Paul had one great passion in his life – to know nothing but Christ and Him crucified. What we are willing to die for shows our belief, but what we are willing to live for and suffer for shows our radical commitment to our beliefs.
–John Piper
Living a life that is daily crucified to Christ is harder than physically dying for Him. But doing so shows your radical commitment to His Lordship.
I would die for Jesus before I would renounce Him, certainly. But the more important question is whether or not I will live for Him.