Sit Down And Count The Cost
Twentieth Sunday After Pentecost
Light of Christ Anglican Church
The Rev. Michael J. Moffitt October 05, 2024
SCRIPTURE: Luke 14:25-33
Several years ago I was invited to do the invocation and prayer for the celebration of Ronald Reagan’s birthday at Indian Creek Country Club. One of my comments was: “If Jesus were here today he would not be a Republican or a Democrat but would invite everyone to join Him in His Kingdom, with Him as King. The problem we have today has everything to do with each parties platform, what they stand for. Essentially, as we consider the policies of each party it comes down to the categories of good vs evil, light vs darkness. Where you stand on the moral and ethical issues of each party should easily enable you to know where you should stand and fight, certainly who you should vote for.”
This past week someone sent me the recording of last Sunday’s sermon preached by Pastor Gary Hamrick of Cornerstone Chapel in Leesburg, VA. It is entitled “Election Day Sermon 2024”. He made an interesting point that many people are basing their vote depending on whether or not they approve of the personality of a candidate. Hamrick pointed out that if this is the sole parameter then they will likely either vote for a write-in candidate or choose to not vote at all. However, to do so is to cast a wasted vote. He stated that in this upcoming presidential election he didn’t like the personality of either one, but personality aside there is a clear distinction between the two when it comes to the important issues that are of great concern to Christians, and I agree with him about that.
One of the greatest problems of our culture is the definition of words, especially when it comes to religion and ethics.
As I hear people speak concerning what it means to be a Christian it becomes readily apparent that there are big differences in what is meant by someone’s claim to be a Christian. Actually, the Bible speaks clearly as to what it means to be a Christ follower. One of my favorite verses for a clear definition of what it means to be a Christian is 1 John 5:1-5,
“Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” NASB 1995
Whether or not someone is a Christian has very little to do with walking an aisle, praying a particular prayer, or being baptized. These things have their place but ultimately It has everything to do with walking in faithfulness to the commands of God and seeking to know Him more fully every day through His word and Spirit. In Matthew 24:13 Jesus says, “But the one who endures to the end will be saved.”
It’s that in between time of our profession of faith and final breath that we walk out our lives as Christ followers. We will never succeed in doing so in our own strength. We need God’s word and the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit to do so. The proof of the reality of this relationship of love is felt as our love of Christ grows sweeter and more desirable as time goes on. There are always times of trials and failures, but ultimately the true Christian faithfully holds on to the word of God and its promises.
In order to walk in obedience to God’s word we need God’s help and the encouragement of others who are walking with Him. God has given us His word to follow, not to merely consider whether or not it suits our lifestyle, but to obey, model and teach others.
It is not unusual for political candidates to make claims to be a Christian, or to seek to align themselves with those who represent a large voting bloc. The truth comes out when we see the candidates at work after the election. This time we have the ability to look back and see how each candidate has already performed at a national and international level.
All of our scripture readings this morning point us to the basics of what it means to be a Christ follower, and what it looks like when we are. However, they also point us to what it looks like when we are not.
Today, our country finds itself coming apart at the seams because we have for the most part become a secular culture where many, if not most no longer believe there is any fixed moral code by which they should live. Today it is considered wisdom by many to instruct our children to “find your own truth” and “follow your own heart”. It reminds me of the Old Testament Book of Judges where the 450 years period between Joshua’ leading the children of Israel into the Promised Land and the coming of the prophet Samuel. Israel turned away from the Lord. It was an age of total moral chaos that led to terrible evil, bloody conflicts, and tales of great human suffering. The writer gives the reason for this in Judges 17:6 and 21:25, “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”
A few weeks ago Father Bart sent out a survey on what you believe concerning the teachings of the Bible. The results were encouraging in some ways and of concern in others.
Shane Morris a senior writer at BreakPoint, a program of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview wrote an article for “The Federalist” on October 10, 2016 entitled, “Survey Finds Most American Christians Are Actually Heretics”
A survey of 3,000 people conducted by LifeWay Research and commissioned by Ligonier Ministries found that although Americans still overwhelmingly identify as “Christian,” startling percentages of the nation embrace ancient errors condemned by all major Christian traditions. These are not minor points of doctrine, but core ideas that define Christianity itself.
Seven out of ten respondents in LifeWay’s survey affirmed the doctrine of the Trinity—that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three Persons but one God, and six in ten agreed that Jesus is both human and divine. Their orthodoxy—and consistency—ended there. More than half went on to indicate that Jesus is “the first and greatest being created by God,” a heresy known as Arianism, which the Council of Nicaea condemned in 325 A.D.”
“Seventy percent of participants—who ranged across socioeconomic and racial backgrounds—agreed there’s only one true God. Yet sixty-four percent also thought this God accepts the worship of all religions, including Christianity, Islam, Judaism and those that believe in many gods.”
