Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them,  “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.  Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.  For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?  Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’  Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?  And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.  So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. “Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored?  It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, Let him hear” (Luke 14:25-35).

The above wonderful passage from Luke 14 lays out before the believer the essential requirements of discipleship. Any believer who hopes to discover the real Jesus, real relationship with Him, inherit the kingdom of God in this life, or simply live authentic biblical Christianity so as not to fall short of God’s plan in their lives must take heed to these words spoken by Jesus to us all. Anyone who says, “I follow Jesus, or I believe in Jesus” and does not follow Jesus’ instructions laid out in this passage, is deluding themselves. The requirements are unapproachably difficult for everyone. No one can fulfill them and yet they are clearly nonnegotiable prerequisites for everything regarding the kingdom of God in this life.

What do we do with this? How do we manage to qualify in the face of such unachievable terms? The answer is quite simple, and it comes in two parts. The first, is that we believe, and the second, is that we believe. First, we must believe that Jesus ‘payment for us of his own blood, the loss of his life on our behalf is a substitutionary atonement is the only basis on which we will inherit anything from God. This is an absolute and will never ever be violated. As Jesus said,

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber…, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture” (John 10:1, 7-9).

And this “believing” cannot be a one and done event but must become a way of life for the believer.

This brings us to the second prerequisite, one which is also based on a believing faith. This is the abiding hope and daily, even moment by moment investment in prioritizing Christ in all things. Although none of us is able to prioritize Christ in all things there is yet a way He has made for us.

That way is the daily application of investing daily faith and hope and prayer commitment to God that because of His death, that he will bring about his perfect will regardless of the cost to us. Are we able to pay that cost? Absolutely not. Is he able to empower us to pay it? Without question, He is faithful and trustworthy to do so. Once these terms are set, and the believer has set their heart to these ends and continues in that faith, hope, and commitment, the outcome is sure.

This then, is the essential and necessary commitment that must be made which Jesus identifies here and in many other passages. It does not require us to have any capability within ourselves. No abilities, quality of character, capacity of self-discipline, level of mental health, strength of will power, or any other imaginable factor. Jesus has made access to all of his riches for this life absolutely and perfectly equal for every man and woman.

It is completely available regardless of our capacity to pay the price. He has paid the price with his own blood, and that blood will enable us to also pay the price that we must pay. Our only requirement is to persist in faith in what Christ has done and, in His faithfulness, to establish in us what we could never accept on our own.

The beauty of His grace is that in spite of all these things, He will be sure to make “are yoke easy and our burden light” as long as we continue to come to Him, call upon His name, and rely on Him to fulfill his word daily to make that journey one in which we are able to fulfill. This is abiding faith is the yoke of which He speaks in the loving passage,

We will marvel at his faithfulness if we simply follow these essential but unimaginably gracious prerequisites.

Remember, however, that those who choose to live apart from this abiding commitment, have scant hope of seeing the glory of God in this life. The passage quoted atop this article speaks for itself. God’s words are immutable. For those who hear his words and act upon them, blessing and joy, along with abundant hardships and spiritual challenges. For those who do not heed these words disappointment and sorrow. He is inviting us to joy. Let us run to Him, for ” For the Scripture says, “WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED” (Romans 10:11,NASB1995).