What Does the Bible Say About Self Denial?

“Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.”

“And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. Behold: Heb. Behold me”

“And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.”

“And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.”

“Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.”

“And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.”

“And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.”

“And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? lamb: or, kid”

“And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.”

“And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.”

“And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.”

“And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.”

“And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.”

“And Moses was very wroth, and said unto the LORD, Respect not thou their offering: I have not taken one ass from them, neither have I hurt one of them.”

“And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the LORD my God of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.”

“And she said, As the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.”

“And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son.”

“For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth. sendeth: Heb. giveth”

“And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. many: or, a full year”

“Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish. present: Heb. found”

“Surely I will not come into the tabernacle of my house, nor go up into my bed ;”

“I will not give sleep to mine eyes, or slumber to mine eyelids,”

“Until I find out a place for the LORD, an habitation for the mighty God of Jacob. an habitation: Heb. habitations”

“He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.”

“And put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite.”

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. expected: Heb. end and expectation”

“But they said, We will drink no wine: for Jonadab the son of Rechab our father commanded us, saying, Ye shall drink no wine, neither ye, nor your sons for ever:”

“Neither shall ye build house, nor sow seed, nor plant vineyard, nor have any: but all your days ye shall dwell in tents; that ye may live many days in the land where ye be strangers.”

“But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.”

“Now God had brought Daniel into favour and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs.”

“And the prince of the eunuchs said unto Daniel, I fear my lord the king, who hath appointed your meat and your drink: for why should he see your faces worse liking than the children which are of your sort? then shall ye make me endanger my head to the king. worse: Heb. sadder sort: or, term, or, continuance?”

“Then said Daniel to Melzar, whom the prince of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, Melzar: or, the steward”

“Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink. pulse: Heb. of pulse to eat: Heb. that we may eat, etc”

“Then let our countenances be looked upon before thee, and the countenance of the children that eat of the portion of the king's meat: and as thou seest, deal with thy servants.”

“So he consented to them in this matter, and proved them ten days.”

“And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the king's meat.”

“Thus Melzar took away the portion of their meat, and the wine that they should drink; and gave them pulse.”

“And I have heard of thee, that thou canst make interpretations, and dissolve doubts: now if thou canst read the writing, and make known to me the interpretation thereof, thou shalt be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about thy neck, and shalt be the third ruler in the kingdom. make interpretations: Cald. interpret, etc”

“Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another; yet I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation. rewards: or, fee”

“I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled. pleasant: Heb. bread of desires”

“Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;”

“And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.”

“Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.”

“And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.”

“And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. offend: or, do cause thee to offend”

“And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.”

“And a certain scribe came, and said unto him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.”

“And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.”

“And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.”

“But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.”

“And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him.”

“He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.”

“And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.”

“He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.”

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.”

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:”

“Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.”

“Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”

“For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.”

“For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”

“Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee : it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.”

“And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.”

“For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother's womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.”

“Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.”

“Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?”

“And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

“And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.”

“Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.”

“And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.”

“And straightway they forsook their nets, and followed him.”

“And when he had gone a little further thence, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the ship mending their nets.”

“And straightway he called them: and they left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants, and went after him.”

“And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him. at the: or, at the place where the custom was received”

“And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”

“For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it.”

“And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: offend: or, cause thee to offend”

“Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee.”

“And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's,”

“And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury:”

“For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.”

“He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise.”

“And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,”

“And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him.”

“And after these things he went forth, and saw a publican, named Levi, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he said unto him, Follow me.”

“And he left all, rose up, and followed him.”

“And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily , and follow me.”

“For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.”

“And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.”

“And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.”

“And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.”

“Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.”

“Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.”

“If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.”

“And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.”

“For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?”

“Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him,”

“Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.”

“Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?”

“Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace.”

“So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath , he cannot be my disciple.”