COUNT THE COST (Part One)
Have you counted up the cost
of what it means to follow after Christ? For most people, the answer would be unequivocally NO!
Most people underestimate what it will take to follow Jesus. Luke 14:26-30>“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. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down firs 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, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish,’” Now,
that is costly. Have you counted up the cost?
Many people have come up with their own plan or they have no plan at all.
Therefore, they end up wandering aimlessly from church to church being tossed to and fro by every “what’s
happening now” doctrine that comes out. They haven’t followed the building plans that have
been provided for them. Where can you find those plans? In God’s Holy Word—The
Bible.
Matthew 7:24-27, “Therefore
whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:
and the rain descended the floods came and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded
on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish
man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat
on that house; and it fell.”
So, let’s start at the beginning by following these steps:
1. Acknowledge—Romans 6:23
“For the wages
of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
If you were building a physical house,
you would clear the building area of all brush, trees and debris. We need to do the same spiritually, by
acknowledging that we are sinners and begin the process to clear out the sin in our life.
How much will this cost?
A LOT! Sometimes it’s too much for some. They don’t see themselves
as sinners. They believe because they’re a “good person” and haven’t committed
any “big sin” or because they help the less fortunate that they’ll make it to heaven. Sadly,
they will be surprised in the end.
2.
Repent—Acts 17:30
“…but now commands all men everywhere to repent.”
We need to dig deep into our hearts and
repent of our sins. Allow the Spirit of God to reveal our hidden sins according to His Word. Sometimes
people don’t want to deal with this step because it’s too costly. They still want to be able
to live their lives according to their will vs. God’s. These are the ones who only have a head knowledge
of God; they know He exist and they love Him but they’re not in love with Him. That kind of love
has to come from the heart.
3. Believe—John 3:16
“For
God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting
life.” That doesn’t seem to be too costly. However, some people don’t
believe that Jesus is the only way. They have fallen for the false doctrine that all roads lead to heaven
or if your good outweighs your bad then you’ll make it in. Unfortunately, they will be surprised
on judgment day. “For it is written: As I lie, says the Lord, Every knee shall
bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God.”—Romans 14:11
4. Accept—Romans 10:9-10
“that if you confess
with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
It has and will be a personal choice to accept the free gift of salvation from God, which is His Son Jesus Christ.
We all are given the opportunity to say yes or deny Him. Will you accept Jesus by confessing with
your mouth and believing in your heart? I hope so. If not, you will have no one to blame
but yourself.
Next time, we’ll discuss
Step 5—Follow. This step seems to be the most costly to most people.
