A treatise of self-denial. By Richard Baxter, pastor of the church at KidderminsterA treatise of self-denial. By Richard Baxter, pastor of the church at Kederminster

7. And what if God call you to sacrifice your lives to him, as he called Abraham to sacrifice his Son? What if he call you to come to him by a persecutors hand? or at least to be willing of your natural death? He calls you but to give up a life which you cannot keep; and to do that willingly, which else you must do whether you will or not: Willing or unwilling, die you must! How loth soever you are, you are sure to die. You may turn you every way, and look about you on the right hand and the left, to all the friends and means in the world, and you will never find a medicine that will here procure immortality, nor ever scape the hands of death. It is appointed to all men once to die, and after that the Judgement, Heb. 9. 27. And no man can change the Decrees of Heaven. And seeing all your turnings and unwillingness cannot avoid it, is it not better to submit to it willingly than unwillingly? God doth impose it on you as a necessity. Your willingness may make a virtue of Necessity, and out of Necessity extract a reward: but your unwillingness may turn your suffering into your sin, and a Necessary death unto an unnecessary misery now (and hereafter if you be not true believers) as Paul saith of his Ministerial labours, 1 Cor. 9. 16, 17. If I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation is committed to me: for necessity is laid upon me—] So I may say in the present case: If you give up your lives willingly in the love of God, you have a Reward; but if you do not Necessity is upon you, and die you must whether you will or no. You may scape the Reward by your unwillingness, but death you cannot ⟨p. 249⟩escape. And me thinks you should see that it's little thanks to you, to give up that life which you cannot keep; And yet this is all that God requireth. Perhaps you think, that though you cannot keep it still, yet somewhat longer you may keep it. But you be not sure of that. The next hour may God deprive you of it. And O what a dreadful thing it were, if as soon as you have denied God your lives, he should snatch them from you in his fury, and cast you into Hell! and if he should distrain for his own as soon as you have denied it him! and you should die as enemies that would not die as Martyrs, and as his Friends! And in this sense hath my Text been many a time fulfilled, He that will save his Life shall lose it.