Listen to the sermon with the player below, or, download the audio.
In the name of Jesus. Amen.
Introduction: A Pastor had just finished putting the weekly notices on the sign in front of the Church. For the spiritual message he had chosen the words of St. Paul from Romans 6:23: ”The wages of sin is death.” As he walked away he noticed that a rather confused and seemingly intoxicated man had stopped to the read the sign. Not seeing the Pastor, the man continued walking down the sidewalk weaving and muttering to himself “That’s one price that hasn’t gone up.” Despite his condition, he, nevertheless, spoke the truth. There is no inflation possible when it comes to sin. The reason for this is simple. Sin always demands the ultimate penalty.
Today we again look at what Jesus has to say to us in His Word. He warns us, lest we fall into the trap of becoming very secure in our sin. When we look closely at our Gospel text, we readily see that there is a cost to be counted. And so, we consider the theme “Counting the Cost of Discipleship.”
In our text Jesus says that we must realize the cost of Discipleship. He says that if we do not hate our parents and children and brothers and sisters, and finally ourselves – we cannot become His disciples. Upon hearing this we may look up in amazement and say, ”Wow, that’s harsh.” And then ultimately we might count the cost too high and reject the call to discipleship. Christ makes no bargains here. He makes no concessions. He only makes a demand. But is the demand too much? Let’s take a closer look. When Christ speaks in terms of “hate” it’s not in terms of emotion but loyalty.
As Jesus does in St. Matthew 18:8 when suggesting the amputation of hands and feet, rather than allowing them to lead us into sin, The Rev. W. F. Arndt says these words are to be taken metaphorically: “Hating signifies loving less.” In other words, Jesus is to have our highest love and devotion. Arndt continues, “We are to be so dedicated to him that it might appear as if we hated those near and dear to us” (Luke [St. Louis: Concordia, 1956] 344).
Christ is certainly not trying to encourage raw hatred; because His whole being, His very nature is the epitome of perfect Love. When He uses a harsh term like hate, He is trying to impress upon us the simple fact that we must renounce and reject everything and anyone that comes between our love for Him.. Jesus explains it in v. 33, “any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.” Those who become disciples of Jesus are committed exclusively to Him.
Another aspect of the realization of the cost of discipleship is the Cross. Our text states, “Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple” (v. 27). We must be sure of what cross bearing consists. To be sure the cross has been a picture of suffering and death for about 2,000 years or more. Carrying our cross is death of self, or denial of self. Do not confuse this with self-denial which often has a selfish motive & advantage. Some have the idea that if they deny themselves some of life’s pleasures then they have justified themselves. Denial of self is just the opposite. It means the renunciation of one’s own will so that the Kingdom of God may become the all-important concern of life. Taking up one’s cross is not so much taking on another burden as it is the death of self, death of personal ambition & self-centered purposes. In the place of selfish attainment, one now desires the rule of God alone. But taking up our cross and killing our self is not the end; for that alone gets us nowhere. The verses of our text also have a command to “come after [Jesus].” Following Jesus takes us into a life that imitates the walk of Jesus in every way. If we are not willing to go with Him, all the way with Him, then we are told to turn around, to go back and to plunge headlong into the dying pleasures of this world. Jesus wants us to follow Him. He came into the world for that purpose. But it must be on His terms or not at all. As Moses says in today’s OT: “I have set before you today life and good, death and evil” (Deu 30:15).
In our text Christ has also given us twin illustrations that hammer home the lesson that discipleship involves commitment, and it cannot possibly be undertaken thoughtlessly. In the first illustration we hear the familiar advice: ”Don’t start something you can’t finish. When building, one figures out how much the construction will cost before starting. It’s embarrassing to have your home half built and then run out of money. In Jesus’ second illustration, we hear the advice “pick your battles.” He says no competent general king goes into battle without considering the strength and position of the enemy. If we compared much of the Christian Church to a city made up of houses, then that city must often look like a Ghost town to God as He sees the number of unfinished houses.
Or maybe it appears to God like the scenes tourists still visit at pearl Harbor, evidence of surprise attack and unreadiness. The story of the church is that all too often we do not count the cost or the enemy before we decide to build a faith or battle the evil foe.
We strive to be good church goers, good Christians, living a life with Christ in the center. Then, just when things are going well, our life takes a nosedive and appears to be going into a tailspin to disaster. Is the cost too high? It’s Sunday and the gang is going to the beach for a picnic and a party, but we’re supposed Worship and to go to Bible class and learn about our God and the foundation of the faith which we profess. Is the cost too high? We’re supposed to go to an important class at church, but the Rangers are in the playoffs. Is the cost too high? And what about all the meetings: that figure the budget, that build the buildings, that call the pastors, that plan the mission, that elect the leaders, do they cost too much? God calls on us to count the cost of something that involves our eternal life. And our response to the cost may shape the rest of our lives.
Discipleship costs everything that we have, including ourselves. If all we are concerned with is to Worship and receive the Holy Supper with a little degree of regularity, send the kids to Confirmation (and maybe Sunday School), give a little financial support, and be a little concerned about witnessing – then it seems to imply that one can be a member of a church without being a disciple. Not sol And this is not the first time we’ve ever heard these demands. Everyone who has taken the vows of confirmation has made a verbal commitment to continue steadfast and remain faithful, even unto death. We realize the cost! Yet if we do not accept the cost of being a disciple, then we have not really answered the call of the Lord who asks us to follow Him.
There is no higher price to be paid in failing to count the cost and follow Jesus than Eternal Death. The price is fixed. And unfortunately for us, the price won’t go any lower. There is no discount. The torment of hell together with temporal death are all we deserve.
However, Jesus paid the full price of suffering hell for us in our place when He went to the cross as our Substitute…the innocent for the guilty…paying the penalty of our sin by His suffering and death on the cross and His victorious resurrection from the grave. Everything that Christ endured at Calvary for our Salvation – nail and thorn, spear and sneer, spit and spite, thirst and death – was a love filled sacrifice to pay the price for our sins. It was not His obligation, but His desire to save us from our sins that we may serve Him in joy and live in eternity with Him and the Father and the Holy Spirit.
And so, He calls and so enables us to repent. He makes us contrite on account of sin. His Holy Spirit brings us to believe the Gospel which tells us that all “sin has been forgiven and grace has been obtained through Christ” (AC XII.5). When we repent then God forgives us. He forgives us of our sinful nature and all our actual sins. He forgives us for the sake of Christ Jesus.
God the Father would never have sacrificed His precious only-begotten Son for something so paltry as someone who tries to “get by” with a half-way commitment. And to strengthen our commitment, to strengthen repentance and faith, Christ comes to us in His Word in all its forms. His Word in the Holy Scriptures is read, and spoken, expounded, and prayed among us and at home. His Word connected to water in Holy Baptism brings us into the kingdom of God and creates and sustains faith. His Word in Holy Absolution comforts us and releases us from despair. His Word together with the bread and wine of the Holy Supper nourishes us with the true body and the true blood of Christ given and shed for us.
Conclusion: By Word and Sacrament, the means of grace, the Lord enables us to count the whole cost of discipleship and to accept the cost with thanksgiving. “Not … by compulsion but of [our] own free will,” as we heard in today’s Epistle. When Jesus becomes everything we want, then everything we have in this life becomes nothing that we need. Indeed, “The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 6:23b)
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.