02-21-08
THE COST OF FOLLOWING CHRIST
Hello beloved,
According to most Christians today, there is no cost to following Jesus. Oh, they might agree with you that there is one, but after looking at their fruit, it’s quite easy to see that there is very little that they have given up to follow Christ. In fact there is very little that even distinguishes them as Christians. That is, other than their WWJD bumper stickers and contemporary “Christian” music, most of which they have illegally downloaded off of the internet. (It’s embarrassing that the divorce rate, and the number of abortions, doesn’t go down when polling the church.) So, despite the saltless, costless, counterfeit Christianity we see around us, Scripture is very clear that there is a cost. That cost is called repentance. Often times, we look at repentance as a turning from sin, which it is. But, a frequently overlooked truth about repentance is that we must turn from, not only things that are bad, but often-times we must give up things that aren’t bad. That is, they aren’t bad in and of themselves, yet they are still creating a wall between you and the call that God has on your life. As we look at the Scriptures, we will see that Jesus clearly explains that there is a cost to follow Him. The question is “Are we willing to pay it.” Let us first look at Mark, chapter one, starting with verse fourteen.
14After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15″The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!”
16As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 17″Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” 18At once they left their nets and followed him.
19When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. 20Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him. -Mark 1:14-20
As we look at verse fourteen, we see that their is “a time that comes” when we are confronted with the truth and we have to make a decision whether or not we will fully surrender to God. Jesus proclaims this good news saying “The time has come,…The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!” This is followed by a literal illustration of this, as four of His disciples, Simon, Andrew, James and John, made that decision. They decided to leave all that they had worked for, their entire lives, to follow the long awaited Messiah.
To fully understand the cost of their surrender, we need to look into the life of a fisherman in the time of Jesus. What exactly were they giving up? First of all, the job of a fisherman was not easy. They worked year-round in the heat of summer and the cold of winter, often at night. During the day, they would have spent much of their time making and mending nets. It was an occupation that demanded the utmost dedication, requiring them to pour much of their lives into their business in order for it to be successful. So, when you look at it from this perspective, you will see that these guys were not just flippantly dropping their nets. There was a tremendous sacrifice involved in this; one that these disciples were willing to pay. They were truly forsaking all that they had to follow Christ. And, regardless of what Joel Osteen says, that is exactly what every person on the face of this earth is called to do. There is a point in everyones life when “the time has come” to forsake all that they have and follow Jesus. Unfortunately, it is a choice that most do not make.
One thing I really like in verse seventeen is when Jesus says “Come, follow me…and I will make you fishers of men.” Basically, He is saying “Look, you just leave everything you have and follow me. Don’t worry about what lies ahead. I’ll take care of that. I will make you fishers of men.” The only way we can forsake all that we know, and follow Jesus is if we can be assured that He will make us into the person He has called us to be. And we don’t have to worry about that. Just look at the scriptures. He took four fishermen and made them into some of the most influential men in the history of Christianity. We can rest assured that he will not forsake us. We just have to come to the point that we are willing to leave everything and follow him.
So, then we see, in verse twenty that James and John left their father in the boat to follow Jesus. This reminded me of a passage of scripture in Luke 14. If you will, just turn to Luke fourteen and we will start with verse 25.
25Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26″If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. 27And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. – Luke 14:25-27
I should point out, here, that Jesus is not calling us to hate our families. He is simply saying that we must love Christ more than we love our families. That we cannot allow our love for our families to get in the way of serving Christ. Let’s continue with verse 28 and look at how Christ explains that we should estimate the cost of following Him, before making that choice.
28″Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? 29For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, 30saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’
31″Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.
34″Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? 35It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out.
“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” – Luke 14:28-35
Since I first read this passage of scripture, I have found it quite intriguing that Jesus gives three instances where someone “cannot be his disciple.” Well, that just doesn’t add up to most theologies today, basically saying that you just need to pray a prayer and attend church and you’re set. Unfortunately, in most churches today, you will not hear a message on the cost of following Christ. Well, beloved, the truth is that there is a cost to following Christ. And I would submit to you that it is quite unbiblical to convince anyone to follow Christ without first explaining that there is a tremendous cost. Far too many are just repeating a prayer, in hopes that they will find this great joy and peace. And while it is true that a life, totally surrendered to Christ will lead to joy and peace, there is also a necessity to repent. And Jesus sums it up in verse 33 saying that “any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.”
