CHEAP FAITH: Too often we offer salvation that’s straight from the discount bin.
- Luke 14:28-32.
- Our approach to evangelism is too often to present salvation as a low-cost, no-commitment offer. All you need to do is say you believe in Jesus! That’s it! There’s no mention of the need for obedience or that being a Christian means following Christ.
- We leave out the hard parts and concentrate on the “free” parts.
- In the end, we only tell part of the story – the parts that make it most likely for them to say yes.
- It’d be like a car salesman saying, “You want this new vehicle? All you have to do is sign this paper right here!” You know, it might be worth mentioning that there are monthly payments that you’re going to have to make.
- This approach is not only Biblically-inaccurate, it’s also short-sighted because it gets people to say “Yes” but it’s commitment that’s essentially meaningless because they don’t know what they’re saying yes to.
- It’s really not a surprise (even knowing that the parable of the four soils lets us know that there will always be a significant portion that walk away) that we have so many people in America who claim to be Christians but who have no outward evidence of that commitment when you consider that we too often have “shared the gospel” in such an incomplete manner.
- “Wait a second,” you say, “I thought salvation was free.” Well, let’s talk about that.
- There are a couple verses in Titus 2 that can be helpful here.
- [put on screen?] Titus 2:11 says, “For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.”
- That verse brings out the point that you’re thinking, “Salvation is free because it can only come by grace through faith.” That is absolutely Biblically true: you cannot buy or earn salvation – you have to receive it as a gift. Why does it come to us through grace? Because that’s the only way that we’d be able to receive it. We can’t work hard enough to take away our sins; we can’t do enough good to offset our sin guilt.
- You could say that we’ve confused the fact that salvation is free with the idea that salvation is cheap. Salvation comes as a free gift, but it is not a cheap gift – in fact it cost God’s only Son His very life.
- This is brought out in the verse that follows.
- [put on screen?] Titus 2:12 says, “It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.”
- Notice that there is a consequence to receiving that free gift of salvation that came into our life by grace. The consequence is that God intends to transform us from sinful creatures into creatures that live lives that honor and glorify Him and that are no longer bound by sin’s power.
- God gives us our new nature as a gift, just like He gives us our forgiveness as a gift. He gives us the Holy Spirit as a gift. He gives us His Word to guide us as a gift. It’s all stuff that we don’t deserve and can’t earn by our own merits.
- But – and here’s the key point – He gives us all those things with the intent of transforming us into Christlikeness.
- That is an incredible opportunity when we understand it correctly. We were bound in our ugly, shameful sin and Jesus is offering us a chance not only to be forgiven but to be transformed into His goodness and love?!?!? Where do I sign up? It is an incredible opportunity – literally the opportunity of a lifetime.
- But it presumes that in receiving those free gifts that He gives us that He is giving them to us with the intent of changing and using our lives. And that transformation and service can get difficult sometimes. (More on this in a later point in the sermon.)
- The point is this: it is a free gift, but it’s a gift that He intends to use to transform us – and that transformation is not an easy one.
- So that leads us to the phrase in v. 28 that we should “count the cost” (NKJV). Let’s talk about what that means.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO "COUNT THE COST"? Think deeply about the commitment you’re making because it’s a big one.
- Luke 14:28.
- [put in outline] “For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost. . .” - Luke 14:28 (NKJV)
- I like the way the NKJV puts it when it says to “count the cost.”
- “Counting the cost” means to sit down and ponder ahead of time when you’re committing to. Of course, there is no way that we can foresee all that is going to come our way in the course of a lifetime of walking with Christ, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t give serious consideration to the commitment we’re making.
- Jesus tells two stories here, each with the same point:
a. The first story has a man wanting to build a tower. Before laying the foundation, he needs to sit down and calculate whether he has the funds to finish what he’s starting.
b. The second story has a king poised to go to war. Before firing the first shot, he needs to look at the size of his enemy’s army and compare it to the military that he has.
- In both cases, Jesus is urging some sober thought before jumping into a big commitment.
- This caution and thoughtfulness is something that’s largely lacking from contemporary evangelistic presentations. We tend to complete avoid discussing any price that might potentially be required or the nature of the Christian life and simply try to nail down a “yes.”
- That doesn’t sound much like what Jesus is saying here should happen before committing to Jesus.
- Obedience passages: Matthew 7:21, 24, 26.
