The Christian Duty of Self-Denial

Christ’s appeal to his disciples was austere and foreboding: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24). Today, we often interpret this in terms of denying ourselves the pleasures of sin, and this is certainly true. Many Christians, however, have historically understood that ‘self-denial’ goes beyond sinful pleasures. It is a Christian duty to watch ourselves carefully, curbing our appetites and denying our selfish inclinations – even when they are not directly sinful.

The Example of Self-Denial

Paul recognized the value of self-denial, describing his own regimen in terms of a spiritual athlete:

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.” (1 Corinthians 9:24-27)

While Paul was certainly careful to avoid sin, he explains that his self-discipline extended further: in order to obtain an imperishable wreath, he followed the example of athletes who exercise self control ‘in all things.’

His approach is summed up well in the letter to the Corinthians. Anticipating the counter-argument of his opponents, Paul admitted that “‘All things are lawful for me,’ but not all things are helpful. ‘All things are lawful for me,’ but I will not be dominated by anything” (1 Corinthians 6:12).

Similarly, Paul exhorted Timothy to “flee youthful passions” (2 Timothy 2:22) – terminology that includes sinful desires but goes beyond those to describe intense desires (not necessarily evil) that characterize young people.

The author of Hebrews gives a similar charge, urging believers to “lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely” (Hebrews 12:1). In this passage, two different things are in view: sin itself, and those things which are best described as ‘weights’ – anything lawful that gets in the way of intense spiritual activity.

Moving beyond the Bible, Henry Scougal recommended that, “…Christian prudence teaches us to abstain from many lawful gratifications to ensure that our desires are under control. To bring our natural desires into submission, we must do with ourselves as prudent parents do with their children. Wise parents refuse their children many minor pleasures and desires, so that they will learn to be more manageable and submissive in more considerable instances” (The Life of God in the Soul of Man: A Modernized Revision, 88).

Matthew Henry, commenting on Paul’s athletic analogy, noted that self-denial refers to general carefulness over bodily appetites, including sinful ones: “By the body we are to understand fleshly appetites and inclinations. These the apostle set himself to curb and conquer, and in this the Corinthians were bound to imitate him. Note, Those who would aright pursue the interests of their souls must beat down their bodies, and keep them under. They must combat hard with fleshly lusts, and not indulge a wanton appetite, and long for heathenish sacrifices, nor eat them, to please their flesh, at the hazard of their brethren’s souls. The body must be made to serve the mind, not suffered to lord over it.”

He goes on to ask, “would they yet suffer themselves to be outdone by these racers or wrestlers? Can they use abstinence in diet, exert themselves in racing, expose their bodies to so much hardship in a combat, who have no more in view than the trifling huzzas of a giddy multitude, or a crown of leaves? And shall not Christians, who hope for the approbation of the sovereign Judge, and a crown of glory from his hands, stretch forward in the heavenly race, and exert themselves in beating down their fleshly inclinations, and the strong-holds of sin?”

Self-Denial and Asceticism

It is important to distinguish between the Christian duty of self-denial and the heretical practice of asceticism. In Colossians 2:16-23 Paul warned about those who insist on asceticism and submit to regulations such as “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch.”

Christian self-denial is not based on works-righteousness. While the ascetic imagines that he is more accepted by God because of his asceticism, the Christian recognizes that he is saved by grace, apart from anything that he does. Self-denial is a means of obedience and a way to curb the flesh, but it does not justify or promote justification.

Christian self-denial does not view the body as evil or as a hindrance to spirituality. Rejecting a hyper-Platonic understanding of spirit as ‘good’ and material substance as ‘evil,’ the Christian understands that his or her body is not the problem – sin is the problem. Bodily appetites are not evil, though they must be regulated. In fact, the body is good – a temple of God.

Christian self-denial is not legalistic. It does not forbid what God allows, or (much less) legislate for others what is and is not acceptable, in areas of Christian freedom. The Christian is able to recognize that God “richly provides us with everything to enjoy” (1 Timothy 6:17) while at the same time exercising self control “in all things” (1 Corinthians 9:25). Just because something is acceptable does not mean that it should be pursued without restraint.

Christian self-denial has a unique focus. The ascetic has a negative focus, attempting to destroy sin through the subjugation of his bodily desires. The Christian has a positive focus, desiring to keep himself in a constant state of readiness, in order to do the will of God as an obedient servant.

The Purpose of Self-Denial

The goal of such self-denial is to break our own attachment to the world and ourselves, and to submit ourselves more fully to God. Scougal said that “the love of the world and the love of God are like the scales of a balance – as the one falls, the other rises. When our natural inclinations prosper and the flesh is exalted in our soul, love for God is faint; but when earthly objects wither away and lose their beauty, then the seeds of grace take root as the divine life begins to flourish and prevail. Therefore, we must be convinced of the emptiness and vanity of earthly enjoyments. We must reason our heart out of love with them” (Life of God, 90-91).

There are many ways in which this self-denial can be practiced. The most obvious way, of course, is through submission to God in the various trials and difficulties which he permits. Beyond this, many Christians – from Paul to the present – have viewed themselves as athletes or soldiers, carefully regulating their lives in terms of the pleasures and comforts that they allow so that, like the apostle, they will “not be dominated by anything” (1 Corinthians 6:12).