Nottheworld
09-03-2007, 02:23 PM
Salvation of the Soul - Its Means: the Cross
He that findeth his life shall lose it; and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. (Matt. 10.39) Let us continue with our study of the salvation of the soul. "Think not that I came to send peace on the earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword" (Matt. 10.34). Why does the Lord speak in this way? Because everybody thinks that He comes to send peace to the earth. To correct such a concept, He tells His listeners plainly that He does not come to send peace but a sword. Later on we shall see that the peace mentioned here does not refer to the matter of peace and no war among nations in the world; rather, it alludes to certain situations and relationships in one’s family.
"I came not to send peace, but a sword"—What does this word mean? By the sword here the Lord does not have in mind a weapon used in warfare or on the battlefield. He simply states that He comes to give a sword to the earth. Did not Simeon say to Mary shortly after Jesus’ birth, "Yea and a sword shall pierce through thine own soul" (Luke 2.35)? And such a meaning in the use of the word sword is what is meant here in Matthew 10. It signifies that all along the way in a person’s life he may not sail through smoothly, but on the contrary he will be troubled as though a sword were piercing through his soul. Hence what the Lord is attempting to say is that He comes not to make us enjoy but to have us wounded.
"For I came to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law" (Matt. 10.35). This verse begins with the conjunctive word "for"—indicating that the words to follow are to explain the "sword on earth" mentioned in the preceding verse. Naturally speaking, the relationship between a father and a son is generally considered to be most congenial, but now such relationship will be marked by alienation. The daughter shall be alienated from the mother, the daughter-in-law shall be alienated from the mother-in-law, and so forth.
"And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household" (v.36). Having a foe is to have bitterness. Those of your own household whom you love will turn their faces against you, thus wounding your heart. There will now be hostility and bitterness in your home.
"He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me" (v.37). Twice in this verse are the words "not worthy" spoken by Jesus. Have you ever wondered why you must love the Lord more than your own father or mother or children? If in the world you love one person more than the Lord, you are not able to be His disciple. To be a disciple of Christ you must love the Lord wholly. This is a condition for being His disciple. It is quite impossible for you to love the Lord and another person equally at the same time.
"And he that doth not take his cross and follow after me, is not worthy of me" (v.38). This verse sums up what has been said before—this is a cross! What is meant by taking the cross? The Lord has not said that he who does not take up his burden and follow after Him is not worthy of Him. No, He says that whoever does not take his cross and follow after Him is not worthy of Him. A burden is not a cross. Burden is something inescapable; the cross, however, is subject to personal choice and can therefore be avoided.
What the first cross in history was, so the countless smaller crosses will be which shall follow afterwards: just as the original cross was chosen by the Lord, so the crosses for today must also be chosen by us.
Some people assume that they are bearing the cross whenever they fall into some hardship or encounter some distress. This is not true, however, for these kinds of things may quite naturally happen to any person even if that person is not a believer. All the crosses one takes up must be chosen by oneself. Yet a person needs to guard himself against an error here, which is, that he must not create crosses for himself. We should take the cross, not make it.
It is therefore a great mistake to consider all which befalls us as constituting crosses for us to take. Whatever crosses we ourselves have created are not to be reckoned as crosses to take.
What then is a cross? It must be akin to what the Lord Jesus himself has said: "My Father. . . thy will be done" (Matt. 26.42). The Lord asks His Father not to answer as He the Son wills, but as the Father wills. This is the cross. To take the cross is to choose the will which the Father has decided. May I say truthfully that if we do not choose the cross daily, we have no cross to take up. If the Lord had waited until the cross had come to Him on the earth, how would it have been possible for Him to have been the Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world? For had He not chosen the cross in heaven when He there and then "emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of man"? "And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient even unto death, yea, the death of the cross" (Phil. 2.7-8). Our Lord truly chose the cross. "No one taketh it [my life] away from me," said Jesus, "but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again" (John 10.18). In accordance with the same principle, our cross must be something which we ourselves choose.
