The Cost is High, Who Could Pay It?

Welcome to the teaching ministry of Kungsvinger Lutheran Church. Kungsvinger is a beacon for the gospel of Jesus Christ and is located on the plains of northwestern Minnesota. We proclaim Christ and Him crucified for our sins and salvation by grace through faith alone.

And now.

Luke 14 and the Cost of Discipleship

Here's a message from Pastor Chris Roseberg. So the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke, the 14th chapter. Glory be to thee, O Lord. Now great crowds accompanied Jesus. And he turned and he said to them, if anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.

Whoever does not bear his 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.

Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, this man began to build and was not able to finish. Or what king going out to encounter another king in war will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with 10 ,000 to meet him who comes against him with 20 ,000?

And if not, while the other is still yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored?

It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. This is the gospel of the Lord. In the name of Jesus. Amen. Oh boy, these are tough texts.

Salvation by Grace Through Faith, Not by Human Choice

Tough. And so, what are we to make of this? Hate yourself Sunday? What kind of liturgical day is that? Hate your parents Sunday. What? Isn't Jesus supposed to be all about family values? Aren't we supposed to focus on the family?

What's all this hate stuff? This is a strange text. But hear the words of Christ at the very end of our gospel text. I think this will help us out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. There's something going on here that we need to crack open.

We need to take a hard look at what Christ is saying. And so, we who have been brought to penitent faith in Christ, not by any decision of our own. Scripture is very clear on this. Really clear. That to all who received him, God has given the right to be children of God.

And these are children who are not born of natural descent, or of the will of man, or of a human decision. But they are born of God's choosing. And so, when we properly distinguish law and gospel, sin and grace, and we recognize that the scriptures are so clear that salvation is by grace through faith alone, apart from works, we can begin to crack open these texts and understand exactly what kind of hatred is being called for here.

And there's no point in trying to water it down. None whatsoever. Some have tried to do this, thinking, well, God's such a gentleman and he's so loving and kind. I mean, after all, God is love, the scriptures say.

That they want to protect God by somehow saying, well, hate doesn't really mean hate here. No, no, really. It really does. And we need to pay attention to what's going on. But in order to kind of back end this and kind of work into it, we're going to start in our Old Testament text.

The Promised Land as Type and Shadow

And I would remind you that the book of Hebrews chapter 11 is clear. That none of the patriarchs, none of them saw the promised land with their own eyes. They all greeted it from afar. None of them received the promises.

And so the promised land in the Old Testament is a mystery. It is a type. It is a shadow. The reality is a reality that we are all called to. Have you ever read the Bible and thought, man, I wish I had been called to live in the promised land.

I feel like I'm so left out because here I am. I'm this European Gentile and I'm not a Jew and I don't have a promised land. Well, if you felt that way, you're kind of in the right ballpark because you feel somewhat excluded.

You feel somehow that all these promises are for them and you're thinking, well, what about me? But see, that's the great thing about the Old Testament types and shadows is that they point us to a reality that all men, all women, all nations, all tribes, all languages are called to.

The promised land that was promised to Abraham, to Isaac and Jacob was not a postage stamp piece of property on the eastern end of the Mediterranean between Syria and Egypt. The promised land that they were called to is the one that is coming, the one that we all look forward to.

Our sermon today begins at the end and that's the right way to look at it. This is an eschatological text in the types and shadows. And so there's the children of Israel at the edge of the Jordan getting ready to cross over into the promised land.

Now, in history this happened. This already took place. But this was a dress rehearsal for what is coming. This is a dress rehearsal. And he says this, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil.

If you obey the commandments of Yahweh your God that I command you today, by loving the Lord your God, by walking in His ways, keeping His commandments and His statutes and His rules, then you shall live and you will multiply.

And the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. Now, if you've read your Bible, we know full well how well does Israel do at keeping those commands and statutes.

Right? I mean, they just, their feet were even dry before the sin started popping up. The very first city to be taken, Jericho. Now, you remember Achan, right? So, immediately Israel stumbled. They stumbled at the beginning line.

