My post yesterday was entitled ‘How to live for Christ?‘
In it I was trying to ask a question but I don’t think I managed to do so coherently, which isn’t all that surprising at the moment…. So I thought I’d try to ask it a different way.
How does one go about dying to ones self?
This is a big question for me and one which I really hope the combined wisdom of my wonderful blog readers can answer.
We have this phrase in ‘Christianese’ which is worded something like ‘you have to die to yourself’. But what does that mean? and how do we go about doing it?
Sometimes I feel like I’m in a Dilbert cartoon because when I ask this question, the answer just comes back “Well, you know, you just have to get up in the morning and die to yourself.”
When I ask what that means, they simply change their tone of voice or the emphasis in the statement and assume that I’ll suddenly understand.
“You know, die, dying, die” “You just have to do it”.
Huh?
I asked this question on Blog Catalog and got some actually quite good responses from some non-Christians. I’m not sure that from a Christian perspective they were right but from a Buddhist or other perspective they were clear and helpful.
I realize that in my life there needs to be less of me and more of Christ. I get that. I realize that I need to take up my cross daily. Really I do, I understand that it needs to be done. But how?
How do I, in my every day life, die to myself? How do I take up my cross daily?
Peter,
This is something that I have taken many times to the Lord and ask Him about. Less of me Lord, more of You. Lord get rid of the Me in Me. We can not do it, it must be done by submission. It is God that will change even this in us. You don’t do the changing He does. I am beginning to finally know what that takes. It takes full out surrender. I have began a daily process with my Lord of surrender. I physically take a position of surrender each morning not just on my knees but face down, back to the sky, in front of the throne. Bowing in humility and praising Him. Then I ask that he do what needs to be done to break the pride in me. In ALL things make your request known to Him. This too Peter must be done by Him.
God Bless!
I like Sherri’s answer, it takes dying not only to self but to Christ, and trusting in His power to resurrect the new you.
This is a great question. It is so hard to think of practical ways in which to die to ourselves.
But I wonder why that is?
I think much of it has to do with the fact that we no longer read the epistles to figure out how we are supposed to live. We read them for messages of grace and truth (which are there), but we stop there. Paul gives numerous examples to all kinds of people about how they are to live Christian lives.
I am slowly starting to take these things seriously, and I hope I am beginning to die more to myself in very practical ways. Not just in attitudes of worship and prayer (which are great, do not misunderstand me) but also in the way I live my life; how I interact with my parents and children; how I conduct my business activities; etc.
Dying to ourselves involves a change of lifestyle; realising it is not about how much I can get, but how much I can give (this includes much more than money; love, joy, peace, patience, …)
The hard part is not in knowing, it is in doing. 🙂
Good question Peter! I wrote a post about this a while ago. This is how I view it: http://kevinmartineau.blogspot.com/2008/06/two-kinds-of-surrender.html
Thank you for the great answers ladies and gents.
Anyone else have any suggestions?
Interestingly one person who read my question on blogcatalog.com was obviously not aware of our Christian jargon and asked what I meant. I think he thought I was suggesting some kind of suicide pact!
Peter, here are some more thoughts that I have written about on this subject: http://kevinmartineau.blogspot.com/2007/11/surrendering-to-god.html
Great post.
The verse that comes to mind is “I must decrease that He might increase.” I find this to be so true in my life. The more I think of myself and my wants and needs, the more it edges Christ out. The more I focus on Him—his beauty perfection and holiness—the greater He is in my life.
If you’re looking for concrete ideas, I’d go to the sermon on the mount. I shared a message at my church on that last year that might touch a chord:
http://akagaga.blogspot.com/2007/10/wise-man-foolish-man.html
Nice blog. I’m glad I found it.
Hi AkaGaGa, welcome to Rediscovering the Church.
Thank you for visiting my blog and leaving a comment.
I like the article that you linked to and I like the idea that following the sermon on the mount is a good practical way to die to your self.
God bless,
Peter
thanks for a great encouraging words. all of the responses are great and encouraging. “less of me all of Him”, “I must decrease He must increase”, these are Christian words we often use at church and encouraging other believers but the simple question is “How do I die to self?”. But a simple thought that comes to my mind is that how did Jesus obey the Father?,did He live by His own agenda? But He said not my will but Your will be done, in other verse “My food is to do the will of Him Who sent me”.
how is everyone blessed i hope i don't know if i can say anything to help clear up your confusion on the matter but i hope to encourage with the fact that i am in the same boat wondering how to live out the bible mine is repentance i think we don't truly know how to disciple people i think this is what i believe the problem is i believe the person knows what the bible says e but not how to implement it i can see that everyone is giving the person more scripture i dont think the problem is the person's lack of scriputre knowledge i think the problem is application i am running into the same exact problem i believe u might have to ask god to help u die to yourself but i dont know if that is the answer to tell the truth how come we give people more scriptures instead of answering the question the person didn't ask what the bible says the person asked how to do it
you have to die to yourself. it means to leave your way of doing thing and the way of thinking and accept God;s way.
You can also email a prophet http://www.youngprophet.com and ask him. i did and he told me the same
Hey All,
This is quite interesting … the same question asked by people all around the world. I wanna know; is there actually a verse in scripture saying that we should ‘die to ourselves’? Or did these words just became a christianese cliche that put all of us in bondage because we dont know how to ‘die to ourselves’? I can’t find this verse – if it’s there please correct me.
What I did find is a few verses indicating that we should decrease so that He can increase. We should become less, that He may become more … but never do I find a scripture that says … we must DIE. Yes, when you read about baptism it talks about dying – but thats the old (pre-christian) that’s suppose to die. When you are born-again, you are not suppose to die to yourself – JUST LET HIM BE MORE THAN YOU!!! Where did we accept this lie??
I and me where created by God – therefor I’m important in His plan for this world. If I die to myself, He’ll have nothing to work with. But if He becomes more in the me He created – we are a very Powerful Team!!!
Anyway, just wanted to share something on my heart. Hope that all of you will stop dying and start living!!!
Hey Mart-Marie – I think the scripture that comes to mind are these ones. I think to die to ourselves , that exact phrase isnt in the bible, at least not in the translations ESV or KJV that i see. I think it is another way of saying these, and perhaps its best if we just stick to scripture rather then our sayings, so that the Lords meaning does not get confused. I hope this helps, a pastor or commentary might give more insight on these exact verses.
Matthew 16:24-26 Then Jesus told his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?
1Peter 2:24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
Also i think romans 6ish touches on it too 11-14
So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.
oh and i like your last statement, I agree, he made us into lamps not under a bed or table : ) To have life abundantly. I think this also clears up this matter some more as well.
Galatians 5:-16- 26
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.
But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality,
idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions,
envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.
Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.