COUNTING THE COST

Luke 14:28 If you want to be a disciple of Jesus, don't begin until you first count the cost. For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost, to see if he has enough to complete it?

Many Christians have not been informed of our Lord’s command to make disciples. But before we can make disciples, we need to be a disciple. And before becoming a disciple, you had better know what a disciple is, and the cost involved.

A disciple is not some “mature”, “spiritual”, “super-duper Christian”. To say someone is a disciple of Jesus Christ is just another way of saying he or she is a Christian.

Acts 11:26 The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch.

Seven characteristics of a true disciple (a true Christian).

1. To be a disciple you must have saving faith in Christ as your personal Lord and Savior.

John 2:11 says that Jesus’ disciples “believed” in Him.

To believe means to rely on, cling to, and trust in, with your whole heart. The disciple didn’t just have a head-knowledge of Christ’s ethical teachings, they had embraced Jesus with their whole hearts. They had acknowledged Christ’s complete control in every sphere of their lives.

2. To be a disciple you must be personally and passionately devoted to Jesus Christ. You must love Him supremely above all others, including you father, mother, sisters, brothers, wife, husband, and children.

Matthew 10:37 He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.

Luke 14:26 If anyone comes to Me, and (by comparison to Jesus) 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.

So primary is our love for Christ to be, that our affection for our closest kin, and even ourselves, is to be hatred in comparison.

Devoted love for Christ will always weed out the superficial multitude.

3. To be a disciple of Christ you must deny yourself, (your plans, and your goals) for the purpose of accomplishing His.

You must die daily to sin and to self and live for Christ. You must decrease and He must increase.

Denial means full surrender of your will to the will of God. It is a continuous daily process of giving yourself in every situation to God, to be molded and used by Him.

4. To be a disciple you must be willing to give up all to follow Christ (Luke 14:33). Simply put, if you're not willing to take what is dearest to you, whether plans or people, and kiss it good-bye, you cannot be Christ’s disciple.

You can’t have divided loyalty. To be a disciple, you must acknowledge that all you have (time, talents, and treasures) are His to use as He pleases for His glory.

Many professing Christians, professing disciples, want to qualify for discipleship on terms less than total submission.

5. To be a disciple you must have a Christ-like love for other Christians.

Jesus said in John 13:34-35 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.  

Without love, all efforts to be a disciple of Christ are as nothing, as Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 13:1. Fervent, earnest love will work in our mind, our affections, our tongue and our actions. This is a love produced by the Spirit of God in the disciples’ life and not by the Adamic nature.

6. To be a disciple God’s Word must be your blueprint for living, your only standard for faith and practice.

Jesus said in John 8:31 If you remain in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine.

Whatever God’s Word says, that’s what you say. You must be willing to go down any path God’s Word leads you.

A disciple is not merely a hearer of the Word but a doer of the Word.

James says in James 1:22 Prove yourselves doers of the word and not merely hearers who delude themselves.

Jesus said in John 14:23 He who has my commands and keeps, he it is who loves me, and he will be loved of my Father.

Jesus said in Matthew 7:21 Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father (obeys the word of My Father) who is in heaven. 

7. To be a disciple, the fruit of the Spirit must characterize your life.

Jesus said in John 15:8 By this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciple.

Paul said in Galatians 5:19-23 Now the deeds (fruit) of the flesh (the sinful nature) are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, indecency, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you beforehand, just as I did previously, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control. Against these things (this fruit) there is no law.

The law of God is against the fruit of the flesh (the sinful nature) but is for the fruit of the Spirit. One characterizes the unbeliever, and the other characterizes the true believer.

And when true disciples do sin and display the fruit of the flesh they repent and produce fruit in keeping with repentance; that is, they prove by their life that they have repented of their sin and turned in obedience to God. Matthew 3:8

Listen to Paul’s prayer for the believers in Philippi and Colossea:

Philippians 1:9-11 My prayer is that your love may abound in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ--to the glory and praise of God.

Colossians 1:10 And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God.

Jesus said of His disciples: By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles?  Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' Matthew 7:16-23