They didn't stumble at the end. I always crack up when I watch those YouTube videos, you know. Some athlete is showboating, you know. Somehow he found an opening. The quarterback threw the pass to him.

He has the ball in his hands and he's running and it looks like he's got everybody out of his sight, but he's blinded the guy who's two feet behind him. And what does he do? He starts to do the mm-hmm, mm-hmm, mm-hmm kind of thing.

And what happens? He gets tackled and he doesn't get the glory that he thought he was going to receive. Now, we always crack up at those. Those are fantastic YouTube videos if you're just looking for a chuckle and you look and you sit there and go, what fools, right?

But Israel didn't stumble at the finish line. As soon as they crossed the Jordan they fell on their face. And the reality is this. I do too. I did. You did. We all did. You'll note that the law has no grace in it.

If you do these things you shall live. But see, the thing is that none of us do these things. We barely hear God's word. And let's not even talk about obedience. Solomon was right. In Ecclesiastes he says that there isn't a righteous man on the earth who does not sin.

Not one. And so we hear this law of God and we sit there and just go, but God, I don't do these things. Have I chosen death then? Yes. In Adam we have all chosen death. And see, that's why salvation is not something that is of your choosing.

And so there is a day coming. A day coming when Christ will call you from your grave and you will be just like Him. Today, not so much. When I reflect Christ back to my neighbor, I do it so imperfectly.

It's like through a glass. Dark. It's amazing to me that there is any kindness or mercy or grace in me at all. And I recognize that that is not my own doing. That that has been worked in me by Christ's kindness.

Through His means of grace. But see, there's this other part of me and I got to tell you, it's just terrible. Today, you heard my voice join with yours when I said that I confess that I am by nature sinful and unclean.

This week, this morning, I had sinned against God in thought and word and deed. I mean, everything about me just seems to be soiled with sin. And see, that's where Romans 7 teaches us that this side of the resurrection, we are simile.

We are simultaneously justified and sinner at the same time. We still have our old Adam. And I got to tell you, and I must confess, I hate that guy. I hate him. He is not kind. He is so selfish. He's arrogant.

I have words for him to describe him that I cannot say in the pulpit. But they would be true if I were to speak them. You would just be scandalized if I did. I hate that guy. He turns me away from God's word.

He cares only about himself. He's a schemer and he's a liar. He's a cheat. He's a terrible husband. And I hate him. And if you are honest with yourself, you have that guy inside of you too. That's what it means to hate.

You see, God has held before us life. And that guy knows only death. He will not obey God's commands unless he is whipped and beaten and threatened to do so. So God says if your heart turns away and you will not hear and you're drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today that you will surely perish.

You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and to possess. And so I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life, death, blessing, curse.

Therefore choose life so that you and your offspring may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice, holding fast to him, for he is your life and your length of days, so that you may dwell in the land that Yahweh swore to give to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, to Jacob, to give to them.

Brothers and sisters, in our wilderness wanderings, we are on the same side of the Jordan. But note this, that when it comes time for us to possess this land, this very promised land, the one that was promised to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, that you will not have a sinful nature.

And so these words to us will not be threat, they will be life. There will be no fear, there will be no sin, there will be no causes of sin, there will be no idolatry. And so if we begin at the end, this helps us a lot.

Helps us to see what's going on here, because salvation is by grace through faith apart from works. It is not by the law. So let's take a look then at Christ's words in our Gospel text and see then if we can make some sense of them.

Christ the True Builder and King Who Finishes the Work

Now great crowds accompanied Jesus. And I have to chuckle at this, because they're treating Jesus like a rock star. If this were happening today, there would be people with their cell phones taking selfies with Jesus.

Going, yo Jesus, dude you're the man. You're the man Jesus, come on, do a selfie with me Jesus, come on. Strike a pose Jesus, come on, look cool. This is what's going on here. Do you think Jesus is anything about that?

No, he's not a rock star. He's not somebody that you take a selfie with. And this is after Luke chapter 9 where he's already set his face like Flint to go to the cross. Jesus is single-mindedly focused.

