Dr. M. Ryan Strouse
Introduction
Biblical discipleship and counting the cost of obedience to Christ has been obscured by universal church doctrine and fundamentalism, which are both pervasive in varying degrees in American churches. The Lord’s standard for discipleship is all or nothing, and it is to be based within the context of an ekklesia. Nevertheless, the human nature in believers attempts to pick and choose to what extent they will surrender to the Lord, and can seek to be a rogue disciple that “serves the Lord” outside of the Lord’s institution. Many seek to serve the Lord and be a disciple on their own terms instead of submitting to His terms located in the Everlasting Word of God. This common practice is the insidious result of the aberrant Universal Church doctrine that indicates that all believers are baptized into one universal body of Christ. The fluid nature of that doctrine allows for no accountability of believers within individual churches; hence, believers just hop from one to church to the next when they are held accountable or unwilling to submit to the direction of the pastor. Furthermore, the lack of accountability to the Lord’s ekklesia allows for the permeation of para-church ministries; in essence, if one pastor or church cannot get it right then the rogue disciple will serve the Lord in a ministry of their own making. Counting the cost of true discipleship is rooted in submission to Christ, His Word, His ekklesia, and His pastor (the position, not the man). What good is a disciple that claims to submit to Christ, but cannot submit to the Lord’s “My Church”?
While most Pastors and believers have experiential knowledge of counting the cost, some believers may view this as an archaic teaching that does not have full command in the present time. Even more, some may understand the theory, but they continue to prioritize temporal things over spiritual and are easily dissuaded from spiritual commitments (assembling, personal study in the Word, prayer life, etc). Persecution forced believers from the time of Christ through most of Baptist history to consider the cost of walking in obedience to Christ at the beginning of their sanctification; nevertheless, present day believers can have a “Sunday School Perspective” on living a life for Christ, which exudes a soft perspective on walking with Christ. Many churches have perpetuated a weakened perspective on discipleship and accountability that can allow for a sustainable membership. The Lord Jesus Christ clearly taught that true discipleship requires one to lose their own life, bear their own cross, follow after the master, and submit to the headship of Christ; hence, the believer needs to consider these costs early in their sanctification. The believer that does not count the cost of discipleship from a biblical perspective can be quickly knocked out of the race when an unexpected cost blindsides their walk. True discipleship is a packaged deal that is not sustainable if the believer tries pick and choose the concessions they will give to the Lord.
Total Surrender
Total surrender is the Lord’s expectation for all church members to follow, serve, and worship Christ in the ekklesia. Total surrender of one’s life to the LORD costs everything. Unfortunately, total surrender and counting the cost of discipleship is often mistakenly reserved for those going into “Full time ministry” or to the mission field. Paul’s letter to the six, small house churches in Rome debunked this modern and casual approach when under divine inspiration he penned Romans 12:1, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service”. Paul’s call for total surrender echoed the Lord’s teaching for following Him: hating ones family (putting Jesus above all others), hating one’s life, daily bearing their cross and following Christ, and forsaking possessions (Luke 14:25-33). The feeble house churches in Rome read and applied the book of Romans, which led to thousands being saved and scores of house churches being started in Rome. What more of an impact could our assemblies make if every church member surrendered to the Lord’s criteria for discipleship?
Count the Cost
Total surrender of one’s life to the LORD costs everything. Total surrender is the expectation for all church members. The Lord Jesus Christ experienced resistance and costs of all types during His earthly ministry; he continuously sought to prepare His disciples for following Him during and after His earthly ministry (Jn.13-17). In Luke 14:25-33, the Lord Jesus puts forth instruction and two parables that highlight the necessity and importance of counting the cost of following Jesus. Luke highlights the immediate audience in Luke 14:25, “And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them”. The Lord had multitudes that followed and were enamored by His miracles and power; nevertheless, they only wanted a king that provided physical bread instead of the everlasting Bread of Life (Jn.6:15, 26, 48). Luke reveals the Lord’s teaching and challenge that would filter the great multitudes of followers down to an imperfect core of believers that surrendered their lives to walking in obedience to the Word of Life.
