He Must Increase; I Must Decrease
The cross humbles us. It does not exalt man but God!
Jesus is the central figure of the cross, not man.
One defining experience of the true born-again experience is that we turn away from self-worship, and Jesus becomes truly God in our lives!
The sinful nature is driven by self on the throne, rather than God. That is what the cross deals with.
John the Baptist said, “He must increase; I must decrease.” (John 3:30).
When we yield to the savior, SELF dies. Paul says the old man has been crucified with Christ. (Romans 6:6)
Self was the problem, to begin with, and that’s why we needed a savior. Eve yielded to self and sinned. Satan is filled with self.
The cross deals with the self. But it is a continued path of self-denial and putting to death of the old man.
Jesus said, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross DAILY, and follow me.” Luke 9:23
It is a daily walk of death to self. Paul says, “I die daily.” (1 Corinthians 15:31) And, “I discipline my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.” (1 Corinthians 9:27)
Jesus must increase: When he is lifted up, he will draw all men to himself
Through the cross, Jesus Christ, our creator has taken center stage in man’s heart, soul, mind, and strength again like he did at the beginning, but because we are still in a fallen physical body, we must daily deny self and take up our crosses and follow Jesus. Until that day when we receive our glorified bodies, we must deny the flesh. That is the only way to make sure sin and self remain dead and dethroned; otherwise, they can rise and overpower again. “For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another.” (Galatians 5:17)
When you look at the language of Jesus and the Apostles in the New Testament, it is evident that the new covenant life is one of self-denial, humility, service, meekness, love, putting to death of self, surrender, modesty in appearance and lifestyle, and decrease.
Any gospel message that lifts man, makes him a great something and focuses on pleasing the flesh, pride, and accumulating wealth and self-importance in this world is not the gospel Jesus preached. This very desire to be something is what Satan used to bring about the fall of humanity. It is the very thing he tempted Jesus with in the wilderness. “All these things will I give thee if thou wilt fall down and worship me.” (Matthew 4:9)
These things Satan promised Jesus are what the majority of the ‘modern’ churches preach every Sunday and promise their followers. Judge for yourself if this is the teaching of the New Testament. It is not. On the contrary, Jesus and the apostles WARNED about the desire to be rich, covetousness, and the love of money because they CORRUPT the soul.
You must decrease: the danger of making a god of self
God will give people these things as and when he wills, but it is never for their selfish interests, but for stewardship. We see the example in the Book of Acts. Those who were rich sold the excess and gave it to the apostles and elders, who then shared it with those who had various needs among them. How many churches preach or practice this? They cannot because the pastors will not get their large salaries, fancy lifestyles, and holidays if they do or compete to build fancy churches. “You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in the day of slaughter.” (James 5:5)
How many Christians practice this? They find it hard to because they have never been shown this is what true Christian love means. It was easy for the early church to give to each other because they understood that this world was not their home and they saw each other as family. They laid up treasures for the world to come. They understood that this world was not their home.
New Testament Christianity is not about worldly success and accumulating wealth. It is about preparing for our real home, which is in heaven. And with this understanding, we will understand Jesus’s admonition to lay up treasures above. We will do those things that he taught to help increase our treasures in heaven. These treasures will be waiting for us in heaven when we do what Jesus taught us: prayer, Bible study, obedience, fasting, giving alms, loving our enemies, forgiving, observing his commands and the apostle’s teachings, loving one another, carrying one another’s burdens, being light in this world, helping the poor, orphans and widow, preaching the gospel, discipleship, and so forth.
But nowhere did Jesus ever teach that we should give to men and women of God so that we may be rich in this world. Neither he nor his apostles demanded such things from those who followed them; instead, they gave; they served.
Where is your treasure laid up?
Now ask yourself if modern Christianity is real Christianity or if Satan has managed to beguile the majority of Christians in these last days as Jesus and the apostles prophesied. The scriptures are fulfilling right before our eyes in terrifying ways. Jesus said, “Because of the multiplication of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold.” Matthew 24:12 and Paul said, “But understand this: In the last days terrible times will come. For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant…” 2 Timothy 3:2
The love of money is a major sign of the last days, and we sadly see it all around. Because of money and wealth, people have denied the Lord who bought them.
May Christ Jesus take the central place in his church again! Like John the Baptist, may our prayer always be “He must increase; I must decrease.”
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Have you given your life to Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior? He loves us so much that he, our creator, left heaven and came to earth, died for us on the cross taking our sins upon him so that we may be forgiven and receive his righteousness. He conquered death by rising from the dead and made a way for us who were dead in sin to be reconciled back to the Father (God). What’s more, he has prepared a wonderful home for us in heaven, where those who love him and obey him will spend eternity with him. Learn more here about how to be born again and have eternal life after this brief life on earth.
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