Gain and Loss- Part Two

“If anyone comes TO ME and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he CANNOT be My disciple” Luke 14:26.

It is at this point that one learns something very interesting. In the first phase (Part One) no mention of being a disciple is found regarding those that went “with Him”. Here Jesus makes a condition for discipleship. Now, He doesn’t really mean that you should hate anyone but His emphasis is on priorities. He should be your model. “What would Jesus do in this situation? Would He want me to cuss, smoke, gamble, and watch occult movies on television? Would he desire for me to drink alcohol? Would he want me involved in pre-marital sex?” This is where false leaders such as Mike Peters and Doyle Davidson go astray in their hearts.

When we do any of those things we just don’t seem to hate our own lives very much for we place our priorities higher than His. Yet when our “old man” is in operation we CANNOT be His disciples. That is why the majority of Christians don’t crack open their Bible very often as they don’t want to become aware of how much their old man dictates their present life!

“One came and said to Him, Good teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life? Jesus said, WHY DO YOU CALL ME GOOD? NO ONE IS GOOD BUT ONE, THAT IS GOD. BUT IF YOU WANT TO ENTER INTO LIFE KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS. He said to Him, Which one’s? Jesus replied, YOU SHALL NOT MURDER, YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, YOU SHALL NOT STEAL, YOU SHALL NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS, HONOR YOUR FATHER AND YOUR MOTHER, AND YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF. The young man said to Him, All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack? Jesus said to him, IF YOU WANT TO BE PERFECT, GO, SELL WHAT YOU HAVE AND GIVE TO THE POOR AND THEN YOU WILL HAVE TREASURE IN HEAVEN, AND COME, FOLLOW ME. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions” Matthew 19:16-22.

Jesus omitted the one sin that the rich young ruler had not kept from his youth even though the young man insisted that he had kept all the commandments. Even Jesus did not name his sin purposely for it was the sin of covetousness. His possessions were his first priority in life and so he went away sorrowful, not willing to give those things up. His possessions were part of his “old man” personna that he just couldn’t part with, not even for Jesus. More on this series in my next post.