26. "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.
27. "Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.
28. 'Or 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?
29. "Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him,
30. saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.'
31. "Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand?
32. "Or else, while the other is still fat away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.
33. "So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.
34. "Therefore, salt is good; but if even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be seasoned?
35. "It is useless either for the soil or for the manure pile; it is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
Luke 14:25-35 NASB
Over the last few years there has been a lot of talk of "engaging the culture", of being salt and light. However, a lot of what we have been seeing has very little to do with being salt and light compared with the expectations of the one we are supposed to be following, Jesus.
Context is important. When we read the words of Jesus stressing the importance of saltiness we must consider the whole passage if we want to understand just what Jesus is teaching.
From this passage we see several things or requirements that Jesus sets down as conditions for those who would follow Him.
1. Our allegiance to Jesus must surpass all other relationships. Family must not stand in the way of our obedience to Christ. In fact our very lives are no longer our own to live as we please. In actuality our allegiance belongs to Christ alone, no one else.
2. If we are to follow Jesus we must be willing to follow Him even unto death. A disciple is called to deny himself, take up his cross and follow the Lord (see Mark 8:34-35). As stated above, we are not our own. Our plans and purposes in this life must be put aside for the greater plans and purposes of Christ. That is self denial.
A man carried his cross on the way to a certain death. At that moment he was as good as dead. He had no plan or purpose from that point on. Only one thing was certain, he was going to die. Jesus is painting a picture here of an individual whose only purpose in life or death was to serve Him.
3. It is vital that we count the cost. How many people who profess to be Christians have actually sat down and seriously considered the weight of passages like these? You know, denying self, following Jesus at all cost, including family relationships, and even the inclusion of all our possessions? I fear many start out without realizing the true cost and commitment involved in being a disciple of Jesus Christ. And what is the result of this? There are many false Christians out there, Christians in name only, and this is what is so tragic.
To be able to "engage the culture" with any degree of success we must be like Jesus in our speech and actions. The world is not fooled by a Christian who lives, talks and behaves in the same way they do. To live a life that is drastically different from the life Christ has shown us by example, will negatively impact the very world we are trying to engage. In fact it will repel them.
In His sermon on the mount Jesus stresses the importance of brokeness, humility, a hunger for righteousness, showing mercy, heart purity, being a peace maker, and a willingness to suffer persecution for one's faith. Again, this is the context leading up to another statement concerning our being salt and light (Matthew 5:2-16).
How much selfish behavior, pride, anger and division do we see Jesus allowing us if we are to be effective in reaching the world with the gospel?
Our being salt depends upon these things set forth by Jesus in His sermon on the mount. There is a correlation between our conformity to Christ and our ability to be salt to a lost world. If the salt has lost its taste it has become useless. A Christian's testimony ruined will turn others away from the savior. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
No comments:
Post a Comment