Counting the Cost

Counting the Cost of Discipleship

Many people who have grown up in the church, who have listened to sermons, who have given money, very sadly will find out on judgment day (Heb 9:27; 1 Jn 4:17) that they are going to hell.

Since there are many people like this, I feel it is extremely important to go through a lesson on this.

I’m not trying to scare you, or shock you, but the reality is that one day, Jesus will be telling people, “Depart from Me, I never knew you” (Matt 7:23).

Many church’s proclaim, “Just believe, believe, believe,” and yes, let me be clear the believing is the only prerequisite for salvation.

The question I want to ask is this though: “What does it mean to believe? And what does it look like to believe?” We need to ask ourselves, “Is my belief consistent with my behaviors?” James says, “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also” (James 2:26).

So I would like to go over a passage of Scripture that I think if it was explained to more people who want to be a disciple of Jesus, who say they want to be a Christian, if they would truly think about this before deciding to walk down this Christian path, we would have a whole lot less false conversions and people deconstructing their faith as they get older.

The passage I want to look at is in Luke 14:25-33.

“Now great multitudes went with Him” (Lk 14:25).

Stop and picture what is happening here. There is a large number of people following Jesus. They have heard about what He can do. They’ve heard that He can do some amazing things. He’s doing miracles, healing people, raising people from the dead, feeding people. So maybe they’re following Him because they want to see a magic show, or they’re following Him because they want something from Him, they want to be healed. Whatever their reasons are for following Jesus.

But, what Jesus is about to say in this passage is going to separate the committed form the crowd. So I want you to ask yourself this question as we go through this lesson: Are you just part of the crowd of people that are following Jesus, or are you part of the committed that Jesus describes here?

Let’s start reading again. Luke 14:25-26 “Now great multitudes went with Him. And He turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to Me ...” Let’s pause again. We are about to see that whatever Jesus is about to say next, Hs is applying to ANYONE and EVERYONE who says that they want to be a follower of Jesus, a disciple, anyone who wants to use the name of Christian. Jesus is saying, “What I’m about to say is what I am requiring of someone who wants to be My disciple.”

Many times people think that they can do things because they are not a pastor, or a church leader, or a missionary. But what Jesus is going to say here applies from the pulpit all the way to the pew. This includes every follower of Christ.

So let’s see what Jesus says here. There are 6 discipleship qualities revealed here about being a disciple of Jesus, and the first one is ...

Discipleship Quality #1

Faith over Family

“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, ... he cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:26).

Let’s make sure we understand the way Jesus is using the word “hate” here. He’s not using it in a negative way, He’s using hyperbole—a statement of extremes, contrasting love with hate for the sake of emphasis. Jesus tells us that the first and greatest Commandment is to love God with all of our heart, soul, and mind (Matt 22:36-38). As much as we treasure our spouse and family, and even our own life, there should be no one whom we love and value more than God, no one who takes precedence in our life. To place love for another (including ourself) above God is idolatry.

There should be such a huge gap between your faith and every other relationship in your life, so much so that that by comparison it seems like you hate those people because you’re so prioritizing your relationship with Jesus. Loyalty must be to Jesus first.

Many of us find ourselves in situations where it may be difficult to share our faith with our families, those we live with, even friends, because it’s going to bring shame and embarrassment, but Jesus is saying that if you want to be a disciple of His, you have to be willing to elevate your relationship with Jesus Christ over every other relationship in your life. It has to take preeminence over every other relationship. The person you’re dating, the person you’re married to, your parents, your children. This is what Jesus requires.

The Tony Evans Bible Commentary B. Discipleship and Opposition (12:1–15:32)

The parallel passage in Matthew helps explain. In Matthew 10:37, Jesus said, “The one who loves a father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; the one who loves a son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” The point is that Jesus deserves priority over every other relationship. If you must choose between Jesus and a family member, then, Jesus wins. Our love for him must be so strong that unbelieving family members think our love for them might as well be hate, because we chose to obey Jesus rather than do what they want. This is the call to and cost of discipleship.

What is a disciple?

The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Thirteen: The Man Who Came to Dinner (Luke 14)

Jesus seems to make a distinction between salvation and discipleship. Salvation is open to all who will come by faith, while discipleship is for believers willing to pay a price. Salvation means coming to the cross and trusting Jesus Christ, while discipleship means carrying the cross and following Jesus Christ. Jesus wants as many sinners saved as possible (“that My house may be filled”), but He cautions us not to take discipleship lightly; and in the three parables He gave, He made it clear that there is a price to pay.

The second quality is ...

Discipleship Quality #2

Sacrifice over Self-Centerdness

“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:26).

There’s a very real tendency in our lives to do what we want to do. To just do our will. But Jesus is saying here, “If you want to be My disciple, I’m calling you to a life of surrender; a life of sacrifice.” This is a life where we constantly put down what we want in exchange for what God wants.

What people tend to do is compartmentalize our lives. We agree to give God control over certain areas of our lives, but then we hold back others and say, “Oh no God, not over this!” We’ll choose something that we can feel comfortable with giving, maybe say money, but God can’t tell me what to do with my sexuality, or my career, or my free time, etc.

