Luke 14:33 - Who's Lord of Your Life?
Luke 14:33; Who's Lord of Your Life?
Luke 14:33 (KJV) So likewise, whosoever he be of you that
forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.
Luke 14:33 (EAV) So then, any of you who does not forsake
(renounce, surrender claim to, give up, say good-bye to) all that he has
cannot be My disciple.
Without the absolute surrender of self, the contest is hopeless.
[Jamieson, Fausset, And Brown Commentary]
Complete renunciation of all claims to one's own life. [Wycliffe
Bible Commentary]
Sit down and count the cost; consider it will cost the
mortifying of sin, even the most beloved lusts. [Matthew Henry Commentary]
The only men and women He will use in His building enterprises
are those who love Him personally, passionately and devotedly beyond
any of the closest ties on earth. Oswald Chambers [My Utmost for His
Highest]
He desired to make it clear that only those willing to give up
everything to enter the kingdom would find a place at God's table.
Following Jesus had to have priority over all other relationships [New
Bible Companion]
The Greek word here is apotassetai. It means "say farewell" when
used of a person or "renounce" when applied to things. Note that
Jesus does not say "sell" or "give away" but renounce. His point is
that as disciples of Jesus, we surrender to Him the title deed to all
we possess. From now on we live as those conscious that we are
stewards of our Lord, and that all we have belongs ultimately to Him.
[Victor Bible Background Commentary]
Be ready for a loyalty which would sacrifice the dearest things
in life and for a suffering which would be like the agony of a man
upon a cross. [Barclay Commentary]
Submission to Christ's lordship is central in Christianity.
Jesus' audience was well aware of what it meant to carry one's own
cross. When the Romans led a criminal to his execution site, he was
forced to carry the cross on which he would die. This showed his
submission to Rome and warned observers that they had better submit too.
Jesus spoke this teaching to get the crowds to think through their
enthusiasm for him. He encouraged those who were superficial either to go
deeper or to turn back. Following Christ means total submission to
him--perhaps even to the point of death. [Life Application SB]
It is easy to be in the crowd but not so easy to carry the
cross. [Wiersbe Expository Outlines]
The cost, Jesus warned, is complete surrender to him. [NIV SB]
Consider carefully the cost of full commitment to Christ in a
life of service. the believer should be willing to sacrifice all.
[Ryrie SB]
Discipleship is a full-time job placed before all other
priorities and responsibilities. Christian disciples are devoted, obedient
followers of Christ. Nothing comes before Christ in the life of a
disciple. Disciples voluntarily accept Christ as Master and His teachings
as commands. Only one question determines if you are a disciple:
Have you in faith given up everything for Christ? Being a
disciple is a call to total involvement in the work of Christ. To decide
to follow Christ with no intention to be involved in His work is as
foolish as to decide to build a building without getting a cost
estimate. [Disciple SB]
Discipleship involves the complete placing on the altar of all
that a man has in this life--plans, ambitions, friends, relatives,
possessions, riches--anything and everything that might interfere with service
for the kingdom of heaven. [SDA Commentary]
Putting Christ first in all things takes practice and
persistence. Day after day we learn to follow him. [Inspirational SB]
Jesus told a story to those who were too busy with their games
and personal concerns to respond to the feast of life God has
prepared. In Jesus' story the invitation had been extended (v. 16). Many
had been invited, even the game players, whose emptiness Jesus has
exposed. Jesus came to save us all, even the most sinful. Yet in Jesus'
story the invited guests began to make excuses. Each was simply too
busy with profit and pleasures.
Whatever the excuse, saying no to the divine invitation remains
rejection. A person who fails to respond to Jesus' invitation to life has
rejected Him. Salvation is a yes or no issue, with no room for maybe.