To wrap things up, I’d like to revisit Mark 1:15, where Jesus said “The time has come…”. Beloved, there comes a time in everyone’s life that they must make the decision to either leave all that they have and follow Christ, finding that narrow way which leads to life, or continue to follow the broad path which leads to destruction. It is a choice we all must make. One thing that helps me, when I lose sight of what God has called me to, is to look at all of the decisions being made around me. As I look at the younger generation today, I see so many making the same choices I made growing up, and it breaks my heart. So many are believing the lies and following Satan. They are making the wrong choice, rejecting the truth and turning to drugs, sex and suicide. I truly believe that a time is soon to come that the choice for many teenagers will be quite clear: God or suicide. Satan has embedded in their minds that it is pointless, that there is no hope, that they should just end it all. This horrible decision is being made by so many today. And the choice we must make is to reach out to these troubled teens and show that there is hope in Jesus Christ. So, beloved, we must be willing to step outside of our comfort zone and “rescue those being led away to death, and hold back those staggering toward slaughter.” We must deny ourselves, take up our crosses and follow Christ, or it’s real simple…we cannot be His disciple.
In Christian love,
Adam Tennant
June 17, 2008 at 11:21 pm |
Dear Sir
I am a believer in Jesus but I have not given up all my possessions to follow Him. I want to go to Heaven when I die and I want Jesus to call me one of Hs own. Do you think I will be able to be with Jesus if I do not give up everything and take up my cross daily? Thank you for your time.
I love Jesus but feel like I am not doing enough.
David
NC
USA
June 17, 2008 at 11:59 pm |
David,
If you are questioning your salvation, you have to ask yourself if you have repented of your sin(examine yourself using the Ten Commandments) and put your faith in Jesus Christ. You might have misunderstood the Scripture. When Christ asked His disciples to give everything up, He was asking them to surrender everything to Him. Does that mean you have to get rid of all your stuff? Absolutely not.
David, you do have to surrender all. You have to say to God “Everything I have is Yours. Use me however You will.” Do you understand? If I were to say that you have to give up everything you have, in order to be saved, I would be making salvation “works based”. But, once you are saved(I’m not saying you’re not) you should give up everything you have.
Email me if you would like to discuss this more. I’m concerned about your eternity.
And remember this, this will contradict how we think, but you don’t get saved because you want to go to Heaven. You get saved because you feel horrible over the enormity of your sin against God. Now, of course, the fear of judgment is a factor in your salvation, but the main reason should be asking forgiveness for sinning against God.
In Christian love,
Adam Tennant
http://ifmypeople.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit&post=26
June 18, 2008 at 12:00 am |
I forgot to tell you to click on the link above. That article might explain more what it means to be a Christian.
October 16, 2008 at 5:14 pm |
Adam,
You say that we get saved because we feel horrible over the enormity of our sin. I have agreed with everything else I’ve seen on your site here besides this. Thank you for your ministry through this website. I’m sure your life reflects Christ.
I do want to say however, that if salvation comes by feeling bad then what kind of Good News is that? When I am convicted by God that what I am doing is wrong He often points out my sin gently – not in a way that would leave me devistated, but in a way that really encourages me to repent (or turn away from that sin).
I do believe that we must repent in tears, weeping and mourning what we have done. But if my salvation is based on feeling horrible for what I have done there is a definate problem there. The point of salvation is to be reconciled to right relationship with God – to be restored to the worshipping and loving creatures He made us to be.
I believe that our salvation is based not upon how horrible we feel that we’ve done something wrong, but rather upon whether we love God back.
That love for God may likely produce weeping and mourning for the things we have done to hurt him, but if we say our salvation is based on those tears then I think we have a problem.
If we say that our salvation is based on “feeling horrible” then I think Christ’s phrase, “Good News” makes little sense at all. If it is Good News then it is likely something to rejoice in rather than mourn over.
I would love to dialogue with you a little and hear your thoughts. Again, thank you for your ministry here online.
