Part 3: What It Means To "Count the Cost"

In the last segment, J.C. Ryle began by addressing the importance in understanding that "counting the cost" of our relationship with Jesus Christ is vital to our soul's spiritual health.  He states, ""that no duty enjoined by Christ can ever be neglected without damage," and that it "costs a 'great sum' to be a true Christian."

Far too many souls initially look upon their profession of Christ as an easy transition from being worldly to striving for His righteousness.  They believe that it will be a simple matter to maintain their walk with Jesus; that they will be able to put behind them their sins and desires, only to discover, after a time, that they were mistaken and their feet caught in the quagmire of the yearnings of sinful flesh.  As Ryle states regarding those who continue in this pattern until late in life and death hovers at the door, "...they open their eyes too late and discover for the first time that they are ruined because they never 'counted the cost.'"

However, Ryle goes on to address a particular class of Christian, one who is not "thoughtless about religion" and what is required of him to genuinely profess Christ Jesus.  This type of person knows his religion inside and out, perhaps from being raised in a Christian family, or was persuaded through sentiment, emotions, a trial in his life, or a desire to be like the next guy - a sort of fanciful clique who meets each Sunday to socialize and be fed only enough to keep him coming back.  Sadly, the world is littered with churches that neglect the duty that has been given them in exhorting their congregations to "count the cost."   I must thoroughly agree with Ryle in his declaration that those churches whose only goal is a head count and "instantaneous conversions," without a true understanding of the immense importance of what the so-called convert is acting out, is doing great "mischief" to the body of Christ, and bringing grave danger to the soul of the one who has been misguided.

Preaching the Gospel in its fullness is vital to the health of the church.  To disregard it by avoiding the "hard" teachings is to deceive and destroy what God is building up: a body of Christians who truly know the meaning behind "counting the cost" and are prepared and equipped to face whatever adversity comes their way.  The shepherds of Christ's flock must attend to it, to "tell the truth, and the whole truth," or there will be many who will stand in judgment one day and be told, "You did not  count the cost."

Now, on to the final installment of chapter 5.

V.  THE COST

 III.  The third and last thing which I propose to do is to give some hints which may help men to "count the cost" rightly.

Sorry indeed should I be if I did not say something on this branch of my subject.  I have no wish to discourage anyone, or to keep anyone back from Christ's service.  It is my heart's desire to encourage everyone to go forward and take up the cross.  Let us "count the cost by all means, and count it carefully.  But let us remember, that if we count rightly, and look on all sides, there is nothing that need make us afraid.

Let us mention some things which should always enter into our calculations in counting the cost of true Christianity.  Set down honestly and fairly what you will have to give up and go through, if you become Christ's disciple.  Leave nothing out.  Put it all down.  But then, set down side by side the following sums which I am going to give you.  Do this fairly and correctly, and I am not afraid of the result.

(a)  Count up and compare, for one thing, the profit and the loss, if you are a true-hearted and holy Christian.  You may possibly lose something in this world, but you will gain the salvation of your immortal soul.  It is written, "What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"  (Mark 8:36)

(b)  Count up and compare, for another thing, the praise and the blame, if you are a true-hearted and holy Christian.  You may possibly be blamed by man, but you will have the praise of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost.  Your blame will come from the lips of a few erring, blind, fallible men and women.  Your praise will come from the King of kings and Judge of all the earth.  It is only those who He blesses who are really blessed.  It is written, "Blessed are ye when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for My sake.  Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven."  (Matthew 5:11-12)

(c)  Count up and compare, for another thing, the friends and the enemies, if you are a true-hearted and holy Christian.  On the one side of you is the enmity of the devil and the wicked.  On the other, you have the favour and friendship of the LORD Jesus Christ.  Your enemies, at most, can only bruise your heal.  They may rage loudly, and compass sea and land to work your ruin, but they cannot destroy you.  Your Friend is able to save to the uttermost all them that come unto God by Him.  None shall ever pluck His sheep out of His hand.   It is written, "Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.  But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear Him, which after He hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, fear Him."  (Luke 7:5)