In the areas of our clothing, food, and dwelling place we too have our choice. We may choose what to wear, what to eat, and how to dwell. The degree to which we seek these things should only be to the extent of our natural needs in these areas. If we seek to satisfy our lusts with these things, we are not taking up the cross. We may not prescribe who should wear what kind of clothes, eat what sort of food, or live in what type of house; but whoever wishes to derive ultimate satisfaction from these things does not take up the cross. No one dares to tell you what you should have or what you should not have. On the contrary, it is for you to ask yourself if your soul extracts enjoyment and satisfaction from these things.
Anything which supplies your need is permitted by God. Clothing, food, and shelter are all legitimate. In the Old Testament we can see how God provided these things for the children of Israel. Yet He never intended to have His children fully occupied with these matters. If we look for absolute enjoyment in these areas we are not taking the cross.
How often people are clothed not for protecting the body and are eating not for satisfying their hunger but rather for the sake of pure enjoyment. All natural requirements should be supplied; but the lustful demands of the flesh ought not be met. Nothing should be in excess.
Does God really intervene in the clothing, eating, dwelling, and traveling of man? Indeed He does. And such intervention constitutes the cross. Let us illustrate this matter: When Adam was in the Garden of Eden, all his necessary provisions were duly supplied. He could eat the fruits of all the trees except the fruit of one tree which was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Now were he to eat of this tree because its forbidden fruit was good for food and a delight to the eyes but not because it would fill his natural need, this would and did become a "lust" for him. What God allows is restricted to natural requirement; anything in excess of this is improper concerning the things of the world such as clothing, food, and shelter; and hence we should only seek for the supply of needs and not the gratification of lusts! We must take the will of God as the absolute rule on these things. Otherwise, we may follow the self-will of the flesh in either indulging ourselves to the full or else ill-treating our bodies as though we were holier than others. We need to see that neither extreme is God-approved in His word: that He has neither told us that we are to enjoy wantonly the things of this world nor declared that ascetic ill-treatment of the body has any value against the indulgence of the flesh (on the contrary, compare 1 John 2.14-15 and Col. 2.23).
"He that findeth his life [soul] shall lose it; and he that loseth his life [soul] for my sake shall find it" (Matt. 10.39). This verse concludes the Matthew 10 passage we have been discussing. What then is meant by taking the cross? It means for a person to lose his soul life for the sake of Christ, to be wounded in heart for Christ’s sake and suffer anguish and sorrow—and all this is a losing of the soul. Some people refuse to suffer or to discipline their emotional desires; and thus in allowing their souls to enjoy excessively, they eventually will lose their souls. Losing the soul for the sake of the Lord is not letting one’s soul be gratified in its lustful demands and delights. If for the sake of Christ we give up seeking what we naturally like most, this will be reckoned as losing the soul for His sake.
Let us recognize that the meaning of the gaining of the soul today applies equally to the gaining of the soul in the future; and the meaning of the losing of the soul now is the same as the losing of the soul then. Their meanings must remain the same. In other words, to lose the soul for the Lord’s sake denotes the refusal to allow the soul to be gratified and pleased today, and to lose the soul in the future signifies the denial to the soul of satisfaction and enjoyment in the kingdom. When that day shall come, that is to say, when the kingdom shall arrive, some people will have their souls fulfilled while others will have their souls unfulfilled. All who in this age have catered to their soul’s desires by excessive enjoyment beyond the natural needs shall not obtain anything in the future kingdom. Similarly, all who for the Lord’s sake lose these things in this age shall be fully satisfied in the kingdom age to come. Everyone who overcomes the world shall be rewarded in the kingdom. This is absolutely certain.
The salvation of the spirit is decided at the time we believe in the Lord. The salvation of the soul depends on what we do today. In case you love clothing, eating, and friends and have all of them to your soul’s satisfaction, let me tell you by the authority of the Lord that you will miss the glory of the kingdom. "Blessed are ye that weep now," says the Lord, but "woe unto you, ye that are full now!" (Luke 6.21,25) Why does woe betide those who are full? Because they are already full now. Why are those who now weep blessed? Because they shall be filled in the future. Such, then, is the difference between woe and blessing.
