The Cost Of Discipleship: Following The Way Of The Cross Series

As we continue in our series on dynamic disciples or dynamic discipleship, this month our focus has been on the cost of being a disciple. This morning we are going to consider together what it means to follow the way of the Cross.

What is the way of the cross?

The way of the cross is following Jesus.Walking in His footsteps, following His teaching, trusting Him to be our guide in this sin sick world.

The way of the cross requires faith, commitment and daily devotion to God’s will and purpose for our lives.

Think about your own life for a moment, are you following your own way - your wants, your desires, your preferences, your priorities?

Or are you committed to following the way of the cross, following Jesus, trusting God, moved by the Holy Spirit?

I suppose the question I’m really asking is are we truly committed to being dynamic disciples and all that requires of us?

Listen to the Words of Jesus in Mark 8:34-38

Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, Jesus said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul? 38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my message in these adulterous and sinful days, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when He returns in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

To truly follow The Way of the Cross, we need to truly follow Christ. We need to be His disciple.

If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me.

It is not lip service, it is not being nice, it is not being religious, it is not turning up for a church service if or when we feel like it.

To follow the way of the cross requires us to be fully committed to God not half-hearted.

Our daily lives are meant to show the presence of God to others. Not a superficial Holiness or a judgmental attitude, none of us are perfect, we are sinners saved by the grace and mercy of God.

When we place our trust in Jesus as our Lord and Saviour we are set free from the burden of our sin because of His sacrifice on the cross.

At the cross Jesus paid the price for our salvation in His blood. We are reconciled to God the Father through the sacrifice of His only Son.

He paid the cost in full. Salvation is the free gift to all who believe in Jesus as their personal Lord and Saviour.

It’s a free gift, but there is a cost for us, we are called to follow God’s way and not our own. To follow the way of the cross means we stop following the selfish ways of the world, we stop clinging onto the stuff that can cause a barrier between us and God, we follow Jesus.

God first, God at the centre of our lives not the edges. As Dynamic disciples our daily lives should show that we follow Jesus, that we love Him more than we love ourselves. None of us are perfect, myself included, we may try to live right, talk right, walk right, and fall short of what God expects from us, but that should not stop us from trying to live the way God wants us to should it?

If we have truly placed our faith in Jesus then we are saved. As Peter declares in Acts 4:12 “There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.”

Salvation is only possible through faith in Jesus. Not by being a good person, not through our human effort. It is only by faith in Him as our Lord and Saviour that one day we will spend our eternity with Him. True faith in Jesus, real faith in Jesus not religious activity.

If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me.

Are you following the way of the cross?

Have you turned to Jesus?

Do you know the joy of having your sin forgiven?

Is Jesus both your Saviour and your Lord?

I think one of the most frightening parts of the Bible for those who have not made a real commitment to Jesus is found in the book of Matthew.