Week 4: What does it mean, that "Jesus is Lord"

There is a huge debate in the contemporary church, on an issue that is more important to us than any other. And this debate has to do with how we answer a simple question: "What must I do to be saved?" Surely, there is no more basic question that every person must answer. None of us want to go through the entirety of our lives, only to discover that we answered this incorrectly. What a tragedy it would be, to think you are saved, to go through life thinking God is pleased with you, and that you have eternal life, and then on the last day, have God tell you, "No. You have no entrance into my kingdom." When you ask most people in the pews what we must do to be saved, you will find the answer goes something like this: "Admit that I have sinned. Believe that Jesus is God, and that he died on the cross for my sins. Confess Jesus as Savior." It's very simple. There are verses, taken out of context, that give the appearance of logic and biblical truth to this. But it's very wrong. A few people in every church talk about reaching out to the world, and telling people the good news about Jesus. But I have come to believe that my main mission field is within these four walls. I see congregation after congregation that doesn't understand what God wants from them. They don't understand how we are supposed to respond to the good news. So what I want to do to today is teach a very simple message. I'll use the ESV. There will be no fancy Greek. Nothing complicated. 25 Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them,26 "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. 28 For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.' 31 Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. 33 So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 25 Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them,26 "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Jesus has reached the point in his ministry where he has become incredibly popular. People know Jesus is something special. They have seen his miracles; they have heard his teachings. They are drawn to him. And what are the crowds doing? They are "accompanying" him. They are "going along with him." Most churches, and most pastors, would see this, and they would lift their voices to God in praise. "Praise God who is blessing this church. Praise God for the large crowds." But what does Jesus say? What is his response? "If anyone comes to me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple." Jesus sees people "accompanying" him. But that's not what Jesus wants. Jesus wants people who will "come" to him. And it's not enough to come to Jesus. You have to come to Jesus, and despise everything else in your life-- and despise even your own life. If you don't despise everything else, you can't be Jesus' disciple. There are some who read this, and they casually keep reading. They think there is no challenge here. Nothing scary. Because they think one of two things. (1) Some people think Jesus is talking about something optional, done secondarily after people are saved. First, people become Christians. Then, later on, they realize that there's a cost to being a Christian. Jesus wants you to be a Christian, and then a disciple. And so they hear this, and they half-shrug their shoulders and they think to themselves, "Yes, I know this is something I need to work toward." Does it sound like Jesus is saying this? Is he saying, "It's great if you believe that I will die on the cross for your sins, but if you want to get an "A," you need to hate everything else about your life." No. In Luke-Acts (same author, a two-part work) there is no distinction between Christians and disciples. We read in Acts 11:26 that it was at Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians. Disciples, are Christians. Christians, are disciples. So when Jesus is challenging the crowds here in Luke 14, he's telling them, "If you don't hate everything, and everyone, even yourself, you can't be a Christian." This language about hating maybe bothers you. I hope it does. I don't want to water it down, but I think what he's actually saying is, "You need to commit yourself solely to me." His first words prove this-- "if anyone comes to me." Do you want to come to Jesus? This is how you do it. You give him everything. This is the only way to come to Jesus. (2) Other people read these verses and don't panic because they think Jesus' words aren't for us. Jesus' teaching was only relevant for people who lived while he was on earth. But now that he has died on the cross, we are saved simply by believing in Jesus. This teaching is most closely associated with Dallas Theological Seminary, and it has spread throughout the church. It's known as dispensationalism. You will find it, most famously, in the Scofield Study Bible. These people will say the only parts of the Bible we actually have to obey, are parts of the book of Acts, and everything that follows. Jesus' words were only supposed to be applied by the twelve disciples. What makes this teaching particularly stupid is that we most of us know the Great Commission in Matt. 28:18-20. There, Jesus calls his disciples to make disciples of all nations. And do they do that? By teaching them to obey everything Jesus commanded. Jesus expects people to obey his words. That is at the heart of what it means to be his disciple. Our mission, as the church, is largely to teach people what Jesus taught, and teach them to obey it. That's how you make Christians. That's how you make disciples--it's the same thing (Acts 11:26). Jesus then expands on this in verse 27: 27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. We