Page 131 - Discipleship Ministries Student E-Book

own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not
first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?” (Luke 14:25-32).

He also said, “Whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it”
(Luke 9:23).

He said, “Any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:33).
One day a scribe came to him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to
him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”
Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him,
“Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.” (Matthew 8:18-22).

He said, “In the world you will have tribulation.” (John 16:33)

It appears in the above verses that to be sent by God is to be sent into hardship. At the very outset,
Jesus calls his disciples to accept hardship or loss of family as a part of the deal.

Paul understood the cost of discipleship. He said, “I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake.” (Col. 1:24).

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While explaining that he has nothing to boast in, Paul said, “ Are they servants of Christ? I am a better
one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless
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beatings, and often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less
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one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night
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and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger
from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea,
danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst,
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often without food, in cold and exposure. (I Cor. 11: 23-27).

In many countries in the world, to name the name of Christ comes with a high cost. In May, a Vatican
spokesman told the United Nations Human Rights Council that as many as 100,000 Christians are
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martyred each year.

The same researching body estimates that around one million Christians were martyred in the first 10
st
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years of the 21 Century.

John Allen, author of the book, The Global War on Christians, said, “Two thirds of the 2.3 billion
Christians in the world today live… in dangerous neighborhoods. They are often poor. They often belong
to ethnic, linguistic and cultural minorities. And they are often at risk. And ultimately I think making that
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point is more important than being precise about the death toll.”

Even in a country that does not openly oppose Christians, believers who shine for Christ will also pay a
price. It costs to follow Christ. It will cost you your time. Instead of doing what you want to do, you will
look for ways to serve others. It will cost you your finances. Instead of using your resources for your
own comforts, you will use what God gives you to bless others. It will cost you at work. Being different

46 https://www.opendoorsusa.org/take-action/pray/number-of-christian-martyrs-continues-to-cause-debate/
47 Ibid
48 Ibid.

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