Evangelism Day 3 - Help Others Count The Cost of Following Jesus

Recall from Lesson 2 that the whole gospel message includes at least four aspects: God, Sin, Christ, and Repentance. On the heels of this four-point gospel message, Packer instructs Christians to teach non-believers regarding the cost of following Christ before demanding an uninformed response. This indicates that the “whole gospel” message includes “counting the cost” of being Christ’s disciple. Packer appeals to the evangelist in this matter saying, “In common honesty, we must not conceal the fact that free forgiveness, in one sense will cost everything; or else our evangelizing becomes a sort of confidence trick” (page 73). 

Jesus, knowing that those who would become his disciples would forfeit their will to his, helped people count the cost of being his follower,

“And he said to all, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it’” (Luke 9:23-24). 

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26).

The call to faith and repentance is a call to put everything and everyone decidedly second behind the Lord and Savior, Jesus. “Everything” includes desires, impulses, aspirations, dreams, and priorities that do not align with God’s sovereign plan and holy commands that reside over one’s life. The pursuit of possessions and notoriety must die in the pursuit of holiness through obedience. “Everyone” includes self, family, friends, etc. When sin is put to death, it leaves old, sinful habits, hobbies, and relationships in its wake; it often puts lifelong dreams on a permanent hiatus.

Among the cost will be strained relationships for the new believer. When a person comes to Christ as Lord, the change within them is so fresh and exciting that they want their entire circle of influence to know the deep, saving love of God. They will share their conversion with lifelong friends and family members. Hopefully, God will save these people. Some may remain unchanged. Those who remain unchanged will expect the new believer to continue doing the same old things, the same old way, at the same old places as if nothing ever happened to the believer. The new believer, somewhat naive, will not desire to sever old relationships so they may keep an evangelistic door open to their old companions. Perhaps, the new believer will sear their conscience momentarily and participate in their old ways with their old friends, but they will not find the same satisfaction in their indulgences or closeness with their accomplices as they did before their conversion. The Spirit will convict and the believer will find themselves at an impasse: God or man? At this time, the new believer must confess to their lifelong friend or family member that their desire to please God is greater than their desire to participate in their old lifestyle. Thus, the relationship is manifestly strained (it was strained at the moment of conversion, but the sense of this strain remained within the believer as they pondered how they could simultaneously please God and maintain their old friendships). Unless the other person comes to Christ as Savior, the closeness in the relationship will be forever changed, because the objects of desire that formed the bond between the two friends are no longer the affections of the believer’s heart; as the love for the old common bond fades, so does the strength and unity of the old friendship. This scenario is common among new converts, nearly universal. It would be appropriate for the evangelist to prepare the believer for these types of losses.

Helping others count the cost in evangelism is simply an act of sharing the whole truth. One ought not to withhold the radical changes,  difficulties, and sacrifices of becoming a Christ-follower to anyone, for it is dishonest and deceitful to share only of the life gained at salvation without sharing of the death wrought at salvation. Our motive in helping others count the cost should be Jesus’ motive in helping others count the cost. “He did not desire to make disciples under false pretenses. He had no interest in gathering vast crowds of professed adherents who would melt away as soon as they found out what following him actually demanded from them. In our own presentation of Christ’s gospel, therefore, we need to lay a similar stress on the cost of following Christ, and make sinners face it soberly before we urge them to respond to the message of free forgiveness” (page 73).

Counting the cost does not merely require the evangelist to discuss the “losses” at salvation, but the additions, as well. Upon conversion, the believer receives the blessings of justification, sanctification, and adoption. They will be put on the path to glorification to dwell with the Most High for all of eternity where joy and peace and worship endure! They will experience sweet fellowship with Jesus and like-minded believers. They will possess a new heart, a new spirit, and a new mind that will embrace new aspirations of using new gifts for the glorification of God and the edification of his body. When helping a person count the cost, the evangelist should put just as much stress on counting what is to be gained in the new believer’s life as to what will be lost.

In the penultimate lesson from J.I. Packer’s Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God, we will discuss the evangelistic benefit of continued relationships in a lesson titled, “Friendship is the prime grounds for evangelism.” This will be a nice balance to today’s lesson that taught of the cost of some friendships at salvation.