A True Christian
Scripture: Luke 14:25-35
Central idea: Many Christians have no idea of what following Christ means.
Specific purpose: to communicate to the congregation the true cost of Discipleship
The inspiration for this sermon is Charles H. Spurgeon's sermon “Counting the Cost”.
Luke 14:25-35, 25 Now large crowds were traveling with him; and he turned and said to them, 26 “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my Disciple. 27 Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my Disciple. 28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, 30 saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31 Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace. 33 So therefore, none of you can become my Disciple if you do not give up all your possessions. 24 “Salt is good; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? 35 It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; they throw it away. Let anyone with ears to hear listen!”
In the Grand Teton Mountains of Wyoming is the Bridger Wilderness Area. It is one of the most beautiful and majestic parks in the world. The following are actual responses from visitors' comment cards given to staff members of the Bridger Wilderness area:
- Too many [mosquitoes, chiggers, ticks] bugs, leeches, spiders and spider webs; please spray the wilderness to rid the area of these pests.
- Please, reconstruct the trails avoiding building trails that go uphill.
- Please, pave the trails. Chair lifts need to be in some places so that we can get to the wonderful views without having to hike to them.
- Escalators would help on the steep uphill sections.
- A McDonald’s at the trailhead would be nice.
- Coyotes made too much noise last night and kept me awake. Please eradicate these annoying animals.
- A small bear came into my camp and stole a jar of my pickles. Is there a way to be reimbursed? Please call.
The folks who made these comments do not sound like real campers. They sound like city folks looking for some beautiful, idealized encounter. Many Christians want some beautiful, idealized encounter with Christ. These folks do not have any idea of what following Christ means. Whether you are thinking about becoming a Christian or have been a Christian for many years, you need to understand what it means to be a Christian, a Disciple of Christ.
I use the term Disciple as a synonym for Christian. The Book of Acts says that we were first called Christians at Antioch (Acts 11:26). Before that, we were Disciples of Christ. After Antioch, the Bible still most often refers to Christians as Disciples. Indeed, my King James concordance shows that the term Christian occurs only 3 times in the New Testament while Disciple occurs 255 times. In sum, if you describe yourself as a Christian, you are saying to the world that you are a Disciples of Christ.
In our scripture today, verse 27, “and whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” This is serious. You cannot be a True Christian, a true Disciple unless you pick up your cross and follow Christ. God’s Grace, your salvation, cost you nothing. You cannot buy salvation with money; you cannot earn salvation with works, vows, or penances. It is free. However, do not confuse your salvation with what is to come after you accept Christ as your Savior: your Great Commission “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” Christ asks you, His Disciples, to join Him in the joy of His works.
Luke says that “large crowds” followed Jesus. Jesus “turned to them” and asked them to count the cost of being a Disciple. Jesus was not talking to people who were hostile or uninterested in His message. These people were “traveling with Jesus.” Some have taken the crowds that followed Jesus for Disciples. However, some people were curious and wanted to see miracles, eat, and hear entertaining sermons.
It is the same today. I saw a bumper sticker that read, “Christians are no different, just forgiven.” That is nonsense. Professing Christians that they are no worse than other people is not Discipleship. These people do no one any harm but do they “go and make disciples” and teach others “to obey everything I [Jesus] have commanded of you.”.
What then is carrying a cross? I begin by discussing what Jesus did not mean. Many people interpret a cross as a burden like a strained relationship, a thankless job, or an illness. With self-pity and pride, they say, “That’s the cross I have to carry.” That is not what Jesus meant when he said, “Take up your cross and follow me.”
When Jesus carried His cross up Golgotha, the cross was a torturous death, a death He took on willingly. Therefore, “Take up your cross and follow me,” means that you are willing to love others as you love yourself, to be a selfless servant as Jesus was. He asks you to set aside your desires and serve others particularly those less fortunate than you are. We have people in our audience who have served in our military. When veterans joined the military, they swore allegiance to the United States. They knew that it could cost them their life. Jesus requires that level of commitment.
I remember when people constantly criticized Tim Tebow, the professional athlete who played football for the Broncos, the Jets, and the Patriots, for his public confession of Jesus as his Lord and Savior. Similarly, Phil Robertson of Duck Dynasty continues to stand for what the scripture stands for though it cost him his television show.
