Sermon Tone Analysis

Counting The Cost Of Discipleship

John 15:18-16:4                      March 16, 1997

 

Scripture:         Page #1677 - 1678 Pew Bible

Prayer:

 

Introduction:

 

          Last week we saw in the message, “D’Vine Dissertation On Discipleship,” that Jesus’ disciples needed to look to him not only for their own source of life, since Jesus had said he was the way, the truth, and the life, but that they were to stay connected to him as the vine, a source of life for others, as they bore fruit for him.

Apart from him they could do nothing, and in him they were to reproduce.

The sap, so to speak, of this vine is love.

It is this sap which is to flow through us, as it flowed through him from God.

This love is to flow through us to others, resulting in complete joy, even at the cost of our lives, since he said, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”

We are a friend of Jesus if we do this in love.

It is for this purpose that we were chosen and appointed because only the fruit of love will last.

We can be confident of God in this.

He will enable us to reproduce.

To reproduce what?

To reproduce the love of Jesus to others through us, thereby making disciples for him.

Our love is to draw others to him as his love drew us to himself.

To be a disciple is to love.

But let us ask a hard question, perhaps a number of hard questions.

Is there a cost to discipleship?

Will everyone receive us joyfully as his disciple?

Will everyone react positively to our message of him?

Is it easy to love others, especially those that have no concept of love and will not readily love in return?

*/Lu 6:32  "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?

Even 'sinners' love those who love them.”/**

*What is the cost of discipleship then?

I suggest to you that the cost of discipleship is love.

Therefore, the same quality that produces the most abundant fruit bears the greatest cost.

But that makes sound economic sense, doesn’t it?

What is most valuable costs the most.

Again, that is why Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”

The cost of love is the giving of ourselves.

So the cost of discipleship is love.

People will test our love to see whether Jesus has real value.

Let us look at today’s passage beginning in John 15:18 to see what Jesus has to say about reckoning on or counting the cost.

*I.

The Cost To The Disciple  (vv.

18-21)*

*          A.

The cost of our discipleship is that it can produce hatred                       toward us.

(vv.

18-19)*

                   1.

This hatred from the world should not surprise us (1Pet.

4:12).

2.

It should not surprise us because the world hated Christ                                    first and we are his disciples.

3.

The world hates anything that is different than it is.

4.       Christ’s disciples are different than the world is.

5.       We are different because we belong to Christ and Christ                                     is not of this world (John 8:23).

6.

If we belong to Christ, we do not belong to the world                                because we have been chosen by him to come out of it.

7.

The world hates whatever it cannot own and control or                                      understand.

*          B.

The cost of our discipleship is that it can produce                                   persecution toward us.

(vv.

20-21)*

                   1.

A servant is not greater than his master.

a.

If the master is persecuted, the servant will be also.

b.

If the master is obeyed, the servant will be also.

c.

The master and the servant share the same destiny.

d.

The point of this teaching from Christ in John                                           13:16 is that we must be willing to share his                                                       destiny, and do as he has done, whether or not we                                                 are accepted or denied.

2.       Persecution comes because the world does not know God.

                             a.

The world does not know God because it is hostile                                            to God; it does not desire to identify with God.

                             b.

Because the world is hostile to God, it is hostile to                                             whatever comes from God or belongs to God.

 

*II.

The Cost To The Sinner  (vv.

22-25)*

*          A.

The cost of our discipleship toward the sinner is that it does                            produce guilt within them.

(v.

22)*

                   1.

The testimony of Christ to the world through his coming                                   renders the world inexcusable regarding sin and                                                  godlessness.

a.

They are inexcusable because they have now seen,                                             heard, and experienced God through Christ.

b.

Every generation has the opportunity to see, hear,                                             and experience Christ through his disciples.

2.

The lack of acceptance of truth in Christ causes guilt                                because the world is now responsible to act upon what it                                   has seen, heard, and experienced.

*          B.

The cost of our discipleship toward the sinner is that it can                             produce hate within them.

(vv.

23-25)*

                   1.       Unresolved guilt produces hate.

2.       Hate becomes focused on whatever produced the guilt.

a.

The world hates God because he sent Christ to deal                                  with man’s sin.

b.

The world hates Christ because he successfully                                         performed miracles of righteousness that no one                                                else could ever do and exposed sin for what it was.

c.

The world hates disciples because they faithfully                                                reproduce Christ’s testimony.

3.       Hate is compounded because the world is now                                          responsible for what it knows of God in Christ and                                            refuses to believe.

4.

The world has no reason for what it does; that is, no good,                       proper or rational reason.

5.       Rejecting Christ and the testimony of his disciples is                                 irrational hatred.

*III.

God’s Provision For The Cost  (vv.

26-27)*

* *

*          A.

God’s provision for the cost is the testimony of Christ                                     through the Spirit.

(v.

26)*

                   1.

The Spirit testifies to sinners.

a.

The Spirit works within some sinners to lessen                                         the cost of guilt and hate to them because of our                                                 discipleship by preparing the way of hope.

b.

The Spirit is resisted by other sinners who will                                         continue to carry the burden of cost to       themselves                                        because of guilt and hate due to our discipleship.

2.

The Spirit testifies to disciples.