Discipleship contains the teaching of self-denial and the Teacher is Grace.

The first incentive for our discipleship pathway is the saving grace of God, our salvation, which is offered not to some but to everyone. It is not something we work towards but it comes to us, it appears to us. The second incentive is the return of Jesus Christ. We are waiting His coming and when He appears He will find us living as His followers.

That’s one summary of these next verses:-

“For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. ¹² It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, ¹³ while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, ¹⁴ who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.” (Titus 2 v 11-14)

This grace teaches us to say NO. This is self-denial. Not from our own strength but from grace that empowers us to do so.

Gain has become an important part of the Church’s ministry ethos and strategy. If only this was in the Western Church alone. But I see this on every continent.
A church struggling to attract numbers does everything it can to bring people through its doors. Getting people into the building becomes a great achievement. The danger is that the church gives up the gospel for games in order to gain people. Some of the best Christian entertainment businesses are the churches, catering from babies to the elderly.

“If you come to this church you’ll get …”

We pamper to the needs of the masses – we supply what they need. We christen, wed, bury them and along the way sell them church.

After they attend for a while, they are dumbfounded to hear the church talk about sacrificial giving and serious commitment.

We hope they may say, “I came here for the music and what the church could offer my children, but because I’ve met God, I will now give up my rights and wants, I will deny myself”

Sadly, so many say “That’s not what I came here for – I’m going somewhere else, the church across the road better suits my needs.” Or “I’ve done church now, bye”

Churches are not car showrooms enticing people to buy their products. People still need to come the way of the old rugged cross.

In 1738, evangelist George Whitefield preached a sermon titled ‘The Almost Christian’. He contrasted ‘almost Christians’ with ‘altogether Christians’. “Tell them of the necessity of mortification, fasting and self-denial and it is as difficult for them to hear as if you were to bid them cut off a right hand or pluck out a right eye.”

In every century the church has faced this struggle with the element that want to gain from Christ and not lose all things for Him.

Christ is everything and to have Him is to lose everything.

It happens through grace that teaches us how as a parent teaches/shows a child how to live. Self-denial taught by grace is crucial discipleship training as we wait for His glorious return.