So people will kind of put one foot in, but they will keep areas of their lives back that they aren’t willing to surrender. Jesus is very clear here, “If you want to be My disciple, I’m calling you to a life of total and complete surrender.”

This is why I feel the need to share this with newer believers. It’s good to know exactly what you are getting into, what you are signing up for.

Discipleship Quality #3

Pain over Pleasure

Luke 14:27 “And whoever does not bear his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.”

During the time of Jesus, and afterward when the church first began, there were many Christians dying for their faith. Let me be very honest you: Jesus does not call most of us to a live where we will have to die for what we believe. We don’t face that pressure here in America. But Jesus is telling us that in this life, there is going to be pain, difficulty, humiliation, shame, suffering, and loss.

But the issue for many Christians, because they’ve been told of this watered down version of the gospel, and the Scriptures, is that when difficult times come upon them, they’re stunned, they don’t know what to think, because they’ve been fed this lie that everything in their life is going to go well, and as a result, whenever pain comes, and it’s time for them to carry their own cross, they want to shake their face at God, and many of them ultimately leave the church/faith.

But if we understand from the very beginning, that Jesus is actually calling us to a life of pain, difficulty, and hardship, those difficult times won’t be a shock to us.

cf. Lk 9:23

Discipleship Quality #4

Relationship over Religion

Luke 14:27 “And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.”

Jesus is using some strong language here: If you don’t come after me, you cannot be My disciple! Jesus is inviting us into a relationship with Him, not just religion. Christianity is not a religion, it’s a relationship with the very Son of God.

What does coming to Jesus look like? It means spending time with Him, reading His Word, praying, fasting, trusting, learning, obeying, worshiping. You put your trust in Jesus!

Religion is going to church, giving money, spending time with believers, and other things. These are all religious activities. But Jesus calls us to a life of intimate fellowship with Him!

I’m not the one writing this. I’m not the one determine what a follower of Jesus looks like. Jesus says, “If you don’t come after Me, and follow Me in relationship, you cannot be My disciple.”

Discipleship Quality #5

Commitment over Convenience

Luke 14:28–30 NLT

“But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it? Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of money, and then everyone would laugh at you. They would say, ‘There’s the person who started that building and couldn’t afford to finish it!’

Jesus is saying, “Don’t even start down the road of saying that you’re a Christian, a disciple of Christ, don’t begin until you think about it! Until you consider and count the cost of what might be required of you as a fully devoted follower of Jesus. This is why I want to share this with you. Don’t just push aside the words of Jesus; listen to what He is saying to those who want to follow Him.

Who starts building a new building without realizing if they have enough money to cover the cost or not? No, you check your bank account to see if you have enough money. In fact, banks approve us for certain loans so we don’t do this! Jesus says “Count the cost, in the same way, in regard to your relationship with Me.”

This happens all the time today. People start down the road of “building their faith” only to leave it partially built. Does anyone know someone who has claimed to have been saved, to be a Christian, but later on their forsake their faith? That’s what I’m talking about. Or now we have this new concept occuring, of people deconstructing their faith. As any of you heard of this before? Deconstructing faith is a phenomenon where people unpack, rethink and examine their belief systems. We would have a lot less people leaving their faith if on the front end of people’s conversion we clearly teach them what it means to be a disciple of Jesus.

This needs to be explained to new believers some point early on in their conversion experience!! Church leaders need to be doing this. It’s not just about baptizing and getting people plugged in to a small group. Advise them what a follower of Jesus looks like.

Discipleship Quality #6

Usefulness over Uselessness

Luke 14:34-35 ““Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is neither fit for the land nor for the dunghill, but men throw it out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!””

Salt during those days was used to enhance the flavor of food. Salt changes the flavor of food, makes it better. Salt was also used as a preservative for the food. In either case, the salt was used to change something. When you put salt on stuff, things start changing. This is why Jesus says we are to be salt. In the same way we are to be “change agents,” but far too often we are not changing those around us, not changing the culture around us, but we are being changed. Jesus says if the salt is not changing the atmosphere, it’s not changing what it’s being introduced to, what good is it?

There was actually another purpose for salt. They would put salt on the manure piles to keep weeds from growing, and Jesus is saying, “I can’t even use you for that.”

Jesus ends by saying a very common phrase He would use when He really wanted people to pay attention: “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

This lesson is not for the purpose of sparking fear in your life, or making you question your salvation. It’s intended for a heart check, and as a warning.

I want you to think to yourself: “Do I have a relationship with Jesus?” You might pray to Him when you need something, or when you’re in trouble, but if you’re honest, you don’t really read your Bible or pray.

This lesson is intended for you to take a close look at your life and ask yourself the question: “Am I really a Christian?”

The answer to that question determines your entire eternal destiny, which is a long time.

If you want to be a Christian, the only prerequisite is that you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved (Acts 16:31).

But a natural byproduct of that belief should be changed behavior and a desire to be a fully devoted follower of Christ, a disciple of the Lord Jesus.

Take a look at your life, and use these 6 principles to guide and assess where you’re at on your journey to being a disciple of Jesus.