54 Bible Verses about Self Denial

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.

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

Have you found honey? eat only as much as is sufficient for you, lest you 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 time;

But they said, We will drink no wine: for Jonadab the son of Rechab our father commanded us, saying, You shall drink no wine, neither you, nor your sons forever:

I ate no pleasant food, neither came meat 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 you say, He has a demon.

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.

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 you 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 your right eye causes you to offend, pluck it out, and cast it from you: for it is better for you that one of your members should perish, and not that your whole body should be cast into hell.

Your kingdom come. Your will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

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

And he went forth again by the sea side; and all the multitude came unto him, and he taught them. And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office, and said unto him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him.

And after these things he went forth, and saw a tax collector, named Levi, sitting at the tax office: and he said unto him, Follow me. And he left all, rose up, and followed him.

And if your hand offend you, cut it off: it is better for you to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:

Jesus said unto him, If you will be perfect, go and sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.

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

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

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

And everyone that has forsaken houses, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.

And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that has left house, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's, But he shall receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brothers, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.

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

So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsakes not all that he has, he cannot be my disciple.

And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be weighed down with carousing, 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 unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.

God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer in it?

For if you live after the flesh, you shall die: but if you through the Spirit do put to death the deeds of the body, you shall live.

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

But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof.

All things are lawful unto 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 strives for self control is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not with uncertainty; so fight I, not as one that beats the air: But I roughly treat my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified.

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

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives 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 you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

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

If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and fit for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work.

Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live sensibly, righteously, and godly, 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 unto her, It has fully been shown me, all that you have done unto your mother-in-law since the death of your husband: and how you have left your father and your mother, and the land of your birth, and are come unto a people which you knew not before.

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

Yet now, if you will forgive their sin--; and if not, blot me, I pray you, out of your book which you have written.

It is good neither to eat meat, nor to drink wine, nor anything by which your brother stumbles, or is offended, or is made weak.

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

Therefore, if food makes my brother to stumble, I will eat no meat while the world stands, lest I make my brother to stumble.

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

No man that wars entangles himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who has chosen him to be a soldier.

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

He must increase, but I must decrease.