And so it is to those people, these crowds who are coming to rock star Jesus to take a selfie with him and post it on their Instagram. He says, if anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters and yes, even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.

The love of God is the hatred of evil. Scripture is clear on this. God does not have indifference towards evil. He hates it. And so you'll note then that God's great gifts of father, mother, spouse, children, brothers, sisters, these are all good gifts given from God.

And they are. But they, like you, are also sinners, like me and like you. And so these good gifts that God has given us in this side of Christ's return, they can become idols. They can become voices that turn us away from God.

I remember growing up as a child, my mother married a man after her divorce from my father and her excommunication from the Roman Catholic Church. She married a man who was a self-avowed Christian atheist.

And if you're, I can see the pain in your head as you're trying to reconcile the two terms. He claimed to be a Christian atheist. You might as well believe in flaming snowflakes, but that doesn't make any sense either.

But when God in His grace and mercy called me through His gospel to believe and to trust in Christ when I was in the seventh grade, when God was faithful in rekindling the faith that He gave me in the waters of baptism, and I began to study and apply myself to God's Word, the good gift that God had given me in a stepfather who provided for me, paid for my schooling and clothes and gave me shelter, this good gift that God had given me made it so that every single dinner was a battlefield, trying to knock out of me those things that I had learned in God's Word.

And it was brutal. It was absolutely brutal. This is where I learned apologetics, at least in its infancy. And I would note then that in this proper sense then, I was called to obey the fourth commandment, to honor my Father, to love Him, and at the same time hate Him.

Hate that which was in Him where His voice was contrary to the Word of God. And in my hatred for Him, I was praying for Him, praying that God would grant Him mercy, praying that God would open His eyes, praying that God would bring Him to repentance, that God would cause Him to see the foolishness of the things that He was saying that were contrary to the voice of God.

And I prayed, and a decade went by, and I prayed, and another five years went by, and I prayed, and another six went by, and then, and then He asked to come to church on a good Friday. And there in Faith Lutheran Church, Capistrano Beach, California, my stepdad, an avowed Christian atheist, saw hanging above the altar a beautiful crucifix, and he heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ on a good Friday of how He bled and died for Him.

And he heard of Christ's suffering and bitter death in great detail, including the blood and the agony, and it undid him. He kept going to church, was catechized, made a member, and I've got to tell you, it is the most humbling thing to go to the altar and receive the Body and Blood of Christ with the man who tried to knock the faith out of me when I was a kid.

To have Him come here and to receive from my hand Christ's Body and Blood and know that He confesses and believes the same that I do. So if anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father, mother, wife, children, brother, sister, even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.

Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. Brothers and sisters, the cost of discipleship is so great. It's not going to merely cost you relationships, your reputation.

It's going to cost you your very life itself. Christ has not called you to glory. Not in this life. He's called you to death. He's called you to die. Die to self. Die to your reputation. Die. He will raise you up.

The cost is really great. And then he says these two kind of little mini parables. And I want you to consider the details here because coming back to the conundrum we found in Deuteronomy 30, the conundrum was who of us has kept these commands and can choose life accordingly?

Christ then says this, whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. But Jesus is the one who will bear his cross. 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.

Otherwise when he's laid a foundation and is not able to finish it, all who see it will begin to mock him, saying this man began to build but was not able to finish. Good gravy. I mean, I might have the resources to do the do-it-yourself projects at my house, but I hardly have the will to do them.

Right? So there's parts of my house that need painting and my yard is always, you know, it seems like I'm always a step behind the weeds. Forget about building a tower. I mean, I don't have resources or anything necessary to build a tower.

How can this be talking about me? And then listen to this, or what king going out to encounter another king in war will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with 10 ,000 to meet him who comes against him with 20 ,000?

And if not, while the other is still yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. Therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. Is this about me?

Is this about you? Is my salvation based upon whether or not I can properly build this tower? Is the salvation of mine based upon whether or not I can go to war with the devil and defeat him? If so, then salvation is by works.

