Introduction We learned last week that Jesus commands us to make disciples by baptizing, which we defined as bringing people to the place where they are identified with Christ s death, burial, and resurrection through repentance and belief, and teaching, where we than instruct them to obey all that Jesus commands. We saw that the eternal God commissions His church with this amazing privilege to make disciples as a part of His overall eternal plan for His elect. We know that the goal of discipleship is to be an imitator of Jesus Christ, but what does that look like in the 21 st century? What are the expectations, or risks of being a disciple of Jesus Christ? How do we personally get plugged into this process, and are we guaranteed results? To begin with, we learned last week that the Lord Jesus Christ has not only the authority and power to command, but also the enabling power to accomplish. Therefore, discipleship has guaranteed results! We shall endeavor to answer the questions on expectations, risks, and how to get involved as we open God s word this morning. Here s the big idea. Our Lord Jesus Christ has commanded us to Make Disciples with guaranteed results personally and in others. This process is wrought with challenges, expectations, and responsibilities. Jesus never sugarcoats His commands but tells us to calculate the costs, but, in the end, the investment made pales in significance to the results gained! Once again, as you might have guessed, the scriptures are replete with numerous passages dealing with the cost of discipleship, but we will focus here this morning on one portion found in the gospel of Luke, which takes place during a time of tremendous popularity of our Lord Jesus. Background Luke, a physician, writes with the compassion and warmth of a family doctor as he carefully documents the perfect humanity of the Son of Man, Jesus Christ. Luke emphasizes Jesus ancestry, birth, and early life before moving carefully and chronologically through His earthly ministry. Growing belief and growing opposition develop side by side. Those who believe are challenged to count the cost of discipleship. Those who oppose will not be satisfied until the Son of Man hangs lifeless on a cross! But the resurrection assures that His purpose, to seek and save that which was lost (19:10), is fulfilled. We shall begin this morning by looking at a passage in Luke 14. 1
Jesus Popularity Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: (Luke 14:25 NIV) It is evident from the way this section of scripture begins that Jesus ministry is growing in popularity, and from all indicators, very successful. His teaching and meeting their physical needs is having a profound affect on His ratings, and continuing to do so would be a slam-dunk for them making Him King. But all of the sudden in the midst of such acclaim, He says something totally unexpected. Hard Sayings 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. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:26-27 NIV) Oh No, Jesus you re blowing it what is this nonsense about hating family and carrying a cross? Jesus begins this section by explaining that if you are to imitate Him, He must be your primary focus. He uses the word hate (miseo), which means to love less. Jesus is not advocating detesting our loved ones because we are not at liberty literally to hate our parents. This would be expressly contrary to the fifth commandment. Jesus reminds the pharasees of this when He says, For God said, Honor your father and mother and Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death. (Matthew 15:4 NIV) But we are to love them less than we love Christ; we are to obey Christ rather than them; we are to be willing to forsake them if he calls us to go and preach his gospel; and we are to submit, without a murmur, to him when he takes them away from us. Jesus expresses this same truth to His disciples before He sends them out two by two to proclaim the gospel in the book of Matthew, when He says, Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; (Matthew 10:37 NIV) Next we see that Christ tells His would be disciple that he must carry his cross. How do we understand this hard saying of Jesus? First, it is a call to self-denial in that the cross does not appeal to the flesh. The flesh longs for ease and comfort, seeking only gratification of its sinful appetites. A person who denies himself gives up all reliance on whatever he is by nature, and depends for salvation on God Himself. Second, he voluntarily and decisively accepts the pain, shame, and persecution that is going to be his particular lot because of his loyalty to Christ and His cause. Jesus 2
makes it very clear that each must carry his own cross and not another s nor concerned about another carry their cross. In the book of John, Peter confronts Jesus on John s commitment to Him when he says, Lord, what about him? Jesus answered, If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me (John 21:21-23 NIV) Finally, he must begin to follow and continue to follow Christ. Both verbs carry and follow are in the present tense in the Greek thus signifying continual action. To be a disciple of Jesus Christ is a life long commitment! One caution we must add here is that Jesus is not advocating a monastic lifestyle, nor self flagellation, or beating ones body or denial of appetites in order to gain favor with God. But rather, this is a willingness to take what ever comes with being a disciple of Jesus, even if it means leaving family or suffering pain or humiliation. The Illustrations 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? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, This fellow began to build and was not able to finish. (Luke 14:28-30 NIV) 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? 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 (Luke 14:31-33 NIV) Jesus is not saying from these illustrations that the tower should not be built or the king should not go to war, but that careful calculation and preparation should be made for both. For Jesus continues by saying, In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:33 NIV) Jesus wants us to understand that the Lord out of heaven supplies the materials, expense, arms, and forces. The design of Christ, therefore, is to warn his followers to bear the cross, that they may prepare themselves with courage. The Savor Jesus now warns against half-hearted commitment when He says, Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. (Luke 14:34-35 NIV) Salt is good. It is useful. It is good to preserve life and health, and to keep from putrefaction. Salt 3
