Lk.14: 25 And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them, 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. 27 And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. 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 end of the sermon nears. The preacher gives the gospel and prays for the Spirit to convict hearts. He invites people to come down to the altar to speak with a worker. A young man walks down to the front and shakes the outstretched hand of an altar worker. The man asks him his name and why he has come. The young man tells him that he wants to be saved. The altar worker looks him straight in the eye and says, “Have you counted the cost, son?” Can you even conceive of such a thing? I have been in altar training session and they are designed to help altar workers quickly lead people in a sinner’s prayer after quoting a few verses to which they nod. The key is to always close the deal. No talk of sacrifice of counting the cost. That may turn away folks and we certainly don’t want that. And many times, after the altar worker showers this stranger with all kinds of assurances that he is now saved, the pastor may read a decision card to which the crowd says amen or applauds. But that is not the way of Jesus nor is it the path to true discipleship. Can a person become saved without becoming a disciple? I guess that depends on how you define disciple. If you suggest that a person can get his ticket to heaven punched and then show little or no interest in following Jesus then I would say that is unbiblical at best. While it is true that some people get born again and it takes them some time for fruit to become visible, but eventually it does. That is sometimes true. But if we contend that a saved person can show no fruit then that is a very dangerous doctrine to promote since it might give false assurance to unsaved sinners. The carnal and religious mind thinks that you will judged fit for heaven if your good works outweigh your bad, but nothing could be further from the truth. The Scriptures teach that all our so called “good works” are filthy rags in the sight of a Holy God. To attach merit to our works is to diminish the complete and finished work of Jesus at Calvary. Let us not even entertain such a monstrous falsehood! The shed blood and death of Jesus paid for the sins of the world in full. Can you even comprehend such a thing? It seems like a phrase used in Sunday School but it is in fact the greatest mystery of all eternity. What a child can understand is unfathomable in depth and immeasurable in scope and infinitely profound in its spiritual essence. And here we enter into a paradox. This salvation purchased by Christ is offered free by faith alone. But this kind of faith can only come if we truly understand what we are believing. The gospel has been so watered down that even unbelievers can embrace it without being born again which is just a religious exercise with no eternal power. And then there are those who attach some religious ceremony or human works which again render that gospel powerless. But there is a sacred ground which stands upon grace alone but which counts the cost. It seems like an incongruent paradox but it is the everlasting gospel which only the Spirit can reveal to a human heart. Those of us who have been born again, even those without any theological training, know exactly what Jesus is saying. Many of us were redeemed in the midst of a compromised church community, but by God’s grace we have come to realize we were being called to deeper waters. And to our shame we discovered we had been living mostly for ourselves and in many ways in defiance of the teachings of Jesus. I can speak for myself I was horrified! And the more I sought the Scriptures and the revelation of the Spirit the more I saw my utter need of repentance. In fact, I am still deeply in the midst of that journey. And now we come the word “cost”. Liars who call themselves preachers dress in fine linen and dine in the finest restaurants and fly in private jets and store up large sums of money for themselves. And what cost is there in that? But leaving that absurdity with which we should not compare ourselves, let us bring that word to our own spiritual neighborhood. Jesus said to count the cost. What cost is that about which He speaks? You would think that in a culture consumed with money and pleasure a true disciple would be remarkably different in almost every way than the fallen kingdom around us. And you would be right. But look around and do you see professing believers eschewing the love of money? Do they buy the same cars as the unbelievers? Do they move into the same houses? Do they seek the same entertainment? Do they spend unreasonable time in prayer? Do they seek the Lord’s presence with passion outside the church? So just what does it “cost” to follow Jesus in America? Well, in the current acceptable form of discipleship it costs nothing at all. In fact the slightest attack on our western lifestyle will be met with outrage, voting registrations, and if need be war. My heart grieves at such a thing. But as the Lord so accurately points out the church deserves to be mocked because we have rejected the foundation and built our own unfinished spiritual building. People refer to the church as “You know the one on Main Street” or “The one with such a pretty building” or “First such and such church”. Now stop for a minute and think about how people would describe a church that met in homes all across a town. How could they describe it to others? They might have to describe certain people and the way they speak and act. “You know, those people who feed the homeless and visit prisoners and love those gay people and who are always speaking about Jesus.” Do you see the utter disconnect with what we have today? That is because we have made a treaty with the world and by such a treaty we thrive in a costless construct which in many ways behaves like the Elks club. Organization, buildings, meetings, patriotism, and an overt embracing of capitalism in all its glory. And now when we say cost we mean the 10 dollars to get into a “Christian” concert. Oh my… But in full disclosure I am still on a journey to fully discover that cost.
Posted on: Tue, 20 Jan 2015 23:28:17 +0000
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