Counting the Cost: the "price-tag" of Discipleship

Jesus never promised us a "rose-garden.” He did not guarantee good health or wealth to those who would follow Him. Though there are unimaginable benefits to being a disciple, he did not woo crowds to become his followers with notions of utopia and eternal bliss.

Rather, Jesus stresses that discipleship costs a lot. If you are not willing to give up everything, you are not worthy to be Christ's disciple (Luke 14:33). Sounds harsh, but it’s true and you had best deal with that reality before you make a commitment you can’t keep. A life in Christ is much more than one or two hours on Sunday.

Consider these challenges: If you will not take up a cross daily and follow him, you cannot be his disciple (Luke 9:23). If you won't love Jesus more than you love your family, more than you love yourself, you cannot follow him (Matthew 10:37-39).

The great issue facing those of us who would be Christ's disciples is not where grace can be had for the cheapest cost but whether we are willing to pay the high price that Jesus himself has demanded. No deals can be made to secure a limited non-participation version of His grace. The elements of His plan and the cost are non-negotiable. The only question is whether or not we are willing to pay it.

We would do well to consider and understand the passage recorded at Luke 14:25-33. It is the “words of Jesus” as he speaks to a large crowd about cost of following Him. Notice how he begins, (vs 25) "Turning to [the crowds] ..." This is spoken to the crowds who are making up their minds about whether or not to follow Jesus. He is not just talking to future leaders or elders or preachers. He is not laying down conditions for "super-discipleship." He speaks to people, none of them more special or extraordinary than another. What follows, is what is required of anyone who would follow Jesus.

He addresses right up front the matter of Cost (vss 26-27) - “...this treasure will cost [us] everything...” Jesus is not demanding that we despise our life or engage in extreme self-denial in order to follow Him. He is insisting that there is no such thing as casual discipleship. You cannot be his disciple unless you are prepared to lay everything that is precious to you at His feet. You have to be willing to “go all in.”

Jesus gives the crowd good Advice (vss 28-33) - “...know what you are getting into...” Jesus does this by giving two examples that demonstrate the essential necessity of counting the cost. “...don't build a tower unless you have the means to finish it...” and “...don't pick a fight unless you have the resources to win it...” The point of “His advice” was designed to say, "Here is what following me costs. Decide now whether you are willing to pay the price. Don't start with me unless you can finish what you start. And the only way to finish is to give up everything in order to be my disciple."

John R. W. Stott, from his book titled Basic Christianity, says this about counting the cost of discipleship... "The Christian landscape is strewn with the wreckage of derelict, half-built towers – the ruins of those who began to build and were unable to finish. For thousands of people, they still ignore Christ's warning and undertake to follow him without first pausing to reflect on the cost of doing so. The result is the great scandal of Christendom today, so-called 'nominal Christianity.' In countries to which Christian civilization has spread, large numbers of people have covered themselves with a decent, but thin, veneer of Christianity. They have allowed themselves to become somewhat involved; enough to be respectable but not enough to be uncomfortable."

The bottom line of discipleship means “dying to self.” Admitting the ugly truth about ourselves in never easy. The world stresses the importance of self-esteem, success defined by man, but discipleship can only begin when we learn to be self-loathing. That doesn’t sound very appealing does it?

Let’s not loose sight of the fact that we are sinners. We are prodigals still reeking of the pigpen. We, but for the grace of God, are lost, dead, broken men and women, trapped in the gripe of sin. From God’s perspective we have failed at life and can never succeed without Him and His provision of redemption. Remember, the only standards of life success that matter, are God’s. You may object to that debased, self-loathing picture of yourself, but if you do, you cannot be one of Christ's disciples.

Resigning control of our lives to a power we cannot see is very difficult. True discipleship begins when we admit that we are incapable of governing our lives. What we need is not a fresh start or better directions or stronger will-power. What we need is someone else to take charge.

Learning to live our lives without self-delusions is nearly impossible if our only resource to change our orientation comes from within ourselves. We won't get better with time, training, more education, more socialization, more opportunity or more of whatever it is we think will make us better. Only God can transform us into creatures acceptable for His will and purposes.

