Some churches are really strong on answering the call to life, but pay less attention to Christ’s call to death. Others are pretty good at life prevention, doing a great job of answering the call to deny any bit of self satisfaction.

I recall one preacher who would thump the pulpit vehemently as he made me feel guilty for even eating breakfast that day. And I can recall another preacher who always made me feel better about myself, but it never seemed to last. So which gospel is the real gospel? How can people teach such opposites from the same bible? Because Jesus calls us to both death and life.

Jesus was not so one sided. He calls us to deny our human nature: “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate... even his own life he cannot be My disciple." (Luke 14:26) Yet He calls our spirit to live: “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." (John 7:37 38)

Used with permission by:

FreshBread

Hayden Andrews