Grace and Peace,
Kurtis
October 16, 2008 at 5:17 pm |
I should also say that I came to your site to find scripture about discipleship because I am launching a discipleship ministry to teens next month. I have learned a great deal from you because of the content of this page. Thanks again!
October 19, 2008 at 10:08 pm |
Kurtis,
It blesses me so much to know that you have been impacted by the articles God has placed on my heart. Thank you so much for your comment. I’m sure that there are quite a few things we would disagree on. That’s OK though. Remember, it’s not our doctrine that saves us. It’s the blood of Jesus Christ.
Now, typically I wouldn’t mind conceding and “agreeing to disagree” with you. However, I believe very strongly about this one. You see, the Law of Almighty God is the forgotten key to biblical evangelism. Around the turn of the twentieth century, men of God stopped preaching the Law. Psalm 19:7 says, “The Law of the Lord is perfect converting the soul…” Why is that? Because it is the Law that brings conviction.
When you say “that we must repent in tears, weeping and mourning”, why is it that we are weeping. Is it not over the enormity of our sin? 2 Corinthians 7:10 says, “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.” Godly sorrow is when we are sorrowful over how our sins have hurt God.
Think of this. Jesus Christ lived an absolute perfect life. He never did anything wrong. Never did he do a single thing which merited for people to even be angry with Him, let alone crucify Him. However, this perfect Lamb laid down His life so we might live. As He was nailed to that old rugged cross, as he hung there naked and beaten to a pulp, all of the sin of the world was laid on His back. He became sin. He paid our fine. A fine we could never pay. And as He hung on that cross the full force of God’s wrath came down on Him, causing Him to cry out, “Father, why have you forsaken Me?”
Imagine that, Kurtis. He did all that for us. When I look at the cross, Kurtis, it makes me realize the enormity of my sin. I think we can minimize sin, by not making it personal. So many preachers today are wanting to minimize sin. Why? Because they don’t want to offend anyone. I would submit to you that this is simply not right.
Look at men like George Whitefield, Charles Finney, Jonathon Edwards, Timothy Dwight, John Wesley and many other men of old. When they preached, sinners would come so convicted over the enormity of their sin that they would weep like babies as if they were hanging over the very fires of hell. Kurtis, back then a Christian was much easier to find. The salt was truly salty. Why? Because, at the time of conversion, they were deeply hurt for how badly they offended a Holy God. Therefore, they lived their lives to glorify Him. Today, however, sin is no longer even called sin. We like to call sin “mistakes” or “bad choices”, minimizing what sin is. You see, sin separates from a Holy God. Isaiah 59:2 says, “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.” You see how serious God sees our sin?
Now, I do want to correct you on one of your statements. In your second to last paragraph you eluded to me saying that salvation is based on “feeling horrible”. Not at all, my friend. Salvation is only based on the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. And the gospel truly is “good news”, but it is only good news to those who realize that they need a Savior. And people won’t see their need to be saved until you shine the light of God’s Law in their eyes. Show them the Ten Commandments. For Galatians 3:24 says, “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.” It is the Law of God that leads us to the good news of the Gospel.
Read this article written by Ray Comfort. He does a great job of better explaining this. And I would also recommend that you(and those whom you disciple) to listen to Hell’s Best Kept Secret. I’ll attach a link to the article and to the audio teaching.
Thank you so much for your comment, Kurtis.
article: http://www.christiananswers.net/gospel/passionofchrist.html
Hell’s Best Kept Secret: http://wayofthemaster.com/learntoshare.shtml
In Christian love,
Adam Tennant
November 26, 2008 at 4:14 am |
I found this post to be very thought-provoking. Check out my latest post on something slightly related – the secular exploitation vs. spiritual use of our gifts, talents, and blessings. http://tonilyn18.wordpress.com/2008/11/24/on-my-heart/
I also think that I will start following your example of writing out the scripture references I use on my blog so that the people reading it actually also encounter the Word of God. I’m sure that 90%, if not more, of my readers do not take the time to look up the verses I refer to in my posts. And for the unbelievers who read blogs such as mine, yours, and many others, including the written Word is an absolute necessity.
