The Great Cost of Discipleship

Introduction

Good morning. We are pressing on to higher ground. Amen? That was pretty good. Brother Rufus and Brother Earl aren’t here, so it’s a little surprised on the Amen there. You can dial my microphone back just a little bit. I’m pretty loud. If you open your Bibles with me to Luke chapter 14. Luke chapter 14, as you’re turning there, I’d be remiss if I didn’t take the opportunity to say Happy Mother’s Day to everyone to whom that applies. And we thank you, because without mothers, we wouldn’t be here. And in fact, what’s interesting about Luke chapter 14 is it contains the idea, the challenge that Jesus is putting forth of, do I follow after him? Now, of course, to those of us sitting here in a church worship service, we think, of course, we’re going to follow after Jesus.

But it’s interesting, not only do many of our moms allow us to be here in existence, but many of our moms allow us to know Jesus. They have taught us from a young age or maybe from an older age. Or maybe if they did not, we can pass along that great message of hope. And of course, when we speak about living like Christ, living with Christ, being a follower of Christ, being a disciple, which is really the idea this passage bears in mind in Luke chapter 14, beginning in verse 25, we think of the benefits, and frankly, there is no greater plan than to be with God forever. Amen.

But what about the difficult parts? You know, I study with various people when we talk about the Bible, some who don’t really believe it too much, some who don’t know what to believe about the Bible. And really what it comes down to usually is how can we best obey Jesus? But one question that comes up every once in a while is am I ready to obey him? And of course, usually when when we say that, those of you who also teach others are probably thinking about teaching the world to believe in Christ, to be baptized for the forgiveness of our sins. But I do want to take a step back, and while that is going to be the primary focus of following after Jesus, accepting the name of Christ, living out that designation, that declaration, I do want to consider am I the disciple that Jesus commands I be?

I think there’s a strong challenge not only to first decide to follow Jesus, but am I following him the way he doesn’t just suggest, but the way he demands, the way he commands. Now, I I can’t help but laugh, but let’s look at Luke chapter 14 on this Mother’s Day. In Luke chapter 14, verse 25. Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, if anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. So of course, we’re going to talk this morning about the great cost of discipleship. And I have to point out that, yes, on Mother’s Day, I found the passage in the Bible where Jesus says, if anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother, cannot be my disciple.

1. Jesus Demands Our Total Commitment

I think if we’re going to understand this passage and we understand that Jesus is talking to a large group primarily of Jews, there’s a lot to understand about this. But when you look at verse 26, you see that strong word there. If anyone does not what? Hate his own father and mother, his brothers and sisters, they cannot be my disciple. And we’re very quick to say, well, that’s not hate like we think of it like I despise you, I loathe this. It’s not exactly the idea. Perhaps it’s similar to the way Jacob felt about Leah back in Genesis. Leah felt hated, Leah was hated. It’s not necessarily that Jacob despised her existence, but rather that she was not Rachel. There was that comparison aspect where he loved Rachel greatly, and Leah in comparison did not compare.

But when you think about what Jesus says in verse 26, look again closely as it finishes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. And so you have the strong parts of this verse first and last. The first part of that verse, if anyone comes to me, and the last part cannot be my disciple. So Jesus has set up the rules. Who does this apply to? If I want to be a disciple of Christ, is this message for me? The answer to that, of course, is yes. If anyone comes to me, as we’re breaking down this verse, it is inescapable that this message is for all. Everyone who wishes to be Christ’s disciple must obey with his commands and this following teaching. But what’s interesting then is what does the word hate mean?

Well, perhaps it is that relative expectation of loving less. What would it have to do with not with not loving your own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, and yes, even his own life. What would that be for? Why? That peculiar challenge. I think when you understand these verses, you see that first of all, Jesus demands our total commitment, and anything short of total commitment from this passage, as we’ll finish reading just momentarily, is not up to God’s standard, the standard that Jesus is setting, and in fact, not just setting for us, but warning us about. Continue the reading with me as we finish this passage in verse 27, beginning. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.

For which of you desiring to build a tower does not first sit down and consider the cost, whether he has enough to complete it. Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, This man began to build and was not able to finish. Or what king going out to encounter another king and war will not sit down first and deliberate? Whether he is able with 10,000 to meet him who comes against him with 20,000. And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asked for terms of peace. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is of no use, either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. I think you see the gist of this passage in the first verse we looked at with some detail in verse 26, but also in verse 33. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. Now, does this mean that we don’t have we renounce even having a father or mother? No, that can’t be. What about having the brother or sister? No, there’s too many passages about loving your neighbor. There’s too many passages about loving your wife, wives, loving your husband.

