He cross In discipleship - Chambers, Oswald
The cross in discipleship that affronts (Matthew 8:20; Luke 9:6061)
There is a method of making disciples which is not sanctioned by our lord. It is an excessive pressing of people to be reconciled to god in a way that is unworthy of the dignity of the gospel. The pleading is on the line of: Jesus has done so much for us, cannot we do something out of gratitude to him? This method of getting people into relationship to god out of pity for Jesus is never recognised by our Lord. It does not put sin in its right place, nor does it put the more serious aspect of the gospel in its right place. Our lord never pressed anyone to follow him unconditionally; nor did he wish to be followed merely out of an impulse of enthusiasm. He never pleaded, he never entrapped; he made discipleship intensely narrow, and pointed out certain things which could never be in those who followed him. To-day there is a tendency to take the harshness out of our lords statements. What Jesus says is hard; it is only easy when it comes to those who are his disciples. Whenever our lord talked about discipleship he prefaced it with an if, never with an emphatic assertion, you must. Discipleship carries an option with it.
The aspect of the cross in discipleship is lost altogether in the present-day view of following Jesus. The cross is looked upon as something beautiful and simple instead of a stern heroism. Our lord never said it was easy to be a christian; he warned men that they would have to face a variety of hardships, which he termed bearing the cross.
The time when Jesus comes to us is not so much in a revival issue, a time when he is in the ascendant, but rather at a time when we are in the ascendant, when our wills are perfectly free, when the fascination and beauty of the world on the one hand and the repelling aspect of Jesus Christ on the other is there. Our lord never allows an allegiance which is the out- come of an impulse of enthusiasm that sweeps us off our feet, not knowing what we are doing. We must be at the balance of our wills when we choose. That is why the call of Jesus Christ awakens an immense craving and an intense resentment, and that is why as new testament preachers we must always push an issue of will.
The cross in discipleship in appreciation (Matthew 16:24)
The next time you read those words, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me, strip them of all their poetry. It is an effort to us to think of the cross as our lord thought of it. When Jesus said let him deny himself, and take up his cross, he had in mind not a thing of beautiful sentiment to arouse heroism, but an ugly cruel thing, with awful nails that tore the flesh. For twenty centuries people have covered up the cross with sentiment, and we can sit and listen to the preaching of the crucifixion of Jesus and be dissolved in tears, but very few of us have any appreciation of what our lord conveyed when he said, let him deny himself, and take his cross, and follow me.
The cross of Christ stands unique and alone; we are never called upon to carry his cross. Our cross is something that comes only with the peculiar relationship of a disciple to Jesus Christ, it is the evidence that we have denied the right to ourselves. Our lord was not talking about suffering for conscience sake or convictions sake; men suffer for conscience sake who know nothing about Jesus Christ and owe him no allegiance; men suffer for convictions sake, if they are worth their salt, whether they are Christians or not. The cross of Jesus Christ is a revelation; our cross is an experience. What the cross was to our lord such also in measure was it to be to those who followed him. The cross is the pain involved in doing the will of god. That aspect is being lost sight of, we say that after sanctification all is a delight. Was pauls life all delight? Was our lords life all delight? Discipleship means we are identified with his interests, and we have to fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of christ. Only when we have been identified with our lord in sanctification can we begin to under- stand what our cross means.
The cross in discipleship in aggression (Matthew 10:1639)
These verses need to be re-read because we are apt to think that Jesus Christ took all the bitterness and we get all the blessing. It is true that we get the bless- ing, but we must never forget that the wine of life is made out of crushed grapes; to follow Jesus will involve bruising in the lives of the disciples as the purpose of god did in his own life. The thing that makes us whimper is that we will look for justice. If you look for justice in your christian work you will soon put yourself in a bandage and give way to self- pity and discouragement. Never look for justice, but never cease to give it; and never allow anything you meet with to sour your relationship to men through Jesus Christ. Love . . . As i have loved you.
In Matthew 10:34 Jesus told the disciples that they would be opposed not only in private life, but that the powers of state would oppose them and they would have to suffer persecution, and some even crucifixion. Dont say, but that was simply meant for those days. If you stand true to Jesus christ you will find that the world will react against you with a butt, not with a caress, annoyed and antagonistic (see john 15:1820).
When our lord spoke of the cross his disciples were to bear, he did not say that if they bore it they would become holy; he said the cross was to be borne for his sake, not for theirs. He also said that they would suffer in the same way as the prophets suffered, because of the messages they spoke from god (see Matthew 5:1112). The tendency to-day is to say, live a holy life, but dont talk about it; dont give your testimony; dont confess your allegiance to Jesus, and you will be left alone.
The cross in discipleship in antagonism (Matthew 5:16; 10:32)
Whosoever therefore shall confess me . . . , i. E. , confess me by lip and by life. People are not persecuted for living a holy life, it is the confession of Jesus that brings the persecution. There is a great deal of social work done to-day that does not confess Jesus, although people may praise him to further orders; 11 and if you confess him there, you will find the ostra- cism he mentions: keep your religion out; dont bring your jargon of sanctification here. You must take it there, and when you do, the opposition will be tremendous. The reason for the opposition is that men have vested interests which philanthropy and kindness to humanity do not touch, but which the spirit of Jesus testified to by human lips does touch, and indignation is awakened against the one who dares to carry the cross for his lord there. Self-denial and self-sacrifice are continually spoken of as being good in themselves; our lord never used any such affectation. He aimed a blow at the mistake that self-denial is an end in itself. He spoke of self-denial and self-sacrifice as painful things that cost and hurt (see Matthew 10:3839). The term self-denial has come to mean giving up things; the denial Jesus speaks of is a denial right out to my right to myself, a clean sweep of all the decks to the master-ship of Jesus. Some folks are so mixed up nervously that they cannot help sacrificing themselves, but unless Jesus Christ is the lodestar there is no benefit in the sacrifice.
Self-denial must have its spring in personal out flowing love to our lord; we are no longer our own, we are spoilt for every other interest in life saving as we can win men to Jesus Christ. The one great spring of sacrifice is devotion to Jesus, for my sake.