54 Bible Verses about Self Denial

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

Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;

Hast thou found honey? eat so much as is sufficient for thee, lest thou be filled with it, and vomit it.

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

Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;

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:

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.

For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb.

For John the Baptist came neither eating bread, nor drinking wine; and ye say, He hath a demon.

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

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.

Then Paul answered, What mean ye to weep, and to break my heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.

But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.

And if thy right eye shall cause thee to sin, 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.

Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

And as Jesus was passing from thence, he saw a man named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith to him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him.

And he went forth again by the sea-side; and all the multitude resorted to him, and he taught them. And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alpheus, sitting at the receipt of custom, and said to him, Follow me. And he arose, 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 to him, Follow me. And he left all, arose, and followed him.

And if thy hand causeth thee to fall into sin, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:

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

Then answered Peter, and said to him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee? what shall we have therefore?

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

Then Peter said, Lo, we have left all, and followed thee.

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 a hundred-fold, and shall inherit everlasting life.

Jesus answered and said, Verily I say to 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, But he shall receive a hundred-fold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come, eternal life.

And when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all, and followed him.

So likewise, whoever he is of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.

And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.

But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my course with joy, and the ministry which I have received from the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.

By no means: how shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

For if ye live according to the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the lusts of flesh.

All things are lawful to me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.

And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so I fight, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest by any means when I have preached to others, I myself should be a cast-away.

And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and to us by the will of God:

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 the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye will not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

If a man therefore will cleanse himself from these, he will be a vessel to honor, sanctified and meet for the master's use, and prepared to every good work.

Teaching us, that denying ungodliness, and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and piously, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God, and our Savior Jesus Christ;

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.

And Boaz answered and said to her, It hath fully been shown to me, all that thou hast done to thy mother-in-law since the death of thy husband: and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity, and hast come to a people which thou knewest not heretofore.

Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.

Yet now, if thou wilt, forgive their sin: and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.

It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing by which thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.

We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.

Wherefore, if food maketh my brother to fall into sin, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to fall into sin.

Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; lewdness, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:

No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.

Let no man seek his own, but every man another's wealth.

He must increase, but I must decrease.