Recall for a moment all those nifty little evangelism aids you’ve seen: the little tracts, bumper stickers, videos, comic books, etc. Consider how it seemed to make committing oneself to following Jesus so very simple — how could the non-Christians say no?
“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.” (Luke 14:26-27)
Most folks have no trouble seeing how the use of the word “hate” is meant in a relative sense. People who actually hate themselves are mentally ill and/or demonized. Hating others is simply not what Jesus taught us to do. So, in the context of His other teachings, we know He was calling on us to count all the things in this life which matter most to us as having no great worth compared to following Him. In order ensure His listeners understood, He mentioned the most horrific form of punishment known at that time: crucifixion. If one cannot willingly face that horrible end, they cannot be His follower.
Bear in mind this was before He Himself experienced crucifixion. He knew where it was going to end in a few days. He prophesied that it would be crucifixion, and that anyone who couldn’t or wouldn’t go there with Him can’t be called His disciple. This is hardly the meaning of our popular phrase, “That is my cross to bear” in referring to something annoying us over the long term. No, Jesus was referring to self death, a death to self will which may very well include literal crucifixion, or something as bad.
“For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it — lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’
“Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.” (Luke 14:28-33)
Jesus expanded on the comments about self-death by warning that it’s no picnic being His disciple. I’ve seen at least a dozen attempts to make these images cover far more territory than Jesus meant. Some have made much of the mocking, others of the armies, the suing for peace, and so it goes. None of those details matter so much as this: We had better pay full attention to the demands Christ makes on all those who consider following Him.
How many evangelism messages have you heard calling on people to die? I’ve not heard too many. Nonetheless, that was the call Jesus made here: “Come die with Me!” I suppose we could say the phrase “give your life to Jesus” includes that idea, but it doesn’t quite strike one’s ears in the same way.
There is indeed a sense in which following Jesus is building something. It is to clear away all the old stuff which naturally occurs and lay down something solid, something with depth. Then, we begin to pile up one stone at a time. Most ancient towers were seldom more than what we would regard as a couple of stories. Still, to build it of stacked stones and mortar was quite a job. Never mind why we would want one, just assume we know we need it.
There is also a sense in which discipleship is war. And it’s not being negative-minded to note it appears we are outnumbered. We ought to expect this war to be exceedingly difficult. Our Enemy is not one to negotiate, not in good faith at least. He wants only one thing — your surrender. And so does Jesus. But clearly, whatever enemy Jesus meant here, it was not supposed to be seen as the good guys.
But in each of these two illustrations, it must be noted that I expanded upon them in a devotional fashion, not building a doctrine. What I added can be found easily enough in other places, in much more precise terms (try Ephesians 6:10ff). Here, the point is simply drawing a picture in the mind, as the Hebrew language was designed to do: You have a lot to consider when you decide to follow Jesus. You cannot afford to let anything on earth, even what you take as God’s blessings themselves, get in the way of that radical servitude.
You cannot hold back a part of yourself, a part of your life, reserved for your own independent decision-making. All of it is His. It’s all or nothing. Have we been failing in evangelism if we don’t tell the whole truth of this? I have a phrase I’ve used for some years: “spiritual stillborns.” How often do we step into a church for the first time, and encounter a majority who has made no progress beyond a token commitment? They may well be genuinely born-again; we aren’t permitted to see what’s written in the Lamb’s Book of Life for now. But they clearly have no fruit, no repentance.
Fruit is defined in Galatians 5:22-24. It is not a matter of what one has accomplished with others, but within oneself. Your fruit in the Spirit is the collection of changes you have allowed God to make inside your soul. Those internal changes inevitably result in the power to change some things around you. Those who haven’t moved since their public announcement of their intent to follow Jesus are, for all practical purposes, still dead, unconverted, and unrepentant.
And why do we have so much of that in churches today? Could it be we failed to give them sufficient truth to count the cost? Did they really know what they were letting themselves in for, that they had to accept their own death, for all intents and purposes? If we did not tell them that, we have done both them and the Savior a disservice. In the best of cases, we know God does sometimes accept a partial commitment based on partial knowledge (look in the mirror of your own soul). Then He drags us kicking and screaming farther into His will. At worst, though, we have allowed lost and dying souls to believe they are saved, and have perhaps sealed their doom.
The Great Commission ends like this: “teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you.” He has commanded us to take up our crosses. If we don’t include that in our message to the unbelievers, we have deceived them. By all this sweet talk of being born again, we have forgotten Jesus mentioned that phrase only once, as far as we know. He spoke of repentance and full obedience to the Law of Love a lot more.
