"Actually..." 4-12-26
Overview
"To Thine Own Self Be True" — Words Jesus Never Said
The phrase "to thine own self be true" sounds wise, even biblical. But it doesn't come from Scripture; it comes from Shakespeare's Hamlet. Paul warned that a time would come when people "will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires" 2 Timothy 4:3-4. When a saying tickles the ear, that's precisely when we should test it against what Jesus actually said. And what Jesus said is the polar opposite: "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me" Luke 9:23.
What "Take Up Your Cross" Does Not Mean
R.C. Sproul observed that "bearing one's cross" has been reduced to a description of any inconvenience—bad weather, unemployment, illness, a broken limb. But these afflictions strike believer and unbeliever alike. When Jesus carried the cross beam through the streets, when He was nailed up and bore the wrath of God, He was not merely uncomfortable. The daily cross is heavier and more brutal than "toughing it out." It is the cost of belonging to Christ in a world that rejects Him: "What does it profit them if they gain the whole world but lose or forfeit themselves?" Luke 9:25. Pursuing the world's approval may bring real rewards on this side of heaven—but those rewards stay here.
The Paradox of the Christian Life
A Christian lives by paradox: we save our life by losing it. In baptism, the old self dies and a new creation is raised in Christ. Our desires are no longer chained to the world but bound to Christ Himself. As Paul writes, "I have been crucified with Christ and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me" (Galatians 2:20; see also Galatians 5:24-25 and Galatians 6:14). A man must spend his life, not hoard it—just as Christ spent His whole self for the redemption of creation.
The Real Cost: Unashamed Witness
Jesus continues, "Those who are ashamed of me and of my words, of them the Son of Man will be ashamed when he comes in his glory" Luke 9:26. Ask Christians what keeps them from sharing their faith, and the most common answer is fear of rejection or being mocked. That fear is real—Peter himself denied Jesus three times under its weight. Yet by grace, the risen Christ restored Peter and used him mightily. Peter would later write that when we suffer for Christ's sake, we should be glad and give glory to God 1 Peter 4:13-14. Every silenced moment is forgiven in Christ, and God keeps bringing fresh opportunities to speak His love.
Christ Was True to Himself—And That Saved Us
If Jesus had simply been "true to himself" in a merely human sense, there would have been no incarnation and no cross. But Jesus was true to Himself—because He is eternally merciful, just, loving, and gracious. So He entered creation, lived perfectly, bore our shame to death, and rose triumphant. The cross looks like defeat to the world, but to us it is glorious: death defeated by death. There we meet our Maker and discover who we truly are. Jesus never said, "To thine own self be true." He said, "Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me." And only there—in Him—do we become who we were created to be.
Transcript
To thy own self be true, to thy own self be true. 1s
A great man who once walked this earth said or wrote, those words shared, these exact words 11s
with the world, a creator of great works, unparalleled by any of his contemporaries. 22s
People from all over the world, quote, the many sayings of this great man, many great sayings 32s
are attributed to this man who is the man Shakespeare, Shakespeare from Hamlet, first 45s
act seen three, to thine own self be true. 59s
What is the lore, the temptation that we would think that saying such as to thine own 66s
self be true would come from Scripture, because it sounds so good. 76s
It sounds nice to the ear to hear to thine own self be true. 85s
But Scripture warns us of seeking for that which sounds so good or tickles the ear in 95s
second Timothy. 105s
Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, writes, for the time is coming when 107s
people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate 113s
for themselves teachers to suit their own desires. 119s
And we'll turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths, to thine own 124s
self be true. 133s
We are entering today into the final chapter of the Red Letter Word series. 136s
This is a series that began in September and runs through the rest of the school year. 143s
And throughout this series, we're looking at the recorded words of Jesus in Scripture 150s
often printed in red ink. 157s
And so in this final chapter of red letter words, we're going to look at a chapter 160s
that is entitled words never spoken. 168s
And we're going to look at a variety of saying that are attributed to Scripture often attributed 173s
to Jesus himself, but that we're actually never spoken by Jesus. 181s
And in fact, then we're going to look at the red letter words and see what Jesus 187s
actually said. 193s
What God actually tells us in His Word, to thine own self be true. 197s
Actually, what did Jesus say? 209s
Open your Bibles, please, to the gospel of Luke, the ninth chapter. 212s
If you're using a Pue edition of the Bible, this can be found on page 60 in the New Testament. 218s
We're in Luke, chapter 9. 226s
Look with me, please. 230s
At verse 23, where Jesus said to them all, if any want to become my followers, let them 232s
deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me to thine own self be true. 240s
But Jesus says, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. 253s
That is quite the opposite. 262s
