What Does It Take To Follow The Lord?

What Does It Take To Follow The Lord? In a recent conversation with my brother, the subject turned to the lack of commitment and worldliness on the part of so many Christians - in other words, “no-cost Christianity.” We were expressing our concern over the fact that Christ paid an awesome price to save us and we are so unwilling to count the cost of being totally dedicated Christians. Worldly values, carnal habits, and lack of discipline are major contributors to this dilemma. Recently, I spoke about Caleb in Sunday School. Three times in Joshua 14 it says that he “wholly followed the Lord” (vv. 8,9,14). But we don’t see many of God’s people these days who have that kind of commitment. Most of us modern-day Christians are only willing to follow the Lord until it costs us something. And there is a cost! Luke 9:23 outlines Jesus’ test of true discipleship: “And He said to them all, ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.’” Let’s examine the three requirements contained in this verse: to deny self, to take up one’s cross, and to follow Him. Deny Self
To begin with, Jesus strikes at the heart of our greatest problem - selfishness. The apostle Paul wrote to Timothy about the “perilous times” that would characterize the last days: “Men will be lovers of themselves” (2 Tim. 3:2). If that was ever true before, it sure is true now - even among Christians! As long as God’s way does not conflict with our way, it’s fine. But when it does, our way usually wins out. When was the last time we said “No” to ourselves so that we could say “Yes” to God? To “wholly follow the Lord” we must count the cost of self-denial. Take Up One’s Cross
Secondly, Jesus speaks of the cross. Shouldering a cross daily is not a very popular activity. In Scripture, the cross speaks of suffering, shame, and death. Most of us are far more interested in comfort, popularity, and life with a capital “L.” So we choose “no-cost Christianity” instead of a blood-stained cross. There is no way to “wholly follow the Lord” and avoid the cross! Follow Him
The third thing He says is, “Follow Me.” When a man said he would follow Jesus anywhere, Jesus warned him that he really did not comprehend what he was saying (Lk. 9:57-62). We say we want to be followers of the Savior, but we want to do it on our terms, not His. Christ made it very clear: when it comes to “wholly following Him” there are no terms but His terms! What To Do?
So, here we are at the beginning of the twenty-first century with a host of professing Christians who are self-centered, who live for comfort and ease, who want nothing to do with a cross, and are only willing to follow Christ as long as it doesn’t cost anything. And then we wonder why we don’t seem to be impacting a lost and perishing world for Him. When I was just a youngster I had a Sunday School teacher who used to say, “God is willing to take you as far as you are willing to go. How far are you willing to go for Him?” And this is still the question we need to answer today. Biblical Christianity is not defined by a bed of roses, but by a crown of thorns! It demands commitment and sacrifice. My prayer is that we see a multitude of God’s people who, like Caleb of Joshua 14, would count the cost and then “wholly follow the Lord.” Let’s get rid of “no-cost Christianity” and go all the way for God! By Jack Palmer