What do I mean by the cost of discipleship? I am simply referring to the demands that are fairly placed upon us by our Savior. One such demand that is overlooked by too many of us is telling others the good news about Jesus. Spreading the Word of God is not optional for the discipleship of Christ; it is a part of our marching orders.
Matthew 28:19 (ESV)
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
Preaching the gospel to all nations is the divine directive to every Christian. Jesus saved us, at least in part, to help Him save others. We cannot be true disciples and not help the Lord make more disciples. Let me remind you again that a disciple is a follower of Christ. Since He came “to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10), if we are following Him, we will do the same thing. That is a part of the cost of being a disciple. But honestly, the cost should not be our primary motivation for telling others about Jesus. That distinction should belong to the love we have for the souls of men, something else we learn from our Savior. Loving others is one of the foundational characteristics of Christianity.
If we love our fellow man, we will be thoughtful enough to realize that we are the only hope the world has of hearing the gospel and being saved. Paul reminded the saints at Rome of this.
Romans 10:13-14 (ESV)
13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?
God’s plan has always been to win souls through the avenue of preaching. The book of Acts is full of examples of conversions, and in every one of them, preaching takes place. Even Paul, after seeing the glorified Christ on the road to Damascus, was told by Ananias, “And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins…” Acts 22:16).
As disciples of Christ, we answer the call to teach others about Jesus, not simply because it is a command, but because we love others and want them to be saved. We are also mindful of the great length to which God went to save man from sin. He spared not His only Son (John 3:16; Romans 5:8-10; 8:32), Who, in turn, was willing to taste death for everyone.
Hebrews 2:9 (ESV)
9 But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
It is no wonder that the scope of the great commission is so broad. To whom are we to preach the gospel? Jesus said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.” In Mark’s account, the record says, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.”
Let’s prove that we are followers of Christ by telling others the good news about Him. Souls are at stake, including our own. Telling others is the small price we must pay to be disciples.
As you wind down for the night, think about these things.