That can’t be. It’s not a command to hate, it’s a command to put Christ first. I think some of us, and myself perhaps being number one on this list, take that type of verse for granted. Because you know when verse 26 is easy. You know when it’s easy to sit back and say, Jesus demands our total commitment, even at the expense of the way the family views me. It’s really easy to read verse 26 and say, if anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. I can sit back and say, Yes, that’s right. You tell those Jews, Jesus, you tell us today we need that, because when I look at that, my father and mother are Christians.

My wife is a Christian. Hopefully, one day our children will be Christians. It’s kind of easy when that’s your setup, but what about when it’s not? You think about the primary audience of Jesus at this time in verse 25? He’s speaking to a great crowd, a great crowd from where? This is a crowd comprised of Jews. Now, what did the Jews have to go through if they wanted to eventually convert to Christianity after the cross of Christ, after Jesus died on the cross for all mankind’s sins, Jews and Gentile alike, after he was raised from the dead, what was expected of the Jews then? This same total commitment. And what was the problem with that? The problem with that was for centuries, the families of many of these Jews were Jews.

They practiced a form of what we might recognize as Judaism. They obeyed the law of Moses, and they didn’t accept the Christ for who he is and who the apostles claimed and taught that he was. And so the great cost to the Jew would be, in very many ways, their family, their way of life, their social background, their economic background. All this feasibility was plucked from them. Just search the scriptures, especially the book of Hebrews, and see all that would come out of the Jewish life if they turned to Jesus. And I have to say it’s not just about the Jews. There’s many of us who face that. I do say in one way, I’m quite sad that one side of my personal family is not Christians, going back enough.

But it allows me to see the difference in families that are of Christ and families that are not. And when we’re weighing the costs, we need to understand primarily what is worth it. What is Jesus worth ignoring for? You see, because that is the question in verse 27: whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. What will prevent me from coming after Jesus? Is it a spouse? I heard of a sad example of a young man who he might be married at this point, but he was going to be married this May, Lord willing, and he was choosing a spouse, and he dated a girl who was not a Christian. And as they began to date, he said, Well, I just won’t marry her unless she becomes a Christian.

2. Sit Down First and Count the Cost

And as things proceeded, he found out to a point where he admitted, he acknowledged, and he told this preacher friend of mine, you know, she’s not going to be a good Christian mom. She’s not going to let my kids go to church. I’m convinced of that. But he’s going to marry her anyway, because to him it’s worth it. You see, that could be a struggle. Now, hopefully, Lord willing, they will all, their family, their unit starting with the mom and dad, will be Christians. But are we willing to give up anything to follow after Christ? Because that is what Jesus commands of us. I think it’s interesting in verse 28. He says, For which of you desiring to build a tower does not first sit down and count the cost whether he has enough to complete it.

When you think about what Jesus is saying here, he’s commanding that we stand back and think. What do we think about? That following after Jesus has a great cost. Yes, we think about the rewards. Yes, we should think of heaven daily. Do you think about heaven daily? Do you think about being with God each and every day? Because otherwise, how are we going to make it? Well, counting the cost involves both sides of that coin, though, and that includes understanding what do we have to give up. If you know the specific example in verse 28, he’s going to build a tower. In verse 29, what’s happened is he has laid the foundation and is unable to finish it. Well, why is that? Well, because he didn’t count the cost correctly.

And the response to the people in verse 30 of that is what? They begin to ridicule. They mock him, saying, This man began to build, but he was unable to finish. I think there’s two examples that have a little bit of a different spin each time where Jesus is making the same point. But in this first one, no, first of all, that this man intended to build a tower. And that’s a that’s a fine thing to do. I think a lot of us intend to be Christians. A lot of us intended the day we were baptized to live like a Christian. And you’ve had that energy. You come up out of the water, if you’re a Christian, you say, My sins are forgiven, and what a great thing that is, amen?

