Life Eternal: How You Can Die to Self

When you hear the phrase, “die to self,” as a Christian, what likely comes to mind is living holy and doing away with sin. To be honest, you are not wrong if that’s what crosses your mind, but that’s not all there is to “dying to self.” This phrase means a whole lot and captures the very essence of being a Christian.

Jesus Christ showed us the perfect example of what it means to “die to self,” and He more than emphasized that this was the way to go if we were going to be His disciples. In our previous post, we discussed what “dying to self” means. This post will show you how you can follow in Christ’s example and die to self.

How to Die to Self

When God called us to Himself, He didn’t just call us to be without sin and be holy. He wanted us to be more. This is why Jesus Christ said we should let our light shine in Matthew 5:16. Light does not shine for its gain, it does so to serve everyone else. This is what dying to self truly means; that we do not live for ourselves or do things for self-gratification. But that we impact lives and by so doing, bring glory to our Father in heaven.

If this is what it means to die to self, then the question that begs an answer is, “How can we die to self?” Here are a few pointers to inspire you:

Looking onto Jesus daily

Jesus Christ showed us exactly what it means to “die to self.” He gave up His majesty, took upon Himself humanity, and suffered an unbelievable ordeal, just so we could become God’s children. What better example could we have?

Paul mentioned in his letter to the Hebrews that we must continually “look onto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith.” He goes further to explain why, saying, Jesus endured the pain of the cross, because of the eternal glory that was set before Him. If we are going to die to self, then our gazes must be fixed on the One who did it first, Jesus Christ. 

We can do this by spending time studying the Word, praying, and meditating on the scripture. The more we look into the perfect law of liberty, the more we understand how we must live like Christ. 

Denying ourselves

In Luke 9:23, Jesus Christ mentioned that to be His disciples, we must first deny ourselves, pick up our crosses daily, and follow Him. This must have been a hard nut to crack for His disciples as it is today. The natural human being wants to satisfy themselves first before anybody else. But in our kingdom, it is the other way around. In fact, there is no room for satisfying yourself.

Again, Jesus Christ set the example here. He lay down His life for His friends and expects us to do the same. Does this mean that you have to die for someone? Of course, not literally, however, as a Christian, you must be ready to make sacrifices, unbelievable ones. This is what it means to “be like Christ.”

Serving others

Let’s go back to the light bulb example. You hardly walk into a room and fix your gaze on the light bulb thinking about how beautiful it is. In fact, you are likely to notice the bulb when it isn’t doing its job of shining, and when you do, it is in disgust. The bulb lives to serve others and is satisfied with being unnoticed, as long as it fulfills its purpose.

This is the meaning of dying to self. God has called each of us to a ministry of service. Jesus Christ lived to serve humanity, and as His disciples, we must do the same. Ephesians 2:10 explains that God has called us to do good works that he predestined from before the beginning. Those good works are not to satisfy you, but to bless others. 

Conclusion

To truly die to self, you must focus on Jesus Christ, deny yourself, and be ready to serve others. It is not an option for believers, it is the ministry that God has called us into. This is what true discipleship means, in everything we do, and wherever we find ourselves, we must be like Christ.

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