The Cost Of Discipleship

I was asked to preach last weekend at St George’s, Stamford, on ‘The Cost of Discipleship’ from Matthew 8:18-22. You can watch here:

And listen to the audio version here:

A few notes from my talk:

During his reign, King Frederick William III of Prussia found himself in trouble. Wars had been costly, and in trying to build the nation, he was seriously short of finances.  He couldn’t disappoint his people, and to capitulate to the enemy was unthinkable.

After careful reflection, he decided to ask the women of Prussia to bring their gold and silver jewellery to be melted down for the country.  For each ornament received, he determined to exchange a decoration of bronze or iron as a symbol of gratitude.  Each decoration would be inscribed, “I gave gold for iron. 1813.”

The response was overwhelming.  Even more important, these women prized their gifts from the king more highly than their former jewellery.  The reason, of course, is clear.  The decoration was proof that they had sacrificed for their king.  Indeed, it became unfashionable to wear jewellery, and thus was established the Order of the Iron Cross. Members wore no ornaments except a cross of iron for all to see.

Christians in Iran: “If we evangelize, they will put us in prison. But we will do it anyway.”
Christians in India: “If we evangelize, the crowd will beat us to death. But we will do it anyway.”
Christians in China: “If we evangelize, they will forcibly take our body parts for organ transplants. But we will do it anyway.”
Christians here: “If we evangelize, we will feel awkward. So we won’t do it.”

“Salvation may be free, but it is not cheap, either for the Lord or us. For him, the cost was the death of his only Son on a cross. For us it is to take up the cross daily and follow him. So the entrance fee is nothing, but the annual subscription is everything. God has done everything possible and necessary to save us from hell – except force us to accept his remedy.” (David Pawson)

Dietrich Bonhoeffer: “Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.

Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it a man will gladly go and sell all that he has. It is the pearl of great price to buy which the merchant will sell all his goods. It is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble; it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him. 

Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock.

Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it coasts a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son: “ye were bought at a price,” and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us. Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon his Son too dear a price to pay for our life, but delivered him up for us. Costly grace is the Incarnation of God.”

‘cheap grace’, though it would be better described as ‘costly faithlessness’. (Willard)

David Livingstone wrote in his journal on one occasion concerning his “selfless” life: “People talk of the sacrifice I have made in spending so much of my life in Africa.  Can that be called a sacrifice which is simply paying back a small part of the great debt owing to our God, which we can never repay?  Is that a sacrifice which brings its own blest reward in healthful activity, the consciousness of doing good, peace of mind and a bright hope of glorious destiny hereafter?  Away with the word in such a view and with such a thought!  It is emphatically no sacrifice. Say rather it is a privilege!”

“Nondiscipleship costs abiding peace, a life penetrated throughout by love, faith that sees everything in the light of God’s overriding governance for good, hopefulness that stands firm in the most discouraging of circumstances, power to do what is right and withstand the forces of evil. In short, nondiscipleship costs you exactly that abundance of life Jesus said he came to bring (John 10:10)” Dallas Willard