Thanks for the encouragement….
June 7, 2009 at 11:20 pm |
“Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession…. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer, [I]The Cost of Discipleship[/I]
”Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it a man’ will gladly go and self all that he has. It is the pearl of great price to buy which the merchant will sell all his goods. It is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble, it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him.”(Bonhoeffer, ibid)
“Costly grace confronts us as a gracious call to follow Jesus. It comes as a word of forgiveness to the broken spirit and the contrite heart. Grace is costly because it compels a man to submit to the yoke of Christ and follow him; it is grace because Jesus says: “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Bonhoeffer, ibid)
“On two separate occasions Peter received the call, “Follow me.” It was the first and last word Jesus spoke to his disciple (Mark 1.17; John 21.22). A whole life lies between these two calls. The first occasion was by the lake of Gennesareth, when Peter left his nets and his craft and followed Jesus at his word. The second occasion is when the Risen Lord finds him back again at his old trade. Once again it is by the lake of Gennesareth, and once again the call is: “Follow me.” Between the two calls lay a whole life of discipleship in the following of Christ. Half-way between them comes Peter’s confession, when he acknowledged Jesus as the Christ of God….” (Bonhoeffer, ibid, p. 48)
“For Luther, ’sin boldly’ could only be his very last refuge, the consolation for one whose attempts to follow Christ had taught him that he never could become sinless, who in his fear of sin despairs of the grace of God. As Luther saw it, ’sin boldly’ did not happen to be a fundamental acknowledgment of his disobedient life; it was the gospel of the grace of God before which we are always and in every circumstance sinners. Yet that grace seeks us and justifies us, sinners though we are. Take courage and confess your sin, says Luther, do not try to run away from it, but believe more boldly still. You are a sinner, so be a sinner, and don’t try to become what you are not. Yes, and become a sinner again and again every day, and be bold about it. But to whom can such words be addressed, except those who from the bottom of their hearts make a daily renunciation of sin and of every barrier which hinders them from following Christ, but who nevertheless are troubled about their daily faithlessness and sin? Who can hear these words without endangering his faith but he who hears their consolation as a renewed summons to follow Christ? Interpreted in this way, these words of Luther become a testimony to the costliness of grace, the only genuine kind of grace there is… We Lutherans have gathered like eagles round the carcass of cheap grace, and there we have drunk of the poison which has killed the life of following Christ… What happened to all those warnings of Luther against preaching the gospel in such a manner as to make men rest secure in their ungodly living? …The word of cheap grace has been the ruin of more Christians than any commandment of works.” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, ibid, pp. 56-59).
“Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ. It remains an abstract idea, a myth which has a place for the Fatherhood of God, but omits Christ as the living Son. … There is trust in God, but no following of Christ.” (ibid, p. 64)
“He wants to follow, but feels obliged to insist on his own terms to the level of human understanding. The disciple places himself at the Master’s disposal, but at the same time retains the right to dictate his own terms. But then discipleship is no longer discipleship, but a program of our own to be arranged to suit ourselves, and to be judged in accordance with the standards of rational ethic.” (ibid, p. 66)
“If we would follow Jesus we must take certain definite steps. The first step, which follows the call, cuts the disciple off from his previous existence. … The first step places the disciple in the situation where faith is possible. If he refuses to follow and stays behind, he does not learn how to believe.” (ibid, pp 66-67)
“Jesus prays to His Father that the cup may pass from Him, and His Father hears His prayer; for the cup of suffering will indeed pass from Him—but only by His drinking it.” (ibid, p. 101)
“God speaking to Luther: ‘Discipleship is not limited to what you can comprehend—it must transcend all comprehension. … Not to know where you are going is the true knowledge. My comprehension transcends yours. Thus Abraham went forth from His father… not knowing whither he went. … Behold, that is the way of the cross. You cannot find it yourself, so you must let me lead you as though you were a blind man. Wherefore it is not you, no man… but I myself, who instruct you by my Word and Spirit in the way you should go. Not the work which you choose, not the suffering you devise, but the road which is clean contrary to all you choose or contrive or desire—that is the road you must take. To that I call you and in that you must be my disciple.” (ibid, pp. 103-4)