Counting the Cost of Discipleship
by Rev. Kirby Williams
Learning to evaluate the terms and therefore the cost of what it means to be a Christian.
Text: Luke 14:28-35
Date: 05/12/2024, the Combined service.
Series: "Luke: Thy Kingdom Come" Part 149
Occasion: Mother's Day
Description:
Jesus concludes His teaching segment on the terms of discipleship with a revealing discussion of the costs involved. With two very practical illustrations, He emphasizes the importance of taking the time to consider the cost of what it means to be His disciple, and therefore what it means to be a Christian. A man who desires to build a tower must first consider the funds required to finish it. A king facing a more powerful enemy must evaluate the cost of war verses peace. Jesus then summarizes the two with a third term of discipleship, in which all possessions, whether material or volitional, must be secondary to the Christian's love and loyalty to Christ. Yet a fourth term of discipleship takes the form of a familiar proverb of the worthlessness of salt when diluted with impurities. Likewise the true Christian's separation from the world and its entanglements must be radical to be effective. Ultimately we will realize that these terms of discipleship and the costs involved are a scathing commentary on the modern concepts of "easy believism" and "nominal Christianity". Jesus makes it clear that grace is not cheap and the cost of discipleship is total commitment to Him as both Savior and Lord.
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I. Introduction, Matt. 7:21, 10:17-18, 21-22, 11:28-30; Luke 9:23, 13:24, 18:25.
II. Exposition of the text, Luke 14:28-35.
A. Context
1. The extended context.
2. The immediate context.
B. Illustrating the terms of discipleship.
1. The rash builder, vs. 28-30.
a. The plan to build a tower, vs. 28.
i. Something that would never happen.
ii. The source of the idea.
iii. Taking the time.
iv. The tabulation.
v. The structure.
vi. The estimate.
b. When the cost is not considered, vs. 29-30.
i. An unfinished project.
ii. The object of scorn, Luke 8:13.
2. The reasonable king, vs. 31-32.
a. The dilemma, vs. 31.
i. Looking at the words.
ii. No neutral ground.
b. The reasonable solution, vs. 32, Luke 21:17-19.
c. The interpretation.
3. Another term of discipleship, vs. 33.
a. Looking at the words.
i. Referring to the two illustrations.
1) Lessons from the rash builder, Luke 12:20, 18:23.
2) Lessons from the reasonable king, Luke 9:25.
ii. Another inclusive/exclusive address.
iii. Renouncing all for Jesus.
iv. A comprehensive renunciation.
v. Defining "possessions".
b. The final emphatic statement.
4. When salt is not salty, vs. 34-35, Phil. 2:12.
a. When salt loses its taste, vs. 34.
i. Salt is good.
1) Salt as a preservative for meat.
2) Salt as fertilizer for the soil.
3) Salt as savor for food.
ii. Salt can lose its taste.
b. Good for nothing, vs. 35a, Matt. 5:13.
c. An intense personalization, vs. 35b.
III. Application
IV. Conclusion