What we are very capable of... is the worst sort of mutiny and rebellion. We must constantly be vigilant, guarding against “ourselves” lest we rebel and try to reestablish our control, thereby pushing God to the sideline.

Like God has told us... our minds must be transformed, enabling a new leader to control us and our passion for His leadership to emanate through our every though and action. Call that simply... Living for Jesus.

This life has never been about us! Maybe it started out that way.. but that all stopped when two people in a beautiful garden home rejected the headship and leadership of God. Two people who believed the lie of all lies and willfully sinned.

Jesus is Lord. The "Lord" has the right to command His subjects. The Lord does not need to explain or reason or cajole or coerce His subjects into submitting to His authority. The "Lord" commands... the "servant" obeys, or not. We are powerless to change the circumstances of humanities condition. Only Jesus, the one who has the power to enforce his commands, can do that.

In His final words to the eleven disciples just before He ascended to heaven, Jesus said “...all authority was given to Him in heaven and on earth...” (Matthew 28:18) Jesus is “the” Lord, the only Lord... the one who can and will hold us and all humans accountable for our obedience to his wishes.

Jesus is "Lord". We do not make him Lord; we do not let him be Lord. He is... “Lord” of heaven and earth. One day, every knee will bow and every tongue confess that fact. I suspect that for those who have resisted His Lordship, that acknowledgement will be an emotionally painful experience, if not a physical one.

We have the opportunity to make a living commitment his Lordship now. Yielding to Jesus as Lord, inviting him to take his rightful place as the master of your life, giving Him your total obedience will produce eternal rewards.

One way or the other... Jesus will be the Lord of your life. Either He will welcome you to eternal life as a “good and faithful servant”... or cast you aside as one He never knew, thereby leaving you outside of His eternal blessings to be bestowed on His true Disciples.

The choice is yours! Remember this... You only have two choices... accept Him or reject Him... no others exist. Sorta gives a whole new meaning to the expression “do or die” doesn't it?

Are YOU a Genuine Disciple of Christ?

There is something about human nature that loves a bargain. Few things please us more than getting something for next-to-nothing. We dream of striking it rich quick. We boast about "what a steal" a particular purchase was.

We flock to clearances and auctions and garage sales. Though we pay lip service to the notion "there ain't no free lunch,” we keep hoping that one day we will stumble across something of real value that doesn't cost us anything.

We're even tempted to look for a bargain when it comes to matters of faith. I believe that salvation is the ultimate free gift from God. But even as I say that, my ears perk up at the words "free... and gift.” The bargain-lover in me hears words like "grace,”“mercy,” and “gift” and immediately I begin to wonder if there might really be a free lunch after all. It's as if God were holding a cosmic garage sale, and, while picking through the treasures, we run across salvation marked down so low that any dummy would jump at the deal. Imagine what it would mean if something so precious and valuable as salvation, eternal life, could be obtained at no cost to ourselves, with no risk and no obligation.

Unfortunately, that's not even close to reality. Just because salvation is free doesn't mean it's cheap or easy. That is one of the most perplexing paradoxes in all of religion. But it is not our paradox - it is Christ's. Jesus made this very point in at least two of the parables he told his disciples. Take a few minutes and re-read Matthew 13:44; 45-46 about the treasure in a field and the pearl of great value.

In each of these parables, the price paid for the treasure was insignificant compared to its actual worth. It was a "bargain,” a “steal” for those two lucky men, even though each man had to sell everything he had to buy that one treasure of incalculable worth.

Here is the great paradox of religion: Salvation is the free gift of God, yet it costs us everything we have. It cannot be earned, yet it requires we leave all, take up a cross and follow Christ if we are to attain it and hold onto it. It demands our faith, yet that faith demands everything else about us. Salvation is by grace, but that grace is the most costly commodity humankind will ever know.

Many so-called Christians simply don’t see it that way. Being a Christian is easy, in fact so easy nothing in your life really has to change. And if you stumble into sin in your Christian walk, grace will cover you, again and again. You can call that easy-believism and cheap grace, neither of which have any validity.

