Resolved to Follow Christ, Whatever the Cost

The New Year comes with desires and aspirations for change--a change in diet, a change in habits, or a change in schedule. Especially in Western Culture, we use the New Year to make resolutions to be a better us than we were the year before. Christians, likewise, are people who make resolutions. Our primary resolution has already been laid out before us: follow Christ. Furthermore, we have been promised a certain kind of change if we follow this resolution: we will be made more like Christ. Those who follow Christ fully, loving him with all of their hearts, souls, minds, and strength, come to the end of a year as changed people. Sanctification, the change of a person into Christlikeness by the working of the Holy Spirit, happens when a person decides to make the regular mundane choice of following Jesus one day at a time.

But, following Jesus, like any other resolution, isn't necessarily easy. It requires sacrifice and discipline. A man who resolves to lose weight will sacrifice eating chips and cookies every day and will pursue the discipline of running on the treadmill. Likewise, a woman who wants to travel more will sacrifice spending money on knick-knacks in the dollar section at Target and will discipline herself to save money. A Christian who follows Christ resolutely will inevitably face sacrifice and need discipline.

What is a Christian called to sacrifice in following after Christ? Time and again, the New Testament reminds the believer of the one thing that must lay itself upon the altar of living a life for Jesus: you. After all, what does Christ say to those following after him? "If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me" (Matt. 16:24). Self-denial and cross-carrying is the day-to-day act of abdicating the throne of your heart and living in full submission to Christ as King over your life. It is the recognition that he is the one who deserves all praise and worship. Self-denial means presenting your body as a living sacrifice to God (Rom. 12:1). Following Christ means living a life with hands wide open, counting all things compared to the surpassing worth of knowing Christ (Phil. 3:8).

The sacrifice of self in the Christian life looks different for each believer. For Peter and Paul, sacrifice meant being imprisoned and executed. For John, sacrifice meant being exiled and dying of old age. For some, it may look like losing family, friends, and job offers because you're a Christian. For others, it may look like being deemed "weird" or "uncool." for not partaking in certain activities with unbelievers. For many, sacrifice as a Christian may just mean the giving of our own resources to advance the work of the Gospel. Some face uncertainty about where they might live for being Christian. Others face uncertainty about whether or not they will live as Christians. In all things, a follower of Christ is willing to suffer loss because he has already counted all things as loss for the sake of knowing Christ.

In following Christ, we are called to sacrifice. In doing so, we need discipline. I would say there is no one else in all of Scripture that exemplifies discipline like the Apostle Paul. Even before his conversion, this man was one of discipline, studying under Gamaliel and as a Pharisee. Of course, Paul would never say that his work of discipline saved him (Eph. 2:8-9). Still, the Apostle never holds back in calling his readers to live out who they are as "God's workmanship in Christ Jesus, created for good works" (Eph. 2:10). For Paul, he knew that he needed to "beat his body and make it his slave so that, after preaching to other he may not disqualify himself" (1Cor. 9:27). Christianity is an active and disciplined religion in which disciples are called to work out their salvation in fear and trembling (Phil. 2:12) and to do their best to show themselves approved before God, rightly handling the word of truth (2 Tim. 2:15). Following Christ is an active work that demands discipline.

Failing to keep to the resolution of eating healthy comes with the consequence of being unhealthy and overweight. Like any resolution, following Christ comes with the consequences of not doing so. What happens when someone does not embrace the self-sacrifice and discipline of the Christian life? Peter gives us a glimpse when he calls his readers to be sober-minded and vigilant since the "devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, seeking whomever he may devour" (1 Pet. 5:8). Perhaps you know someone who, for lack of discipline in their Christian walk and for not keeping vigilant, has been spiritually mauled. Even as I write this, I'm reminded of Paul's words to church leaders "Keep watch on yourself and your teaching. Persist in this, for by doing this you will save both yourself and your hearers" (1 Tim. 4:16).

In order to motivate us to embrace the self-sacrifice and discipline of following after Christ, we must remind ourselves of the reward that will come of it. An athlete sacrifices and disciplines himself so that he may receive his reward. Likewise, we as Christians press on to receive our reward, which is to gain Christ, experiencing him now in regular communion with his Spirit and seeing him face-to-face when he bears us home. We press on to the upward call of God, to the adoption of our bodies, to fully knowing as we are fully known.