Himself He Cannot Save

Learn what your heart really wants. How to resist the temptation of the enemy and live a life surrendered to the will of God.

He saved others, Himself He cannot save.

Spectators of the crucifixion, spoke these words of cruelty, mocking our Lord.

“He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him.” Ma.27: 42

These words were cruel but true. Jesus could not save Himself because He was sent to do the will of God and it was the will of God for Him to fulfill all the scripture and willingly offer Himself on the cross for the sins of all mankind. At this crucial moment, the enemy of our souls is doing all he can to get Jesus to abort His mission.

It was either save Himself or those who would believe upon Him. Most of us like to think He had a choice and He chose to give Himself as the offering for sin. That is true but in a way, but no He had no choice because the love of the Father ruled His heart,

He was compelled to follow the dictates of His passion. I for one am very pleased that He did.

Recently it has been brought to my attention the wisdom in understanding your true heart's desire. In the book of Proverbs chapter 18:1, We read: “Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom.” A man having separated himself, the true follower of Christ has indeed separated himself. The first qualifier to be His follower is to deny yourself take up your cross and follow Him. Ma 16:24 That act of obedience brings true separation. The crucified man has died and the New Man has risen in newness of life.

It takes time for the renewing of the mind and heart to take place because the flesh is obstinate nevertheless the New Creature will come forth. 2 Cor. 5:17 He will take on the fullness of the Spirit as he learns to trust God for His will to be accomplished in him.

The old man with his passion and desires dies and new desires form and turn to a burning passion that cannot be denied. The call of God is in His heart, he no longer struggles with implementing his own will, he can truly say “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live: yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” Gal.2: 20

He no longer fears the will of God, in fact, the will of God is his greatest delight. He now understands when he is being led to do a certain thing, he can pray with confidence for he knows that this desire is Christ's desire.

In the following verse in Proverbs 18:2 it says: “A fool hath no delight in understanding, but that his heart may discover itself.” It seems that some professing believers are afraid of knowing his own heart or trusting what God has put there.

The will of God is calling us to go all the way "take up your cross and follow me" and the enemy of our soul is saying, "come down from the cross and we will believe you."

The temptation of the enemy is always more comfortable and easier than the call of God.

This is not to say that a believer must always suffer, for, of course, we may also experience the blessings of God, but that we must not be afraid to suffer for the will of God.

The truth is that the believer has it in their heart to pick up their cross, to be crucified with Christ, to suffer with Christ, and for Christ. To pick up the cross is to surrender your will to His. Too often the believer listens to the enemy and comes down from the cross. Too often the enemy gets us away from the will of God, from what our heart truly desires (crucifixion).

It is not for ourselves that we need to follow the true dictates of our hearts but for the perishing souls of our day.

Your servant in Christ,

James Lucas