The Cost of a Christo-centric Life

The Cost of a Christo-centric Life

Text: 1 Chronicles 21:24 (AMP)

“But King David said to Ornan, ‘No, I will certainly buy it for the full price; for I will not take what is yours for the Lord, nor offer a burnt offering which costs me nothing.’”

Introduction: What Does It Cost to Be Centered on Christ?

My beloved Saint Thomas Baptist family and friends, I greet you in the mighty and matchless name of Jesus Christ—the One who paid the highest price that we might walk in freedom and live with purpose.

When we talk about living a Christo-centric life—a life centered around Christ—it sounds noble, it sounds holy, it even sounds beautiful. But if we’re honest, family, it also sounds costly. Because being Christ-centered means that something else must be de-centered. It means that self has to move off the throne. It means preferences, pride, and pleasures may have to bow before purpose. It means letting go of some things that hinder your walk with God.

In our text today, King David faces a moment where obedience and offering collide. A plague has struck the land because of David’s sin, and now God instructs him to build an altar to stop the destruction. When David comes to the threshing floor of Ornan, the Jebusite offers to give him the land, the oxen, and the wood for free. But David refuses. He says, “No, I will pay full price, for I will not offer to God that which costs me nothing.”

What a declaration of devotion! David understood something that too many believers forget—if it costs you nothing, it changes you nothing. True worship always requires sacrifice. True discipleship always comes with cost. And a Christo-centric life demands a continual surrender of whatever competes with His Lordship.

Context Overview: The Story Behind the Sacrifice

To understand the weight of David’s words, we must see the road that led him here. In 1 Chronicles 21, David sinned by taking a census of Israel—trusting in numbers instead of God. Pride whispered, “Count your soldiers,” but humility had been silenced. And when pride moves in, plague is not far behind.

God sent a destroying angel, and as death swept through the nation, David fell on his face and cried out, “I have sinned—let it fall on me!” (v.17). Then God sent Gad the prophet to tell David to build an altar on Ornan’s threshing floor. It was there, between judgment and mercy, that David learned the value of costly worship.

When Ornan offered to give everything freely, David could have accepted. But something within him said, “No, I can’t give God leftovers. I can’t offer convenience where He deserves commitment.” That’s when he declared: “I will not offer to the Lord that which costs me nothing.”

That’s the heartbeat of a Christ-centered life—it costs something, but it’s worth everything. So, with the help of the Holy Spirit and the real preacher Jesus Christ, I want to present three thing we need to know and understand about “The Cost of a Christo-centric Life,” and the first is this.

A Christo-centric Life Requires Sacrifice

David’s words remind us that walking with God will always cost you something.

Romans 12:1 says, “Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies [dedicating all of yourselves, set apart] as living sacrifice, holy and well pleasing to God, which is your rational (logical, intelligent) act of worship.”

You can’t live a Christocentric life and hold on to everything that’s convenient.

It may cost you comfort, because Christ will call you to places that stretch your faith.

It may cost you relationships, because not everyone will understand your devotion.

It may cost you reputation, because standing for truth may make you unpopular.

But here’s the good news: anything you give up for Christ is never truly lost.

Jesus said in Mark 10:29–30, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, there is no one who has given up a house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel’s sake, who will not receive a hundred times as much now in the present age houses and brothers and sister and mothers and children and farms along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life.”

David refused a discounted sacrifice because he understood a deep truth—discounted devotion leads to diluted discipleship.

You can’t give God your leftovers and expect His best. You can’t stay in the shallow end of faith and expect deep revelation. The Christo-centric life demands surrender that costs something.

A Christo-centric Life Requires Surrender

To center your life on Christ means He becomes the reference point of everything you do.

Like a compass pointing north, your heart, your choices, your values must all revolve around Him.

That means you have to let go of idols—not golden calves, but modern ones: pride, possessions, power, and popularity.

Hebrews 12:1 tells us to “stripping off every unnecessary weight and the sin which so easily and cleverly entangles us.”

There are things that aren’t sinful—but they’re slowing you down. They hinder your prayer life. They block your worship. They dull your spiritual hunger.

Maybe it’s that unforgiveness you’ve held too long.

Maybe it’s a habit that pulls your attention from God.

Maybe it’s simply the comfort of control—trying to manage life instead of surrendering it.

But hear this: Christ cannot be the center if self still holds the steering wheel.

Paul said in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ [that is, in Him I have shared His crucifixion]; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. The life I now live in the body I live by faith [adhering to, relying on, and completely trusting] in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”

A Christo-centric life says, “Lord, not my will but Yours be done.” It costs your pride but gains you peace. It costs your comfort but brings you closeness. It costs your independence but anchors you in intimacy with Him.

A Christo-centric Life Results in Transformation

When David made the costly sacrifice, something happened—the plague stopped (v.26-27).

The altar became the place where death was defeated, and mercy triumphed.

That’s what happens when you give up what hinders and offer God what honors Him—transformation takes place.

Romans 12:2 declares, “And do not be conformed to this world [any longer with its superficial values and customs], but be transformed and progressively changed [as you mature spiritually] by the renewing of your mind [focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His plan and purpose for you].”

Transformation is the fruit of costly obedience.

When you surrender your will, God strengthens your walk.

When you give up your idols, God increases your anointing.

When you give Him everything, He releases everything He’s been holding for you.

And just like David, the altar of sacrifice becomes the birthplace of new beginnings.

Practical Application: What Is God Asking You to Lay Down?

Saints, what is the Lord calling you to surrender today?

Maybe He’s calling you to forgive that person you’ve avoided.

Maybe He’s calling you to give up the constant need for control.

Maybe He’s asking you to reorder your time, your finances, your priorities.

Ask yourself:

“What’s costing me closeness with God?”

“What have I been unwilling to give up?”

Because if it costs you nothing, it changes you nothing.

David teaches us that sacrifice is not loss—it’s investment. Every act of surrender becomes a seed that produces spiritual growth.

Conclusion: The Price Is Worth the Presence

David paid full price—and God showed up. The fire fell, the plague stopped, and peace was restored.

And centuries later, on another hill, Jesus paid the full price for us.

He didn’t give God a partial payment. He gave His life.

He didn’t offer a cheap sacrifice. He gave Himself as the Lamb of God.

He didn’t stop at convenience. He went all the way to Calvary.

And because He paid it all, we can live a life fully centered in Him.

So, church, I ask you—what will your life cost you?

Your answer will determine your depth.

Your surrender will determine your strength.

And your sacrifice will determine your spiritual fruit.

Don’t offer God what costs you nothing. Give Him what costs you everything—because He is worthy of everything.

Closing Celebration

So, if you want more of Him, give up what hinders you.

If you want deeper joy, release what distracts you.

If you want lasting peace, surrender what divides you.

Because when you give God your all—He gives you His everything!

He’ll trade your pain for peace, your burden for blessing, your chaos for clarity.

And one day, when you stand before Him, you’ll declare like David,

“It was worth it all!”

Because the cost of a Christ-ocentric life may be high—but the reward is heavenly!