当许多人听到耶稣直截了当地命令他们舍己、背起自己的十字架（马可福音 8:34）时，他们听到的除了主的声音之外还有另一个声音。“换句话说，要痛苦，”那个声音说。“失去你所爱的一切。把你那一小份幸福践踏掉。成为一个烈士。”
我们可以把这种无时无刻的声音称为《圣经》的新蛇译本（NST）。毕竟，魔鬼是世界上第一个圣经翻译者和解释者。“他说过，不许吃树上的果子吗？是的，让我告诉你那是什么意思意思是……”（创世记 3：1-5）。当然，我们很少像夏娃那样有如此明显的体验。我们没有意识到我们已经被蛇迷住了；我们只是不听耶稣的话，微妙地感觉到他的命令是沉重的。
但撒旦忽略了一点，耶稣来是要“除灭魔鬼的作为”（约翰一书 3:8），包括亵渎的谎言，即“舍己”意味着“痛苦”。因此，他通过告诉我们自我否定的真正结果来压制蛇的声音。耶稣告诉我们，当我们否定自己时，我们就会找到自己。我们反抗魔鬼。我们加入天堂的一方。我们消灭我们的悲伤。
找到自己
在一个像我们这样推崇个人主义的社会里，当我们听到“否定自我”时，也许最大的恐惧就是：害怕我们会失去自我。我们将被剥夺一切让我成为自我的东西。我们的梦想将被摧毁，我们的欲望将被削弱，我们的个性将被抹去。我们将成为无尽灰色海洋中的一滴水。
“如果你想取悦魔鬼，就不要否定自己。”
这种恐惧是可以理解的。毕竟，“否定自己”需要自我否定。我们必须把斧头砍倒在我们身上结出坏果子的每一棵树的根。每一个罪都必须被杀死，我身上每一个不反映他必须放弃——不只是一次，而是“每天”放弃（路加福音 9:23）。“看，”蛇说，“迷失自己。”
耶稣回答说：“不，找到你自己——真正的自我。”他说，“凡要救自己生命的，必丧掉生命；凡为我和福音丧掉生命的，必救了生命。”（马可福音 8:35）天国隐藏着魔鬼一无所知的秘密。在耶稣统治的地方，上行下行，先行后行，而拯救生命的唯一方法就是为他而丧掉生命。
自我否定之后的生活可能与我们一直以来所了解的生活大不相同。但它不会——也不可能——更糟。在这样的生活中，我们得到的比我们放弃的多百倍（马可福音 10:30）。在这样的生活中，我们不再是宇宙交响乐中破碎的音符，而是在演奏上帝创造我们时所要演奏的部分。在这样的生活中，我们与耶稣同在：他是一切美丽的创造者，一切破碎的救赎者，一切欢乐的源泉。
当你否定自己时，你不会迷失自己——最终不会。你会找到自己。
抵抗魔鬼
当然，魔鬼并不喜欢任何人找到自我。他更喜欢偷窃、谋杀和毁灭（约翰福音 10:10）。所以，当我们到了必须否定自我的地步时，他会以某种方式建议我们拯救自己。
在马可福音第 8 章中，彼得是魔鬼的棋子。当门徒试图引导他的主远离十字架时，耶稣回答说：“撒但，退我后边去吧！因为你不体贴神的事，只体贴人的事”（马可福音 8：33）。拯救我们有罪的自我而不是否定它们的诱惑可能来自一千个地方——来自我们自己内在的罪，来自我们的社会，甚至来自像彼得这样的挚友。但归根结底，“拯救自己”是毒舌。这是地狱的福音。
“在耶稣统治的地方，上行的路就是下行的路，第一的就是最后的，拯救你生命的唯一方法就是为了他而失去生命。”
我们有多少次冲动想要克制自己——放下酒杯、放弃奖金、去找邻居倾诉、承认令人尴尬的罪过——结果我们内心的某个部分，就像彼得一样，开始质疑我们良好的决心？“现在，现在，有一条更舒适的通往荣耀的道路，不是吗？我们不用背负十字架就能拿到王冠吗？没必要这么极端。记住，凡事都要适度。”魔鬼可能是一头狮子，但我们很少听到他的吼叫；更多的时候，他出现在我们最合理的理由中，以避免自我克制。
如果你想取悦魔鬼，那么就不要否定自己。但如果你想挑战你的宿敌，如果你想蔑视那个恨你灵魂的人，如果你想砍断把你拖入地狱的手臂，那么就弯下腰，拿起你的十字架。
加入天堂之侧
对于某些人来说，自我否定的最大代价不是失去个人乐趣，而是失去公众声誉和人际关系。耶稣“被长老、祭司长和文士弃绝”（马可福音 8:31）——更不用说被邻居嘲笑和被家人批评（马可福音 3:20-21；6:1-6）。如果我们跟随他，我们也会被拒绝。
