The True Cost of Following Christ

I used to love watching The Price is Right. How many of you would always try to guess what the price of something was before the contestant did? I came to find out I should never go on that game show. I’m terrible at guessing the true value of something. Every once in a while I get close, but I’m usually nowhere in the ballpark.

It might be easy to determine the value of a commodity, but what about something more significant? What about your faith? It can be very easy to take our faith for granted. After all, we did nothing to earn our own salvation. It cost Jesus everything, but it cost us nothing. But once we come to faith, there is a call to follow Jesus, to make him master of our lives. It is to give him total control and the decision to follow him is not to be taken lightly. We are called to consider the cost.

Jesus and his disciples were travelling, and they arrived in the region of Caesarea Phillipi, so named to honor Caesar Augustus by Philip the Tetrarch. The word Philippi was added to distinguish it from other cities with the same name. There was a city on the coast of the Mediterranean called Caesarea Maritima (or by the sea). So when we read scripture or history related to this time period, we need to know which Caesarea we are talking about.

Caesarea Philippi sat at the base of Mount Hermon, and was home to a temple of a god named Pan, who was half man and half goat. Like all other gods of the Ancient Near East, the worshipers of Pan sought favor from him through sacrifices. There was a well behind the temple and water flowing into the Jordan river flowed through it. The worshippers of Pan referred to this well as the gate to hell/hades. All this is going on in the background when Jesus asks his disciples who the people say he is. Some say Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.

Then Jesus asks who they say he is. This is when Peter gives his famous confession, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus replies, “Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah. For flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. And I say you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it.” At this point, Jesus begins to explain that he will be handed over to the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes to suffer many things, be killed, and be raised up on the third day.

This is when Peter, the one who just got the “Atta boy” from Jesus chimes in and says, “God forbid it Lord! This shall never happen to you.” Then some of the most terrifying words Jesus may have ever said come from his mouth, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.”

Ouch. The one who just confessed Jesus as the Messiah, the Savior, the Christ and was going to be given the keys to the kingdom of heaven is knocked back at the words of Jesus, who just called him an adversary. Peter didn’t know what he was talking about. In a moment Peter went from being affirmed by Jesus to being condemned by Jesus. He went from being called blessed to being called Satan. He went from being an ally to being an adversary. Peter, a follower of Christ, who ended up penning the letter we just finished studying, rebuked his master and stood in the way of God’s plans.

It is in the tension of that moment Jesus took the opportunity to lay out the cost of following him.

Matthew 16:24–28 NASB95

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? “For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay every man according to his deeds. “Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”

The fact of the matter is that if you say you are a follower of Christ, it is a costly endeavor. Yet, many do not consider the cost of following Jesus. Part of the trouble is that the church has settled for what many of us call easy believism. That is that the gospel is simple. We have violated the standards of a holy God and deserve judgment. But out of his love for us, he sent Christ to be that standard, and offer himself up in our place so that we could be pardoned for our sins. Instead of facing the just consequences of our actions, we receive grace and mercy because Jesus paid the price. In exchange, we are invited into the family of God, and there is a new relationship unfolding there. Often times we treat the salvation experience as an end, but it is really the beginning. Our purpose extends far beyond getting saved and warming a pew for the rest of our lives. We are called to a higher purpose.

Understand what you signed up for.

Jesus said that anyone wishing to come after him should do three things. He should deny himself, take up his cross, and follow him. The concept of self denial is at the heart of Christianity. Jesus modeled self denial throughout his entire life. He modeled self denial when he fasted for forty days in the wilderness. He modeled self denial when he did not give in to the Devil’s temptations in the wilderness. He modeled self denial when he was beaten and hung on a cross unjustly. He modeled self denial when he gave up his life for ours.

Very rarely in America is one called to lay down his life for the faith. But this is not what self denial means. Self denial is the realization that your life no longer belongs to you. As Christ has redeemed it, he has paid for it with his own blood. As I have said the last few weeks, we are in a spiritual war. As children of God, we are automatically enlisted into his armed forces. Yet, many Christians settle for what they hope would be a life where God blesses their plans and they rarely ask the question, “What would God have me do?” Unless there is an emergency. Imagine asking what God would have you do in everything. It might determine the kind of car you drive. It might determine where you live. It might determine the kind of job you have. Self denial asks the question, “What would God have me do,” and then submit ourselves to the answer.