(d)  Count up and compare, for another thing, the life that now is and the life to come, if you are a true-hearted and holy Christian.  The time present, no doubt, is not a time of ease.  It is a time of watching and praying, fighting and struggling, believing and working.  But it is only for a few years.  The time future is the season of rest and refreshing.  Sin shall be cast out.  Satan shall be bound.  And, best of all, it shall be a rest forever.  It is written, "Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal; the but things which are not seen are eternal."  (2Cor 4:17-18)

(e)  Count up and compare, for another thing, the pleasures of sin and happiness of God's service, if you are a true-hearted and holy Christian.  The pleasures that the worldly man gets by his ways are hollow, unreal, and unsatisfying.  They are like the fire of thorns, flashing and crackling for a few minutes, and then quenched forever.  The happiness that Christ gives to His people is something solid, lasting, and substantial.  It is not dependent on health or circumstances.  It never leaves a man, even in death.  It ends in a crown of glory that fadeth not away.  It is written, "The joy of the hypocrite is but for a moment." and,  "As the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool."  (Job 20:5; Eccl 7:6)  But it is also written, "Peace I leave with you, My peace give I unto you; not as the world giveth, give I unto you.  Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."  (John 14:27)

(f)  Count up and compare, for another thing, the trouble that true Christianity entails, and the troubles that are in store for the wicked beyond the grave.  Grant for a moment that Bible-reading, praying and repenting, and believing, and holy living, require pains and self-denial.  It is all nothing compared to that "wrath to come" which is stored up for the impenitent and unbelieving.  A single day in hell will be worse than a whole life spent carrying the cross.  The "worm that never dies, and the fire that is not quenched" are things which it passes man's power to conceive fully or describe.  It is written, "Son, remember that thou in thy life-time receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and thou art tormented."  (Luke 16:25)

(g)  Count up and compare, in the last place, the number of those who turn from sin and the world and serve Christ, and the number of those who forsake Christ and return to the world.  On the one side, you will find thousands; on the other you will find none.  Multitudes are every year turning out of the broad way and entering the narrow.  None who really enter the narrow way grow tired of it and return to the broad.  The footsteps in the downward road are often to be seen turning out of it.  It is written, "The way of transgessors is hard."  (Prov 4:19; 13:15)  But it is also written, "The path of the just is as the shining light, which shineth more and more unto the perfect day."  (Prov.4:8)

Such sums as these, no doubt, are often not done correctly.  Not a few, I am well aware, are ever "halting between two opinions."  They cannot make up their minds that it is worthwhile to serve Christ.  The losses and gains, the advantages and disadvantages, the sorrows and the joys, the helps and the hindrances with that faith we shall set things down at their true value.  Filled with that faith we shall neither add to the cross nor subtract from the crown.  Our conclusions will be all correct.  Our sum total will be without error.

(1)  In conclusion, let every reader of this paper think seriously whether his religion costs him anything at present.  Very likely it costs you nothing.  Very probably it neither costs you trouble, nor time, nor thought, nor care, nor pains, nor reading, nor praying, nor self-denial, nor conflict, nor working, nor labour of any kind.  Now mark what I say.  Such a religion as this will never save your soul.  It will never give you peace while you live, nor hope while you die.  It will not support you in the day of affliction, nor cheer you in the hour of death.  A religion which costs nothing is worth nothing.  Awake before it is too late.  Awake and repent.  Awake and be converted.  Awake and believe.  Awake and pray.  Rest not till you can give a satisfactory answer to my question, "What does it cost?"

(2)  Think, if you want stirring motives for serving God, what it cost to provide a salvation for your soul.  Think how the Son of God left heaven and became Man, suffered on the cross, and lay in the grave, to pay your debt to God, and work out for a complete redemption.  Think of all this and learn that it is no light matter to possess an immortal soul.  It is worthwhile to take some trouble about one's soul.

