quote from John Stott . . . . .
“The Christian landscape is
strewn with the wreckage of derelict, half-built towers (referring to Luke
14:28-30) – the ruins of those who began to build and were unable to
finish. For thousands of people still ignore Christ’s warning and
undertake to follow him without first pausing to
reflect on the cost of doing so. The result is the great scandal
of Christendom today, so called ‘nominal Christianity.’ In
countries to which Christian civilization has spread, large numbers of people
have covered themselves with a decent, but thin, veneer of Christianity.
They have allowed themselves to become somewhat involved; enough to be
respectable but not enough to be uncomfortable. Their religion is a
great, soft cushion. It protects them from the hard unpleasantness of
life, while changing its place and shape to suit their convenience. No
wonder the cynics speak of hypocrites in the church and dismiss religion as
escapism.
from MacArthur's The Gospel According to Jesus -
When Jesus called disciples, He carefully
instructed them about the cost of following Him. He turned away those
reluctant to pay the price – like the rich young ruler. He warned all who
thought of becoming disciples to count the cost carefully. Scripture teaches
us to deny self (Matt 16:24), consider ourselves dead (Romans 6:11), lay the
old self aside (Eph 4:22), and in a sense, treat the selfish aspect of our
beings with the utmost contempt (1 Cor 9:27). Why does Christ use such
offensive terms? Because He is eager to chase the uncommitted away and to
draw true disciples to Himself. He does not want half-hearted people
deceived into thinking they are in the kingdom.
Can you imagine us Christians doing that today???
Instead of being inclusive – EVERYBODY is welcome – we instead might be
exclusive? Weeding out those who are not serious, those not willing to
give up self, family, comforts of this world, etc. Isn’t the road narrow
and the gate small? So why have we paved this wide road and erected a huge gate for
ALL to come to Jesus when we know that’s not going to be the case? And by doing so, have we not given so many the illusion they have secured eternal life with the Creator?
MacArthur -
One who is not willing to lose his life by taking Christ is not worthy of Him (Matthew 10:38). That person cannot be a disciple (Luke 13:27). These statements cannot be made to accommodate the kind of casual approach to conversion that is in vogue in our generation. Jesus does not ask people to add Him to the milieu of their lives. He wants disciples willing to forsake everything.