talk sometimes about "bearing our crosses," but if someone pressed on what that means, I'm not sure we'd have an answer. I think what it means is being willing to die. Following Jesus doesn't just mean despising everything else in your life, it means despising life itself. If coming to Jesus means I will die, then I will die. I am willing. Jesus will bear his cross, and die. And we are supposed to follow on his path. If you aren't willing to do this, you can't be his disciple. But someone at this point will say, surely, you can't teach this to non-Christians. You'll scare them off. Our number of converts will go down. People won't be willing to do this. And if people don't come, we will come short on our budgets, and there's less people to listen to sermons on Sunday morning. Do we want an empty church? Jesus knows your objection. And so he continues in verse 28: 28 For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.' 31 Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. 33 So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. When does Jesus say we should tell people about the cost of being his disciple? The only kind thing to do, is tell them up front. If following Jesus, and being his disciple, costs you everything, wouldn't you want to know it up front? Do you go to a car dealer, and say, "I want that pickup," without knowing it will cost you 70k? Do you sign the paper before knowing the price? Of course not. And it works the same way with being Jesus' disciples. It's great that you are attracted to Jesus. You see something in him that draws you. And so you accompany him. You go to church; you are part of a small group; you maybe dabble in praying. But what is it that Jesus wants? Jesus wants you to renounce everything. If you're not willing to do this, you can't be his disciple. Each of you has things in your life that you value a great deal. You cling to your spouse, your kids, your parents. Your work, your recreation, your wealth. Your sins. You value your sins a great deal. Jesus says, you have to renounce everything that you have to be his disciple. If you find yourself being drawn to Christ, that thrills me. But Jesus wants you to know the cost, up front. He is perfectly fair about this. Jesus is not about bait-and-switch Christianity. The question you have to decide is, "Is Jesus worth it?" Is Jesus worth giving up everything? To answer that question, let's turn to Matt. 13:44-46: 44 "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. 45 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46 who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it. When Jesus talks about the blessings of what it means to follow him, and be his disciple, he does so usually by talking about the kingdom of heaven, or the kingdom of God. God has a kingdom-- an empire. And you can join his kingdom. You can enter through the gates. What waits for you on the other side? What's his kingdom like? In Matthew we read that it's like a treasure hidden in a field, that a man finds and covers up. The treasure is so magnificent, he's determined that he will the one to get it. But there's a catch. That treasure is expensive. It costs you everything. Is it worth it? Absolutely. It's worth giving up everything. Again, verse 45, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant who looks for fine pearls. He demands only the best, and one day, he finds one of great value. He looks at his life work, and all he has, and he compares it to this great pearl. And he knows there is no choice here. He has to have that pearl. And so he sells everything to gain it. Why is the kingdom of heaven so amazing? What waits for people on the other side of that gate, is God. God is calling you to be part of his family, part of his chosen people. He wants to forgive your sins, cleanse you of them. He wants to free you from your slavery to sin. He wants you to have access to himself-- you can pray, and he will hear your prayers. He will bless you. God is good. God loves you. God wants to do this for you. But how do you enter the kingdom? The answer is, we enter the kingdom through Jesus (and repenting of sins). Don't misunderstand me on this point. The only reason there is a door there at all, is because God created one through Jesus. He is the way to the Father. He is the reason your sins can be forgiven. It is because of Jesus we no longer have to be slaves to sin. It's through Jesus we have access to the Father. But how do we come to Jesus? Jesus still demands that we give him everything. In Romans 10, Paul says that it's when we confess Jesus as Lord that we are saved. The way you come to Jesus, is by getting on your knees, and submitting to him as Lord ("Lord" is the same word used to describe slave owners in Ephesians 6). He is King, and you bow before your king, and you give him everything. Then you can be Jesus' disciple. Then you are his disciple. My heart breaks when I think about all the people in churches who've been fed a false gospel, and who don't understand the cost of following Jesus. God will judge people who teach this harshly; I believe that very firmly. Because they have done unbelievable damage to his church. So now you, at least, know. Do you want to be Jesus' disciples? Do you want to enter into God's kingdom? I'm telling you--it's worth it. It's an unbelievable treasure. Knowing God, being part of his family, is amazing. But there is a crazy cost. Salvation is not free. Being Jesus' disciples isn't free. It will cost you everything. You have to look at what you're hanging on to, and decide, do I value what God offers enough, to give him everything? Consider the cost--but know that the cost is worth it. 6