A full 60 percent agreed that “everyone eventually goes to heaven,” but half of those surveyed also checked the box saying that “only those who believe in Jesus will be saved.” Why does it matter that we’ve become a nation of doctrinal dunces? What harm is there in flunking Christianity 101? Well, for Christians, the answer is obvious. If we really believe what we profess—that the incarnation, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the single most important fact of history and eternity—then we’d better improve our grade. Knowing who the God we claim to worship can no longer be a third priority if we want the world to take us seriously as his followers”.
We are in a war between light and darkness, good and evil, God and the devil. Throughout the world we read of Christian’s daily being persecuted and killed but so far it doesn’t seem to be happening here. Why? I believe that a major reason is that professing Christians have shown a willingness to compromise the truths of God’s word for the sake of unity. To be frank, for the most part the enemy doesn’t find many who claim to know Jesus Christ as a threat. I have been saddened by many of those who claim to know Christ who have concluded along with the left that abortion is a woman’s reproductive right and that the LGBTQ+ agenda should be embraced so that those caught up in that viewpoint might feel welcomed and accepted but not confronted. They say it in such a way that to disagree surely means that you aren’t showing the love of Christ but are being hateful. We came out of a denomination that decided that God’s word was no longer relevant and sadly other denominations have fallen for the same lie of the enemy. It should remind us of the enticement of the serpent when talking to Eve in the Garden of Eden, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” Adam and Eve’s sin was not that they ate of the forbidden fruit but that they questioned the reasonableness of the command of God. They decided they had the right to make the decision between what God commanded and what the serpent suggested. Eating the fruit was simply the outcome of their sin. That is a fatal mistake that humanity has made since our first parents.
To be a Christian is not merely concerned with recognizing that you are a sinner in need of a Savior but to acknowledge that apart from the saving work of Jesus Christ you have no hope. In turning to Christ we also commit to following God’s word and living for the glory of God as first priority. As I mentioned earlier, each of our scripture readings this morning point us to the simplicity of the offer of God to restore our relationship broken by sin but also reveals with clarity what the commitment looks like. Let’s briefly consider each reading.
In our passage from Deut. 30:15-19,
“See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you today, by loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess.”
Moses called for a decision and made it clear that this was not open to negotiations. Jehovah Elohim, the Lord their God was creator and ruler of all creation. All that they could see both around them and in the heavens belonged to the God who created it out of nothing, he simply spoke it into existence. The fact that this glorious, powerful, amazing and holy God would offer to love and bless such an obstinate, stiff-necked people should have been enough to guarantee their loving obedience. But, if not, they would not experience blessing but death. There was not a third option to consider. Take it or leave it. So they would not forget or later claim that no one told them, Moses wants them to know that God’s word here is final. Listen to verses 19 and 20,
“I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”
I think that is really quite clear and the choices are only two. Later, as Israel prepared to inhabit the land they had conquered under Joshua, he would give them the same command and conclude, “but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
Let me share with you another survey’s claim about the religious faith of the American population. On the Answers In Genesis website reporter Avery Foley posted this report.
“The American Culture and Faith Institute (ACFI) on May 2, 2017, conducted nationwide surveys of over 6,000 people to determine how many Americans have a biblical worldview—that is, how many Americans use the Bible as their filter for reality, to determine right from wrong, and to shape their beliefs, attitudes, and actions. Despite the growing number of religiously unaffiliated people, over 70% of Americans still claim to be Christians. Yet only 46% of US adults would say they have a biblical worldview. But do almost half of Americans really possess a biblical framework through which they view the world? But according to this study, one of the first of its kind, a mere 24 million American adults actually have a biblical worldview. In other words, less than 10% of Americans think and act according to the most basic biblical principles. This is a gap of a staggering 88 million people who believe they think biblically, but whose beliefs and actions do not match up with biblical truth.”
So if better than half of the US population consider themselves Christian, where do they get this identity? Clearly it is not from the word of God but is surely a deception of the enemy.
Right now many of our mainline denominations, who consider themselves Christian no longer believe the Bible is the word of God or has moral authority in their lives. They scan the Scriptures and decide what parts are culturally relevant and which parts if any still are. By in large these same groups would claim that Jesus is only one way to reach God and there are many ways. They believe that everyone will make it to heaven (accept maybe those who disagree with them).
This is why a knowledge of God’s word through personal reading, Bible studies and effective preaching matter. Hebrews 4:12 reminds that God’s word is living and active, cutting through and warning the deceitful heart to not be fooled concerning sin and the possibility of falling short of salvation. God’s word changes us and drives us to the Lord in repentance, then thanksgiving and praise. The Holy Spirit opens our hearts to receive the gift of life with Jesus. It also changes our desires and the intentions of our hearts.