To be forgiven of our sins, and we’re excited. We’re enthusiastic, and then time passes and people don’t treat us right. Maybe family members discourage us. Maybe church family members discourage us. And we we kind of fall off. Now, why is that? Well, did we plan ahead of time? Did we think ahead of time? What is this decision going? How is this decision going to impact my life? What are the ramifications of committing to Jesus the Christ who demands my total commitment? It might mean I have to give up certain liberties. I think America is a wonderful country. I can’t help but think, and I certainly involve myself in this, I think a lot about my rights, don’t you? We think about this is my right to do this.

I deserve this, I can do this. I live in this country. This is my right. But Jesus says, you give up all for me. What does verse 27 say again? Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. You have to be willing to give up everything. That might mean sacrificing modesty. Issues about dress. Some people say, Well, I can dress how I want. You can dress how you want. You can talk how you want, you can treat others how you want. But Jesus says, unless you come after me, you cannot be my disciple. Well, what is coming after Jesus? In this passage, he is making it clear that we are first and foremost to consider, to count the cost, to determine, can we make it?

Because the problem is, if we begin this great journey and we fall away, we’ll have missed out. You look at 2 John chapter 8. I know Bible classes, I believe, recently covered 2 John in one of our recent adult Bible classes, but I love looking at passages like 2 John. No, always get into. In 2 John 8, know the warning. Watch yourselves. There’s that kind of thought, you know, pay attention, so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward. Watch. Why? Because you can lose what you’ve been working for. What have you been working for? The reward. Verse 9. Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.

Don’t be turned away to false doctrine. Don’t be pulled away into just loving this world and the things that are in the world. Don’t love even yourself, by the way. I didn’t mean to skip over that when we’re going through Luke chapter 14. Choose Christ now for always. When you think about that, it’s very easy to sit here and to say. It’s very easy to preach. It’s very easy to sit and listen to. Yeah, that’s right, preacher, you tell them. You tell us. And I’m saying, yeah, we’ve got to be like Christ. We’ve got to serve Christ every day. But will I make that commitment? How am I going to be most successful in doing that? By stopping and thinking. This is a principle that’s very easy.

Look at James chapter 1 and verse 19 quickly. Perhaps you know it. What is the idea of James chapter 1? But I do want you to turn there so we can see it. James chapter 1 is very hard to practice. James chapter 1 and verse 19. Know this, my beloved brethren. Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger. For the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. How many situations would be completely different if we first would stop and think? Especially stop and think and listen rather than speak. Perhaps too many, right? If it’s that way in these circumstances in life that take 30 seconds, a conversation where you would beg that if you could have a redo on life, you would pull the words that you spoke right back.

How much greater will it have impact on our eternal souls, on our daily commitment? If we’re going to follow after Jesus, if we’re going to be like the man who decides to build a tower, we need to consider, am I going to make it? And if I’m not going to make it, what do I do about those pitfalls? If I think about following Christ, I think in my life, I struggle with something on the computer. I struggle with my family. How am I going to handle that? Because if we don’t think about it, what’s going to happen? We’re going to get around our family. We’re going to go to the movies that fill our minds with garbage. And we’re going to have compromise our effort towards Christ when Jesus says, in those circumstances, we cannot be his disciple.

It’s a premeditated choice. At least that would make things a whole lot easier. Can you imagine a world where everyone first sat and thought about what they were going to do? Before acting, in moments and in life, if we planned out our life, if we looked forward to pitfalls, isn’t that what good managers do? Isn’t that what good companies do? They have vision forecasting. They take care of problems. Why do we think we’re different as Christians? You see, the problem then in verse 29 is not only that the tower was unfinished, but what was wasted in the effort? Time. And energy. The foundation was laid, but was the tower built? No. It was all for naught. Because he didn’t properly consider the cost. I think it’s interesting, though, when you think about considering the cost, if you look at 2 Peter chapter 2, it’s not just about leaving something unfinished.

Look in 2 Peter chapter 2. This is a both repulsive and powerful passage. In 2 Peter chapter 2, I’m hitting all the Mother’s Day favorites here. For if after they have escaped the defilements of the world, through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome. The last date has become worse for them than the first. But it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them, what the true Proverb says has happened to them. The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire. See, this choice isn’t just about just building a building, building a tower because we can.

