Mark 8:34-38 The Cost of Discipleship
Gospel of Mark • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 78 viewsJesus followers must be prepared to die to self; to take up His cross.
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Knew He was going to the cross to finish His work - prepared His disciples
Joel and Mary Nadel, Forestgate Church
Joel and Mary Nadel, Forestgate Church
From J.C. Ryle’s “Expository Comments on the Gospels - Mark”
From J.C. Ryle’s “Expository Comments on the Gospels - Mark”
House Rules: Phones, Respect, Stay on the Text
House Rules: Phones, Respect, Stay on the Text
And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? “For what will a man give in exchange for his soul? “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”
Prayer
Jesus’ Ministry Travels
Jesus’ Ministry Travels
It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;
Introduction
Introduction
Mark is one of the Gospels - it tells us how we can be reconciled to God and gain eternal life
Preceded by John, Jesus came from Galilee
John got the people’s attention
Jesus began his ministry
Signs and wonders demonstrated His lessons
Jesus was alienating Israel’s religious and political leadership - they were plotting to kill Him
Knew He was going to the cross to finish His work - prepared His disciples
Last week: A most important event. A turning point in Jesus mission -
Peter confesses Jesus as Christ
Jesus focuses on His mission to Jerusalem - He teaches that He must be rejected, tried, and crucified
This week:
We are not simply expected to believe in Him, but to follow Him as well.
Jesus teaches the cost of discipleship - following Him
The cross means execution to the first century Jew
A life of discipleship will not be easy
These truths are important to all Christians, especially today
The necessity of denying yourself
The necessity of denying yourself
Not a popular saying in the world today
If we are to be Christ’s disciples and be saved, we must deny ourselves and follow Him
Mark 8:34 “And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”
Salvation is all of God’s grace - offered freely in the Gospel
Eph.2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
All who become saved must prove their faith by carrying the cross after Christ
Can’t enter heaven without trouble, pain, suffering, conflict on earth
Must take up the cross of
doctrine
practice
holding a faith the world hates
living a life that people criticize as being too strict and being too (self-)righteous
Must crucify the flesh, overcome sin, fight the devil daily, be separate from the world, and lose their lives, if necessary for Christ’s sake
These are hard saying - telling it like it is
They are clear and unmistakeable
If we don’t carry the cross, we won’t wear the crown in heaven
We should not avoid service to Christ for fear of the cross. The cross is worth it.
Was anyone here ever afraid to turn to Christ for fear of the cross?
Jesus will give us grace/strength to bear the cross.
Phil. 4:13 “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”
Thousands have carried it before us - found the burden easy - the yoke light
No good thing on earth comes without trouble
We must expect trouble before we enter the kingdom of heaven. Acts 14:22 …“Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.””
The cross is only for a few years, then glory for ever
Does our Christianity cost us anything?
Does our Christianity cost us anything?
Does it entail sacrifice?
Is there a cross? Are we under a burden?
If not, we might tremble and be afraid, a religion that costs nothing is worth nothing
No cross no life - no life eternal
For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?
The Unspeakable Value of the Soul
The Unspeakable Value of the Soul
These words are meant to encourage us to take up the cross
We need to remember this each morning when we get out of bed and each night, when we go to bed
These words need to be engraved in our memories and never erased by the devil or the world
We all have souls that will live forever
We all carry something that will live on after our bodies go to the grave
The body is expendable, the soul is immortal and durable
The Christian life on earth is a throw-away life - Sproul
Our immortal souls are priceless
Our souls will give account to God
It is an awful thought for us, when we think about how little attention we give to anything except the world around us, but it is true
Anyone can lose his soul - he cannot save it - only Christ can do that
May murder it by loving sin
poison it by choosing a religion of lies
may starve it by neglecting the means of grace, refusing to receive the Gospel
Many ways lead to hell
Whichever way we go, we are accountable
As weak and corrupt as we are, we still have the mighty power of destroying or losing our own soul
The whole world cannot make up for the loss of a soul
All the treasures the world has cannot compensate for eternal ruin
Those treasures wouldn’t satisfy us anyway, might make us happy for a while, but we can’t take them with us.
Plus they are temporary
Worst deal you can make, to give up your salvation for the sake of the present world - Discuss
Let these sayings sink deep into our hearts
Words are inadequate
Remember them when we are tempted and the soul seems a small thing and the world seems bright and great
Remember them in suffering and persecution, when we are afraid of men and thinking to forsake Christ
Mark 8:36 “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?”
“For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”
The danger of being ashamed of Christ
The danger of being ashamed of Christ
When can it be said that we are ashamed of Christ?
When we are ashamed to let people see that we believe and love the teaching of Christ - that we desire to live by His commandment - that we want to be known as Christians
Christ’s doctrine, laws, people are never popular, never will be
If you proclaim your love for Christ, you will surely be mocked and persecuted
Whoever is afraid to confess Christ, for fear of mocking and persecution, is ashamed of Christ - IAW this passage
This is a condemning passage
Fear of man is a “snare” or trap
Many will face all kinds of dangers if duty calls, but are ashamed of being called “religious” - would not dare to state they would prefer to please Christ rather than man
Ridicule is powerful and it keeps men in slavery to the world and out of heaven
Let us pray for the faith and courage to proclaim Christ before men and women
We need to be ashamed of sin, worldliness and unbelief, not our faith
Never be ashamed of the One who died on the cross for us
In spite of the laughter, the mockery, the bad language, we need to boldly state that we serve Christ
Let’s look forward to His second coming. Remember: better a thousand times confess Christ now and be hated by men, than to be disowned by Christ before His father in the day of judgment
Prayers
Prayers
Questions
Questions