The Cost of Being a Disciple

Luke 14:25–35
» View this passage in NIV (Bible Gateway)

After a distinguished performing career, virtuoso violinist Jascha Heifetz accepted an appointment as professor of music at UCLA. Asked what had prompted his change of career, Heifetz replied: “Violin playing is a perishable art. It must be passed on as a personal skill; o … More

Discipleship

At this point large crowds are following Jesus and He wants to make it clear that they need to examine why they are following Him (v. 25). When it comes to personal discipleship He is more interested in quality than quantity. He is looking for followers who will be willing to follow Him anywhere, at any time, at any price. The cost is defined by three principles:

The principle of surrendering all relations. (v. 26)
The principle of bearing all reproaches. (v. 27)
The principle of yielding all resources. (v. 33)

Jesus then gives three parables to explain why He makes such costly demands on His followers. The first two parables emphasize the consequences of commitment His followers are about to make. His third parable consists of a severe warning if not heeded.

The parable of construction - building a tower (vv. 28-30). Before a person begins to build, he must be sure he is able to pay for it. Salvation is free but discipleship costs.
The parable of conflict - fighting a war (vv. 31-33). He must be willing to sacrifice a victory if he senses he is unable to win. We must follow on His terms and not ours.
The parable of contamination - salt losing its flavor (vv. 34-35). Salt is good but when exposed to certain chemicals, it loses its saltiness and becomes worthless. When a Christian becomes contaminated with the world and loses his Christian character, he is worthless.

Application

What has it cost me to follow Jesus? Jesus said it would cost something to be one of His disciples.

Luke 14:25-35 (English Standard Version)

Warning: MagpieRSS: Failed to parse RSS file. (Space required at line 39, column 24) in /var/www/html/familytimes/includes/magpie6-1/rss_fetch.inc on line 230

Warning: array_slice() expects parameter 1 to be array, null given in /var/www/html/familytimes/includes/rss/esvLookup.php on line 15

View this passage in NIV (Bible Gateway) »