Luke 14.25-35
"Now there went with him great multitudes: and he turned, and said unto them" (v.25). Why are there such great multitudes going with the Lord? Because He has just preached the gospel. As is indicated in the parable which precedes this verse, He invites a great number of people to come. In fact, all who want to eat have come. Many are the Christians; how very joyous it is to be saved. How good it is to be born again and thus to possess the grace of God. These people go along with the Lord, and to them He turns to speak. The purport of what He will next say is this: Yes, you are saved; but if you want to follow Me, you will now have to fulfill certain conditions. He thus raises the standard of truth, for He will not lower God’s ordained yardstick on account of the great multitudes. Can we therefore refrain from speaking of the lofty truths of the kingdom, with its reigning and so forth, because of men?
The door by which to believe in the Lord Jesus and to be saved is wide, but the door by which to follow Him and to be glorified with Him is narrow. "Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out" (John 6.37). This is salvation. Yet there are conditions for those who desire to follow the Lord and be His disciples.
"If any man cometh unto me, and hateth not his own father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life [soul] also, he cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14.26). Here the Lord rekindles the question concerning the soul. He first mentions father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters; then He mentions the soul. If anyone is able to not look at his soul as precious, he is free from all attachments. One ought to lay aside anything that gladdens and pacifies the soul.
The Lord does not say that one should cast out his father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters. What He does say is that one must get rid of his natural life so that he may gather up all his love which he has for other people so as to love the Lord more. This is a must. Before a man begins to follow, a formidable barrier is put up before him by the Lord. If he can surmount this barrier, he will be able to overcome everything in the future. The Lord does not wait to set up that barrier after one has entered the door. No, the barrier stands there right from the start. And whoever surmounts this barrier is fit to be the Lord’s disciple.
After Christ has saved a person, the first thing which stands at the door of discipleship is this condition. The Lord does not lay down this condition three or five years after a person is born again. Whether a person will be His disciple is a matter to be decided at the very beginning.
"Whosoever doth not bear his own cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple" (v.27). This explains the preceding verse. What happens is a bearing of the cross.
Then the Lord presents three parables to illustrate the bearing of the cross.
1. The Parable of Building a Tower (vv.28-30)
"For which of you, desiring to build a tower, doth not first sit down and count the cost, whether he have wherewith to complete it?" (v.28) The Lord talks about counting the cost. May we not easily construe this to mean that if we do not have the funds we may as well give up the whole idea of building a tower? Yet if so, the Lord would not have called the great multitudes (who have very little) to follow Him. Is it, then, that because of the lack of funds we do not need to build? Not at all. For if everyone puts in all he has, no one would dare to say there is insufficient funds. What the Lord really means to say here is whether a person is willing to put up all he has in order to build a tower. For example, if the building of a tower will cost $500 and a man is only willing to put in $300 while keeping his remaining $200 for other purposes, this cannot be viewed as not having a sufficient fund. It becomes insufficient only because he keeps a part back for purposes other than building the tower. He who keeps back love for others is unable to love Christ. One must hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters—and even his own life—in the sense of taking them out of his heart. Christ does not ask how much a person gives but rather if he has given all to Him.
"Lest haply, when he hath laid a foundation, and is not able to finish, all that behold begin to mock him, saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish" (vv.29-30). Such will be the end of him who is unwilling to love the Lord wholly. He has to cease building the tower after the foundation is laid because he keeps back something and is not willing to give all to the Lord.
2. The Parable of War (vv.31-32)
"Or what king, as he goeth to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and take counsel whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?" (v.31) To mobilize ten thousand does not mean that ten thousand are all the soldiers the king has. It simply means that he is willing to use only ten thousand. Were he to mobilize the entire nation he no doubt would be victorious.
"Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and asketh conditions of peace" (v.32). This is to say that if the king is not willing to throw in all his troops, it is far better for him to ask for conditions of peace and to acknowledge his defeat.