It is no secret the death penalty in the Roman Empire was crucifixion. The Romans were really good at it and it was common practice in Jesus’ time. His disciples knew what he meant. The Romans made crucifixion public as a humiliation to the criminal and a deterrent to everyone else. Jesus uses this to communicate an important truth to the cost of following him. It is unlikely that you will literally be required to give up your life as a martyr for Jesus. But you are called to consider what following Jesus could cost you. It is a call to die. It is a call to die to your own self, your own desires, your own ambitions even if it would cost your life.

Following Jesus means that you count your life as nothing in comparison knowing him. You didn’t sign up to for a life of mediocrity. You didn’t sign up for a life where you merely survive with Jesus. He has called you to wage war against the dark forces of this world that hold people captive. He calls us to dare to reach out to the people the world would rather forget about. He calls us to put our lives on the line for a greater purpose than we could ever produce for ourselves.

And with that is the following promise:

Don’t trade status tomorrow for status today.

The next part of this passage is a famous tactic. It is a figure of speech that seeks to make a claim by expressing its reversal. He who tries to save his life will lose it. But whoever loses his life for Jesus’ sake will find it. There is an irony to this statement, but I can assure you it is true. Regardless of one’s religious beliefs, every human being has an innate desire to preserve his or her own life. After all, it is the only one we get. There is a 100% chance you will die. Billions of dollars are spent per year in an effort to prolong life. But Jesus is here saying that whoever tries to save his own life will lose it. But whoever loses his life for his sake will find it. How does this make sense?

If we invest all our time and energy into saving our life on this side of eternity, we have missed Jesus. He is the life boat on a sinking ship. If we spend all our time on a sinking ship trying to figure out how to repair it rather than board the life boat that can get us out of the sinking ship, the end result is sinking with the ship.

In the next statement, Jesus asks rhetorical questions to illustrate a point. What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? What will a man give in exchange for his soul? Imagine for a moment you could have everything the world has to offer. You can become the richest person on earth. You can own as much real estate as you want. You can go anywhere and do anything. But if in the process you miss eternity, what have you gained? Don’t trade status tomorrow for status today.

The apostle Paul had it all as far as he was concerned. But look what he says in Philippians 3:1-11

Philippians 3:1–11 NASB95

Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you. Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision; for we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh, although I myself might have confidence even in the flesh. If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more: circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless. But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view 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, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

This was a man who was on his way up in Jewish society. Yet he gave all of it up when he came to know the truth about Jesus. In exchange he became one of the most powerful witnesses for Jesus the world has ever seen. What do you think Paul’s status in the kingdom of heaven will be? Tremendous. Don’t worry about your reputation or prestige today. Let Jesus take care of your status in his kingdom. You follow him. One of the most comforting things I have found in following Christ is I don’t need social media followers, national or even global notoriety. Jesus himself will take care of all that one day in the future. I am content to follow him now and let him worry about my status in his kingdom. Don’t pursue status today and miss status tomorrow.

Judgment day is coming.

We must all remember there is a day fixed on the calendar when we will all be called to give an account for the work we carried out in his name. Jesus prophesied of his death, burial, and resurrection, but he also prophesied of his return to set up his kingdom. When he returns, judgment will be carried out. It is an uncomfortable word, but we often misunderstand it. Judgment can be scary if we assume somehow we are going to miss heaven because of our actions. Let me remind you that you only miss heaven if you are wrong about the person and work of Jesus Christ. When you come to faith in Christ, the judgment is not about entrance into heaven. It is about the reward you will receive for your labor in this life.

The parable of the talents illustrates this concept. The master is about to go on a journey and his servants are given talents (or sums of money) and charged with the task of growing it. The servants go out and the one with five grows it to ten. The one with two grows it to four. But the servant with one talent buries it and returns it to his master when he returns. Every servant is commended except the last one. Why? Because he didn’t do anything with what the master entrusted to his care.

Like the servants in this story, you and I have been entrusted with the ministry of reconciliation. We are responsible for going out into the world and making disciples for Christ. On judgment day, we will be called to account for the work we did or did not do that was entrusted to us. Are you ready for that day? If Christ were to return today, what would you have to show for the time he has given you? May we never lose sight of our true purpose and continue to press on.

Do you know what you have signed up for? Are you prepared to give up everything for the sake of Christ? Are you prepared to meet him when he returns or when you are called home? Let us reflect on these questions.