Counting The Cost

​Everything in life costs something.
Sorry folks, there is no such a thing as a free lunch!
Free sounds wonderful. But the only free thing in life is the free gift of salvation in Christ. “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23. Eternal life is absolutely free to you and me though it cost Jesus everything. The price for our sin was Christ’s death on the Cross.
The Son of God counted the cost before He voluntarily died on a cruel Roman Cross.
Jesus did not shrink back from the immense, unimaginable suffering He would experience in becoming sin for you and me. He knew it would cost Him His earthly life. In the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36-46) Jesus counted the cost of the Cross, then decided “Not my will, but Yours be done Father.”
Jesus left the garden, headed to Golgotha and before He breathed His last breath cried out “It is finished.


What was finished? Salvation for you, me and all who choose to believe in Jesus was paid for in full. God’s only Son, counted the cost, paid the price and sits at the right hand of the Father waiting to return for His bride the church!
Jesus taught a powerful truth about counting the cost in Luke 14:27-30.
“Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For 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? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation, and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying “the man began to build and was not able to finish.”  
Jesus is a master of illustration. Picture a man (could be you or me) desiring to build a building. Great idea. Obviously it will come with a price tag. It will cost a lot of money. So, the man sits down to run the numbers. Before constructing the building he must be confident that he has enough finances to complete the project.
If he builds without enough money to finish the building, people will ridicule, mock, point fingers, make fun of him and never hire this guy to build a building for them. What a fool some might say. He built a building he could not finish.
Jesus’ point of the parable: Count the cost so you can finish what you start.
Discipleship, following Jesus Christ, is costly. The price tag is my full surrender to the Lord.
“And He was saying to them all ‘If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow Me.” Luke 9:23
The Christian life is a faith race that is to be run daily and to be finished. (II Timothy 4:6-8)
There are professing Christians who start well, but do not finish well. They fail to understand that to follow Christ they must die daily to themselves and be fully committed to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Immature Christians attempt to build a building without paying the freight!
Self-denial. Surrender. Self-sacrifice. Counting the cost always includes a cross.
Counting the cost for Christ means:

• Are you willing to pay the price of dying to self and living for Jesus?
• Are you willing to pick up your cross, whatever that may be, and follow Jesus every single day?
• Are you willing to pay the price for taking a bold stand for Jesus Christ?
• Are you willing to pay the price for being ostracized from a politically correct culture?
• Are you willing to pay the price of losing some “friends” because of your beliefs?
• Are you willing to pay the price to serve the Lord if it means standing alone?
• Are you willing to pay the price for your faith if the whole world shouts you down?
• Are you willing to pay the price every day of your faith walk with the Lord?
• Are you willing to pay the price for Jesus if it means suffering and maybe losing your life for Him?

Jesus counted the cost and paid the price for you and me when He died on the Cross. Certainly, if we say we love the Lord, we can count the cost and pay the price for Jesus by taking up our cross and faithfully following Him.
My brothers and sisters in Christ, willingly and joyfully pay the price of serving the Lord who paid the ultimate price for you.
“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me.” Galatians 2:20
A Word For Your Week: Count and pay the cost of being a faithful follower of Jesus.