17 Jan 13: The Cost of Following Jesus and/ Slaves to Righteousness

**Read Matthew 8:18-22 and Romans 6:15-23

I. The Cost of Following Jesus

- Matthew 8:18-22 is a passage about what it really means to follow Jesus Christ.  Following Christ is not easy.  It's not just going to church, giving tithes, reading the bible, praying all the time or being nice.  Being Christian is a full devotion and complete surrender to follow Jesus and His ways. And when I said complete surrender, this is a command to leave everything behind. Remember in Matthew 4:18-22, Jesus called four fishermen : Andrew, Peter, James, John to leave their nets, and follow him. They did not hesitate and instantly left their livelihood and their families behind to be His disciples.

- The scribe who told Jesus that he'll follow Him where He goes was discouraged after learning that he'll lose all the luxuries of his life if he did follow Jesus.  Not knowing where he'll sleep or what food to eat scared him away.  He knew that Jesus was the messiah but he because the scribe didn't know the real purpose of Christ in the world, he thought that Jesus will soon be the king and rule over Israel.  He thought that Jesus will get all the riches or treasures in this world associated to a King.  So when Jesus said that he does not even have a home, the scribe backed down from the offer and showed that he was not ready to leave his good life, his nice home, great food, and all the other comforts that he has.   By following Jesus, we might have to give away our money, cars, houses, and other comforts in life.  But we should not be alarmed, for these are all material things that will go away and turn back to ashes but the treasures that we store in heaven are eternal.

- In verses 21-22, one of the disciples asked Jesus if he can take some time off so he can bury his father but Jesus replied, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead".  Some might think that this was a harsh response, but remember that this person was supposed to be already a disciple.  He might not be one of the twelve but nonetheless, he had already committed to follow Jesus and his ministry.  When he accepted the calling, he probably didn't know that following Jesus involves leaving everything, even his family, behind.  He didn't realize that following Jesus means loving Jesus more than his father, mother, siblings, and wife and children if he had them.

- This is very important because sometimes we finally make the decision to follow Jesus but when a time comes that it starts interfering with our daily routines, we tend to go on a different route and go back to our old ways.  By following Jesus we would need to give up our vices (partying, getting drunk, immorality), our riches, our friends, and maybe our families.  How many have given up their desire to follow Jesus because of fear of friends making fun and laughing at you.  How many have put their faith aside because of fear of rejection of their own family member, and fear of what your mother or father will say if you become a Christian.  Remember that our salvation is a personal choice and the gates to heaven is very narrow.  We can only depend on our decision if we want to enter the Kingdom of God.

- We need to make a decision now.  Are we supposed to hide our faith from our friends and families so we can please them or "not hurt them", or are we supposed to follow our faith in Jesus because this is what God wants us to do to gain righteousness.  This is your decision to make, to live with the world and suffer death or live with God, and gain eternity.

II. Slaves to Righteousness
- In Romans 6:15-23, Paul reminded us that we are now under the grace of God and not under law.  But even though we are no longer under law, this does not mean that we can keep commuting sin.  By committing sin, we would be then be slaves of sin, and we all know that sin leads to destruction and death.  Therefore, instead of death, we should be slaves of righteousness, be slaves of God so we can gain eternal life.  When we used to be under the Law, we followed the Law because basically, it is the Law and you will get punished if you do not obey it.  But now that we are born again of the spirit, our hearts have been changed to obey God's commands not because we will be punished, but because we love Him and we have devoted our lives to Him.  In verse 19, Paul acknowledged that we are weak and not perfect and will sin again.   Temptations are everywhere, haunting us at all times, but as Christians, we cannot live as if we are still under the power of sin.  We need to change our old habits, give up drunkenness, sexual immoralities, and lawlessness and instead live the life of righteousness so we can inherit the Kingdom of God.

III. Proverbs for Today

21 My son, let them not depart from your eyes—
Keep sound wisdom and discretion;
22 So they will be life to your soul
And grace to your neck.
23 Then you will walk safely in your way,
And your foot will not stumble.
24 When you lie down, you will not be afraid;
Yes, you will lie down and your sleep will be sweet.
25 Do not be afraid of sudden terror,
Nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes;
26 For the LORD will be your confidence,
And will keep your foot from being caught.

IV. Old Testament Reading
Genesis 35-36 and Psalms 15:1-5

Prayer:  Father God, we pray to you today as members of your family.  Father, we know that it is hard to follow Jesus and you require us to give up all the earthly things behind so we pray that you give us the strength and the power over sin and temptation.  We pray that you give us guidance so we can give up our old habits(the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and pride) and continue to live the life of righteousness for we know that if we continue with sin, we will have death, but if we live with righteousness, we will have eternal life. In Jesus' name, we pray.  Amen.