Whoever is willing to put in all in building or in war will find everything just right; but if he should keep back a little, he will experience just that much insufficiency. Suppose I go to a book store to buy a Bible, and it costs 60 cents which is just what I have. If I only pay 10 cents, this naturally is not enough; but even if I pay 59 cents and merely keep back one penny this still is not enough. It is therefore absolutely certain that whoever does not take up his cross and follow the Lord wholly is not worthy nor capable of being a disciple of the Lord.
Not due to insufficiency, but because of keeping back a little. Now this not keeping back anything is the cross. We must lay everything on the cross. Some may ask how do we know that this parable teaches the necessity of laying all on the cross? Because this is what the Lord himself explains in the following verse.
"So therefore whosoever he be of you that renounceth not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple" (v.33). This verse comments on the above two parables. The problem with these two persons already mentioned does not lie in their not having enough but in their not being willing to spend all. How frequently we want both; we are so double-minded as to love the world on the one hand and to love the Lord on the other. For us to love the Lord entirely, this we cannot do; yet to love only the world is something we feel ashamed of as being unfair to the Lord. In anyone’s unwillingness to spend all to build the tower and yet being apprehensive of not spending at least a little, the outcome will be to have the foundation laid but with the tower unfinished. In being unprepared to commit all one’s fighting men, the only course left to a person is to send an emissary to ask for terms of peace. Such people need not consider the matter of being the Lord’s disciples. To be a disciple of Christ, one must renounce all he has. He cannot hold on to the world with one hand and with the other hold on to the Lord. He must lay down one side or the other—and if not the world, then Christ.
3. The Parable of Salt (vv. 34-35)
This parable depicts the consequences of these two classes of people about whom we have just discussed. According to Matthew 5.13 ("Ye are the salt of the earth"), salt here in Luke must point to the Christian.
"Salt therefore is good: but if even the salt have lost its savor, wherewith shall it be seasoned?" (v.34)—Salt is good, for it is profitable to men. "Savor" speaks of being set apart and sanctified. What is of tremendous importance to a Christian is to be separated from the world. If salt has lost its savor, how can it be seasoned again? For example, a man buys a piece of fresh meat and thinks of seasoning it with salt. If there is no salt, what can he do to make the meat salty? Or if the salt itself has lost its salty savor, how can he make salty meat?
"It is fit neither for the land nor for the dunghill: men cast it out" (v.35a). This verse speaks of the consequence of our losing our Christian savor, even losing our separation from the world.
"Land" represents the kingdom. To place a savorless Christian in the kingdom of God is most unfit.
"Dunghill" is a defiled and unclean place, and hence suggests hell or the lake of fire. To put a Christian who has lost his savor into hell is equally unfit, for he is already saved.
"Cast it out"—Since he is unfit for either the kingdom or for hell, he must be cast out; that is to say, he must be cast out from the glory of the kingdom.
"He that hath ears to hear, let him hear" (v.35b). This is a word of warning. Anything which causes us to be disjointed from Christ causes us to lose our proper savor. Savor is strength, savorlessness is weakness. How very serious is this matter! We must not love the world. We must instead love the Lord—and with our whole heart. Otherwise, we will have no part in the kingdom. The question is not how much have I done, but am I on the altar. Let us consecrate ourselves to the Lord today, for it will be too late when that day (the day of His coming) arrives.
All three parables inform us of the life of a believer who does not lose his soul today. The reason for not spending all the funds to build a tower, for not mobilizing all the forces to fight a battle, and for becoming savorless salt through mingling with the world is the love of one’s own soul, is a not being willing to let self suffer or to forsake the loveliness of the world. To such a person as this, the glory of the future kingdom is only dimly seen because he cares only for the present moment. Were he willing to deny the demands of his own soul by denying himself, taking up the cross and doing the will of God, it would not be hard for him to build or fight, to hate his father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, and even his own life, and to be separated wholly from the world to become salt with savor. If in this age we do not lose our soul but instead do what we like, or if our consecration is imperfect, we will be cast out during the kingdom time and be mocked as having failed in discipleship.