Ah, lazy man or woman, is it really come to this, that you will miss heaven for lack of trouble?  Are you really determined to make shipwreck forever, from mere dislike to exertion?  Away with the cowardly, unworthy thought.  Arise and play the man.  Say to yourself, "Whatever it may cost, I will, at any rate, strive to enter in at the strait gate."  Look at the cross of Christ, and take fresh courage.  Look forward to death, judgment, and eternity, and be in earnest.  It may cost much to be a Christian, but you may be sure it pays.

(3)  If any reader of this paper really feels that he has counted the cost, and taken up the cross, I bid him persevere and press on.  I dare say you often feel your heart faint, and are sorely tempted to give up in despair.  Your enemies seem so many, your besetting sins so strong, your friends so few, the way so steep and narrow, you hardly know what to do.  But still I say, persevere and press on.

The time is very short.  A few more years of watching and praying, a few more tossings on the sea of this world, a few more deaths and changes, a few more winters and summers, and all will be over.  We shall have fought our last battle, and shall need to fight no more.

The presence and company of Christ will make amends for all we suffer here below.  When we see as we have been seen, and look back on the journey of life, we shall wonder at our own faintness of heart.  We shall marvel that we made so much of our cross, and thought so little of our crown.  We shall marvel that in "counting the cost" we could ever doubt on which side the balance of profit lay.  Let us take courage.  We are not far from home.  IT MAY COST MUCH TO BE A TRUE CHRISTIAN AND A CONSISTENT BELIEVER, BUT IT PAYS.

End of Chapter 5

~ ~ ~ 

In order to save space in these installments, I chose not to include the notes at the end of the chapter.  However, I felt it essential to impress Ryle's disdain for what not only was occurring during his day, but also what we see harming today's church: "instantaneous conversion," the "invitation of unconverted sinners to come to Christ," and "the possession of inward joy and peace as a test of conversion."

Ryle goes on to clarify that the "nearness of peace and comfort in Christ should be proclaimed to all men," but that too much emphasis is placed on the "triumphant feelings" many claim to experience without first understanding "the holiness of God's law, the depth of their sinfulness, and the real guilt of sin."  Mere "feelings" is not true faith; "pressure" from others, "animal excitement and temporary feelings," including mass conversions in revivals, lead to false conversions.  "And all this time, the thoughtless and ungodly look on with contempt, and find fresh reasons for neglecting religion altogether."

Ryle's summation in his notes are thus:

1. "Let all the counsel of God be taught in Scriptural proportion, and let not two or three precious doctrines of the Gospel be allowed to overshadow all other truths."
2. "Let repentance be taught fully as well as faith, and not thrust completely into the background.  Our LORD Jesus Christ and St. Paul always taught both."
3. "Let the variety of the Holy Ghost's works be honestly stated and admitted; and while instantaneous conversion is pressed on men, let it not be taught as a necessity."
4. "Let those who profess to have found immediate sensible peace be plainly warned to try themselves well, and to remember that feeling is not faith, and that 'patient continuance in well-doing' is the great proof that faith is true."  (emphasis added) (John 8:31)  
5. "Let the great duty of 'counting the cost' be constantly urged on all who are disposed to make a religious profession, and let them be honestly and fairly told that there is warfare as well as peace, a cross as well as a crown, in Christ's service..."

I will end with a word from our Savior Jesus Christ, and pray that all who read this will consider the weight of His words:

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..."  Luke 14:15-27 ESV

After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.   So Jesus said to the Twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?”   Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life,   and we have believed, and have come to know, that You are the Holy One of God.”  John 6:66-69 ESV

Examine yourselves.  Test that which is good and lasting, lest you be found to be lacking the very thing that gives you the right and privilege of bearing the name "Christian."  (2Cor 13:5 ESV)

May you count the cost, and count it well.

Part 2: What It Means to "Count the Cost"

What does it mean to "count the cost" of our relationship with Jesus Christ?  As you read in the last post, J.C. Ryle lays out very specific points regarding the "religion" he calls Christianity and that we embrace.