3. Evaluate Properly and Make the Right Decision

This is our everything. Isn’t Christ worth our every bit of effort? Our every ounce of servitude. If he is, then we need to stand back and think not only before we become a Christian, but every day as we are Christians, what can I do to better commit to Christ? If I’m not thinking about this, how do I think that I’m growing? It’s a good challenge. In verse 31, though, we see a second example, which has a slightly different application. In verse 31, we read about kings. In verse 31, or what king going out to encounter another king in war will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with 10,000 to meet him who comes against him with 20,000. And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.

But rather to evaluate properly. And there’s another step. Not just evaluate properly, make the right decision. Do you see that? In verse 31, yes, there’s a king, and you think about a king going into battle. If all is equal, I have 10,000 men I’m coming with, and there’s a king out in the distance who has 20,000 men, should I go? Of course not. I have to do something about that. But it doesn’t do enough good just to sit back and say, well, I’m pretty hopelessly outnumbered here. We’re going to get, we’re going to get defeated in war. You have to make a decision. Verse 32, what was that choice in this example? Well, the other is a great way off. You send a delegation and ask for terms of peace.

We face a decision. You can’t abstain from choosing to follow Christ. You either have chosen to submit to him or you have chosen not to. Those are the terms that Jesus has set. Who do they apply to in verse 26? Everyone. What are the costs of not doing so? You cannot be my disciples. Those are firm terms that Jesus has laid down. And yet the expectation is clear. We have to count the cost of following him and anticipate that we will not be able to do it without him. If we know Jesus is our only hope at salvation, if we know that God has loved the world so much that he gave his son to die for our sins, and we reject him, aren’t we just as foolish as a king with 10,000 men who goes against him with 20,000?

Wouldn’t we say that we’re even more foolish when we’re playing with our eternal life? We need to consider both committing to Christ and the consequences that follow. And that’s what makes the decision easy, isn’t it? I think that there are some of you this morning who aren’t Christians, and I wish to speak especially to you at this moment. As you’re considering following Jesus, if the thought has ever entered your mind, you reach a point where you say, you know what, I’m not ready. And that may be the case. It may be that you don’t know enough to believe, to repent, which is the idea of turning from wrong. Maybe you don’t understand. But please learn. You think about the king who’s coming and he’s considering I have 10,000 men.

This other king in the distance has the 20,000. A choice has to be made, though. The king needs to ask for peace. Why? Otherwise, he will be destroyed if he wishes to engage. If we don’t choose to follow Jesus, if we say that I can’t give up my mother or brother, I can’t give up my sister or my father. I can’t give that up. It’s too hard. My whole family’s not like that. Perhaps my family has already lived and passed away, and what does that say about them? I want you to consider what does it say about you if you know what Jesus expects and you turn your back on our Savior? Where does that leave you? Where does that leave me? If I know what Jesus wants from me.

4. Yes, and Even His Own Life

And I don’t care enough to make a plan to follow it. Or I completely reject it altogether. Does Jesus know our circumstances? Absolutely. In fact, Jesus understanding us to me seems to be the exact reason that back in verse 26, those words are there. Why does Jesus have to say something that sounds so awful like, you cannot be my disciple unless you hate your father and your mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters? That sounds terrible. But we understand it a little better with that last phrase. I want to go back to verse 26. What was that last phrase? Yes, and even his own life. Does Jesus want a lot of people with bad self esteem? No. Jesus wants our everything. Jesus knows our weaknesses.

He knows that we are influenced by those closest to us, a mother, a father. He knows that if those don’t bother us, my selfish desires do and will pull me away from him if I don’t focus, if I don’t sacrifice. If you look at Luke chapter 9 and verse 23, the passage that was read to begin our worship service. You notice a slightly different verb there, a slightly different word found there. In verse 23, if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. In verse 23, though, I want to key you in on a word that we don’t always look at. If anyone would come where? After me. We’re going to follow Jesus’ example. We’re going to submit to him.

In Luke chapter 14, though, note what the word is in verse 27. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. We must follow after him, but first, in verse 26. If anyone comes to me, we need a relationship with Jesus. And we need it so badly that our eternal destination hangs in the balance. Now I can count the cost and I can read a number of passages. I can just look outside and determine there’s a whole lot of reasons to not follow Jesus. But I can tell you that there is a large one that says I should follow after him, because without him we have no hope. Zero. We are stuck in our sins, for which we have earned the wages of sin, which are death.

