In the name of Christ Jesus, dear Christian friends,

Saying, "Follow me," Jesus called Peter, Andrew, James and John to be his disciples. By God's grace, they left everything behind and followed him, unaware of what was ahead of them. They would face a lifetime of persecution. Most would die as martyrs. Though we are not apostles, we, like them, are disciples. By God's grace, we too are followers of Jesus, students who listen to his teaching. We believe in him and follow him. Like those first disciples, we might face persecution. Might we go to prison and die as martyrs? It is possible, but only God knows the future. Today our lesson teaches us that God wants us to:

At the conclusion of this section, Jesus says: {33} "Any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple." That doesn't sound easy does it? Sometimes today, mission-minded churches can fall into a bait and switch tactic. I cannot picture Jesus in a clown suit saying, "Christianity is just fun and games." That doesn't mean that Christians have no fun, or that life as a Christian is all gloom and doom. Scripture says, "Rejoice in the Lord always!" Yet, when Paul wrote those words he was held captive from persecution. We can rejoice always, even in spite of trials, temptations, persecution, and suffering. But that takes strong faith, deep faith, a faith that trusts that God will make everything work out for our good, and finally take us to our home in heaven.

In this lesson, our Lord gives two illustrations of counting the cost. The first one is of a building, and the second one is of war. He urges his disciples to count the cost of following him. He does not seek to prevent us from following him. He wants us to realize that we cannot follow him without God's grace. The apostle Paul wrote, "By the grace of God I am what I am" (1 Cor 15:10). And we can say the same. Only by God's grace do we become believers and disciples. Only by God's grace do we remain disciples. Yet, Galatians 5:25 exhorts believers, "Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit."

Verse 33 says, "Any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple." Jesus requires total dedication of his disciples. We cannot follow him half-heartedly! He does not want us divided in our intentions, sometimes favoring him, sometimes favoring worldly things. In fact, he can't stand that!

In Revelation chapter 3:15-16, Jesus said to some church members: "I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm - neither hot nor cold - I am about to spit you out of my mouth." We usually like our drinks hot or cold, not lukewarm. Jesus can't stand it when church members are lukewarm in their dedication to him. He can't stand it when people ride the fence, sometimes wanting to be his disciples and other times not. He did not put up with it back then, and he will not put up with it today!

In this chapter we learn what hinders disciples of Jesus. In the words just before our lesson, Jesus speaks of people who are too busy with worldly pursuits. When Jesus invites them, they offer excuses. Many today make excuses and are too busy to follow Jesus faithfully. Apparently worldly things are more important to them than Jesus.

Family can be a major hindrance too. To be fair, family members can be a great help and encouragement. I am very thankful that my parents had me baptized and instructed in the teachings of God's Word. Many of us have been greatly encouraged in our faith by our family members. But sometimes family members can be major hindrances to following Jesus faithfully. Do not let your family members get between you and your Savior! Jesus doesn't care who it is - Mom, Dad, Sister, Brother, Grandma or Grandpa - it makes no difference. Do not let them get between you and Jesus. Do not let them stop you or hinder you from following Jesus faithfully.

Sometimes disciples are hindered by a cross. Jesus said, {27} "anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple." Crosses are not general troubles and afflictions like hurricanes and common illnesses. No a cross is a form of persecution. The apostles would face persecution. Many would die as martyrs. Every disciple of Jesus must be willing to die as a martyr, if it comes to that. We must never deny Jesus.

That is easy to say now, because none of us has to face that type of persecution. But the time might come, even in our own country, when people will not tolerate our Scriptural beliefs anymore. Then how many of you will still be here? If the government would persecute us, how many of us would remain faithful? Our Lord Jesus was uncompromising! He said, {27} "anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple." Consider the cost of being Christ's disciple!

But also consider what it cost Jesus to win our forgiveness! His forgiveness comes free to us, but it was never cheap. It cost Jesus his life. We haven't followed Jesus perfectly. We have complained about suffering for him. We have fallen for Satan's temptations and broken God's commands. We have sinned, and deserve God's eternal punishment. But Jesus came into our world to redeem us. The price that Jesus paid was not gold or silver, but his holy precious blood. He lived a perfect life in our place, and died on the cross as our Substitute. He paid for all of our sins, and rose from death with our forgiveness. Because he did all of that for us, God has declared you and me "not guilty." You are forgiven through Christ! On top of all that, God has even given us the faith to believe it. By faith in Jesus, we have eternal life.

In that sense, it cost us nothing to be his disciples! Our Lord did all the work and made us his disciples. He calls us to follow him. By faith in his salvation, we want to follow him and serve him in faith. Scripture says in Romans chapter 12, "in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship" (Ro 12:1). Offer your whole life to Jesus as a sacrifice of praise. Offer yourself, totally and completely, to the Lord who gave himself, totally and completely, to save us. Jesus isn't asking for part of you. He wants all of you, dedicated to him, serving him, following him as a disciple.

Peter, Andrew, James and John considered themselves disciples of Jesus, but do you? Do you think of yourself as his students and followers and servants? I certainly hope you do. Yet, consider the cost of being Christ's disciple. It costs everything and it costs nothing.

It cost us nothing to become Christ's disciples and heirs of eternal glory. It cost Jesus his life. By faith in him, we are going to heaven. In difficult days, look forward to that. Don't let anyone or anything get in the way! As we remember what Christ has done for us, may we spend our lives showing him how thankful we are. Amen.