There are too many people looking for a bargain in God's house. They want something for nothing. They want the greatest thing in all the world - forgiveness of sin, intimacy with the God of the Universe, the hope of eternal life... all without any cost to themselves. They are looking for cheap grace; grace that winks and shrugs at sin, grace that demands no change, grace that requires no bending of the knee, no submission to Christ's Lordship, no holiness or obedience or commitment. They are looking for easy-believism: they want to purchase salvation at the cost of a few words, a sinner's prayer often said as they watch a TV evangelist who promises a tingling religious experience. So sorry to burst your bubble, the salvation God offers as a free gift, does not come cheap. Yet much of Christianity today is no more qualified to teach the principles of discipleship than a used car dealer!

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German Lutheran minister, theologian and martyr at the hands of the Nazis in 1945, said this about his own denomination... “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.... The result was that a nation became Christian and Lutheran, but at the cost of true discipleship. The price it was called upon to pay was all too cheap.... We gave away the word and sacraments wholesale, we baptized, confirmed, and absolved a whole nation unasked and without condition. Our humanitarian sentiment made us give that which was holy to the scornful and unbelieving. We poured forth unending streams of grace. But the call to follow Jesus in the narrow way was hardly ever heard.”

John MacArthur, Jr., a popular author, conference speaker, preacher and president of a Seminary, in his 1989 book The Gospel According to Jesus, said this... “One segment of evangelicalism has even begun to propound the doctrine that conversion to Christ involves "no spiritual commitment whatsoever. Those who hold this view of the gospel teach that Scripture promises salvation to anyone who simply believes the facts about Christ and claims eternal life. There need be no turning from sin, no resulting change in life-style, no commitment -- not even a willingness to yield to Christ’s lordship. Those things, they say, amount to human works, which corrupt grace and have nothing to do with faith.”

There are countless churches among the myriad of denominations dispensing cheap grace from the pulpit. Leaders may not explicitly or blatantly be preaching messages of cheap grace, but the evidence is all to visible. Too many of their congregants live as if whatever they do is covered over again, and again by a grace without accountability.

We want to give as little as possible of ourselves in exchange for the pearl of great value. Oh, we'll say the words, we'll go to church, and we’ll even participate in programs that don’t require too much of our time. But many of us do not yet understand, or dare I say, refuse to acknowledge... that Jesus did not die so that we could sit in a building a couple of hours a week. He came, he lived, he died so that we could become his disciples, taking up our crosses to follow him.

Do you really understand what’s going on around you in the Christian world? Are you a religious bargain-hunter? If that’s your brand of religion, then you will not be pleased with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus never put salvation in the bargain basement. You don't find Jesus marketing salvation to the lowest bidder. He doesn’t offer "cut-rate" religion or any kind of cheap grace. If we don't understand that, people of his day certainly did.

Take the rich, young ruler for example. The account is in Luke 18:18-23... take a few minutes and re-read what happened. Jesus wasn't interested in how "good" the man was, in how many of the commandments of the Law he had kept or his wealth and status in society. The bottom line for Jesus was whether this man, [or any man], would give up everything to follow him. This young man was not willing to pay that price. The cost of salvation was to steep for him.

Or the story of Nicodemus as recorded in John 3:1-21. He understood something of how high a price Jesus was asking. The kind of rebirth Jesus was demanding was as difficult and demanding as a full-grown man entering his mother's womb to be born again. At that time, the price was too high for Nicodemus, in his mind and heart impossible to meet. Fortunately for him, he later became one of Jesus' disciples, but not until he was willing to give what Jesus required.

To the people in churches who really do want to follow Jesus as one of His disciples, you need to understand first the sacrifices and then the benefits of discipleship. Anything less than a well-reasoned cost-benefit analysis of your capacity for total commitment, suggests that churches leaders, preachers and elders are guilty of raising false expectations in those who come to Christ. If all we talk about are the rewards of discipleship, but never the costs involved, then no one feels the need to change their lives. Obedience, Submission, Commitment and Sacrifice won’t mean anything to you. First you count the cost, then you contemplate and enjoy the benefits.