He that findeth his life shall lose it; and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. (Matt. 10.39) Let us continue with our study of the salvation of the soul. "Think not that I came to send peace on the earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword" (Matt. 10.34). Why does the Lord speak in this way? Because everybody thinks that He comes to send peace to the earth. To correct such a concept, He tells His listeners plainly that He does not come to send peace but a sword. Later on we shall see that the peace mentioned here does not refer to the matter of peace and no war among nations in the world; rather, it alludes to certain situations and relationships in one’s family.
"I came not to send peace, but a sword"—What does this word mean? By the sword here the Lord does not have in mind a weapon used in warfare or on the battlefield. He simply states that He comes to give a sword to the earth. Did not Simeon say to Mary shortly after Jesus’ birth, "Yea and a sword shall pierce through thine own soul" (Luke 2.35)? And such a meaning in the use of the word sword is what is meant here in Matthew 10. It signifies that all along the way in a person’s life he may not sail through smoothly, but on the contrary he will be troubled as though a sword were piercing through his soul. Hence what the Lord is attempting to say is that He comes not to make us enjoy but to have us wounded.
"For I came to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law" (Matt. 10.35). This verse begins with the conjunctive word "for"—indicating that the words to follow are to explain the "sword on earth" mentioned in the preceding verse. Naturally speaking, the relationship between a father and a son is generally considered to be most congenial, but now such relationship will be marked by alienation. The daughter shall be alienated from the mother, the daughter-in-law shall be alienated from the mother-in-law, and so forth.
"And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household" (v.36). Having a foe is to have bitterness. Those of your own household whom you love will turn their faces against you, thus wounding your heart. There will now be hostility and bitterness in your home.
"He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me" (v.37). Twice in this verse are the words "not worthy" spoken by Jesus. Have you ever wondered why you must love the Lord more than your own father or mother or children? If in the world you love one person more than the Lord, you are not able to be His disciple. To be a disciple of Christ you must love the Lord wholly. This is a condition for being His disciple. It is quite impossible for you to love the Lord and another person equally at the same time.
"And he that doth not take his cross and follow after me, is not worthy of me" (v.38). This verse sums up what has been said before—this is a cross! What is meant by taking the cross? The Lord has not said that he who does not take up his burden and follow after Him is not worthy of Him. No, He says that whoever does not take his cross and follow after Him is not worthy of Him. A burden is not a cross. Burden is something inescapable; the cross, however, is subject to personal choice and can therefore be avoided.
What the first cross in history was, so the countless smaller crosses will be which shall follow afterwards: just as the original cross was chosen by the Lord, so the crosses for today must also be chosen by us.
Some people assume that they are bearing the cross whenever they fall into some hardship or encounter some distress. This is not true, however, for these kinds of things may quite naturally happen to any person even if that person is not a believer. All the crosses one takes up must be chosen by oneself. Yet a person needs to guard himself against an error here, which is, that he must not create crosses for himself. We should take the cross, not make it.
It is therefore a great mistake to consider all which befalls us as constituting crosses for us to take. Whatever crosses we ourselves have created are not to be reckoned as crosses to take.
What then is a cross? It must be akin to what the Lord Jesus himself has said: "My Father. . . thy will be done" (Matt. 26.42). The Lord asks His Father not to answer as He the Son wills, but as the Father wills. This is the cross. To take the cross is to choose the will which the Father has decided. May I say truthfully that if we do not choose the cross daily, we have no cross to take up. If the Lord had waited until the cross had come to Him on the earth, how would it have been possible for Him to have been the Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world? For had He not chosen the cross in heaven when He there and then "emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of man"? "And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient even unto death, yea, the death of the cross" (Phil. 2.7-8). Our Lord truly chose the cross. "No one taketh it [my life] away from me," said Jesus, "but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again" (John 10.18). In accordance with the same principle, our cross must be something which we ourselves choose.