Tragically, people of every age judge themselves too busy or too
involved in their games to respond. But this will not keep God's house
from being filled. The Gospel invitation goes out to the whole world,
and all who will receive it will be welcomed. For those who will
not, the doors will remain closed and they will be excluded from
Christ's great welcoming feast. We must reject every little game
people play for personal advantage. [Victor Teacher's Commentary]
It is possible to be a follower of Jesus without being a
disciple; to be a camp-follower without being a soldier of the king; to be
a hanger-on in some great work without pulling one's weight. Once
someone was talking to a great scholar about a younger man. He said, "So
and so tells me that he was one of your students." The teacher
answered devastatingly, "He may have attended my lectures, but he was not
one of my students." It is one of the supreme handicaps of the
church that in it there are so many distant followers of Jesus and so
few real disciples. [Barclay Commentary]
When Christ said time after time that one must "deny himself and
take up his cross and follow me" He was indicating that it is not
easy to be His true follower. The apostle Paul warned, "Everyone who
wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted" (2
Timothy 3:12). He offers no cheap grace, no easy life. As someone has
said, "Salvation is free but not cheap...."
The Christian faith brings its own "blood, sweat and tears" to
those who would follow Jesus Christ. Christ calls us to discipleship.
When we come to Him, He takes away one set of burdens - the burden of
sin, the burden of guilt, the burden of separation from God, the
burden of hopelessness. But He also calls upon us to "Take my yoke upon
you and learn from me" (Matthew 11:29). It is not a yoke that is too
heavy for us to bear, for Christ bears it with us: "For my yoke is
easy and my burden is light" (Matthew 11:30). Nevertheless, Christ
calls us to follow Him, regardless of the cost, and He has never
promised that our path will always be smooth....
But in the midst of the suffering, trials and temptations, He
will provide His peace, joy and fellowship In the midst of every
situation of life He can give an inner calm and strength that you could
never imagine apart from Him. Billy Graham [Time With God SB]
In giving ourselves to God, we must necessarily give up all that
would separate us from Him. Hence the Saviour says, "Whosoever he be
of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be My
disciple." Luke 14:33. Whatever shall draw away the heart from God must be
given up. Mammon is the idol of many. The love of money, the desire
for wealth, is the golden chain that binds them to Satan. Reputation
and worldly honor are worshiped by another class. The life of
selfish ease and freedom from responsibility is the idol of others. But
these slavish bands must be broken. We cannot be half the Lord's and
half the world's. We are not God's children unless we are such
entirely.
There are those who profess to serve God, while they rely upon
their own efforts to obey His law, to form a right character, and
secure salvation. Their hearts are not moved by any deep sense of the
love of Christ, but they seek to perform the duties of the Christian
life as that which God requires of them in order to gain heaven. Such
religion is worth nothing. When Christ dwells in the heart, the soul will
be so filled with His love, with the joy of communion with Him,
that it will cleave to Him; and in the contemplation of Him, self
will be forgotten. Love to Christ will be the spring of action. Those
who feel the constraining love of God, do not ask how little may be
given to meet the requirements of God; they do not ask for the lowest
standard, but aim at perfect conformity to the will of their Redeemer.
With earnest desire they yield all and manifest an interest
proportionate to the value of the object which they seek. A profession of
Christ without this deep love is mere talk, dry formality, and heavy
drudgery. SC44,5
Discipleship means personal, passionate devotion to a Person,
Our Lord Jesus Christ. There is a difference between devotion to a
Person and devotion to principles or to a cause. Our Lord never
proclaimed a cause; He proclaimed personal devotion to Himself. To be a
disciple is to be a devoted love-slave of the Lord Jesus. Many of us who
call ourselves Christians are not devoted to Jesus Christ. No man on
earth has this passionate love to the Lord Jesus unless the Holy Ghost
has imparted it to him. We may admire Him, we may respect Him and
reverence Him, but we cannot love Him. The only Lover of the Lord Jesus is
the Holy Ghost, and He sheds abroad the very love of God in our
hearts. Whenever the Holy Ghost sees a chance of glorifying Jesus, He
will take your heart, your nerves, your whole personality, and simply
make you blaze and glow with devotion to Jesus Christ. Oswald
Chambers [My Utmost for His Highest]
If a man is daunted by the high demands of Christ let him
remember that he is not left to fulfil them alone. He who called him to
the steep road will walk with him every step of the way and be there
at the end to meet him. [Barclay Commentary]
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