Luke 14:25-35 – Counting the Cost

True Christians must be ready, if necessary, to give up everything for Christ’s sake. Jesus is not saying that it is the duty of Christians to hate their relatives. He means that those who follow Him must love Him with a deeper love even than their nearest and dearest relatives and friends, or their own lives. He is not saying that it is part of Christianity to quarrel with our relatives and friends. But He does mean that if the claims of our relatives and friends come into conflict with the claims of Christ, the claims of relatives must give way. We must choose rather to displease those we love most upon earth, than to displease Him who died for us on the cross.

Those who are thinking of following Christ must count the cost. To be a mere Christian in name only and go to church, is cheap and easy work. But to hear Christ’s voice in the Bible, and follow Christ, and believe in Christ, and tell others about Christ, requires a lot of self-denial. It will cost us our sins, and our pride, and our easy life, and our love of the world. We must fight an enemy who comes against us with twenty thousand followers. We must build a tower in hard times. Our Lord Jesus Christ wants us to understand this. Why? To discourage us from following Him? No, but to prevent men and women following Him without thinking, caught up in some temporary excitement, who in time of temptation will fall away. He has no desire to swell the number of His followers by admitting soldiers who will fail in the hour of need. They become as useless as salt which has lost its saltiness. All who want to serve Christ need to count the cost before they begin.

Questions
1. When must we disagree with our relatives and friends?
2. Why must we count the cost of following Christ?
3. Why is following Christ hard work?

Prayer Points
1. Pray for Christians being persecuted in other countries.
2. Use prayer points from your congregation.
3. Pray for family matters.