In fact, it's a polar opposite. 265s
Being true to oneself, where Jesus says to deny oneself. 268s
You see, when we confess Christ, when we confess that Jesus Christ, indeed, the second 278s
person of the Trinity entered into creation, living perfectly, going to the cross, taking 286s
the suffering and shame of our sin upon himself, dying, being buried in the tomb and resurrecting 293s
triumphant over the grave. 305s
When we are confessing Christ, we are denying ourselves. 307s
We are denying our power, we're denying our control, we're denying our autonomy and will. 316s
So what does denying self entail? What is the daily cross? 329s
R.C. Spurl, he commented, and I love this. He commented that bearing one's cross has become a 337s
description of any suffering we endure. Suffering that afflicts Christian and non-Christian alike. 343s
So think about bad weather. One could step outside in the middle of a thunderstorm and say, 352s
oh, this bad weather is the cross I have to bear today. Or one could be unemployed or a spouse could 357s
unemployed and we could say that the unemployment suffering is the cross that we must bear. 367s
Or perhaps a leg is broken or an arm is broken and there's a physical pain or frailty that we 375s
must endure and we say this must be the cross. Because I'm suffering, I'm not comfortable. This 383s
must be the cross that I'm enduring. But bad weather, unemployment, illness, broken limbs, that 391s
that can affect anyone. It is universal. It affects Christians and non-Christians believers and 403s
unbelievers alike. But here, here Jesus says, if any want to become my followers, let them deny 410s
themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me, the bad weather, the unemployment, 420s
the illness, that is not the daily cross of which Christ speaks. Christ is not speaking of that which 433s
makes us uncomfortable. When Christ took up his cross, he wasn't just uncomfortable as he carried 444s
the cross beam through the streets. When Jesus took up his cross, he wasn't just uncomfortable 457s
or in an unpleasant situation as he was nailed to the cross and hoisted up, Christ was not merely 466s
uncomfortable as he hung there and had the wrath of God poured out upon him. 477s
When Christ says that we are to deny ourselves and take up our cross daily and follow him, 491s
he's not referring to toughen it out. It's deeper than that. It's heavier than that. 499s
And oftentimes, it's more brutal than that. What does Jesus mean when he says, take up the cross? 513s
Well, let's look, please, at verses 24 through 26. Jesus says, for those who want to save their life 530s
will lose it and those who lose their life for my sake will save it. What does it profit them if they 537s
gain the whole world but lose or forfeit themselves? Those who are ashamed of me and of my words 544s
of them, the Son of Man will be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father 553s
and of the Holy Angels. Take note of verse 25, what does it profit them if they gain the whole 560s
world but lose or forfeit themselves? He's pointing out the futility in seeking out the world 570s
and the rewards that we find in this world this side of heaven. He's pointing out the futility 582s
in appeasing the society and the culture around us. We may have a reward this side of heaven. 593s
We may be well liked. We may have nice things. We may have the opportunity to travel 600s
but the reward is of this world and the reward remains in this world this side of heaven. 610s
Jesus says, what's the profit? What's the gain in trying to appease the world around us? 627s
If the eternal life is lost, what does it profit them if they gain the whole world but lose or forfeit 643s
themselves? In verse 24, he says, those who want to save their life will lose it and those who 661s
lose their life for my sake will save it. As a Christian people we are really called into a 670s
paradoxical sort of existence, a paradoxical kind of life this morning we had the blessed experience 677s
of being present at a birth. We're present as this beautiful sister in Christ was brought forth 688s
through the waters of baptism. In baptism we die to sin. We die to self. It is the old Adam, 698s
the old Eve who is put to death and a new creation. A new person in Christ is brought forth in life. 707s
We die to sin. We die to self and we are made new in our identity of who we are created to be in 721s
Christ which means that our desires are no longer linked to appease this world this side of heaven. 732s
Our desires are once our will is no longer linked to the world around us. 741s
But to Christ and we're linked to the ownership of Christ and we're linked to the spirit of Christ and we are 751s
linked to Christ himself. A theologian said, a man must spend his life not hoard it. 761s
When we consider this quotation, a man must spend his life not hoard it. We can really see that 779s
in light of our paradoxical existence. While the sinner in us wants to gain for self wants to 788s
hoard all of the good we can experience this side of heaven in Christ we are called to spend. 799s
Think of Christ. He spent his entire being. He poured out his whole self on to death, 808s
spending it for the purchase of the saints whom he would redeem, 821s
spending his whole person for the redemption of all creation, 829s
reconciling the world to the Father. 838s
As we die in baptism and are raised to new life it is not us who lives but it is Christ who lives in us. 844s
We're told of this inscripture over and over again but we're going to really hone in on Galatians this morning. 855s
