Which is, at bottom, nonsense.
"I come that you may have life and have it more abundantly."
That's what they think. Self-deluded people....
You are both right!
One must die to himself and be reborn of the Holy Spirit, a new creature in God. Then and only then will life be infinitely abundant...and, I might add, eternal.
Not really. Having life abundantly does not imply abundant
material gains. Life especially eternal life involves giving up more than enjoying "life".
"Thy life in my death"? That's the true gospel. Jesus said it unmistakably and inescapably, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it" (Matt. 16:24-25). It's not about exalting me, it's about slaying me. It's the death of self. You win by losing, you live by dying. And that is the heart message of the gospel. That is the essence of discipleship.
Wow.
What about Jesus' words?
Matthew 16:25 "For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
Luke 17:33 " Whoever seeks to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.
John 12:25 " He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal.
The "abundant life" is living with the assurance of knowing that eternal life awaits you in heaven.
Read your bible and you'll see that the life of a disciple mirrors the life of his/her master, which means if Jesus came to die in order for others to live, then we should do the same.