But remember what he said, he who has ears to hear, let him hear. I can think of a fellow, though, who laid a foundation, the foundation of the apostles and the prophets, who himself is the chief cornerstone.

It's Christ. And on that foundation, he is building a temple more than just a tower. And we ourselves are the stones that make up that temple. And I assure you that Christ not only was able to plan out this building project, but that he has enough to complete it.

In fact, so much left over that he's decided to build a city around it as well. And he's actively doing that. And then I can think about Christ. At one point, kind of challenge regarding his kingship, Christ made it clear that at his beck and call, at his beck and call were 10 ,000 angels.

10 ,000. That seems pretty impressive. I'm pretty sure 10 ,000 angels could do quite a bit of damage. But I would note then that despite the fact that he had 10 ,000 angels at his disposal, Christ defeated the ruler of this earth, not with an army of angels.

He defeated the devil himself by renouncing all that he has. He, who by nature was God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but he humbled himself and became obedient. He was found in the form of a slave and was obedient to death, even death on a cross.

And so you'll note then this talk about if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. I think Jesus in verse 32 was signaling to the devil, you might want to send a delegation for terms of peace right now because I will defeat you.

Although I have 10 ,000 angels at my disposal and you maybe 20 ,000 demons, who cares? You know I'm going to win. It might be time for you to sue for peace and end the war. You see brothers and sisters, Christ is the one who had enough to finish the project.

He is the one who knew that he can defeat his enemy. And all of this he has done for us. And he did it by completely, utterly renouncing all that he has perfectly for you and for me. Because we are not capable of paying this cost.

Salt, Repentance, and the Free Gift of Christ

And we did not choose him, he chose us in him. So salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste how shall its saltiness be restored? And I assure you, each and every one of us born dead in trespasses and sins under the dominion of darkness just like the devil in all of his selfish sinfulness that we, like this saltless salt, were good for neither the soil or even the manure pile.

That each and every one of us it would have been appropriate for God to throw us away, throw us into the fires of hell with the devil and his angels. But the question is, if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be restored?

And I would point to Christ again on the cross. Christ his bitter sufferings in death included sweat and blood. And all of us know quite well from our own experience that both sweat and blood are quite salty.

And so through the bitter sufferings and death of Jesus and his sweat and his blood that we who were not even fit for the manure pile that Christ has restored our saltiness forgiven our sins, cleansed us, and given us eternal life as a gift.

As a gift. And so if you want to know what the hatred that is called for here, it is the hatred that one has for the villains in all the old fairy tales. Cinderella and her wicked stepmother. If you haven't seen the 2015 remake it's worth its weight in gold.

It really is. There's one point, and it's a beautiful story. You know the story of Cinderella where the wicked stepmother knows now that the prince is looking for Cinderella. And she confronts Cinderella.

She has found the hidden glass slipper. And she confronts Cinderella and says to her where did you get this? And she said it was given to me. And the wicked stepmother says nothing is given in this life.

I love the way that the 2015 Cinderella stands her ground in brave courage. She says no. Kindness is free. Love is free. And you can see it then. Hatred and love combined. Hatred of what is false. Love for what is true.

But that hatred requires us to look within our own souls and to hate even our own life and hate what is false and love what is true. Brothers and sisters, love is free. It is a gift. Kindness is free.

Christ in his great love for us has freely given us mercy and grace and rather than put us to shame just like Joseph wouldn't put Mary to shame, instead he married her. Christ does not put us to shame and he marries his bride and he forgives her and he cleanses her with his blood and his sweat and makes her salty again.

So repent. Repent of your lack of hatred. Repent of your lack of hatred for what is false within you. For what is vile within you. Repent of your saltlessness and receive the free salt and mercy and love of Christ which is given to you without cost and is a gift.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Lutheran Church 15950 470th Avenue NW Oslo, MN 56744 and again that address is Kungsvinger Lutheran Church 15950 470th Avenue NW Oslo, MN 56744. We thank you for your support. All of our teaching messages may be freely distributed as long as you do not edit or change the content of the message.

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