To truly follow Jesus Christ, we must consider the cost and put Christ above everything else. Therefore, discipleship requires. . .
Trusting Fully in Christ!
As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”
Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” (57 – 58)
The would-be or wanna-be disciple volunteers himself to be a disciple. His offer is open-ended—“I will follow you wherever you go!” Look at the parallel passage in Matthew 8:18 – 19 where the wanna-be disciple addresses Jesus as “Teacher.” It has been suggested that perhaps this individual equated discipleship to simply being a “student.” “Students in Judaism lived with their teachers to learn the Torah and see a model of a righteous life.” Hengel suggests that “to follow Jesus is more like following an Old Testament prophet than like studying with a rabbi.”
First, there was a great ignorance in this would-be disciple coming near. He presumed a self-calling. He wished not to simply follow Christ, but to thrust himself into apostolic honors. Hear what Paul writes about this in Hebrews 5:4—“No one takes the honor upon himself, he must be called by God, just as Aaron was.”
It is possible to follow Christ superficially. Remember that great multitudes were following Christ at this time. Every pastor would love to have that kind of congregation. Every ministry desires more followers. We, too often, measure success by numbers. However, as we discover as we study Natural Church Development, a healthy church is measured by both quantity and quality. But Jesus was different. Large crowds did not fool Him. He knew that many were following Him for selfish or superficial reasons. It was the exciting thing to do. Maybe you or someone you knew would be healed. But Jesus was not a false recruiter. He wanted to weed out those who followed Him for superficial reasons, because when the battle heated up, He knew that they would fall away and cause damage for His cause. So He turned to the great multitude and laid out these demands of discipleship.
Discipleship requires a denial of self. Discipleship requires a full commitment. There is no room for half-hearted disciples. None need apply and none will be accepted.
Cyril of Alexandria wrote… “The would-be disciple who claims to be willing to follow Jesus wherever he goes is presumptuous in his declaration, thrusting himself into apostolic honor without realizing that to follow Jesus is to take up his cross. For the Son of man to have a place to lay his head, the devil must be cast out.”
The true disciple will have to follow the same path as the Son of Man—it is a path of rejection. Discipleship requires fully trusting in Christ in the midst of rejection.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
The Cost of Discipleship: A Focused Committment
Luke 9:57 - 62
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was an outspoken opponent of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime on their rise to power in 1933. He resisted the Nazi attempt to impose anti-Semitism on the church and society. He wrote ‘The Cost of Discipleship’ centered around an exposition of the Sermon on the Mount where he explained what it meant to follow Jesus.
Listen to a brief portion of his writing:
“Cheap grace is grace without price; grace without cost! The essence of grace, we suppose, is that the account has been paid in advance; and, because it has been paid, everything can be had for nothing...Cheap grace means grace as a doctrine, a principle, a system. It means forgiveness of sins proclaimed as a general truth, the love of God taught as the Christian 'conception' of God. An intellectual assent to that idea is held to be of itself sufficient to secure remission of sins.... In such a Church the world finds a cheap covering for its sins; no contrition is required, still less any real desire to be delivered from sin… Well, then, let the Christian live like the rest of the world, let him model himself on the world’s standards in every sphere of life, and not presumptuously aspire to live a different life under grace from his old life under sin...Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession.... Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.”
“Costly grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son: “ye were bought at a price”. Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon his Son too dear a price to pay for our life, but delivered him up for us.”
Someone once asked Tom Landry why he had been so successful as a football coach. He said, "In 1958, I did something everyone who has been successful must do, I determined my priorities for my life — God, family, and then football."
It is important that you know that our Lord is not indifferent about your priority list. Some assume that Jesus, since He is so meek and forgiving, appreciates our need to get things done. Jesus, we think, would never judge us for looking after our family. Jesus would never judge us for working too much even for sake of the Kingdom. Jesus would never judge us for wanting some time to relax. Or would He?