In Galatians chapter two we hear, I have been crucified with Christ and it is no longer 862s
I who live but it is Christ who lives in me and the life I now live in the flesh I live 870s
by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. In Galatians chapter five we 877s
hear and those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 887s
If we live by the spirit let us also be guided by the spirit. In Galatians chapter six 895s
we read may I never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ by which the 904s
world has been crucified to me and I to the world. In our baptism in our faith that God calls us into 913s
it is no longer us who lives but it is Christ in us who lives. It is His holy spirit that moves and works 927s
within us and through us and here we come, here we come to what we understand 940s
as the real cost of taking up our cross and bearing it daily. Look with me please at verse 26 952s
in Luke chapter nine. Jesus says those who are ashamed of me and of my words 964s
of them the Son of man will be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the father and of 972s
holy angels. A shamed of Christ. About three times a year I lead a or I facilitate a workshop 980s
called everyone his witness. Many of you have participated in it you are more than welcome to 994s
participate in it more than once but there's a question that comes up in in this workshop and the 1001s
question is basically what stops you from sharing the faith? What stops you from sharing the love 1007s
of Jesus and without fail? The most common and the most popular answer is rejection and being mocked. 1019s
There is a fear of sharing Christ with the world because there's a fear of being rejected, 1035s
a fear of being mocked and the fear is real. The fear is real. We put our reputation with the 1050s
world on the line every time we share the love of Jesus because we risk being rejected. We risk 1064s
being mocked but we are called to deny ourselves. We are called to take up the cross. 1075s
The cross of our fear of being rejected, the cross of our fear of being mocked. 1096s
We are called to continue to go out and go forth and share the faith and share the love of Jesus. 1103s
Jesus was arrested and as he was put on this mock trial Peter, Peter was asked, 1114s
are you with this man and Peter denied Jesus? Three times, denied Jesus out of fear 1122s
of being rejected out of fear of being mocked out of fear of being put on trial with Christ. 1131s
By God's grace after the resurrection Jesus came to Peter and he restored him. He restored 1143s
him as an apostle as a leader in the church and God used him in mighty ways. 1153s
So when we read as we heard the reading this morning, as we read as Peter tells us 1165s
that when we suffer for the sake of Christ we should be glad and give glory to God because we 1172s
suffer we suffer righteously by God's grace for every moment that we have stopped our mouth. 1180s
When we could have or should have shared the faith, shared the love of Jesus, God forgives us. 1194s
By God's grace he continues to bring those divine opportunities into our lives 1204s
where we get to share his love, where we get to share the faith that he has given to us and the 1213s
rejection, the fear of rejection cannot stop us, cannot stop us from sharing the love that we have 1236s
in Christ Jesus because remember it is no longer I who live but it is Christ Jesus who lives 1247s
in me. What if Jesus followed the words of Shakespeare in the most human sense to 1257s
sign own self be true to sign own self be true if he followed those words in the most human sense 1269s
do you think there would be a cross because Christ lived perfectly he had no need to bear the 1279s
punishment of sin. To sign own self be true do you think in the most human sense if Christ had 1290s
followed those words would there even be in incarnation? Would he have even entered into creation 1302s
because God in and of himself is whole and complete but you see Jesus was true to himself 1312s
because God is eternally merciful. God is eternally just God is eternally loving and forgiving 1325s
and gracious and because Jesus is true to himself because God is God. He indeed did enter into 1337s
creation. He indeed lived the perfect life and went to the cross and bore the cross of our shame 1354s
and our defeat and the cross led him to death and the death led to the tomb and in the tomb led 1367s
to the glorious pronouncement of Easter that he has risen and because he has risen we know that we are 1379s
forgiven and as we come through those waters of baptism we know that it is indeed God being true 1392s
to who God is and loving us and claiming us as his own and setting us free from the bonds of sin and shame. 1403s
Jesus became a curse so that you and I may know our true identity in him and we live as Christians in 1417s
paradox of the cross the cross which is so gross seemingly like complete defeat. 1427s
The cross to the world means death but to us the cross is glorious. It's beautiful because for us 1439s
the cross shows us that death has been defeated by death that God's power reigns supreme 1457s
in the cross we get to meet our maker and we know exactly who we are 1470s
to the own self be true. Jesus never said that. Jesus never said that. He actually said 1485s
deny yourself take up your cross bear the freedom and the love and the light which our daily cross 1499s
provides and know that when you are true to thine own self in the cross you are truly who you are 1516s
created to be because you are created and a new creation in Christ Jesus. 1529s
Please rise. 1544s