In preaching the Gospel we do not simply call people to believe in something but we call people to something. We do not simply present a set of truths or a system of doctrines to a lost man, and they’ll be saved as long as they agree to this list of truths, rather, we preach the Gospel that they be saved towards something.
What are we calling people to? Basically we are calling people to become Christians. Which actually means we are calling people to become disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.
What does it mean then to be a disciple of Jesus? The Lord paints the picture of a disciple and what is required to be a disciple in His discourse in Luke 14:
If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.
For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’
Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.
So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.
—Luke 14:26-33
The demands of the Gospel is so high and extreme, there simply is no room for a middle ground. You cannot hang over the fence and be double-minded about it. You cannot be half-committed to it.
The Lord Himself makes it clear, “any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:33)
You cannot be half a Christian and be saved. You cannot believe half a gospel and be saved. You cannot be half committed to Christ and be saved.
We must call people to count the cost of discipleship.
Yes, salvation has a cost to be paid.
An old preacher once said that, yes, salvation is free, but it’s not free for nothing. Salvation is bought and purchased for a price, the precious blood of the Lamb of God (1 Pet 1:18-19). It would be unthinkable to say that such a salvation would have no claims upon a man.
And yet in futility men and women would see this as a begrudging thing to consider. “How could God demand so much for men? Are not all these gifts and pleasures gifts from God?”
Do you hear that? What man is actually saying is, “My sin is far too precious, far too enjoyable, far too satisfying, so much so that any concept of salvation and eternity apart from these things is not worth considering.”
And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.
For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
—Mark 8:34-38
God demands that we cast ourselves wholly and fully upon Christ. If that would mean we should forsake our families, then let it be so. If it would mean we would be despised and hated by men, then so be it. If it would mean we would be persecuted by our loved ones, then so be it.
God demands that our affections for all things in this life would be as hatred when compared to our affection and desire for Christ. He demands that we take up our crosses and follow Him.
This is the cost of discipleship, the cost of being a Christian. We are called to carry each one his cross, in other words, we are called to die. The cross is a death sentence. The cross calls and demands the death of self, in that Christ alone will reign in the life of a person.
Before God saves a man He must first see Him slain. Before a man would be brought to the newness of life, first he must die.
Until a man forsakes all self-will, all self-sufficiency, all self-righteousness, all self-assertion, all self-love; until a man forsakes his sin and the world, he will never come to saving faith in Christ.
And all this goes directly against a society that puts a premium on the value of the self and the power of the individual.
So then, we are to forsake all, if not, not be saved at all. We are to surrender the weapons of our warfare, if not, not be saved at all.
Indeed, “what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?” Only a depraved heart would choose sin and death over the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Count the cost!
The Difficulties of Evangelism
J.M.,
I completely understand where you are coming from on your post. In evangelism we are calling people to the Savior who is also Lord. I think however well intentioned your post is, it gives the impression that we can only be saved by believing and by commitment to Jesus Lordship.
We must not confuse the basis for our justification before God with the fruits of our salvation (good works). We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. A true believer will follow Jesus wholeheartedly and seek to obey his commands. The fault many times is not so much with evangelism per se, but with our approaches to discipleship. Part of the Great Commission is to teach the believers to obey Jesus in everything that Jesus commanded.
Look at this passage from Acts:
Act 16:28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.”
Act 16:29 And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas.
Act 16:30 Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
Act 16:31 And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
Act 16:32 And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house.
Act 16:33 And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family.
What was required to be saved? Belief in Jesus. The immediate sign of his obedient heart was that he submitted to baptism. This shows that his heart was converted.
The sacrifice of propitiation (Romans 3:25) is the legal basis upon which the sinner is justified before God, not his good works. Good works follow, but they can never be sufficient to save.
Rom 3:25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.
We must not confuse justification with sanctification. God imparts saving faith to his elect. They do truly believe. Because God gives the elect a new nature, they desire to grow in love for God and their fellow man. They love God, love the brethren and love even their enemies. They forsake the world (as you said in your post). They do God’s will. They abhor sin.
Perhaps I misunderstood the intention of your post. Hopefully what I wrote will be helpful in some way.
Blessings.
Thank you for the reply Adam,
You do set forward a legitimate concern. The same concern was brought up at our local church after I taught this message. However, we must be careful as well not to neglect the nuances of Scripture. Towards the jailer Paul and Silas did not simply say “Believe in Jesus”, but they made a specific declaration “Believe in the LORD Jesus”. It is to Christ Jesus as Lord that they called the jailer to believe. They are calling him to submit to Christ’s Lordship in believing.
This article perhaps would shed better light on the matter:
http://newdemonstration.com/quotes/aw-pink/saving-faith-is-to-receive-christ-as-both-lord-and-savior
J.M.,
I do understand your concern that in preaching the gospel we do not lose sight of his Lordship. However, I think we need to be careful to emphasize that it is the empty hand of faith that receives Christ truly. Part of the gospel presentation is of course the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. It says in Acts:
Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” (Acts 2:36)
So when we share with the sinner who Christ is, we show that he is Lord. We show that he has all authority in heaven and on earth.
The problem is that so many people are works oriented when it comes to religion (in the generic sense). They may begin to think that becoming a Christian means that they must be good enough. I think we must always emphasize that good works are the fruit and not the basis of justification. It is very difficult to maintain the purity and simplicity of the gospel. We always want to mix it with good works. Look how over time the Roman Catholic church distorted the doctrine of justification. It can happen to us as well if we are not careful.
When we truly believe, we are saved:
Eph 1:13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,
I recently read a book “Justification” (White Horse Inn). I would recommend it to you.
Blessings,
Adam
Adam,
Amen to all that. That is indeed the challenge. As you’ve said we must “maintain the purity and simplicity of the gospel”. It is not to make the Gospel into empty believing, nor is it either to make the Gospel into an all-doing endeavor. But it is bidding and calling and commanding people to grasp the Cross of Christ with the empty-hand of faith and that includes submission or simply a surrender in faith to Christ and His Lordship.
Thank you for the book recommendation, will do keep tabs on it. So many good books to read so little time!
Grace and peace,
JM