Discipleship truly is worth every sacrifice you have to make. But before you think about blessings, you must be willing to count the cost.

Next Time... The Price-Tag of Discipleship

The Way of Discipleship

How do you fill a church with passionate, enthusiastic worshippers? For starters, you could try scheduling Sunday services at a more convenient time for everyone listed on the membership roster. How about this: call everyone and ask when they would like to come to church and then try and draw up plan from that data. Or, maybe just rotate Sunday school and Worship... Worship service first then Sunday school... maybe that’s the ticket. Good luck with these ideas and many more that are tried every day to bolster church attendance... but be prepared for less than you expect, as they might not work like you hope they will.

Okay, lots of good ideas are tried but don’t produce the hoped for results. You could always rent the church for concerts and symposiums. You might even see a few of your church members at the commercial events. In fact one of them might even ask you, "When are “you” going to have this place this full on a Sunday?" Yes indeed, when will “you” get that done? The simple answer... when people who claim to be Christian start living a life of genuine discipleship.

Perhaps the greatest threat to the growth of the church has been the development of "clergy" and "laity." Either explicitly or implicitly, there has developed over the years since the first century, two classes of people in the church – a core of religious professionals who apparently do the major and important religious work, and a crowd of religious onlookers whose sole duty appears to be watching what the clergy are doing... and very often complaining about it.

Seems totally foreign to what the Scriptures say about the formation of the early church. Jesus the founder of the church did not come to establish a clergy or laity. He came to call disciples. It was never intended that a few take religion seriously while the many dabble in it only on Sundays. He didn't come to establish a group of theological specialists. Nor, in His mind, was there room for an entire class of religious people who enjoyed all the benefits of the kingdom without shouldering any of the responsibilities. Religion, to Jesus, was never intended to be a spectator sport. Jesus came to call all of us to a life of active discipleship.

When we fail to take our personal discipleship seriously... we strike a disabling blow at the natural passion and enthusiasm that should grow in each of us for Jesus' method for winning the world. The life of Jesus was a brilliant bonfire of light amidst the darkness of the world of His time. Like a fire that grows from a spark and leaps to a nearby tree, there is no real cause for alarm when only one tree is burning. However, it is the very nature of fire to be contagious – to spread, to grow, to expand, to multiply. One burning tree ignites others, until an entire forest is ablaze. So it was with the spreading of the gospel by the passion and enthusiasm of believers in the first century church.

Jesus chose the method of personal discipleship because He understood how people are, how they think and respond and how they themselves, once disciples, would serve as sparks or catalysts for spreading the gospel message. We also share that same challenge. We must also embrace his method. And we must do everything we can to keep personal discipleship as simple as possible, for the doers and the hearers.

We know there was a public aspect to Christ's ministry. The gospels speak of His public teaching ministry. Jesus went through Galilee, teaching in a very public way. He preached a sermon from a boat, in the Temple, and to large crowds gathered on hillsides, such as the Sermon on the Mount. You can find these examples and many more by reading the accounts in the first gospel of Matthew. The gospels speak vividly of Christ's interaction with crowds of people. Consistently, His encounters with people are not just crowds but "large crowds."

Today, Christians have focused on this aspect of Christ's ministry - on the preaching and the edification of crowds. We have marveled at his ability to draw people by the thousands and modeled our efforts along the same lines. Much of the focus of Christians today is on the public proclamation of the Word in a Sunday assembly of members and seekers, supported by so-called equipping programs.

But the real power in Jesus methods was the “private aspect” of his teaching. He started His ministry by calling individuals. The calling of Peter, Andrew, James, and John (Mk 1:16-20). The calling of Matthew (Mt 9:9). The calling of Philip (Jn 1:43).

The nature of His work was a culling and honing process... always narrowing those He interacted with from one level to the next. From unbelievers to believers. Then He narrows further, from believers to disciples. Finally, He narrows from disciples to apostles. He moved consistently from the public arena to the private one-on-one, from the crowds to the individual.

