IF WE BELIEVED WHAT THE BIBLE SAID - #9

Are you willing to come to Y’shua on HIS terms? We often set up our own terms. When we look at how we pitch Christianity, how we try to talk people into coming to Christ, and you will find terms that are foreign to the New Testament. The modern church wants to lead people to Christ through a following of the “Roman road” to Jesus: You believe these four spiritual laws, answer these questions correctly, pray this prayer and sign the card, raise your hand and declare your faith in Jesus; and your saved. Y’shua told none of His followers to do these things - none of them.

“ If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. 27 And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. 28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it — 29 lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish. ’ 31 Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. 33 So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple
(Luke 14:26-33 NKJV)

When we read this passage, for most of us, Jesus lost us at “hello”. When looking at Y’shua’s statement within context, it’s scary for me to think how I would have responded to Y’shua if I were there.

This is not a group of people who have been following Christ and Christ was giving them a deeper teaching. This was Y’shua speaking to people who were initially interested in following Him. This was Christ’s introduction to Himself. This was His initial invitation to them. And, it is a stinging indictment of our brand of Christianity today, to think that these words would sound so radical to us. Yet, Christ is saying that this is the elementary, basic truths, of what it means to follow Him; and they are so different from what we teach today. What does that say to us? What does this say about how far we strayed in what it means to be a disciple of Christ? Y’shua says it three times, If you do not do these things you can’t even be my disciple.

This is an evangelistic text. This is Y’shua inviting people to follow Him for the first time. I have to wonder, I have to worry, have any of us, especially in America, ever really came to Christ on His terms or have we ignored His terms for ours?
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