Discipleship Is Costly

Discipleship Is Costly

August 31, 2025, Morning Service

Immanuel Baptist Church, Wagoner, OK

Rick Boyne

Message Point: Discipleship is not casual—it’s costly. But the reward is Christ Himself.

Focus Passage: Matthew 16:24-27

Introduction: When I was a kid, I wanted to play the piano. My mom got me lessons at several different places over the years. I have a picture of me in 1971 decked out in a light blue sport coat and white dress shoes. There is also a group picture of everyone that Mrs. Martel taught. I recently found that picture and found several people that I became friends with in high school. One notable person is someone with whom I became good friends in college. She could play the piano like nobody’s business! She could read music. She could write music. She was just simply good. Me, on the other hand, I can pick out a melody and perhaps put some chords with it as long as it is in the key of C, D, F, or G. (They are the easiest) The difference between me and her is that she practiced. She continued to practice even when she didn’t want to, and she’s kept up with it. I wasn’t willing to put in the practice time to become a piano player. I wasn’t willing to pay the cost.

I. Denial of Self Is the First Cost of Discipleship

a. Surrendering Personal Will

i. Luke 22:42 (NASB): “Yet not My will, but Yours be done.”

ii. Proverbs 3:5–6 (NASB): “Trust in the Lord with all your heart… He will make your paths straight.”

b. Rejecting Self-Reliance and Pride

i. Jeremiah 17:5 (NASB): “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind and makes flesh his strength…”

ii. James 4:6 (NASB): “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

c. Embracing a New Identity in Christ

i. Galatians 2:20 (NASB): “It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me…”

ii. Colossians 3:3 (NASB): “For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”

d. Discipleship begins with a funeral—death to self. It’s not self-improvement, but self-denial. The surrendered heart becomes the soil where Christ’s life grows.

II. Bearing the Cross Is the Daily Cost of Discipleship

a. Accepting Suffering for Christ’s Sake

i. Philippians 1:29 (NASB): “For to you it has been granted… to suffer for His sake.”

ii. 2 Timothy 3:12 (NASB): “All who want to live in a godly way… will be persecuted.”

b. Living with Daily Obedience

i. Luke 9:23 (NASB): “…take up his cross daily and follow Me.”

ii. Romans 12:1 (NASB): “…present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice…”

c. Identifying Fully with Christ’s Mission

i. John 15:18–19 (NASB): “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you.”

ii. 1 Peter 4:13 (NASB): “Keep on rejoicing… you share in the sufferings of Christ…”

d. The cross is not just a burden—it’s a banner. It marks us as Christ’s own. Daily discipleship means choosing obedience over comfort, mission over convenience.

III. Eternal Gain Is the Ultimate Reward of Discipleship

a. Rejecting Temporal Riches for Eternal Treasure

i. 1 John 2:17 (NASB): “The world is passing away… but the one who does the will of God continues forever.”

ii. Hebrews 11:25–26 (NASB): “…choosing to endure ill-treatment… for he was looking to the reward.”

b. Valuing the Soul Over Success

i. Mark 8:36–37 (NASB): “What does it benefit a person to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?”

ii. Ecclesiastes 2:11 (NASB): “…all was futility and striving after wind…”

c. Living with the Judgment in View

i. 2 Corinthians 5:10 (NASB): “We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ…”

ii. Matthew 16:27 (NASB): “…the Son of Man… will then repay every person according to his deeds.”

d. Discipleship costs now—but pays forever. The soul is eternal, and Christ’s reward is sure. Let us live with eternity in view, not just the moment.

Application/Call to Obedience: Discipleship is not a casual invitation—it’s a costly call. But the cost is eclipsed by the glory of knowing Christ and being found faithful. As Jesus said, “Follow Me.” The question is not whether it’s worth it—but whether we’re willing. The Bible says, “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.” (Romans 10:9-10 NASB)