In the areas of our clothing, food, and dwelling place we too have our choice. We may choose what to wear, what to eat, and how to dwell. The degree to which we seek these things should only be to the extent of our natural needs in these areas. If we seek to satisfy our lusts with these things, we are not taking up the cross. We may not prescribe who should wear what kind of clothes, eat what sort of food, or live in what type of house; but whoever wishes to derive ultimate satisfaction from these things does not take up the cross. No one dares to tell you what you should have or what you should not have. On the contrary, it is for you to ask yourself if your soul extracts enjoyment and satisfaction from these things.
Anything which supplies your need is permitted by God. Clothing, food, and shelter are all legitimate. In the Old Testament we can see how God provided these things for the children of Israel. Yet He never intended to have His children fully occupied with these matters. If we look for absolute enjoyment in these areas we are not taking the cross.
How often people are clothed not for protecting the body and are eating not for satisfying their hunger but rather for the sake of pure enjoyment. All natural requirements should be supplied; but the lustful demands of the flesh ought not be met. Nothing should be in excess.
Does God really intervene in the clothing, eating, dwelling, and traveling of man? Indeed He does. And such intervention constitutes the cross. Let us illustrate this matter: When Adam was in the Garden of Eden, all his necessary provisions were duly supplied. He could eat the fruits of all the trees except the fruit of one tree which was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Now were he to eat of this tree because its forbidden fruit was good for food and a delight to the eyes but not because it would fill his natural need, this would and did become a "lust" for him. What God allows is restricted to natural requirement; anything in excess of this is improper concerning the things of the world such as clothing, food, and shelter; and hence we should only seek for the supply of needs and not the gratification of lusts! We must take the will of God as the absolute rule on these things. Otherwise, we may follow the self-will of the flesh in either indulging ourselves to the full or else ill-treating our bodies as though we were holier than others. We need to see that neither extreme is God-approved in His word: that He has neither told us that we are to enjoy wantonly the things of this world nor declared that ascetic ill-treatment of the body has any value against the indulgence of the flesh (on the contrary, compare 1 John 2.14-15 and Col. 2.23).
"He that findeth his life [soul] shall lose it; and he that loseth his life [soul] for my sake shall find it" (Matt. 10.39). This verse concludes the Matthew 10 passage we have been discussing. What then is meant by taking the cross? It means for a person to lose his soul life for the sake of Christ, to be wounded in heart for Christ’s sake and suffer anguish and sorrow—and all this is a losing of the soul. Some people refuse to suffer or to discipline their emotional desires; and thus in allowing their souls to enjoy excessively, they eventually will lose their souls. Losing the soul for the sake of the Lord is not letting one’s soul be gratified in its lustful demands and delights. If for the sake of Christ we give up seeking what we naturally like most, this will be reckoned as losing the soul for His sake.
Let us recognize that the meaning of the gaining of the soul today applies equally to the gaining of the soul in the future; and the meaning of the losing of the soul now is the same as the losing of the soul then. Their meanings must remain the same. In other words, to lose the soul for the Lord’s sake denotes the refusal to allow the soul to be gratified and pleased today, and to lose the soul in the future signifies the denial to the soul of satisfaction and enjoyment in the kingdom. When that day shall come, that is to say, when the kingdom shall arrive, some people will have their souls fulfilled while others will have their souls unfulfilled. All who in this age have catered to their soul’s desires by excessive enjoyment beyond the natural needs shall not obtain anything in the future kingdom. Similarly, all who for the Lord’s sake lose these things in this age shall be fully satisfied in the kingdom age to come. Everyone who overcomes the world shall be rewarded in the kingdom. This is absolutely certain.
The salvation of the spirit is decided at the time we believe in the Lord. The salvation of the soul depends on what we do today. In case you love clothing, eating, and friends and have all of them to your soul’s satisfaction, let me tell you by the authority of the Lord that you will miss the glory of the kingdom. "Blessed are ye that weep now," says the Lord, but "woe unto you, ye that are full now!" (Luke 6.21,25) Why does woe betide those who are full? Because they are already full now. Why are those who now weep blessed? Because they shall be filled in the future. Such, then, is the difference between woe and blessing.
