Christian, were you told to count the cost?

Do you wonder why I ask that question? Please let me explain. If you are a Christian then something happened to make you one. Jesus said “You must be born again”ESV. He also said you must be converted. “Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.”KJV

If you ask people how they were converted, born again or saved many will say they prayed a prayer. I can relate to that because I myself have prayed a prayer more than once. I have also told people to pray a prayer. Praying a prayer seems right, but was it right?

^“There is a way which seems right unto a man, but the end of it are the ways of death.” ESV

Jesus never gave us a specific salvation prayer to pray. Are you trusting in a prayer to save you? If you meant it with all your heart, is God obligated to save you? The prayer you prayed, can you find it in the Bible?

Here is something you can find in the Bible. Jesus tells a story and he implies by His story that we should count the cost of being a 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 ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is 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.” ESV

Do you think this passage does not apply to you? Are you thinking ‘I am not building a tower, I am not a king going to war. Do you think you are not ready to be a disciple but just want to be forgiven and not go to hell?

Where in the Bible did Jesus or His messengers offer that kind of a deal? I know many preachers offer it but God is not obligated to keep their promises. Jesus talked about being disciples, following, being unprofitable servants or slaves. He also called them friends and they new that He loved them but they called Him “Master”or Lord.

Jesus makes a bold statement; “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?” ESV

Did a preacher say to you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and You will be saved? When you prayed a salvation prayer, was that believing on the Lord Jesus Christ? I hope it was! If it was then you will do the things Jesus said. If you are not doing what Jesus said or if you are not even finding out what He said then it is likely you are not a disciple. If you are not a disciple Jesus does not know you. Listen to what He says;

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes. ESV

If you call Jesus Lord but do not do what He says He will call you a worker of lawlessness and tell you to leave. If you leave on that day, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven but be cast into outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!

Many people think that this kind of talk is judgmental. ‘Judge not lest you be judged- that’s in the Bible isn’t it’. Yes it is, let’s look at it;

37 “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.” ESV

(I am personally judged by Jesus words and I deserve to be condemned.)

“For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. ESV

It should be obvious from what Jesus said here that ‘judge not’ doesn’t mean you can’t know if a person’s actions or words are evil. If our words are evil than our heart is evil.

“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.” ESV

Jesus said that if you don’t hear and do what he says you are like a house that falls apart because it is not built right.

Let me sum it up. If you think that Jesus has saved you from Hell but you don’t care about what He says you must do, you are deceived! Please get a Bible and read what it says. Please find a church that will teach you the Bible. Read it for yourself and see if it says what they are telling you. Find out what the Bible says about Jesus’ death and resurrection. I have quoted for you some of the hard things Jesus said. Jesus also said, “ Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” ESV

I plead with you come to Jesus, but you must come on His terms.

“ He that has ears to hear, let him hear.” ESV

If you care about what Jesus says, I would like to tell you about the sure hope you can have because Jesus died and became alive again and went back to heaven. I may have confused you. If you would like to discuss or critique what I have said you can leave a comment.

If you are wondering who put together this paper my name is Daniel. I am a factory worker not a professional religious leader. If you disagree with my words, you might have good reason. I would be happy to listen to constructive criticism.

We will all be judged by the scripture I have quoted. If you disagree with the scripture, God’s word will stand, your opinion will not. Please read it for yourself. Check and see if I have applied it correctly. The message of the Bible is the most important thing you can consider in this life. Jesus taught that the way that leads to destruction is wide. He was talking about Hell or eternal destruction. Some will be found in Christ and will escape hell. I believe that is true and that is one reason I wrote these things. I believe that I personally deserve to go to hell and suffer forever for my sins.

I have been forgiven and I wish that you would come to Christ and be forgiven too.

I would rather talk to people face to face about these things but people are busy these days. It’s hard to find people when they have time to talk.

Scripture Ref; John 3:7, Matthew 18:3, Proverbs 14:12, Luke14:28-35, Luke 6:46, Matthew 7:21-29, Luke 6:37-38, Luke 6 43-45, Luke 6:46-49, Matthew 11:28, Luke 14:35 Matthew 7:14

Scripture quotations marked ESV are from The Holy Bible English Standard Version R, © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers