The Cost of Following Jesus
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Luke 14:25-35
Crowds are easy to gather.
Disciples are not.
Luke 14:25 says there went great multitudes with him.
That looks like momentum.
But Jesus turns and speaks in a way that filters the crowd.
He does not lower the standard to keep people close.
He raises the standard so people will be honest.
Jesus is not recruiting fans.
Jesus is calling followers.
If you follow Christ, you must know what you are saying yes to.
And you must know what you are saying no to.
Tonight, Jesus gives us a sober, loving call to real discipleship.
He teaches us to love him supremely.
He teaches us to bear the cross willingly.
He teaches us to count the cost carefully.
He warns us not to become useless salt.
I. Love Christ Supremely
I. Love Christ Supremely
This first statement hits the heart before it touches the hands.
Before Jesus talks about what you do, he talks about what you love.
If your loves are out of order, your life will always be out of order.
So let’s start where Jesus starts, with the priority of Christ in the heart.
A. Christ Must Be Loved Above All Relationships
A. Christ Must Be Loved Above All Relationships
Luke 14:26 uses strong language to make a clear point.
26 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
Jesus is not commanding sinful hatred.
Jesus is demanding first place.
He is saying, “No one gets the throne of your heart but me.”
37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
That means even good relationships cannot outrank obedience to Christ.
Some people love family peace more than they love Christ’s will.
Some people fear disappointing loved ones more than they fear disobeying God.
When those loves compete, Jesus insists he must win.
Now watch how Jesus tightens it even further.
He moves from relationships outside you to the life inside you.
B. Christ Must Be Loved Above Your Own Life
B. Christ Must Be Loved Above Your Own Life
Luke 14:26 ends with yea, and his own life also.
That means self-preservation cannot be your highest law.
That means comfort cannot be your master.
That means reputation cannot be your ruler.
10 For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.
That means a disciple cannot be governed by applause.
This is where the rubber meets the road on Sunday night.
What do you do when obedience costs you something.
What do you do when faithfulness makes you look odd.
What do you do when following Jesus means you cannot “fit in.”
Jesus is saying, “If you want me, you cannot keep yourself as god.”
Jesus now shows what this looks like in real life.
If he is first in your love, he will be first in your suffering.
C. Christ Must Be Loved With A Whole Heart
C. Christ Must Be Loved With A Whole Heart
Luke 14:26 is not calling for a moment of emotion.
It is calling for a settled allegiance.
5 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
That means Jesus is not an accessory to your life, he is the center of it.
A disciple does not ask, “How close can I stay to Jesus and still keep my preferences.”
A disciple asks, “How close can I stay to Jesus because he is my treasure.”
John Wesley said, “Give me one hundred preachers who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God, and I care not whether they be clergymen or laymen; they alone will shake the gates of hell.”
That kind of discipleship begins with supreme love.
If love is the root, then sacrifice will be the fruit.
And that leads Jesus into the next demand.
II. Bear The Cross Willingly
II. Bear The Cross Willingly
If point one deals with the throne of the heart, point two deals with the path of the life.
Jesus moves from who you love most to what you are willing to carry.
He gives a picture they would have understood with sobriety.
A. The Cross Means Death To Self
A. The Cross Means Death To Self
27 And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.
In their world, the cross was not decoration.
It was an instrument of torture and execution.
To bear a cross meant you were surrendering your rights.
It meant you were walking in a direction you could not control.
23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
This means discipleship is not occasional.
This means discipleship is not only when it is convenient.
This means discipleship is daily surrender.
Here is the hard truth.
You cannot follow Jesus and keep your old boss called self.
Now Jesus shows what “death to self” looks like in the real decisions of life.
B. The Cross Means Submission To Christ
B. The Cross Means Submission To Christ
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
You cannot just give Jesus your Sunday.
You give him your schedule.
You give him your words.
You give him your habits.
You give him your plans.
2 Corinthians 5:15 says of Jesus
15 And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.
The disciple’s question changes from “What do I want” to “What would please my Lord.”
You know, If you see a turtle on a fence post, you know it did not get there by itself.
Someone lifted it up to that post.
A disciple is a person who has been lifted by grace.
So it makes no sense to say, “Jesus saved me,” and then refuse to let him lead me.
Jesus now presses beyond the inner meaning of the cross to the necessary mindset of the follower.
C. The Cross Means Endurance In Following
C. The Cross Means Endurance In Following
27 And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.
Come after me!
That is movement.
That is continuing.
That is staying behind the Master even when the road gets steep.
2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
He Endured the cross.
Our Savior understands costly obedience.
Some people start well but quit when it gets hard.
Some people want crowns without crosses.
But Jesus says discipleship includes endurance.
Now Jesus anticipates a common excuse.
He knows people will say, “I want to follow,” and then discover they did not think it through.
So he gives two mini parables to force wisdom.
III. Count The Cost Honestly
III. Count The Cost Honestly
Jesus does not discourage true discipleship.
He discourages fake discipleship.
He discourages impulse religion that collapses under pressure.
So he teaches us to calculate before we claim.
A. Consider The Builder Who Could Not Finish
A. Consider The Builder Who Could Not Finish
Luke 14:28–30 describes a man who starts a tower but cannot finish it.
28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?
29 Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him,
30 Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.
The result is mockery.
The issue is not that he began.
The issue is that he began without counting the cost.
27 Prepare thy work without, And make it fit for thyself in the field; And afterwards build thine house.
That means wisdom plans the life before it promises big words.
Have you made spiritual promises you do not intend to keep.
Have you started habits you will not sustain.
Have you claimed devotion without planning obedience.
Now Jesus gives a second picture that adds urgency.
The builder is embarrassed.
The king is endangered.
B. Consider The King Who Could Not Win
B. Consider The King Who Could Not Win
Luke 14:31–32 speaks of a king going to war.
31 Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?
32 Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace.
The Wise King sits down first.
He consults.
He evaluates.
And if he cannot win, he seeks terms of peace.
Jesus is saying, “This is not a game.”
Your soul is not a hobby.
Listen we are fighting a war we cannot win on our own!
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
That means discipleship requires sober awareness of spiritual conflict.
No one signs up for military service thinking it will feel like a vacation.
Only a fool would join the Marines, or Army for relaxation.
If you think Christianity is mainly comfort, you are going to be shocked by trials.
But if you count the cost, you will not be surprised when hardship comes.
Jesus then summarizes both pictures with a direct demand.
C. Choose Christ Over All Competing Possessions
C. Choose Christ Over All Competing Possessions
33 So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.
Jesus is not teaching that every believer must sell every item you own.
He is teaching that nothing can own you.
He is teaching that you must release your grip on the things of this world so Christ has full rights.
Just as Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount:
21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
What you cling to reveals what you worship.
What would you not surrender if Jesus asked?
What would you fight to keep even if it quenched your spiritual life?
Hudson Taylor said, “Christ is either Lord of all, or He is not Lord at all.”
Now Jesus ends with one more picture.
He is warning about a disciple who starts, but becomes compromised and useless.
IV. Remain Useful Like Salt
IV. Remain Useful Like Salt
Jesus has shown the priority of love.
He has shown the necessity of the cross.
He has shown the wisdom of counting the cost.
Now he warns against a discipleship that loses its distinctiveness.
A. Salt Is Meant To Keep Its Savor
A. Salt Is Meant To Keep Its Savor
34 Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be seasoned?
Salt is good!
Salt preserves.
Salt flavors.
Salt makes a difference wherever it is present.
Jesus is describing the visible impact of a true disciple.
13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
This means a Christian is meant to stand out, not blend in.
This means your home should taste different because Christ is there.
This means your speech should taste different because Christ is there.
Now Jesus gives the warning.
B. Salt That Loses Savor Becomes Useless
B. Salt That Loses Savor Becomes Useless
34 Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be seasoned?
35 It is neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dunghill; but men cast it out. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
When salt has lost its savour, it is fit neither for the land, nor yet for the dunghill.
So it is cast out.
Jesus is not saying a believer loses salvation by weakness.
He is warning that compromised discipleship loses usefulness.
1 Corinthians 9:27 shows Paul fearing being castaway in usefulness, not losing sonship.
27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
That means God can set aside a life that refuses to stay distinct.
Where have you softened what God called you to stand for?
Where have you blended in to avoid discomfort?
Where have you traded conviction for convenience?
Jesus ends with a line that demands response.
C. Hear Christ Personally And Respond Immediately
C. Hear Christ Personally And Respond Immediately
Luke 14:35 says he that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
That is not a suggestion.
That is a summons.
22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
The sermon is not complete when you agree, it is complete when you obey.
You know, a smoke detector is annoying if there is no fire.
But it is mercy when there is one.
Jesus’ words here are a spiritual smoke detector.
He is not trying to ruin your evening.
He is trying to rescue your soul.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Jesus loved the crowd enough to tell them the truth.
Following him will cost you.
But not following him will cost you more.
The cost of discipleship is real.
But the cost of empty religion is eternal.
So come back to the questions Jesus forces us to answer.
Who do I love most.
Who am I willing to obey no matter what.
What am I clinging to that competes with Christ.
Have I truly counted the cost, or am I coasting on a crowd.
If you are saved, renew your surrender tonight.
Put Christ back on the throne where he belongs.
If you are not saved, do not admire Jesus from the crowd.
Come to him.
Repent and believe the gospel.
And then follow his steps.
