A Gospel on Our Terms

I believe that the persecuted church in China and other believers who live in third world countries know the cost of following a crucified Christ, but I don't believe too many of us here in the West know much about the gospel that Jesus taught. We want a gospel on our terms that we can pick and use the most appealing aspects to benefit ourselves here and for eternity, but the fallacy of living by a gospel on our terms is risky at best and dangerous at death, for if we mistakenly believe we are on the same road as Jesus, but he is not on that road at all, then we are traveling somewhere else and we've been greatly deceived by swallowing a different gospel other than the one found in my Bible. I don't believe your average church-going member in America understands the cost of discipleship in following Christ Jesus.

I don't believe many ministers have properly preached the demands of the cross to their secure congregations. Maybe the reason is that they don't know it themselves, or they fear that if they taught anything other than a comparable Christianity, it would drive away their more wealthier members of their congregation. Well, that's my introduction, friends, to my message today that is entitled, A Gospel on Our Terms.

My text can be found in Luke's gospel in chapter 14. You can turn in your Bibles there now, friends. We will be in verses 25 through 33.

In this striking passage of Scripture, we hear Jesus as he lists the disqualifications that prevent a person to be his disciple. And I may say, friend, if you are not his disciple, then you are none of his. More specifically, if a risen Christ does not consider you one of his disciples on his terms, then you definitely are not one of his sheep.

You are only deceived and lost, even if you are the chairman of the deacons. In this passage here in our text, Jesus lists three disqualifications for following him along the narrow way. The first term of discipleship is found in verse 26.

If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters. Let me pause here, friends, to say that Jesus has taken the time here to make a comprehensive list of obstacles to following him in a life of discipleship. He includes just about everybody we would know that was close to us that could hinder or prevent us from following Jesus.

Then he lists the one person who can cause us to stumble more than any of the others, and that is ourselves, yea, and his own life also. He cannot be my disciple. Jesus just said you cannot be his disciple if you don't meet the terms listed here that he just mentioned.

He will not slacken those terms to make them more accommodating to us and our sinful flesh. He won't budge one skinny inch on any of these demands of the gospel. Now that's a sobering thought if you'd only take the time to study that verse and dig into what he means in regard to your daily living.

If you're not willing to comply with these terms of his discipleship, then you are not one of his sheep. In other words, when Christ the Lord says, if any man come to me and hate not all these things which are obstacles to following him, then you cannot be his disciple. If you give prominence to a family member over Jesus, then you are none of his.

If Jesus is second place in any of these listed areas, then you have merely disqualified yourself from his company. Now we don't like to hear that because his terms seem too demanding, too unrealistic for ordeal of self-preservation and self-gratification. But nonetheless, he will not budge one skinny inch from those demands.

You will either comply or go your own way, like the rich young ruler did when he walked away from Jesus because the terms were too restrictive, too demanding. The rich young ruler wanted to follow Jesus on his terms. And so do many of us, but it doesn't line up with the gospel of the Son of God that has rights and claims on all followers of his.

In other words, friends, it's either Jesus' way or the highway. You feel more comfortable on a broader, more accommodating way, then you will be in a vast crowd, but Jesus won't be within a million miles of you. The second disqualification is found in verse 27.

And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. The main problem with us here in wealthy America is we want things the way we want them. We feel we have certain rights and nobody is going to trample our rights and run roughshod over us.

Some of us were pampered as children, spoiled as young adults, and the version of the gospel that we grew up with in church was a man-centered gospel that revolves around us. We didn't mind taking Jesus as our savior, but we never knew he had to be our prince. We never heard the real gospel of the lordship of Jesus Christ where he must have utter preeminence in our daily living, for he plainly declares, and whosoever, that includes you, friend, doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.

Now those are his terms. You will either try to widen those demands and lessen them, or you will comply with them. But you can't have it both ways.

You can't divide Christ into two halves and choose the one you want. He is lord. He is on a narrow way.

There is a cross there. You must pick it up and live a crucified life as you follow a crucified Christ. The cross in the life of the believer is a clear demand of the gospel.

If you don't, then you have merely disqualified yourself from his company. The third and final disqualification is found in verse 33. So likewise, whosoever he be of you, and that means you, friend, that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.

I think the best way to understand his meaning here is to study the lives of his twelve disciples. They forsook all to follow him. One was a thief who ended up selling Christ out for money, and he ended up hanging himself.

The others each lived for him, walked with him, took up their own cross, and followed him. They witnessed for him, suffered persecution for him, and they willingly laid down their lives for him in the sake of the gospel. Like I said in the introduction to my message that the persecuted church and other parts of the world understand the cost of discipleship and the demands of the gospel, they face it every day.

But I don't believe too many of us here in the West do, and that's our problem. It's a big problem. But until we grapple with the demands of the gospel and comply to the words of the Lord Christ Jesus, we will only be like little children with a bag of marbles who fight over who can have the best pieces as we play our little games and call that church on Sunday.

Let us pray.