The Lord lays out criteria in this passage for following Him: hating ones family (putting Jesus above all others), hating one’s life, daily bearing their cross and following Christ, and forsaking possessions. In verse 26, Jesus uses the Jewish idiom of hating something and loving another; in essence, it means to love and prioritize the walk with Christ over everything else. Jesus previously indicated in Luke 10:27, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself”. The Lord demanded believers love him with heart, soul, strength, and mind; a love that gave Him preeminence over any other person or thing in life . The Lord was not calling for a hatred and neglect of family, but for preeminence in one’s life that would exude truth and love to those around them. During the earthly ministry of Christ, converted Jews faced severe rebuke, criticism, and rejection from immediate family members that rejected Jesus as the Messiah. These believers would have to choose who they would love more as their relatives made it toxically uncomfortable for them live and share their faith. Included in the list in verse 26 is hating one’s own life; this is a continuation of His teaching in Luke 9:23, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me”. The Lord is asking for disciples to reject a life based on self-interest and self-fulfillment, and instead seek to fulfill the will of the Lord.
The next criterion in Luke 14:27 is, “And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple”. Again, the Lord refers to His previous teaching regarding discipleship in Luke 9:23. The Lord prophetically prepared to bear His cross to “Bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors” (Is.53:12); His expectation is that true disciples die to themselves and commit to their walk with Christ on a daily basis. For the second time the Lord indicates if one does not meet the criteria they “Cannot be my disciple”. The Lord views discipleship as a packaged deal that is all or nothing. The serious and true disciple has faith in Christ, repents of sins, is baptized, biblically prioritizes the Lord in their life, loses their life for the Lord, and counts all the costs of living a life for Christ. The Lord’s all or nothing approach would naturally filter the great multitude of followers by laying out the steep criteria for true discipleship of the Master; He wanted individuals to soberly and diligently consider all that was required in the present and future of their walk with Christ.
The Lord’s first parable reveals the common sense of any reasonable individual that would start a building project; that person would carefully and diligently sit down to plan the costs of supplies for the entirety of the project. Unfortunately, the individual that does not consider all the expenses beyond the initial foundation will realize they cannot complete the building project. The Lord indicates that there is public shame that follows the individual that started but could not finish the project. The Lord uses the unique phrase “Counteth the cost” as an action of diligence in planning to build. The Greek word, ψηφίζω, is used only twice in the Textus Receptus and it simply means to count or calculate . The Greek word, δαπάνη, is used only once in the TR and it means cost or expense. The act of diligently counting and assessing the cost of discipleship should mirror the parabolic example of counting the entire cost of materials for a project and determining if one has enough funds and the desire to spend the necessary cost. The Lord wants believers to seriously consider and prepare for the cost of discipleship so they anticipate and persevere when they arrive.
The second parable shows a king with only ten thousand warriors facing battle against a king with twenty thousand warriors. The Lord indicates that a reasonable king would sit down and consult wisdom on proceeding into battle or not. The reasonable king that considers the cost of warriors early on can have time to seek peace instead of rushing into slaughter. Again, the Lord’s point is early consideration, counting, and consulting regarding the cost of discipleship. The Lord concluded the parables with the necessity to forsake or give up all their possessions to be His disciple; He wanted them to be able to anticipate and pay the cost as they arose in their walk. The Lord knew that anyone that followed Him in the first century would face hate, ridicule, persecution, and possibly death; he sought to clearly detail the cost of following Him to the multitudes so they were not surprised. Ultimately, Christ does not want any possession, person, or pleasure to take priority over their commitment to Him. The Lord does not provide instruction for casual disciples; instead, He urges serious and diligent discipleship.
During a period of freedom in America (Praise God!), the cost of discipleship has continued to cost everything for those who take their discipleship seriously; however, multitudes claim to be disciples of Christ and blend into biblical assemblies. The filtering process for true disciples can be slower during periods of religious freedom; nevertheless, believers that are serious about true discipleship need to personally consider the various costs of believers throughout scripture.
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