In verse 26 Jesus says, “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my Disciple.” The word often translated from Greek to love in English is Philia. Philia is very affectionate love. It means warm regard, friendship, familiarity, and enjoyment of activity with one another. The root word Philia is in Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love. Philia is saying I like you because; it is a feeling of fondness. Translators used philia in Matthew 10:37 to indicate love for father, mother, son, and daughter (we are to “love Jesus more than these”). We must enjoy being with Jesus more than with our father, mother, son, and daughter.
There is no place in Jesus' teachings for literal hatred, so it is impossible to hold that He is here telling us to hate our earthly nearest and dearest, “even [your] life itself.” Here hating is comparing the love that a Disciple must have for Jesus with the best and most. Jesus must be first above all earthly relationships. Jesus is not speaking of your affection but rather he is speaking of your level of commitment. Jesus means your commitment to obey and follow Him must be greater than any other commitment in life. “If anyone comes to me,” Jesus, must come before any self-interest, possession, career, hobby, goal in life, loved one and that to the point that you would die for Him. Even in times of weakness, Jesus will come first in your lives. Discipleship is a total commitment to Christ. Jesus is your all. Is that true in your life?
In the middle of today’s scripture, Jesus says, “28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, 30 saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31 Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace.” These two illustrations emphasize considering carefully the cost of taking on a serious task, being a Disciple of Christ.
A man went to a tattoo artist to have a large “I Love Donna” put on his chest. As the tattoo artist neared completion, the man asked the artist what the tattoo cost. The artist answered, “$100.” The man said, “I only have $89.” The artist said that was okay, “I am nearly done” and stopped. The man left in a hurry for a date he had with Donna. He proudly raised his shirt showing his chest to Donna, it read, “I Love Don.” This kind of problem does not stop with that man. All of us are guilty sometimes. Even Congress sometimes passes a bill without reading it or considering the consequences.
In verse 33 Jesus asked, “So therefore, none of you can become my Disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.” Are you serious about your Jesus? Verse 30, “This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.” When confessing your sins and asking Jesus to be your Savior, ask yourself, “Am I going to try to be Christ-like in all that I do?” Are you prepared to walk the straight and narrow? If you have been a Christian for many years, are you serving Christ?
Jesus sums up the scripture in verses 34-35, “Salt is good; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; they throw it away. Let anyone with ears to hear listen!” Jesus starts with “Salt is good.” Here we find several analogies. Firstly, have you ever tasted green beams where the cook forgot the salt? How does a free tomato taste without salt? Just a little salt changes things. So, a few Christians speaking up can change things for the better. Secondly, salt was an essential part of sacrifice in the Temple. It meant surrender to God’s will, it symbolized consecration. Thirdly, salt has antiseptic properties; it keeps things from rotting. Not only can salt keep Country Ham ready to eat, but active dedicated Christians can arrest moral decay by stopping immoral tendencies and arresting temptation.
However, if salt loses saltiness and becomes tasteless, it loses what it is all about. It is no longer salt. Around the Dead Sea is not only sea salt, sodium chloride, there is the Salt of Sodom. It is ‘dead salt’, salt that has lost its saltiness. Nethinim, the Temple workers, used to throw it on the warn-slick stone floors of the Temple to help keep people from slipping and falling. Careless concern for the need for salt, its excellence, and its necessity, may cause Christians to lose our saltiness, our divine character. Jesus marks three things as characteristics of men and women in this state. We become useless for any good purpose, as a witness, as a worker for Christ. We are good for nothing but to be “trodden under the foot of men.”
Leadership magazine once ran a cartoon that showed a church billboard that said, “The Lite Church – 24% fewer commitments, home of the 7.5% tithe, the 15-minute sermon and 45-minute worship service. We have only 8 Commandments, you choose. We have 3 spiritual laws and an 800-year millennium. Everything you wanted in a church but less!” This cartoon presents what some people want in their church and still be able to consider themselves Christians. This is not Christ’s salt, “It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is henceforth good nothing, but to be cast out and trodden under the foot of men.”
Last in today’s scripture, “Let anyone with ears to hear listen!” You must ask yourself, are you committed to Christ the way you should be? Are you able? Are you willing? Christians, Disciples of Christ, let nothing deter you. Be of the same attitude as Jesus, take up your cross. For a True Christian, a Disciple of Christ, taking up the cross is the only path that will bring true joy and an abundant life. If you have not accepted Christ and this scripture speaks to you, do not hesitate to come to the altar today. For those of you who accepted Christ years ago, are you still committed? If not come on down and rededicate your life to the task at hand.