Jesus called individuals to discipleship. Jesus had a purpose for calling these men to himself. They were to be "fishers of men.” They were to be His “partners” in the greatest work the world would ever know... The Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20). They were to go into all the world and preach the gospel.

Something very important took place first. Jesus didn't call them and immediately give them the magnanimous assignment to change the world - he first called them simply to follow and to learn. He created the concept of “hanging out” and it served as the environment where He developed in his disciples the foundations for evangelism. He didn’t spook anyone with too much too soon. He just said... "Follow me." "Spend time with me, get to know me." "Watch what I do. Listen to what I say." "Be my disciples." "Become my students. Let me be your teacher." "Commit yourselves to me and go where I lead."

Jesus spent time with those whom he called to be His followers. He took them with him everywhere he went. When he preached throughout Galilee, they went with him. When he toured through the regions of Tyre and Sidon and the Decapolis, they accompanied him. On his several trips to Jerusalem, they went along. On the long, meandering final journey to Jerusalem, they were with Him every step of the way. Apart from the few occasions when Jesus spent a night alone in prayer, the disciples were always with Him. He often took them away by themselves. We read of times when pressing crowds became so great that Jesus and his disciples did not even have time to eat. Jesus would take them away "to a quiet place" where they could be together. Often, we are told, Jesus would speak in parables to the crowds, but then would gather his disciples in private to explain everything clearly to them.

This private, individualized aspect of Christ's ministry cannot be ignored. It was as important a part of his work as was the public preaching to large crowds. It would be difficult to imagine Jesus' ministry if you took away the emphasis he placed on calling a few, training them intensively, and preparing them to continue, multiply and expand the work which he started in just three short years of ministry. He was “lighting the fires” that would spread the gospel across the known world like a raging firestorm.

So ask yourself this question... If you are going to turn the world upside down, change history, how would you go about the task? Consider How Jesus did it and what he didn’t do.

Jesus could have committed himself to writing words which would outlive him. He could have spent his life with pen and paper, writing down all his truths for later generations. The only time we are told of Jesus writing was when he wrote in the dirt (John 8). Not very permanent. Though more words have been written about Jesus than any other figure in history, not one of them was by his own hand.

Jesus could have committed himself to establishing an institution which would outlive him. He could have organized a foundation or set up a corporation to continue his work when he was gone. Though Jesus talked about building a "church," he certainly did not mean the kind of well-oiled, closely managed, hierarchical systems we see today dominated by denominational dogmas and heretical interpretations of what The Bible actually says and teaches. Jesus left behind no charter to organize an institution, no bylaws, no name for it to be called, no administrative plan to manage it. The “church” we see today is largely the product of man, not of God.

Instead of all the pomp and circumstance of ritual and institutions, Jesus committed himself to people. The words of truth he came to give, he gave to people who would pass it along to others. The only way to ensure continuance of his work that would bloom into The Great Commission, was to make it the passion and obsession of his disciples. So the primary task of His life was making disciples who would continue his work after he was gone. It was a deeply intimate and personal interaction with people, his closest followers, that laid the foundation that would spread the gospel.

The church he came to inspire, he entrusted to people who would build it, name it after Him and expand it. The ministry of Jesus was a ministry focused on changing people's lives, on making people disciples, on instilling in them a vision that would motivate them to write the words... and build the church... and change the world.

The Church today has too many onlookers, observers and critics and not enough “doers of the Word” (James 1:22). We have the same work to do that Jesus did... the same work to do that was done by the first century church. The work is not finished and the “method(s) of engagement” has not changed. We also must focus on people.

It is easy for us to focus on the programs or the institution or the doctrines. Ultimately, however, if we are not focused on changing people's lives, on calling people to follow Jesus, on instilling in them a vision that consumes them and transforms them, the other stuff is pointless.

We also must pass the torch to the next generation... and the next... and the next. There was never any cause for concern that the work of Jesus would die with Him on the cross. He was God... His plan was perfect and He was sending a “helper” in the person of the Holy Spirit to help us continue His work of preaching... teaching... making disciples.