但请注意耶稣是如何从天上的角度来看待代价的。当我们起来跟随耶稣时，我们要离开谁？“这淫乱罪恶的世代”（马可福音 8:38）。在我们的罪中，我们与淫乱的人为伍；事实上，我们自己就是其中一员（雅各书 4:4）。这是我们必须抛弃的团契。当我们这样做时，我们要加入谁？“人子”，他有一天会“在他父的荣耀里，同着圣天使”回来（马可福音 8:38）。换句话说，我们加入天堂。站在天堂的正确一边总是比站在历史的“正确”一边要好。
毫无疑问，跟随耶稣所带来的关系疏远足以让我们哭泣，特别是当我们背负的十字架将我们与最亲密的朋友和家人分开时。但你能看到在自我否定的另一边是谁在等你吗？你来到一位父亲面前，他已准备好为他悔改的子民欢呼（路加福音15： 7、10、22-24 ）。你来到众多圣天使面前，惊叹于你所拥有的恩典（彼得前书 1：12 ）。你来到耶稣面前，这位儿子比兄弟更亲密，比朋友更亲爱。
正如以利沙对他那胆怯的仆人所说，我们也可以对我们胆怯的灵魂说：“不要惧怕！与我们同在的，比与他们同在的更多。”（列王纪下 6:16）与我们同在的，不仅是人数更多，而且优秀得多。
消灭你的悲伤
现在我们来看看也许是最令人惊讶的自我否定承诺。如果你否定自己，你不仅会找到自我，反抗魔鬼，加入天堂的阵营，而且你会幸福。因为，正如乔纳森·爱德华兹曾经布道的那样，“自我否定摧毁了悲伤的根源和基础。”世界上所有的悲伤、悲痛、考验和麻烦都源于我们的祖先选择自我胜过上帝（罗马书 5:12；8:20）。我们自己的许多悲伤都来自同一个苦根。如果我们要彻底消灭我们的悲伤，就必须否定热爱罪恶的自我。
“世界上最深沉的快乐只能来自自我否定。”
耶稣知道他的使命是消灭一切悲伤。不要被那面坚如磐石、面向耶路撒冷的面孔所欺骗（路加福音 9:51）。当耶稣望向鞭子、钉子、十字架、人群、长矛和坟墓时，他看到了超越这一切、值得为之献出生命的东西：“荣耀”（马可福音 8:38）。希伯来书告诉我们，那荣耀的一部分就是“喜乐”（希伯来书 12:2）。摆在他面前的”（希伯来书 12:2）。
耶稣如此，我们也是如此。世上最深沉的喜乐只有在自我否定的另一面才能获得。事实上，喜乐是如此丰富、广阔和慷慨，以至于它常常在我们自我否定的过程中与我们相遇。当其他生命死去时，新生命就会出现；当我们还在砍伐旧植物的根时，新植物就会发芽。正如我们“忧愁，却是常常快乐的”，我们也是“舍己，却是常常快乐的”（哥林多后书 6:10）。
因此，耶稣呼吁我们自我否定，打破了蛇的魔咒，召唤我们走向他为我们创造的快乐。“来吧，”他说，“放弃自我保护生活中的安全和小乐趣，去追随天国之王的狂野快乐。离开黑暗，走向光明，离开地狱，走向天堂，离开你想要拯救的生活，走向爱我的美好生活。”尽管自我否定会带来很多痛苦，但它是通往“无比喜乐”的唯一道路（诗篇 43:4）——因为它是通往基督的唯一道路。
斯科特·哈伯德是《渴慕神》的主编，万民教会的牧师，毕业于伯利恒学院和神学院。他和妻子贝瑟尼以及他们的三个儿子住在明尼阿波利斯。
google translate from:https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/denying-yourself-is-loving-yourself
When many hear Jesus’s blunt command to deny yourself and take up your cross (Mark 8:34), they hear another voice alongside our Lord’s. “In other words, be miserable,” the voice says. “Lose everything you love. Take your little portion of happiness and trample on it. Become a martyr.”
