Following Jesus
There are an awful lot of things going wrong in the world. I've said it before; I believe the days of 'comfortable Christianity' are coming to a close. Following Jesus has always come with a price, but in our modern nation - living as a Christian has had little risk. And as such, many have been lulled into a false sense of security thinking that life has always been that way for the believer.
The first disciples were pretty much regular guys. Most were fishermen, and all were common, 'average Joe's' of their day. When those men were called by Jesus to follow Him, they were asked to leave absolutely everything behind - their jobs, their homes, their families and their possessions. They gave up everything and followed Jesus. They weren't allowed to give Jesus a list of conditions He had to fulfill in order for them to follow – they simply had to choose to drop everything and follow.
When these men accepted the call to become disciples of Jesus, they ended up 'selling out' to Christ. That was the cost of being a disciple; it wasn't a 'part-time' calling. Being a disciple wasn't a 'day job' - the cost was very demanding. That cost really hasn't changed. To answer the call to be a disciple of Jesus still demands that we give our complete self.
I. A disciple gives all
And I thought about softening that first point a bit - I didn't want to come straight out of the gate sounding too harsh. But I left it like it is in light of Jesus' own words, our first scripture passage from Matthew 10:32-39 (NIV)...
Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. (33) But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven. (34) Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. (35) For I have come to turn 'a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law - (36) a man's enemies will be the members of his own household.'
(37) Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; (38) and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. (39) Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
There are those who might say, 'Well, if that's the case, I really don't want to be a disciple, I just want to be an ordinary Christian.' Which sounds nice in theory, but it's not possible. To bear the name Christian, you must become a disciple. Now that probably doesn't mean that we all have to quit our jobs, sell our homes and wander the highways for Jesus. But - it does mean that everything we possess and everything we do must be dedicated to following Jesus.
We live in a culture that's redefined what it means to be a 'Christian'. The world has attempted to set the standards for 'being a Christian'. You believe in the idea of God, you go to church periodically; you get your name on the church role, maybe even own a Bible – and that's it. Do that and you're a Christian - according to the world.
Many in the world don't take Christianity seriously, and they definitely don't take following Jesus seriously. They believe that 'Christianity' is just 'another religion', one option in the buffet of spiritual thought that helps us get through life. It's something nice we might add on to our life, kinda like a hobby. It's like a couple who may hardly ever attend a Church service, but insist on having their baby 'christened'. Why? So that God owes their child a place in heaven for a token gesture done at birth?
True 'Christianity' is not a religion. Religion is a 'man made' system by which people 'reach up' and learn about God. Christianity is a relationship with God who 'reached down' to us in the person of Jesus. That's truth! But we live in a world where many question…
A. Does truth matter?
Let me show you a throw pillow I picked up, I liked the color.... (holds up a knife) Now you may say, but, that's a knife… No, I say it's a throw pillow and who are you to judge me? I mean, the knife is your truth - it's not mine. 'But that's crazy - you can't just say so and make it true...'
- When we have an entire culture that denies any absolute truth - this is a throw pillow.
- When people believe that sex is completely unrelated to marriage, getting completely drunk is just a good time, and recreational drugs are socially acceptable - this is a throw pillow.
- When the right to kill an unwanted unborn baby is called 'reproductive rights', and what God calls sin, man calls an 'lifestyle choice', and what God calls 'male and female' can be changed to whatever preference we want - this is a throw pillow.
- When a previously self proclaimed 'Christian nation' doesn't really acknowledge God and spends very little time in prayer, where most people believe that everybody gets to Heaven and Hell is only a joke, this is a throw pillow.
- When being a Christian only means that we 'go to church' but don't read the Bible or carry any Biblical values outside of a Church building, and when faithful disciples who actually take a stand for Godly values are called 'bigots', 'haters', 'extremists' and 'homophobes' - this is a throw pillow.
God is the Author of Truth - but that has been completely rejected by many. A lack of willingness to 'discern' - anything - for fear of judging has rendered many completely unable to see any Truth. And if they can't see simple truths right in front of them - they will not be able to accept the Truth that the only way to Heaven, to God, is to follow Jesus - and the only way to follow Jesus is...
B. To be a disciple
It seems like most things can be done 'virtually' now. We pay bills online, people work remotely, we do Dr. visits through video chats... But what if someone offered a swimming class on Zoom? You don't have to have a pool or swim suit; you just log in from your phone or laptop and learn to swim... Would that work? You can't do it. If you want to learn to swim, you have to physically get in the water. "If you want to be a Christian, you have to do what Christians do and live like Christians live. You have to become a disciple, and you're going to have to 'get wet'."
Jesus paid the price for our salvation. There is absolutely no way that we can do that for ourselves. However, we must respond to His sacrifice by giving ourselves to live out His will. Jesus, speaking to His first disciples, said this in John 14:23-24 (NIV)...
Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. (24) He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me."
Jesus said that those who love Him would show it by obeying Him. But there's a problem... Jesus is the only one who can take us into the Father's presence and He requires that we follow a very high standard. In Matthew, Jesus was speaking about showing love to both our neighbors as well as our enemies, and then He said this, in Matthew 5:48 (NIV)...
Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Do you see that? That's the problem. In order to follow Jesus, not just in name only...
II. You must be perfect
I'd say that's a pretty high standard! And if that's true, I guess we're all done here... But - perfection is Jesus' requirement for eternity. Max Lucado wrote…
"We wish it weren't so. We act like it isn't so. We act like those who are 'decent' will see God. We suggest that those who try hard will see God. We act 'as if we're good' if we never do anything too bad, and that goodness is enough to qualify us for heaven. (It) sounds right to us, but it doesn't sound right to God. And He sets the standard. And the standard is high, 'you must be perfect'. The goal is to be like Him; anything less is inadequate." (Grace for the Moment, pg. 101)
In order to follow Jesus, truth is - you must become perfect. And that is not possible…
A. Except through Jesus
Jesus is the only way to the Father! And that fact is a really stubborn truth! The writer of Hebrews, speaking of God's will, through Jesus, says...
Hebrews 10:10-14 (NIV)
And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. (11) Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. (12) But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. (13) Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, (14) because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.
I'm not suggesting that we have to beat ourselves up, or work ourselves silly doing good things to become perfect in order to get to Heaven. I'm saying that we can only be made perfect through the person of Jesus Christ!
At our communion time, we celebrated Jesus' sacrifice on our behalf. We've talked about it, we've read about it, we've sung about it, now we have to respond to it. That's why we follow Jesus! That's why we have to be disciples! We can never make it on our own. It is only through Jesus that we become worthy of Heaven and of God's presence!
Jesus' call to discipleship is for everyone and anyone who would be a Christian. He sets the requirements that we need to follow – and they are impossible on our own. We must 'sell out' in order to follow Him. In light of all of this, I want to go back again to that first passage we read...
Matthew 10:32-39 (NIV)
Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. (33) But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven. (34) Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. (35) For I have come to turn 'a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law - (36) a man's enemies will be the members of his own household.'
(37) Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; (38) and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. (39) Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
What Jesus is talking about here is the 'life style' of a disciple. Jesus is saying that if our lifestyle before the world does not reflect the fact that we are a follower of Jesus - then God will also not see us as a follower of Jesus and disown us. The disciples were warned not to be fooled by people who say one thing and show another by their actions.
We're called to bring people to Jesus so that He can change their lives - just like He's changing ours! We're called to boldly, but graciously, confront sin and to take a stand for the One who breaks sin's power! We shouldn't be surprised that Jesus' presence in our world would cause conflict, because He came to reveal sin and then to deal with it. And here's another stubborn truth.
B. Jesus is divisive
That may sound like an odd thing for a preacher to say, but Jesus Christ is the most divisive person in the world! Once we know His claim as being The Son of God, God in the flesh, The way to the Father - we must either accept Him fully as such or reject Him. There's no middle ground. Many people might embrace aspects such as 'gentle Jesus, meek and mild' but then reject any idea of a Jesus who challenges them or calls their sin out for what it is.
Jesus didn't come just so we could all sit around and hold hands and smile and talk about peace and love. Jesus demands we make a choice – and that choice will divide people. Jesus divides between religion and relationship, between the secular and the sacred, between the temporal and the eternal. You have to make a choice! Jesus came to bring peace between man and God. That peace couldn't be accomplished without an admission of the conflict between man and God! And that peace only came through the violence of Jesus' death on the cross.
A world with believers and non-believers is bound to have a lot of conflict. The blame for the conflict, the hostility, is not Jesus, but rather a rejection of Jesus. When we give Jesus His rightful place as the central point of our lives, it becomes very divisive in a world that rejects His authority. Even the relationships of family can be greatly affected. Some of you have experienced that.
If you want Jesus to claim you - you must be prepared to claim Him - regardless of the cost. That's the kind of love that He shows to us. When we think about being a 'disciple', we generally think of it as 'joining' with a congregation, but it's more accurately 'joining' with Jesus in His mission and His ministry.
To be worthy of Christ, Jesus demands we choose Him and His life rather than seeking our own way of life. He demands we accept all He taught and then obey. And Jesus demands we take up His cross and follow Him!
So What?
I'm not asking you to give up everything that makes you 'you'. I'm saying that we can only find who we were created to be in Christ. If we're to claim the blessings of God, we need to be prepared to lose the approval of man. We need to be prepared to lose even life itself if that becomes the choice. The paradox is that only those who give up their lives will find that their lives have been saved. The 'losing' of life can mean dying for Jesus, but in context here, it refers to self-denial - living for Jesus. That's being a disciple.
One of the biggest problems facing the Church today is that there are more people who want to 'observe' discipleship than there are those who want to experience it. It's easier to sit on the sidelines and watch than it is to get involved. Jesus still issues the call for discipleship - the call to follow Him. That's the call of the Church - to be a part of the body of Christ and to live as a disciple. The cost of answering that call is the same as it was when it was first issued. It'll cost you everything you have, everything you are and everything you hope to be.
But it's still the best decision you'll ever make!