that was lost it s saltiness is good for nothing. You cannot sow or plant on it, or is it good for manure, because it will not enrich the land. Therefore, they must throw it away as useless. In relation to the cost of discipleship, one who merely makes a profession of be a disciple of Christ without total commitment, is as useless as salt that has lost it s saltiness. Jesus now ends this section with a wake up call to all who will take Him seriously when He says, He who has ears to hear, let him hear. (Luke 14:35 NIV) The idea here is that the word hear (akouo) carries with it the necessity of understanding the implications of what is being communicated. But, you might say, the Lord Jesus is no longer physically present on the earth. The disciples had an advantage in that they saw Him, heard His voice audibly and followed Him. What is it that we have to spur us on the level of commitment that He demands? As you might expect, the Lord Jesus did not leave us without some living, breathing, and manifestation of His presence. This manifestation is called the church! What is the purpose of the Church? The Purpose of the Church We first see that Christ refers to the Church and it s purpose at Peter s declaration of who Christ was. We read the following in the book of Matthew, When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, Who do people say the Son of Man is? They replied, Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets. But what about you? he asked. Who do you say I am? Simon Peter answered, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus replied, Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ. (Matthew 16:13-20 NIV) We see quickly from this passage that the Church would become the gatekeeper of those who were the disciples of Jesus Christ. The words bind and loose were rabbinical terms meaning to forbid and permit. This authority and power given to the church was meant to be used to guide His disciples in their journey to become like Him. As we read scripture and try and understand what this physical manifestation of Jesus Christ looks like practically, we find these three marks highlighted in the New Testament. The first is the faithful preaching of the whole counsel of God, which is part of the command of making Discples. Paul tells the young preacher Timothy to, Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of 4
season; correct, rebuke and encourage with great patience and careful instruction. (2Timothy 4:2 NIV) The second is the proper administration of the sacraments of baptism and the Lord s supper, which are symbols of remembrance of our identification with our Lord. The early church in the book of Acts were wonderful examples of this, we read, Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, (Acts 2:46 NIV) The third is probably the most difficult one and where many people will become offended, and that is the consistent practice of church discipline, which provides for the shaping of Christ disciples and keeps His church pure. Paul writes to the church in Corinth about the responsibilty they had as a church to enact disipline when he says, What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. Expel the wicked man from among you. (1Corinthians 5:12-13 NIV) Whenever a church in the New Testament failed in any one of these three areas, the apostles would address the failure in an epistle to that church or person. We therefore need to understand that the church has a trememndous responsibility to mold and shape its members as disciples of Jesus Christ! The question is often asked, can I be a Christian, or disciples of Christ, without joining, or becoming an official member of the Church? Because after all, am I not a member of the church universal? I would have to say right away that the answer to this is an infactic NO! Though it is true that a true beleiver in Jesus Christ is immediately baptized into the universal, invisible church, it is, however, the local church that is responsible for the discipleship process. The writer of the book of Hebrews tells us, Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you. (Hebrews 13:17 NIV) Clearly in the context of this portion of scripture, the writer is addressing the local church, and commanding them to both obey (peitho [PMI]- have confidence, trust) and submit (hipeiko [PMI]- to surrender: submit self). Both verbs are in the present tense, signifying ongoing and continual action. Commitment is clearly taught here; a commitment that goes beyond just regularly attending church. It is a commitment that says that I will yield with confidence to the authority of the leadership of the local church, knowing that the Lord Jesus has placed them there for my benefit. In our local church, that commitment statement is called membership. The membership process in our church states that there is a mutual expectation, or 5
responsibility, which we covenant together to fulfill. Part of the covenant is involvement by use of Spiritual gifts. The apostle Paul tells us in the letter to the Ephesians, But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. This is why it says: When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men. (Ephesians 4:7-8 NIV) The scene is that of a victorious conqueror who returns from battle and gives gifts to his people from the spoils of war. In this case the conqueror is the Lord Jesus Christ, and the gifts he gives are spiritual gifts for the use of His church as Paul mentions next when he says, It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up... (Ephesians 4:11-12 NIV) Paul is saying that the work of the ministry is done as a direct result of the use of spiritual gifts within the church of Jesus Christ. So what shall we conclude from all this as we leave here this morning? Conclusion To become identified with Jesus Christ and His gospel through repentance and belief, is free. However, the result of that commitment costs us our whole life. Jesus demands our all, not just part of us. This means we must be committed wholly to His body here on earth called His church. The local church us responsible for our spiritual growth and we are to covenant with them to be a member and use our spiritual gifts to perform its work. Are you fully committed to Jesus Christ in such a way that you know He demands your all? Are you committed to His church in such a way that, through membership, you promise to yield yourself to its authority and discipline? Do you desire to use your spiritual gifts for the furtherance of His church? Remember the purpose of the church is to equip the followers of Christ in the discipleship process, for Paul finishes this section in Ephesians by saying, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. (Ephesians 4:13 NIV) Let s pray. 6