Counting the Cost To Follow Christ

While salvation is an incredibly free gift from God, many new believers in Christ often get disillusioned when they begin to see that true discipleship comes at a high price. And part of the reason, I believe, lies with those who share the gospel message with unbelievers. Too often when we share the message of Jesus we emphasize that while God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life, we don’t talk much about how desperately sinful we really are and that we need a total transformation of our old sin nature. Not only that but we often fail to tell those we are witnessing to, that while free forgiveness is what we receive when we give our hearts over to Jesus, it comes with the high price of total obedience to Christ.

J. I. Packer sums up this situation well when he shared: “Christ had no interest in gathering vast crowds of professed adherents who would melt away as soon as they found out what following Him actually demanded of them. In our own presentation of Christ’s gospel, therefore, we need to lay a similar stress on the cost of following Christ and make sinners face it soberly before we urge them to respond to the message of free forgiveness. In common honesty, we must not conceal the fact that free forgiveness in one sense will cost everything.”1

And while according to Packer, sharing the fact that free forgiveness in one sense will cost everything, I think we need to let new would-be believers understand a few deeply important aspects of what a follower of Jesus can expect on their Christian walk.

First, the Christian experience is not about comfort but training for eternity.  While Jesus died to take the penalty of our sins away, He chose to leave us in our broken and fallen world to use us to bring glory to His name and reach others with the life-changing message of the gospel. I think that apologist Lee Strobel said it best when he shared: “The universe is a soul making machine, and part of that process is learning, maturing, and growing through difficult and challenging and painful experiences. The point of our lives in this world isn’t comfort, but training and preparation for eternity.”2 

Second, as a child of Jesus, God uses trials and suffering not to hurt us but to help conform us more into the image of Christ. Desmond Tutu states, what I think all Christians, sooner or later come to know, when he said: “Dear Child of God, I am sorry to say that suffering is not optional.”3 Christian virtues such as humility, character, patience, and longsuffering are often forged in the crucible of affliction.

Third, understanding that obeying the difficult sayings of Jesus, such as love your enemies, while not humanly possible, will be possible for the Christian who chooses to let the Holy Spirit within him run his or her life. And not only that but God will give us the grace and the ability to obey these seemingly impossible actions when we need it.

Fourth, God allows current suffering for a future good. God shows how the very worst thing in history resulted in the very best thing in history – the death of God himself on the cross – resulted in our salvation!

And fifth, the more we obey God’s commands and do His will the more joy we will experience in our walk with the Lord. And Christian joy is so fulfilling that it will often sustain us when we go through trials and tribulations.

So Christian, what about you? Are you feeling down and not sure the Christian walk is worth it. For example, are you suffering from an illness? Have you recently lost your job? Or has your wife just had a miscarriage? In all of these situations God has allowed them to happen because He has a divine master plan in which He wants to use your tragedy for His glory. Our role is to trust God that He will use our sufferings in unique ways if we just turn them over to Him. So, rather than question God in these above cases with the refrain: “why me,” I much prefer to ask God how can you use these negatives to bless others and make me a God glorifying vessel.

I pray that the next time you share the gospel with a sincere seeker of truth, that you help them understand that while salvation is indeed a free gift, the Christian walk is not an easy walk. However, worshipping and serving Jesus is the most awesome, joy filled, soul satisfying, and the only eternally rewarding relationship in this universe!    

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1 J. I. Packer quote: Christ had no interest in gathering vast crowds of professed… (azquotes.com)

2 Lee Strobel quote: The universe is a soul making machine, and part of… (azquotes.com)

3 Quote by Desmond Tutu: “Dear Child of God, I am sorry to say that suffe…” (goodreads.com)