We might call this ever-available voice the New Serpent Translation (NST) of the Bible. The devil was, after all, the world’s first Bible translator and interpreter. “No eating from the tree, did he say? Yes, let me tell you what that means . . .” (Genesis 3:1–5). The experience is rarely so conscious for us as it was for Eve, of course. We don’t realize we’ve fallen under the serpent’s spell; we just walk away from hearing Jesus with the subtle sense that his commands are burdensome.
But what Satan leaves out is that Jesus came “to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8), including the blasphemous lie that “deny yourself” means “be miserable.” And so, he silences the serpent’s voice by telling us where self-denial really leads. When we deny ourselves, Jesus tells us, we find ourselves. We defy the devil. We join heaven’s side. We destroy our sorrow.
Find Yourself
In a society that prizes individualism as much as ours does, perhaps one fear looms largest when we hear “deny yourself”: the fear that we will lose ourselves. We will be deprived of everything that makes me me. Our dreams will be trashed, our desires blunted, our personality erased. We will become one more drop in a sea of endless gray.
“If you want to delight the devil, refuse to deny yourself.”
The fear is understandable. “Deny yourself” requires, after all, self-denial. We must lay the axe to the root of every tree that bears bad fruit in us. Every sin must be slain, every part of me that does not reflect him must be renounced — and not just once, but “daily” (Luke 9:23). “See,” the serpent says, “lose yourself.”
To which Jesus responds, “No, find yourself — your true self.” He says, “Whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it” (Mark 8:35). The kingdom of heaven holds secrets of which the devil knows nothing. Where Jesus reigns, the way up is down, the first are last, and the only way to save your life is to lose it for his sake.
The life we find on the other side of self-denial may look far different from the life we’ve always known. But it will not — it cannot — be worse. It is a life where we gain a hundredfold more than we ever give up (Mark 10:30). It is a life where we are no longer a broken note in the symphony of the universe, but are rather sounding the part God created us for. It is a life with Jesus: maker of all beauty, redeemer of all brokenness, fountain of all joy.
When you deny yourself, you will not lose yourself — not ultimately. You will find yourself.
Defy the Devil
The devil, of course, is not in favor of anyone finding himself. He prefers theft, murder, and destruction (John 10:10). So when we come to a place where we know we must deny ourselves, he will suggest, in one way or another, that we save ourselves instead.
Here in Mark 8, Peter was the devil’s pawn. When the disciple tried to steer his Master away from the cross, Jesus responded, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man” (Mark 8:33). The temptation to save our sinful selves rather than deny them may come from a thousand places — from our own indwelling sin, from our society, even from a beloved friend like Peter. But at bottom, “save yourself” is serpent talk. It is the gospel of Gehenna.
“Where Jesus reigns, the way up is down, the first are last, and the only way to save your life is to lose it for his sake.”
