The Good Self

Usually, we will most willingly deliver our bad, defiled, sinful and satanic part of self to Christ and let it be crucified. We are most anxious, in fact, to be rid of this bad part of self. Yet we have one flaw: we think we must retain the good part of self. In the eyes of God, however, our "self" is corrupted beyond repair because it is fatally and totally flawed by Adam’s fall. According to God, except having it crucified with Christ, there is no other way. He will neither heal nor amend our self life. We human beings may be willing to sacrifice our money and time for the Lord, but for us to deny self and have it crucified—that we are most reluctant to do. For we conclude that our "self’ is not all bad. This is according to human observation and is quite natural.

One may not intentionally retain his good self. He may keep back the good of self unconsciously, and consciously and most willingly deliver the bad to death. Yet who knows that if self is not totally dead, it is totally alive? If the good of self is nonetheless living, the bad of self is not guaranteed to be dead either. Hence the believer has a serious lesson to learn here: he must be willing to have both the bad and the good of self crucified with Christ.

Many people are naturally born with a self that is honest, patient, loving, etc. It is most difficult for them to deliver their entire self to death. Quite spontaneously they will retain their honesty, patience and love and allow what is evil in them to be crucified with the Lord. These believers have to be taught by God until they know the utter undependableness of self—whether bad or good—before they will obey. Such instruction we find was given to Peter. Before he knew the death and resurrection of the Lord, before he was filled with the Holy Spirit, he had fully convinced himself that he loved the Lord. His heart was good, but did he fulfill the promise he made to the Lord before His crucifixion that "I will lay down my life for thee"? His failure lay in the confidence he had in his own (good) self. He relied on his strong point without truly knowing himself. How very hard to know one’s self. We should accept God’s evaluation of our self and deliver it to the cross.