However, God’s work entrusted to us could very easily die with us, if we are content to keep the work bottled up rather than encouraging others to make the work theirs. If we hoard it... it’s power will die. Sharing the gospel, one-to-one keeps it alive in us and the world around us!

Christians have to look beyond themselves and make time to multiply the workers (Matthew 9:37; Luke 10:2). We must be intently focused on spreading the Word outwardly beyond the four walls of our church buildings. Don’t be deceived. Satan our adversary seeks to thwart our evangelism anyway he can. If he can keep what we do and know confined to the programs “inside” a church building, then he wins.

Our focus must be on people “out there” as we constantly tune our minds to “outward focus” just as Jesus said it would be in Acts 1:8... "you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

Today Jesus is saying... it’s the street corner outside your church building, it’s the surrounding neighborhood, it’s the nearby communities, it’s the greater region and it’s the mission fields anywhere and everywhere around the world. Wherever people are, we can be there and share the gospel message of salvation.

Do you really want to start a fire? Do you really want to see passion restored in your church? Do you want to see passionate, enthusiastic worshippers on Sunday? Make a disciple. Then watch that disciple make another disciple... and that disciple make another... and another... and another. Watch the sparks as they grow to smoldering embers to a raging firestorm... all for the “sake of His Truth!”

Being a Christian...

When you say you are a Christian, you are telling the world you claim the name of Christ, you follow Him. Expect the world to hold you to a higher set of standards. You should also hold yourself to a high set of standards. When you claim the name of Christ and start to "talk the talk" then you should most certainly "walk the walk" - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for the rest of your life. The world expects that from you and so does the Lord.

The Bible tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:17... "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new". This means that once you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, truly accepting Him as Lord by submitting to baptism by immersion in water for the “forgiveness of your sins” and the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit, He then accepts you (Acts 2:38). Then you will want to change things in your life. You will want to become a new "creature" - a new person. He is with you and in you... to empower those life transforming changes.

I've heard a lot of people say that they don't want to give their life to God because they are having too much fun and don't want to stop doing whatever it is they’re doing. It is usually something they perceive to be sinful in their life that they think they will have to give up. Accepting Jesus as your Savior does not mean you "have" to change... God doesn't "make" you change... but God will burden your heart about things in your life that need to be changed. Of course this assumes a two-way relationship is operational between you and God. Then as you learn and grow in your love and devotion for God, you yourself will want to change in order to please Him. You will want to live a life that is pleasing to God simply because you love Him more than anything else.

After baptism, if someone is truly "born again", converted, saved, having accepted Christ as their Savior, their actions and life changes will demonstrate their growing love for God. You can tell the person is a true Christian because you will see noticeable changes in them. What matters is that the heart changes. When the heart transforms... your attitudes, actions and lifestyle changes. These changes do not happen over night. It's an organic progressive transformation, but you should be in steady change always moving towards Christ-like behavior and thinking... if you claim to be a Christian. The genuineness of your Christianhood is born from within you, guided by the Holy Spirit working in consort with your total submission to His will for you.

Anyone who claims the name of Christ should take a long hard look at their life to make sure they are portraying the kind of persona that is pleasing to God. You should also carefully evaluate the church organization you fellowship with and determine if they are teaching Biblical truth. Biblical truth, correct doctrine, without any amplifications, additions, augmenting creeds, or contemporary adjustments for modern times.

You must be in a brotherhood and fellowship with like-minded believers who’s lives are conditioned and lead by the truth of God’s Word. IT DOES MATTER WHAT YOU BELIEVE. Your personal persona as a Christian is very much a reflection of what you are taught and learn from the church you attend. If that body doesn’t aspire to the “highest standards” in doctrine and truth, neither will you in your personal life choices!

Christians aren't perfect by any means. But we should strive to be as Christ-like as a human being can be, so that God can always be saying... "well done my good and faithful servant".

Being Christian is not about trying to please the world, it's about pleasing God. But we do have an obligation to the world to represent the love of Christ and the life of Christ in a way that is consistent and true to the teachings of God. Simply... that it is manifest to the eyes of the world, “in us... by us... and through us”. Christians are walking, talking bill boards for the Living God!

What does being a Christian mean to you?