How many times have we had an impulse to deny ourselves — put down the drink, give away the bonus, go talk to that neighbor, confess the embarrassing sin — only to have some part of us, like Peter, begin to question our good resolves? “Now, now, there’s a more comfortable way to glory, isn’t there? Surely we can grasp the crown without bearing this cross? No need to be so extreme. Moderation in all things, remember.” The devil may be a lion, but we rarely hear his roar; more often, he appears in our most plausible reasons to avoid self-denial.
If you want to delight the devil, then refuse to deny yourself. But if you want to defy your ancient foe, if you want to scorn the one who hates your soul, if you want to cut off the arms that would drag you to hell, then bend down and pick up your cross.
Join Heaven’s Side
For some, the greatest cost of self-denial is not the loss of private pleasures, but the loss of public reputation and relationships. Jesus was “rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes” (Mark 8:31) — not to mention scoffed at by his neighbors and criticized by his family (Mark 3:20–21; 6:1–6). If we follow him, rejection will fall to our lot as well.
Yet notice how Jesus puts the cost into heavenly perspective. Whom are we leaving when we rise up to follow Jesus? “This adulterous and sinful generation” (Mark 8:38). In our sin, we kept company with adulterers; we ourselves were one of them, in fact (James 4:4). This is the fellowship we must forsake. And when we do, whom do we join? “The Son of Man,” who will one day return “in the glory of his Father with the holy angels” (Mark 8:38). In other words, we join heaven. And it is always better to be on the right side of heaven than on the “right” side of history.
No doubt, the relational alienation that comes from following Jesus can be enough to make us weep, especially when the cross we bear separates us from dearest friends and family. But can you see who is waiting for you on the other side of self-denial? You go to a Father, ready to make merry over his repentant people (Luke 15:7, 10, 22–24). You go to multitudes of holy angels, marveling at the grace that is yours (1 Peter 1:12). And you go to Jesus, the Son who has become closer than a brother, dearer than a friend.
As Elisha said to his fearful servant, so we might say to our fearful souls, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them” (2 Kings 6:16). And those with us are not only more in number, but better by far.
Destroy Your Sorrow
We come now to perhaps the most surprising promise of self-denial. If you deny yourself, you will not only find yourself, defy the devil, and join heaven’s side; you will be happy. For, as Jonathan Edwards once preached, “Self-denial destroys the very root and foundation of sorrow.” All the world’s sorrow, grief, trials, and trouble find their beginning in our first parents’ choice of self over God (Romans 5:12; 8:20). So many of our own sorrows grow from the same bitter root. If we are going to destroy our sorrow down to the bottom, the self that loves sin must be denied.
“The deepest joys in this world come only on the other side of self-denial.”
Jesus knew that his was a mission to destroy all sorrow. Don’t be fooled by the face set like flint toward Jerusalem (Luke 9:51). As Jesus looked toward the whips, the nails, the cross, the crowds, the spear, and the tomb, he saw something beyond them all worth dying for: “glory” (Mark 8:38). And part of that glory, Hebrews tells us, was “the joy that was set before him” (Hebrews 12:2).
As it was for Jesus, so it is with us. The deepest joys in this world come only on the other side of self-denial. In fact, the joy is so rich, so expansive and generous, that often it meets us in the very midst of our self-denial. The new life rises as the other dies; the new plant sprouts while we are still hacking at the root of the old. Just as we are “sorrowful, yet always rejoicing,” so too we are “self-denying, yet always rejoicing” (2 Corinthians 6:10).
In his call to deny ourselves, then, Jesus breaks the serpent’s spell and beckons us toward the joy he made us for. “Come,” he says, “leave the safe and small pleasures of a self-protected life for the wild delights of following heaven’s King. Leave darkness for light, hell for heaven, and the life you want to save for a far better life of loving me.” For all the pain that self-denial brings, it is the only path to “exceeding joy” (Psalm 43:4) — because it is the only path to Christ.
Scott Hubbard is the managing editor for Desiring God, a pastor at All Peoples Church, and a graduate of Bethlehem College and Seminary. He and his wife, Bethany, live with their three sons in Minneapolis.
link:https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/denying-yourself-is-loving-yourself
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