August 31, 2011

• Evaluating Costs - The True Disciple

  The Cost of Being a Disciple

  Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: “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.  And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

  “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?  For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’

   “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? If 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. In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.

  “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It 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 14:25-35)
  

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  Here, Jesus tells us the cost of following Him is great.  There are times when we will have to choose Him over our parents, over our friends (1), over the world – basically, to put Him first in our hearts.  He warns us to count the cost before we commit so that we can reach the end.  What has happened in our churches today is that we do not encourage, nor do we teach people the cost before the altar call.  Instead, people convert to Christianity based on their understanding of Jesus’ grace and forgiveness through the cross while forgetting that the cross is the cost of following Christ.  He has clearly communicated the cost to us by dying Himself and later raising up again bodily on the third day.

  Besides teaching a false gospel of cheap grace and free forgiveness, these churches also teach that once you believe and have faith, you are saved and there is nothing more for you to do.  This teaching is not only heretical, it denies the cross.  The cross clearly communicates to us the ultimate cost of following Jesus and the importance of denying ourselves.  The cross clearly communicates to us that it is not easy to believe and have true faith in this world.  The cross clearly communicates to us that forgiveness and grace does not come easy.  It came at a price and that price is the gruesome death of the innocent One on the cross.

  So great is the emphasis on forgiveness that some “Christians” emphasize this over all other characteristics of Christ.  It seems as though the culture worships forgiveness and grace rather Christ, the One true God.  I am certainly not denying that forgiveness and grace are a part of the Christian walk, what I am saying is that some overemphasize these characteristics and make them idols.  Some even think that forgiveness and grace means everything comes back to the way it was.  Others think that forgiveness and grace means the relationship is restored.  Why people forget verses in the Bible that tell us to pick our friends, to not hang around those who make us stumble, to not befriend a man given to anger, and a myriad of other verses on Christian living just beats me.  But the Bible is clear – relationships need discernment.  For Christ, one should have discerned that the cost is the cross (both for Him and for us).  For others, one should discern what the costs are and whether one should proceed.  When the cost of a relationship is that it draws us away from Christ, then we should not have that relationship at all as the cost is not even worth it.  It is unfortunate that some "Christians" have attempted to draw me away from Christ.  They deny that I have a relationship with Him and do not believe that He is my friend.  When I tell them that He speaks to me, their minds go blank maybe because they cannot conceive God being that close to a person – they rather have God at arm’s length, reading their Bibles, interpreting it the way they want, and forgetting that relationship with the Father is what Christianity is all about.

  And, for my wife and I, that is the cost.  The cost is not only that we could lose our parents and family, but also we could lose our friends.  In fact, those who claimed to be "Christians" and did not believe that a relationship with God (that is one on one conversation with God Himself) is possible through Jesus are no longer our friends.  This is the cost of being a disciple.  Sure, these people are really nice and we get along, but when they, as “Christians,” constantly question whether God speaks to us at all, they are being like the snake in the Garden of Eden.  We do not need these types of “Christians” in our lives.  They shipwreck the faith, the relationship that we have with the Almighty.

  And, it is because of Christ that we continue to press despite this church or that church.  We are called to be loyal to Him and only to Him, not to our church, not to other “Christians,” but to Christ Himself.  If a church or any person has a problem with our loyalty and commitment to Christ, then I question their “Christianity” and wonder if they understand the truth of the passage above coming straight of Christ’s mouth.

  (1) Here, there is a difference between friendships and acquaintances.  It seems the word friend has been diluted in American culture and we call friends people who are actually acquaintances, do not know us well, and are not like-minded.  Perhaps, my view of friendships is narrow, but in life, a few true friends is precious.

  What do you believe is the cost of being a disciple?  What costed you already?

  Copyright 2011 by Christenstein

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