Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.
-John 12:24-26
This seems like a hard saying, “Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life,” but it really isn’t, at least not for true believers in Christ. When Jesus spoke of salvation, He spoke rather plainly about it, which is increasingly encouraging the more we learn about Him and our own conversion. I like that He made things so simple to understand. It’s why I often approach long theological diatribes with a healthy bit of apprehension. Paul wrote:
But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully.
-2 Corinthians 11:3-4
Pure Biblical doctrine, once learned, becomes simpler and simpler to understand. In fact, the more you learn the more you begin seeing the forest through the trees. The “mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16) is precisely what Jesus expressed during His incarnation (Should we expect anything different?). If you follow His teachings closely, you’ll notice that He never overwhelmed His audiences with complexity; rather, He sought to show them the simple Truth about His Gospel. I believe it’s because His mission was simple, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). He also chose uneducated men to spread His Gospel. And even Paul, who was brilliant, said, “And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God” (1 Corinthians 2:1).
Now, simplicity doesn’t always mean that it comes without difficulties, especially when Jesus’ audiences were steeped in complicated false doctrines. Sometimes the simple truth is a hard pill to swallow, especially when our Lord demands we apply it to our personal lives. Not everyone will accept the life our Lord demands of His sheep.
“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.
For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”
For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”
-Matthew 10:34-39
This is the same message we noted in John 12:25. It’s the same message I am writing plainly about here, which is that a person who clings to their self-life (their natural born estate) cannot be saved. This seems abundantly obvious, doesn’t it? As Jesus stated, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit” (John 12:24). Paul wrote of this aspect of his own conversion.
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
-Galatians 2:20
Paul wrote to the Romans about this very topic in great detail. I repeat, simplicity doesn’t always mean that it comes without difficulties. Case in point: any complexity evident in Romans 6 is only necessary because false doctrines tend to be complex. As a pastor, it’s often necessary to treat them in kind, becoming complex in thought and speech in order to deliver those in darkness towards the simpler truths that Jesus taught. I’ve often equated it to a surgical procedure, where a surgeon must navigate around all of the good stuff while removing the bad. For example, Paul had to clear the air of false doctrines regarding the abuse of grace.
What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?
Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.
Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.
We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin.
Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God.
So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
-Romans 6:1-11
People who struggle with this phenomenon of dying and then being born again fall into the same camp as Nicodemus, who said, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born, can he" (John 3:4)? To a true believer in Christ, this is “common sense”. The idea of being born again makes perfect sense and, while it is indeed a miracle, it is quite a simple concept once understood in light of plenary scripture.
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 keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
-Galatians 5:24-26
The simple truth is that we must die to sin to be born again. A person who “dies in their sins” (John 8:24) is the person who goes to their grave refusing the simple words of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
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 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? For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.
-Matthew 16:24-27
Love in Christ,
Ed Collins
