Discipleship: The Christ, The Cross, The Cost

Posted on Jan 25, 2010 at 5:38 pm under Sermon Notes.

Luke 14:25-35
25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said:

v. 25 Huge crowds were following Jesus at this time and then He began to teach them the challenge of discipleship.

26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters--yes, even his own life--he cannot be my disciple.

v. 26 “A man must put Christ first:  before family, even before self.”
v. 26 Jesus was not saying that family and self were to be literally hated.  He spoke in this extreme to prove His point of radical obedience to the Gospel call.  The true believer is to love even his enemies (Lk. 6:27) What did Jesus mean?

27 And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

v. 27 “A man must bear the cross of death:  death to self.”

Jesus goes on to explain discipleship with two parables:

28 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it?
29 For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him,
30 saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’
31 “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand?
32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace.
33 In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.

v. 28-33 “A man must give thought to discipleship:  count the cost and the consequences.”

The point of the two parables is clear:  a man must pay the ultimate price.  He must forsake all, renounce and give up all that he is and has; or else “he cannot be my disciple.”

Two points to clarify:

1.  It will cost him all he is.  It will cost the man..

His heart:  total devotion and commitment
His mind: being controlled by Christ
His eyes:  watching what he looks at
His ears:  watching what he listens to
His hands:  watching what he touches and picks up
His feet:  watching where he goes
His mouth:  watching what he eats and drinks and says
His desires:  watching, controlling, and changing his urges and desires
His energy:  committing his strength and will to Christ

2.  It will cost him all he has.  To really follow Christ will cost…

Family: being put after Christ
Friends:  being put after Christ and centered around Christ
Home:  comfort and extravagances
Job:  being centered around Christ an being used to earn enough to give to those who do not have
Investments:  using for God’s cause

Look what Paul said:
Phil 3:8-9 (HCSB) 8 More than that, I also consider everything to be a loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Because of Him I have suffered the loss of all things and consider them filth, so that I may gain Christ
9 and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own from the law, but one that is through faith in Christ —the righteousness from God based on faith.

If a man chooses to reject Christ, to struggle against Him, the man will…

Never experience the abundant life
Never know God, his love and care
Never have an eternal sense of purpose, meaning and significance
Never know the joy of the assurance of eternal life
Never be free from the dread and fear of death
Never be freed from a sense of false security

Notice what the Scripture says:

To the rich young ruler:  Matt 19:21 (NIV) 21 Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

Luke 12:33-34 (NIV) 33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.
34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Let’s go back to the text:
34 “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?
35 It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

v. 34-35 “A man must have the salt of discipleship:  the salt of self-denial.”

Whatsoever we have over-loved, idolized, and leaned upon, God has from time to time broken it, and made us to see the vanity of it;…..
- John Flavel – 17th century Presbyterian Clergyman

The most important question we ask of this text is not, “What does this mean?” but “What can I obey?”– Eugene Peterson, Eat this Book (p. 71)

“What can I obey?” This is a legitimate question.

Salvation is free, ... but discipleship will cost you your life. [Dietrich Bonhoeffer]

1 Cor 15:31 (KJV) 31…..I die daily.

Thorns, it seems, always accompany visits to glory. No one who has walked in Christ’s presence will ever be allowed to strut. - Jamie Buckingham

Gal 6:17 (KJV) 17 From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.

A fundamental law of teaching states: ‘You cannot impart what you do not possess.’ Paul possessed it; the disciples possessed it.

Discipleship is imparting truth by demonstration.

Gal 6:14 (KJV)14 But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.

Col 2:14-15 (KJV)14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;

15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

Are you ready to dethrone all rivals to his authority? [Graham Kendrick]

Are you ready to become the apprentice, and allow Jesus, the Master-Teacher to disciple you?

Discipleship is relationship.

To understand “the Call to Discipleship” we must understand the difference between cheap and costly grace!

Cheap grace is the deadly enemy of our Church, any church.

Cheap grace means the justification of sin without the justification of the sinner.

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 the sanctuary of God; it has to be protected from the world, and not thrown to the dogs.

Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field; It is the pearl of great price to buy which the merchant will sell all his goods. It is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble, it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him.

“Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ”.

“The life of discipleship can only be maintained as long as nothing is allowed to come between Christ and ourselves…..the heart of the disciple must be set upon Christ alone.”
It is against this backdrop that we read Bonhoeffer’s words as Dr. Ken Boa writes quoting Bonhoeffer, “Today we define discipleship at best as impartation of a certain . . . knowledge rather than life-changing approach to come and follow Jesus.”

We have somehow been deceived to believe that discipleship can be separated from what we know and what we do.  JC

“WHEN CHRIST calls a man,” says Dietrich Bonhoeffer, “he bids him come and die.” There are different kinds of dying, it is true; but the essence of discipleship is contained in those words.

Why not begin the journey of a disciple today?

Here, then, is the real problem of our negligence. We fail in our duty to study God’s Word not so much because it is difficult to understand, not so much because it is dull and boring, but because it is work. Our problem is not a lack of intelligence or a lack of passion. Our problem is that we are lazy. - R.C. Sproul –

References: 
The Bible
The Believer’s Bible Commentary
The Preacher’s Outline and Sermon Bible Volume 3
The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Boenhoffer
Wilmington’s Guide to the Bible by H.L. Wilmington
http://lutheran_peace.tripod.com/Bonhoeffer24quotes.htm
The Cost of Discipleship by John MacArthur 1997 Grace to You
Eat this Book by Eugene Peterson