The answer is very simple. Though my “old man” is dead, sin is yet alive! Sin does not die! For this reason, we must mortify our members which are upon the earth, which are the sins he goes on to mention. Because sin does not die, we mortify the deeds of the body.
Every time you are tempted to sin, you have two choices. You can either reckon yourself dead to sin, and alive to God, yielding yourself as instruments of righteousness; or else you can yield yourself to the sin, as instruments of unrighteousness. When you KNOW that your “old man” died when Christ died; and you RECKON yourself dead to sin and alive to God; and you yield yourself to God, mortifying the deeds of the body; then you will live! You will then live the abundant, resurrected life!
This is the meaning of Christ’s words, “…take up thy cross, and follow me!”
Conclusion
The scriptures are clear – the crucifixion of my “old man” is WITH CHRIST. This means that I died when Christ died. Because my crucifixion is with Christ, there is only one possible way I can be crucified every day, and that is if Christ is crucified every day. Now, I ask the reader, especially if the reader is of the opinion that we must crucify our flesh every day, “Will Christ be crucified every day?” “Is Christ supposed to be crucified every day?” If you are a Catholic, then you would answer “yes” to these questions. The Bible, however, answers “NO” to these questions. The Bible plainly declares that Christ will only die once for sins:
Romans 6:9, 10 – “Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, HE DIED UNTO SIN ONCE: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.”
Hebrews 10:10 – “By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”
The Bible further declares that it is a blasphemous thought to suggest that Christ will die more than once:
Hebrews 6:4-6 – “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened…If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance, seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.”
Clearly, Jesus Christ will never die for sin but once. The Bible, just as plainly, teaches that the crucifixion of our “old man” is with Christ. The only way that I would be willing to be “crucified” every day is if Christ will be crucified every day. I am only willing to be crucified WITH CHRIST, and Christ most certainly will NOT be crucified ever again. Neither will I. My “old man” died when Christ died.