As we will see in our passage today, Jesus insists that nothing is to take priority over following Him. Taking time to relax, looking after one's family, and working hard are commendable so long as they are not done at the expense of following Christ.
The key to this passage of Scripture is found in the verb follow. Note that follow appears in verses 57, 59, and 61. The word follow literally means “to follow as a disciple.”
Jesus is on His journey to Jerusalem. Luke places this incident here at the start of the journey to Jerusalem. Why? He would not pass that way again. It would be now or never for those who wished to accompany Him.
Jesus interacts with three individuals—would-be—wanna-be disciples. The dialogue between Jesus and the three stresses the requirements of true discipleship. YES—discipleship costs something. Discipleship requires a focused commitment to be a disciple.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was an outspoken opponent of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime on their rise to power in 1933. He resisted the Nazi attempt to impose anti-Semitism on the church and society. He wrote ‘The Cost of Discipleship’ centered around an exposition of the Sermon on the Mount where he explained what it meant to follow Jesus.
Listen to a brief portion of his writing:
“Cheap grace is grace without price; grace without cost! The essence of grace, we suppose, is that the account has been paid in advance; and, because it has been paid, everything can be had for nothing...Cheap grace means grace as a doctrine, a principle, a system. It means forgiveness of sins proclaimed as a general truth, the love of God taught as the Christian 'conception' of God. An intellectual assent to that idea is held to be of itself sufficient to secure remission of sins.... In such a Church the world finds a cheap covering for its sins; no contrition is required, still less any real desire to be delivered from sin… Well, then, let the Christian live like the rest of the world, let him model himself on the world’s standards in every sphere of life, and not presumptuously aspire to live a different life under grace from his old life under sin...Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession.... Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.”
“Costly grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son: “ye were bought at a price”. Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon his Son too dear a price to pay for our life, but delivered him up for us.”
Someone once asked Tom Landry why he had been so successful as a football coach. He said, "In 1958, I did something everyone who has been successful must do, I determined my priorities for my life — God, family, and then football."
It is important that you know that our Lord is not indifferent about your priority list. Some assume that Jesus, since He is so meek and forgiving, appreciates our need to get things done. Jesus, we think, would never judge us for looking after our family. Jesus would never judge us for working too much even for sake of the Kingdom. Jesus would never judge us for wanting some time to relax. Or would He?
As we will see in our passage today, Jesus insists that nothing is to take priority over following Him. Taking time to relax, looking after one's family, and working hard are commendable so long as they are not done at the expense of following Christ.
The key to this passage of Scripture is found in the verb follow. Note that follow appears in verses 57, 59, and 61. The word follow literally means “to follow as a disciple.”
Jesus is on His journey to Jerusalem. Luke places this incident here at the start of the journey to Jerusalem. Why? He would not pass that way again. It would be now or never for those who wished to accompany Him.
Jesus interacts with three individuals—would-be—wanna-be disciples. The dialogue between Jesus and the three stresses the requirements of true discipleship. YES—discipleship costs something. Discipleship requires a focused commitment to be a disciple.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
My Personal Testimony: Safe and Confident
Growing up in a relatively stable family environment, I knew my parents sought to live for God and help their five sons become productive members of society. Even in the innocence of youth, I felt compelled to live for Jesus and dedicated my life fully to Christ at the age of 6 or 7. This involved acknowledging my sin, asking Christ for forgiveness, believing in Christ to pay my sin-debt, and confessing Him as Lord of my life.
A fair share of life problems and issues has come my way, but Christ has always been sufficient to carry me through these difficult circumstances. Christ has changed my life from one of being insecure and uncertain to a life that is safe and confident as I fully trust and live in Him!
"I can do all things through Him (Christ) who strengthens me." (Philippians 4:13)
A fair share of life problems and issues has come my way, but Christ has always been sufficient to carry me through these difficult circumstances. Christ has changed my life from one of being insecure and uncertain to a life that is safe and confident as I fully trust and live in Him!
"I can do all things through Him (Christ) who strengthens me." (Philippians 4:13)
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