The Five Challenges of Self-Sacrifice

I want to love God with all my mind, soul and strength and love others as myself. I want to have a personal daily altar to God. I want to replace the perverse altars and idolatry of ideas that enable evil to influence our lives and those around us.

The five challenges of self-sacrifice from two weeks ago can be generally linked with worldview statements as follows:

1. An atheist doesn’t pray (even in a foxhole) because the naturalistic or secular humanist worldview holds no hope in God.

2. A “cosmic humanist” doesn’t read the Bible as the Word of God to direct their belief and practice.

3. A Satanist does not submit to Jesus Christ as King therefore will not submit to authority of the Scripture nor to God’s authority in the church as a disciple of Christ in a small group.

4. A strict existentialist does not commit to regular small group relationships nor order their life to serve others in the body of Christ at all because life is about their own experience not a shared membership in covenant with others.

5. A moral relativist embraces the worldly ideal of poly-theism and reasons to himself that there is equal plurality of all beliefs. Since there “absolutely are no absolutes” he can not be held accountable for any belief or action. This leaves him open to hedonism or complete self-indulgence the same as a Satanist.

Since I am not an atheist, humanist, existentialist, Satanist nor a moral relativist I will commit to self-denial and sacrifice to hear and obey God. In order to learn God’s ways I will include the following in my daily life:

1. I will pray with the mind and pray with the spirit.
1 Cor 14:15; John 4:23-24; Rom 8:26-27; Jude 20 .

2. I will present my body, remove negativity and receive God’s Word to renew my mind.
Deut 6; Joshua 1:6; Psalm 1; Psalm 19; John 15; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Pet 2:1.

3. I will be in committed relationships for discipleship and fellowship.
Acts 2:42-46.

4. Through love I will serve others as a covenant relationships.
Gal 5:13; Eph 4:11-16.

5. I will get out of my comfort zone and be on mission because we as Christ’s Body are “God’s net.” (all four Gospels and Acts include Christ’s command and commission).

(The last two also include the sacrifice of regular and generous giving.)

~PD