In our Gospel reading from Luke 14:25-33 Jesus’ words must have seemed a contradiction considering other teachings of His. Listen to verse 26 again,
“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.”
Repeatedly in the Bible we see that Jesus founded a way of love, not hate. The word that Jesus uses for hate is miseō which is also translated as “detest”. Jesus used the strong word hate to show how great the difference must be between our allegiance to Him and our allegiance to everyone and everything else. Our love for him must be so ultimate that our love for others, and other things must be a definite lower priority than faithfulness and obedience to Jesus. None of the prophets or apostles asked for such personal commitment and devotion, but once they understood his true identity their hearts and minds would change.
The Emperor Napoleon Bonapart understood this principle when he said,
“I know men; and I tell you that Jesus Christ is no mere man. Between him and every other person in the world there is no possible term of comparison. Alexander [the Great], Caesar, Charlemagne, and I have founded empires. But on what did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ founded his empire upon love; and this hour millions of men would die for him.”
In case there was any doubt as to meaning of following Jesus, verse 27-28 clears that up,
“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?”
I’ve been a professing Christian for a long time, over 50 years but I’ve been a living and practicing Christian for the last 35 years. What caused the change in my relationship with Jesus Christ? Well, for one thing I grew tired of my hypocrisy and tendency to mess up my life and the lives of my family. For the last 35 years my relationship with Christ has changed from someone who went to church and read my Bible to someone who pursed the Lord and prayed that God would do whatever it took to make me the man of God that he wanted. I’m still in that place of asking God to change me and I will be until I die. This whole process that has been going on for the past 35 years has made me hunger for more of God and a deeper love for his word. Have I arrived? Absolutely not. But the difference is that I came to a deeper and clearer understanding of what God through his Son, Jesus Christ was offering me. It wasn’t a “Get out of Hell” free card but the promise of being with my Lord forever and ever, beholding him, living in the joy of his glory and majesty.
Our Psalm for this morning is Psalm 1 and this stands at the beginning of the Psalter as a gateway to the sanctuary. Actually, Psalm 1 and 2 serve as introductions to the Psalms and teach us how we should read the rest of the Psalter. Psalm 1 is a wisdom Psalm exhorting those who come to worship to have the right attitude towards the law of God before entering into intimate conversation with Him. Like the other scriptures that we have talked about this morning Psalm 1 makes it very clear that there are only two options here. The righteous love God’s law and they meditate upon it and saturate themselves with it. They do not seek the council of the ungodly or attempt to model their lives and thinking after those who do not love the law and the law giver. The wicked hate the law of God and ignore it. Those that are righteous keep covenant with and obey God because they love him, demonstrating that they are His. The wicked hate the law of God and willfully ignore it’s demands thereby demonstrating their contempt for both the word and the authority of God over their lives.
The Psalmist declares that the outcome for each is easy to identify. The righteous are “like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.” When the righteous follow the commands and instructions of God because they love Him and delight in His word, their fruit is evident. They seek to bear fruit that glorifies God and seek to build His kingdom. However the wicked do not resemble the righteous, “but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.”
We are living in a day where the distinction between God’s righteousness and men and women’s fleshly desires have become more evident. These are not times of compromise and seeking unity at all cost. That is a lie and terrible deception that we have fallen for at great cost. We should have learned by now that our enemy does not intend to compromise his goals which are to bring disunity in the midst of God’s people and take their eyes off of Jesus and His Holy Word.
We must be those who believe in the promise of Jesus in Matthew 6:33,
“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
This means that making God’s sovereign rule and our right relationship with Him our highest priority in life. Worry, and fear are inconsistent with these priorities, because they reveal that we are doubting the sovereignty and goodness of God. It distracts us and causes us to take our eyes off the truth that God will provide for all the needs of those who risk all for Him and it may come to that.
Finally, Jesus made it clear that the gate to life is narrow, they way is hard, and few will find it. Get used to that truth and get rid of the mentality that the majority rules. The 70% claim should have been seen as a deception of the enemy. Frankly, I wonder if even 10% will follow Him. If we follow Jesus faithfully, we will pay the price but the reward- is life with Jesus. Can you even imagine it?
Finally, how we vote matters but what do we do when neither candidate seems to honor God and his word? We consider their agendas and the agendas of their party, not what they say now while campaigning. The question now is what they have done or haven’t done in the past. With both of them we can do just that. This time we must vote for the candidate that most upholds the word of God in their policies. “Lord have mercy! Christ have mercy!”
Let’s Pray.
1 https://thefederalist.com/2016/10/10/survey-finds-american-christians-actually-heretics/ 2 Study Shows Only 10% of Americans Have a Biblical Worldview | Answers in Genesis 3 Pate, C. Marvin "Luke: Moody Gospel Commentary" (Chicago, Illinois: Moody Publishers, 1995)
