Counting the Cost

Welcome to Wayfaring Saints Church, Our vision here is to Equip the Church to proclaim Jesus and live out His teaching. We do this through 3 core pillars, Relational Discipleship, Biblical Teaching, and Missional Outreach.

Pray: King Jesus, we come before you humble asking that you would give us understanding as we open your word today. Would you speak clearly to us and allow that your Holy Spirit would conform us into your image. Remind us that your word is a lamp at our feet and a light on our path, help us to hear and obey. Amen

Read Scripture: Luke 14:25-35

The Relational Cost

To hate one’s closest relationships and even one’s own life in comparison with one’s love for Christ.

Love seems as hatred in comparison to our love for Christ.

Our social ethic, our lifestyle, our time commitments all evidence what is most important to us.

Christ our King places before us a glimps of what the price is to follow Him. The price is no less than everything.

Elsewhere in scripture he says in Philippians 3:8 “8 More than that, I count all things to be loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ”

We must count the value of our relationships in comparison to the surpassing value of knowing and following Jesus as rubbish.

This is not to say there is no value in any other relationship, or that we should forsake all relationships and live solitary lives. It is saying that our relationship with Jesus should surpass in value all other ties we have.

The Sacrificial Cost

To shoulder death and follow Christ

The price of following Jesus requires our very lives. In Luke 14:27 “27 “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.” He calls us to abandon our very lives for the sake of following Him. Unless we do so, we cannot hope to go after Him. We must follow Jesus into His death, in order to follow Him into His life. His grace is not a cheap one, but a high price.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

In one of his books expresses his concern over the theology of ‘cheap grace’ that pervades the Christian world. It is an imitation Christianity that he summed up by the phrase ‘rice Christians’, which goes back to the early days on the mission field when people professing to be Christian would be given an extra bowl of rice. The implication of the phrase is that their Christian faith was only as strong as the benefits they received from it. When pressure or persecution came, people renounced their faith.

This is the struggle of christianity today, we often teach that people can get something from Jesus, we draw people in by preaching the benefits of Christ rather than the call of Christ.

The call of Christ is to Give up our lives, rather than to grain in this life.

To give up everything in pursuit of Him who is of greater value than anything we could hope to gain in this world.

We cannot be a disciple of Jesus if we are unwilling to give up everything by picking up our cross and dying to self.

Jesus says in

Luke 14:27 “27 “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.” We told strongly that we must carry the symbol of our death with us each day. Our cross, our sign of death to ourselves, but life to Christ.

What does this dying to self, carrying a symbol of our death mean?

It does not mean physical death or self loathing or self hatred

R. C. Sproul says in

A Walk with God: Luke 70. The Cost of Being a Disciple (Luke 14:25–35)

Jesus rather is talking about abandoning one’s dependence on the things of this world and resolutely placing one’s future in the hands of Christ.

Jesus asks us to Live dead as Disciples

The Living Dead Disciple

Jesus brings up salt as the symbol of what His disciples are to be for Him, to this world.

Salt acts as a preservative, a purifier, seasoning to add taste.

But Jesus also brings us two ancient uses of salt, Salt being beneficial to bring life, and to serve as a tool for war, to damage the enemy.

Adding salt to manure would increase its value and efficiency in adding nutrition as a fertilizer.

On the flip side, adding salt to the soil intentionally would destroy the nutritional level of the soil. Oftentimes large amounts of salt were spread onto the enemies fields in secret to ruin their soil so that no crops could be cultivated and their armies would starve.

Jesus calls His followers to be New Disciples, ones that are salty. A salty disciple is beneficial for bringing hope to those around them, but also detrimental to our enemy.

As salt can be used to increase the nutrition, so is it used to wage war. A disciple, a follower of Jesus is called to Wage war against our enemy who claims princeship over this world. We, as those who live dead, are called to be effective in the fight against evil that is so prevalent in this world.

Apply It

Jesus calls us to a radical decision. To come soberly to a decision of what our life looks like in pursuit of Him.

He warns us to count the cost, to take account of how truly following Him will change our lives and our comfort.

Take account of our relationships, lifestyle, and possessions.

Live Dead, Make a decision to place your future solely in the Hands of Christ.

Stay Salty, Being effective in bringing the Hope of Jesus to everyone around us.

Stay Salty, Being effective in the fight against the evil.

We are called to Live Dead. With our cross on our shoulders a symbol of our devotion to our King.

Communion

Pastoral Blessing:

As you go into this may you be filled with the joy of salvation, empowered by the Holy Spirit to proclaim Jesus and live out His teachings. May His peace guard your hearts and minds, His joy strengthen you in every circumstance, and His hope sustain you throughout this week.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,

Amen.