The Cost of Discipleship
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Luke 14:25–35 (NASB95)
Discipleship Tested
25 Now large crowds were going along with 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.
** Love Christ Supremely
** Love Christ Supremely
more than family
more than hobbies
more than this life
Matthew 10:37 (NASB95)
37 “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.
Some say we are the builders of the tower - We are the king testing the winds of war.
Others say that for the first two interpretations it ought to be Christ as the builder and the king - He is counting the cost of having us as His soldiers and us as His raw materials.
Can the mission of the church be accomplished with such weapons and raw material?
“But I agree with G. Campbell Morgan and Warren Wiersbe that the builder and the king represent not the believer but Jesus Christ.
28 “For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it?
29 “Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him,
30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’
WK Pkway House that kept changing hands, no one could finish it!
31 “Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand?
32 “Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.
33 “So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.
34 “Therefore, salt is good; but if even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be seasoned?
35 “It is useless either for the soil or for the manure pile; it is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
** Love Christ Saltier
** Love Christ Saltier
Discipleship is serious business. If we are not true disciples, then Jesus cannot build the tower and fight the war.
Discipleship is serious business. If we are not true disciples, then Jesus cannot build the tower and fight the war.
Wiersbe, Warren W. The Bible Exposition Commentary. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996.
“Our modern salt is pure and does not lose its flavor, but the salt in Jesus’ day was impure and could lose its flavor, especially if it came in contact with earth.
“Our modern salt is pure and does not lose its flavor, but the salt in Jesus’ day was impure and could lose its flavor, especially if it came in contact with earth.
“Once the saltiness was gone, there was no way to restore it, and the salt was thrown out into the street to be walked on.
“Once the saltiness was gone, there was no way to restore it, and the salt was thrown out into the street to be walked on.
When a disciple loses his Christian character, he is “good for nothing” and will eventually be “walked on” by others and bring disgrace to Christ.”
When a disciple loses his Christian character, he is “good for nothing” and will eventually be “walked on” by others and bring disgrace to Christ.”
Let’s go back to verse 27 as I bring this down to a close.
Let’s go back to verse 27 as I bring this down to a close.
Notice there is a conditional clause in Verse 27,
27 “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.
** Carry the Cross Steadier
** Carry the Cross Steadier
Jesus turned to the multitude and preached a sermon that deliberately thinned out the ranks.
He made it clear that, when it comes to personal discipleship, He is more interested in quality than quantity.
In the matter of saving lost souls, He wants His house to be filled (Luke 14:23); but in the matter of personal discipleship,
(WHICH BY THE WAY, LEADS To Good Evangelism)
He wants only those who are willing to pay the price - to obey His commandments, to build His church, and to wage war against the enemy.
So By Way of Application: How?
Disciples are Learners, attached to a teacher or a subject - like an Apprentice. So KEEP LEARNING, Keep Loving the Savior.
But like the apprentice - there is a cost. They get up early to start the fire, pour the metal, make the candle, stamp out the pattern. So, too DISCIPLES have to be ready for the trials of carrying a cross… of replicating the Savior
Daily dying to self - Death to Shame, Suffering, and Ambition - THEN a DAILY IDENTIFICATION with Christ in Submission to His Will.
Serving Others - BEING SALT!
Jesus had already told His disciples that they were “the salt of the earth” (Matt. 5:13).
When the sinner trusts Jesus Christ as Saviour, a miracle takes place and “clay” is turned into “salt.”
Salt was a valued item in that day; in fact, part of a soldier’s pay was given in salt.
(The words salt and salary are related; hence, the saying, “He’s not worth his salt.”)
Salt is a preservative, and God’s people in this world are helping to retard the growth of evil and decay. Salt is also a purifying agent, an antiseptic that makes things cleaner. It may sting when it touches the wound, but it helps to kill infection.
Salt gives flavor to things and, most of all, makes people thirsty. [By our presence in the world - WE Ought to Make People Thirsty for both Salvation and Discipleship. A place of belonging.]
By our character and conduct, we ought to make others thirsty for the Lord Jesus Christ and the salvation that He alone can give.
Wiersbe, Warren W. The Bible Exposition Commentary. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996.
Moving beyond salvation as FIRE INSURANCE / Get Out Of Hell Free Card. Discipleship is going the distance - realizing GRACE has covered our Sin and Guilt, but Mercy
Jesus seems to make a distinction between salvation and discipleship.
Salvation is open to all who will come by faith, while discipleship is for believers willing to pay a price.
- Salvation means coming to the cross and trusting Jesus Christ,
- While discipleship means carrying the cross and following Jesus Christ.
Jesus wants as many sinners saved as possible (“that My house may be filled”), but He cautions us not to take discipleship lightly; and in the three parables He gave, He made it clear that there is a price to pay.