The Cost Of Discipleship

"So, my dear friends, flee from the worship of idols."

1 CORINTHIANS 10:14

Jesus states that if you are not completely, deliberately and passionately his, then you honor something or someone greater in your life and thus cannot be his disciple. God uses men and women to fulfill his will. To be completely his, is to be free and patient where you are. Jesus uses people that choose his will above anything else in their life. Choose Jesus with all of your heart, mind and strength and he will place you where he has selected you to be. Choosing Jesus allows God to move in your life such they he can provide for you the plan that he has prepared for you.

Once you accept Jesus as the risen Lord - Your life belongs to Jesus Christ. He willingly sacrificed himself so that all people may live through him. Therefore, there is no such new life without Jesus. It is not enough to know his name. You must seek him personally. Learn his ways. This truth is realized when walking with him. It will never be gained by head knowledge or without experiencing the faith walk.

There is no self boasting work for God.  He does the things that he wants completed through you. If you feel you do things for God - you are not rightly related to him. Jesus came to bring you himself - his spirit. Therefore, all things are done with God for his purposes. 

The new spiritual birth in the same flesh creates you to be at odds with yourself and others for a time - the things you once desired, sinful thoughts and actions and all the people you have known and interacted with. As you work out the new life of Christ in you, the old life is slowly squeezed out, which reflects the falling away of the old life piece by piece.  

This is why Jesus says, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple.” This sounds like a mean statement on the surface, from human perspective, but from spiritual understanding and experience, which is the life of Jesus, he is simply saying, if you really want to follow me, you are asking for a brand new life, so are you really ready to say goodbye to your old life and everything in it. 

So, Jesus is saying, take note of what you are asking, and be certain that you are truly asking for a new life. If you want a new life with Jesus, he happily provides this by his Grace and Love alone. The new life is free of charge and requires nothing except asking Jesus to forgive you of your sins and asking him to be the Lord of your life.  

Now, if you really accept the new life that Jesus provides, you must follow him. Read his Word, pray in the spirit to Jesus all the time, renew your heart and mind in his Love day after day as he makes you over from the inside. Through prayer and seeking Jesus and the voice of his Holy Spirit, he speaks directly into you. Meaning, the voice you hear inside, will include the voice of the Holy Spirit. The new life, involves learning to hear his voice and being obedient. This requires faith in Jesus. The disciple obeys the voice of Jesus through the Holy Spirit above anything and everyone else.

Salvation and eternity in heaven were paid for by Jesus, he incurred the cost that we could not pay. He is the foundation of life because he is life. All other roads lead to death. A foundation built on Jesus is one that never fails. 

“He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.” 1 John 2:2 

“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:16-17 

“If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9 

“So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” John 13:34-35