In this blog I talk a lot about commitment. Many wedding "vows" today have very little commitment in them. In many Christian churches, the same can be said of how people come to Jesus. Jesus challenges us that a fair-weather commitment to Him is not enough.
(Lk 14:28-34) “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 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.
Jesus tells
us that we come to him in the same way
as a person who first sits down and estimate the cost to see if he can
complete the tower he wants to build, or if a king can win the war with his
weaker forces. Why would he call us to
count the cost of being His disciple?
Here is an excerpt from a
commentary on that passage Lk 14:28-33 (Barnes’
Notes on the New Testament). The language is a bit old, but the point I
think is clear.
“The general scope of the parable is to be learned from the connection, and may be thus expressed:
1. Every man who becomes a follower of Jesus should calmly and deliberately look at all the consequences of such an act and be prepared to meet them.
“The general scope of the parable is to be learned from the connection, and may be thus expressed:
1. Every man who becomes a follower of Jesus should calmly and deliberately look at all the consequences of such an act and be prepared to meet them.
2. Men in other things act with
prudence and forethought. They do not begin to build without a reasonable
prospect of being able to finish. They do not go to war when there is every
prospect that they will be defeated.
3. Religion is a work of
soberness, of thought, of calm and fixed purpose, and no man can properly enter
on it who does not resolve by the grace of God to fulfil all its requirements
and make it the business of his life.
4. We are to expect difficulties in religion. It will cost us the mortification* of our sins, and a life of self-denial, and a conflict with our lusts, and the enmity and ridicule of the world. Perhaps it may cost us our reputation, or possibly our lives and liberties, and all that is dear to us; but we must cheerfully undertake all this, and be prepared for it all.
5. If we do not deliberately resolve to leave all things, to suffer all things that may be laid on us, and to persevere to the end of our days in the service of Christ, we cannot be his disciples. No man can be a Christian who, when he makes a profession, is resolved after a while to turn back to the world; nor can he be a true Christian if he “expects that he will” turn back. If he comes not with a “full” purpose “always” to be a Christian; if he means not to persevere, by the grace of God, through all hazards, and trials, and temptations; if he is not willing to bear his cross, and meet contempt, and poverty, and pain, and death, without turning back, he “cannot” be a disciple of the Lord Jesus.[1] ”
This is so different from the common “Christian” experience
today, yet this is exactly what Jesus taught!
Jesus wants us to count the cost of being His Bride for our
entire life, giving up everything we have in order to belong to Him who died
for us. “For better or for worse, for
richer or for poorer, in sickness or in health, to love and to cherish 'till
death comes.”
We have been deceived by
false teachings about Jesus that let you believe that His grace is so free that
there is nothing expected of you! This false
teaching is a tradition that contradicts God's Word! (In Mt 15:3-9 Jesus says we worship Him in vain when we follow traditions of men that contradict the Word of God.) We cannot earn our
salvation, but salvation is only available to those who fully commit themselves
to Jesus. In Jesus' own words, "anyone who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple."
When was the last time that
you heard (or offered) an altar call that challenged the people to give up
everything they have -- everything -- for their entire life? This goes way
beyond accepting Jesus as your personal Saviour.
You
know something I find very interesting?
In almost every Evangelical church you want into in North America today
you can find a pamphlet or tract on how to become a Christian. They offer a prayer to accept Jesus as your
Saviour. That prayer cannot be found in
the Bible. Jesus never told people to
accept Him as their personal Saviour. Instead,
read what Jesus told those who wanted to follow Him:
“Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny
himself and take up my cross daily and follow me … If anyone is ashamed of me
and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory
and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.(Lk 9:23,26)
Did you count the cost of
committing your life to Jesus as He calls us each to do? Although this involves prayer, it is so much more than just a prayer.
Jesus wants to be your
Saviour,
but that can only happen when you accept Him as your Lord.
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