- These are just a few of the many New Testament passages that makes it clear that the definition of a true faith includes following Jesus. Obedience in not optional – it’s essential.
- That’s part of the big commitment that we’re making: not simply to “believe” in Jesus, but to obey.
- “But, preacher, I thought the Bible says that everything who believes in Jesus will be saved!?” It does, but it’s important to properly understand what “believes” means. It does not mean that I say that Jesus died on the cross for my sins and then go live my life as though I’ve never heard of Him. Part of “believe” includes that I believe the instructions and teaching that Jesus left, which includes His words that He expects me to follow Him.
HOW HIGH IS THE POTENTIAL COST? The upper price limit is “everything.”
- Luke 14:33.
- Matthew 13:44-46.
- “He died for me; I’ll live for Him.”
- “Total surrender covenant” items.
- It’s thought-provoking to consider each of these items and the reality that Christ has the right to claim any and all of them in my life:
- my will
- my mind
- my emotions
- my body
- my future plans
- my hopes and dreams
- my home
- my marriage
- my mate
- my children
- my grandchildren
- my geographic location
- my recreation
- my entertainment
- my career
- my past successes
- my past failures
- my habits
- my problems
- my finances
- my time
- my integrity and character
- my attitudes
- my business conduct
- my business relationships
- my Christian walk
- my response to authority
- my right to possessions
- my right to have a good reputation
- my right to have acceptance
- my right to be successful
- my right to have pleasant circumstances
- my right to presume on the will of God
- my right to life itself
- my right to beauty
- my right to strength
- my right to have friendships
- my right to be heard
- my right to take offense
- my right to avoid reaping what I sow
- my right to see results
- my right to be right
- When you look at the parables that most pointedly explain how great an opportunity that this is, you see the same thing.
- Look with me at Matthew 13:44-46.
- First is the parable of the hidden treasure.
- Second is the parable of the pearl.
- We see the people here given what could be called “the opportunities of a lifetime.” This is something that’s entered into with joy.
- At the same time, in both cases it says that they sold everything that they had to be able to embrace this opportunity.
- The price was everything.
- Now, this doesn’t mean that He’s going to send you to Africa, but He might send you across the street to help someone.
- It’s not usually the big go-to-Africa decision that is the problem. It’s the everyday small steps forward that are far more common.
WHY WOULD JESUS ASK THAT FROM US? There are two main reasons: (a) He intends to transform your heart and (b) He wants to use you to change the world.
- Why not just save us and leave us alone? Why ask so much from us?
a. He intends to transform you heart.
- The first reason is that He not only intends to save us, He also intends to sanctify us.
- Salvation comes into our life and makes us right with God, but we still have sinful habits and tendencies. God intends to work on those and transform us into creatures who live and love like Christ.
- That is not an easy task. It is not a painless task. There are many changes that have to be made and most of them don’t come easily.
b. He wants to use you to change the world.
- The other reason is that God wants to use you to expand His kingdom and change the world.
- The mission that we have could not be of greater importance. We are delivering the message that people can be saved. We are delivering the hope that bondages can be broken. We are delivering the expectation that things can be different.
- Being a part of that effort requires sacrifice sometimes. It requires inconvenience for us sometimes. It requires that we give up things we like in order to reach those we love.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THIS? If we don’t understand that a real walk of faith requires sacrifice, we’ll get resentful.
- A real walk of faith is going to require sacrifice. A real walk of faith is going to involve struggles. A real walk of faith is going to demand some changes.
- If you go into this believing that it’s a no-cost, all-upside, zero-change proposition, you’re going to be resentful when the reality of what being a “follower of Christ” actually means hits home.
- When someone begins a walk of faith with no anticipation that sacrifices are going to be necessary and then God begins to allow those things in their life, they can become resentful because they had no previous expectation that these things were part of the deal.
- There are many people who at one point in their lives had some outward appearance of a commitment to God only to have none today. For many, this is the issue that pushed them away.
A FINAL QUESTION: What is one area in your life where you’re being pushed by God and you’re saying, “No”?
- Is your commitment to God as full as we’ve discussed this morning?
- Examples:
a. “I don’t have enough time to read the Bible every day.”
- Actually, He’s in charge of your time.
b. “I don’t want to give 10% to church.”
- Actually, He’s in charge of your money.
c. “I don’t want to forgive that person.”
- Actually, He said to.
d. “I don’t want to give up that sin.”
- Actually, He’s in charge of that too.