5. If Salt Has Lost Its Taste

You think about the application that Jesus draws in verse 33, again, drawing to a head his point here. So therefore, any of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple in Luke chapter 14. But note those last two verses. Yes, you cannot be my disciple unless you count the cost, unless you consider that you have enough to finish it. No, you cannot be my disciple unless you’re like the shrewd king who decides, I need to be on the winning side, I need peace, I need to know what is best for me and my people. But verse 34, if we don’t, if we’re not as disciple, or maybe if we were at one point, salt is good. But if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored?

It’s an interesting question. Verse 35 kind of punctuates the point, though. It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. What’s the point? Salt is good. Yes, salt is. It preserves, it keeps. It’s a powerful tool, especially in this world at this time that Jesus is speaking. But what can happen to salt? Well, it can go bad. It can lose its taste. If it’s done that, what’s going to happen to its saltiness, its taste? Will it ever come back? No. And when it chooses, when it’s been chosen and to be trampled underfoot, when it’s lost its taste, when it’s lost its saltiness, it cannot be restored. And then it’s good for nothing. I think this passage is very clearly about seeking Jesus first.

But if I am a disciple, if I consider myself a Christian, we serve a good purpose. But am I like salt that can lose its flavor, lose its function? How would I go about losing my contribution to the Lord? How would I go about being this tasteless salt? Perhaps it’s because we’re willing to reject God for one of these many things that Jesus named. Maybe it’s subtle. Maybe it’s I’m unwilling to submit if I’m a wife to my husband, or as a Christian to my elders, or to the government, even because I disagree with them on so many counts. Maybe I’m unwilling to submit my time to the Lord’s work. Or maybe I can’t love my enemies. I struggle with hating those who are close to me, and I struggle with loving those who seem to be my enemies.

There’s all these things that can pull us away from Jesus. But there’s just the one path to becoming his disciple. That’s to love no one more than Jesus. To the point that we will change, to the point that we will submit to those who we need to, that we will spend our time diligently serving the Lord because it’s his time that he blessed us with in the first place. I will pray for the government because that’s what the Bible says I must do. And yes, I will seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. It is then that I am Christ’s disciple. It is at that point that I can truly say that I have hated my own life, at least as it comes into relation to loving the Lord.

Conclusion

If you look at Luke chapter 9 and verse 23, one more time, though. Note that not only is this admonition to deny ourselves, to take up our cross and follow after him, but Jesus makes this point. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? What’s the answer to that question? Nothing. We’ll have lost everything if we don’t choose the Christ. God has done his part. God has been wonderful. He has sent Jesus to die on the cross for our sins. He did so when we were helpless otherwise, to come out of our sin. And yet I kind of fall into complacency because things are good for me.

And I like the way my life is. And we can like the way our lives are. And we should, but we should do so in accordance with the will of Christ. That changes everything. It changes the way that we think about how we come together and worship. We do it on the terms of Jesus, who has all authority. It changes the way I dress because I dress the way that God would expect me to, because God has the authority. It changes the way I view others, the way I treat others, because Jesus is the final authority. And what Jesus said in Luke chapter 14 and verse 26 is clear. If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother, or wife and children and brothers and sisters, and yes, even his own life for my sake.

He cannot be my disciple. Are you a disciple of Christ? If so, you love him more than anything and even anyone. It’s a powerful challenge. A powerful verse about considering the cost of following Jesus. It’s a high cost. But what a great and noble calling to submit to our Lord and Savior. Will you go to God in prayer with me at this time? Our dear God and most gracious Heavenly Father, we thank you so much for sending Jesus to die on the cross for our sins. We pray that we will always remember the torture and the pain and agony that he went through because of us. We pray that not only on this first Lord’s Day that as we partake of the Lord’s Supper, but every day we will remember his blood which he shed so that we can have forgiveness of our sins, his body which was broken on our behalf.

And we pray that we will live out the selfless Christ first life that we are expected to live to please you. Thank you for making your way known. Thank you for revealing your word to us. We pray that we always treat it carefully. We consider your words, and we consider the cost of choosing to reject Jesus, but also and more importantly, the cost of following him. Thank you so much for your great love. We pray that we will show love to others as you would. We pray that we will forgive others as we wish that you forgive us of our sins at this time. Help us to be the best servants of yours that we can possibly be on that one great and faithful, fateful day, that we will here enter in, thy good and faithful servants.

Thank you, O Lord, for your great love. We pray all these things in Jesus the Christ’s name. Amen. We’re now dismissed to our