Luke 14.25-35
"Now there went with him great multitudes: and he turned, and said unto them" (v.25). Why are there such great multitudes going with the Lord? Because He has just preached the gospel. As is indicated in the parable which precedes this verse, He invites a great number of people to come. In fact, all who want to eat have come. Many are the Christians; how very joyous it is to be saved. How good it is to be born again and thus to possess the grace of God. These people go along with the Lord, and to them He turns to speak. The purport of what He will next say is this: Yes, you are saved; but if you want to follow Me, you will now have to fulfill certain conditions. He thus raises the standard of truth, for He will not lower God’s ordained yardstick on account of the great multitudes. Can we therefore refrain from speaking of the lofty truths of the kingdom, with its reigning and so forth, because of men?
The door by which to believe in the Lord Jesus and to be saved is wide, but the door by which to follow Him and to be glorified with Him is narrow. "Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out" (John 6.37). This is salvation. Yet there are conditions for those who desire to follow the Lord and be His disciples.
"If any man cometh unto me, and hateth not his own father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life [soul] also, he cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14.26). Here the Lord rekindles the question concerning the soul. He first mentions father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters; then He mentions the soul. If anyone is able to not look at his soul as precious, he is free from all attachments. One ought to lay aside anything that gladdens and pacifies the soul.
The Lord does not say that one should cast out his father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters. What He does say is that one must get rid of his natural life so that he may gather up all his love which he has for other people so as to love the Lord more. This is a must. Before a man begins to follow, a formidable barrier is put up before him by the Lord. If he can surmount this barrier, he will be able to overcome everything in the future. The Lord does not wait to set up that barrier after one has entered the door. No, the barrier stands there right from the start. And whoever surmounts this barrier is fit to be the Lord’s disciple.
After Christ has saved a person, the first thing which stands at the door of discipleship is this condition. The Lord does not lay down this condition three or five years after a person is born again. Whether a person will be His disciple is a matter to be decided at the very beginning.
"Whosoever doth not bear his own cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple" (v.27). This explains the preceding verse. What happens is a bearing of the cross.
Then the Lord presents three parables to illustrate the bearing of the cross.
1. The Parable of Building a Tower (vv.28-30)
"For which of you, desiring to build a tower, doth not first sit down and count the cost, whether he have wherewith to complete it?" (v.28) The Lord talks about counting the cost. May we not easily construe this to mean that if we do not have the funds we may as well give up the whole idea of building a tower? Yet if so, the Lord would not have called the great multitudes (who have very little) to follow Him. Is it, then, that because of the lack of funds we do not need to build? Not at all. For if everyone puts in all he has, no one would dare to say there is insufficient funds. What the Lord really means to say here is whether a person is willing to put up all he has in order to build a tower. For example, if the building of a tower will cost $500 and a man is only willing to put in $300 while keeping his remaining $200 for other purposes, this cannot be viewed as not having a sufficient fund. It becomes insufficient only because he keeps a part back for purposes other than building the tower. He who keeps back love for others is unable to love Christ. One must hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters—and even his own life—in the sense of taking them out of his heart. Christ does not ask how much a person gives but rather if he has given all to Him.
"Lest haply, when he hath laid a foundation, and is not able to finish, all that behold begin to mock him, saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish" (vv.29-30). Such will be the end of him who is unwilling to love the Lord wholly. He has to cease building the tower after the foundation is laid because he keeps back something and is not willing to give all to the Lord.
2. The Parable of War (vv.31-32)
"Or what king, as he goeth to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and take counsel whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?" (v.31) To mobilize ten thousand does not mean that ten thousand are all the soldiers the king has. It simply means that he is willing to use only ten thousand. Were he to mobilize the entire nation he no doubt would be victorious.
"Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and asketh conditions of peace" (v.32). This is to say that if the king is not willing to throw in all his troops, it is far better for him to ask for conditions of peace and to acknowledge his defeat.
Whoever is willing to put in all in building or in war will find everything just right; but if he should keep back a little, he will experience just that much insufficiency. Suppose I go to a book store to buy a Bible, and it costs 60 cents which is just what I have. If I only pay 10 cents, this naturally is not enough; but even if I pay 59 cents and merely keep back one penny this still is not enough. It is therefore absolutely certain that whoever does not take up his cross and follow the Lord wholly is not worthy nor capable of being a disciple of the Lord.
Not due to insufficiency, but because of keeping back a little. Now this not keeping back anything is the cross. We must lay everything on the cross. Some may ask how do we know that this parable teaches the necessity of laying all on the cross? Because this is what the Lord himself explains in the following verse.
"So therefore whosoever he be of you that renounceth not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple" (v.33). This verse comments on the above two parables. The problem with these two persons already mentioned does not lie in their not having enough but in their not being willing to spend all. How frequently we want both; we are so double-minded as to love the world on the one hand and to love the Lord on the other. For us to love the Lord entirely, this we cannot do; yet to love only the world is something we feel ashamed of as being unfair to the Lord. In anyone’s unwillingness to spend all to build the tower and yet being apprehensive of not spending at least a little, the outcome will be to have the foundation laid but with the tower unfinished. In being unprepared to commit all one’s fighting men, the only course left to a person is to send an emissary to ask for terms of peace. Such people need not consider the matter of being the Lord’s disciples. To be a disciple of Christ, one must renounce all he has. He cannot hold on to the world with one hand and with the other hold on to the Lord. He must lay down one side or the other—and if not the world, then Christ.
3. The Parable of Salt (vv. 34-35)
This parable depicts the consequences of these two classes of people about whom we have just discussed. According to Matthew 5.13 ("Ye are the salt of the earth"), salt here in Luke must point to the Christian.
"Salt therefore is good: but if even the salt have lost its savor, wherewith shall it be seasoned?" (v.34)—Salt is good, for it is profitable to men. "Savor" speaks of being set apart and sanctified. What is of tremendous importance to a Christian is to be separated from the world. If salt has lost its savor, how can it be seasoned again? For example, a man buys a piece of fresh meat and thinks of seasoning it with salt. If there is no salt, what can he do to make the meat salty? Or if the salt itself has lost its salty savor, how can he make salty meat?
"It is fit neither for the land nor for the dunghill: men cast it out" (v.35a). This verse speaks of the consequence of our losing our Christian savor, even losing our separation from the world.
"Land" represents the kingdom. To place a savorless Christian in the kingdom of God is most unfit.
"Dunghill" is a defiled and unclean place, and hence suggests hell or the lake of fire. To put a Christian who has lost his savor into hell is equally unfit, for he is already saved.
"Cast it out"—Since he is unfit for either the kingdom or for hell, he must be cast out; that is to say, he must be cast out from the glory of the kingdom.
"He that hath ears to hear, let him hear" (v.35b). This is a word of warning. Anything which causes us to be disjointed from Christ causes us to lose our proper savor. Savor is strength, savorlessness is weakness. How very serious is this matter! We must not love the world. We must instead love the Lord—and with our whole heart. Otherwise, we will have no part in the kingdom. The question is not how much have I done, but am I on the altar. Let us consecrate ourselves to the Lord today, for it will be too late when that day (the day of His coming) arrives.
All three parables inform us of the life of a believer who does not lose his soul today. The reason for not spending all the funds to build a tower, for not mobilizing all the forces to fight a battle, and for becoming savorless salt through mingling with the world is the love of one’s own soul, is a not being willing to let self suffer or to forsake the loveliness of the world. To such a person as this, the glory of the future kingdom is only dimly seen because he cares only for the present moment. Were he willing to deny the demands of his own soul by denying himself, taking up the cross and doing the will of God, it would not be hard for him to build or fight, to hate his father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, and even his own life, and to be separated wholly from the world to become salt with savor. If in this age we do not lose our soul but instead do what we like, or if our consecration is imperfect, we will be cast out during the kingdom time and be mocked as having failed in discipleship.