The term "religion" had a very different connotation back in Ryle's day than it does in the present.  Some would say that the word "religion" has no legitimate place in our profession of faith in Jesus Christ in today's culture, that we should forgo using it because it situates belief in His atonement on the same level as all other false religious beliefs.  It does have the propensity to leave a bad taste on our tongue, especially when one considers the atrocities that so-called "religion" has inflicted.  But Ryle applies it with the simplicity, yet eloquence, of speech that was held in his day, rightly giving it its place in our Christian profession, giving us an understanding of the essence of the true "religion," Christianity: an atoning, crown-bearing, all-encompassing profession of faith in Jesus Christ, with ultimate and eternal reward.  As he states at the end of the first installment in chapter 5, "A religion that costs nothing is worth nothing!  A cheap Christianity without a cross will prove in the end a useless Christianity without a crown." 

Before diving into the next installment of chapter 5, the following is a brief summation of Ryle's first exhortation on what it means to "count the cost" of our profession of faith and walk in Jesus Christ:

1. It will mean the cost of our own self-righteousness.
2. It will cost us our sins and the love we have for them, and our turning away from those sins and towards God's righteousness.
3. It will cost a man "his love of ease" and compel him to watch himself closely, lest he neglect his spiritual health.
4. And it will "cost a man the favour of the world," even to the point of "being mocked, ridiculed, slandered, persecuted, and even hated."

 As Ryle strongly impresses upon us, these things can be viewed as "hard" and "heavy," but they are vital to our walk with Christ.  If we are not mere pretenders giving the impression to others that we are something we're not, we should strive to "count the cost," fervently holding on to, and demonstrating in every aspect of our lives, the grace of salvation that has been bestowed upon us.

Now...on to the second part of chapter 5.  May it renew your determination to "count the cost" of your relationship with Christ Jesus.

V.  THE COST

II.  I have now, in the second place, to explain why "counting the cost" is of such great importance to man's soul.

I might easily settle this question by laying down the principle that no duty enjoined by Christ can ever be neglected without damage.  I might show how many shut their eyes throughout life to the nature of saving religion, and refuse to consider what it really costs to be a Christian.  I might describe how, at last, when life is ebbing away, they wake up and make a few spasmodic efforts to turn to God.  I might tell you how they find to their amazement that repentance and conversion are no such easy matters as they had supposed, and that it costs "a great sum" to be a true Christian.  They discover that habits of pride and sinful indulgence, and love of ease, and worldliness, are not so easily laid aside as they had dreamed.  And so, after a faint struggle, they give up in despair, and leave the world hopeless, graceless, and unfit to meet God!  They had flattered themselves all their days that religion would be easy work when they once took it up seriously.  But they open their eyes too late and discover for the first time that they are ruined because they never "counted the cost."

But there is one class of persons to whom especially I wish to address myself in handling this part of my subject.  It is a large class - an increasing class - an a class which in these days is in peculiar danger.  Let me in a few plain words try to describe this class.  It deserves our best attention.

The persons I speak of are not thoughtless about religion: they think a good deal about it.  They are not ignorant of religion: they know the outlines of it pretty well.  But their great defect is that they are not "rooted and grounded" in their faith.  Too often, they have picked up their knowledge second hand from being in religious families, or from being trained in religious ways, but have never worked it out by their own inward experience.  Too often, they have hastily taken up a profession of religion under the pressure of circumstances, from sentimental feelings, from animal excitement, or from a vague desire to do like others around them, but without any solid work of grace in their hearts.  Persons like these are in a position of immense danger.  They are precisely those, if Bible examples are worth anything, who need to be exhorted "to count the cost."

For want of "counting the cost," myriads of the children of Israel perished miserably in the wilderness of Egypt and Canaan.  They left Egypt full of zeal and fervour, as if nothing could stop them.  But when they found dangers and difficulties in the way, their courage soon cooled down.  They had never reckoned on trouble.  They had thought the promised land would be all before them in a few days.  And so, when enemies, privations, hunger, and thirst began to try them, they murmured against Moses and God, and would fain have gone back to Egypt.  In a word, they had "not counted the cost," and so lost everything, and died in their sins.

For want of "counting the cost," many of our LORD Jesus Christ's hearers went back after a time, and "walked no more with Him." (John 6:66)  When they first saw His miracles and heard His preaching, they thought "the kingdom of God would immediately appear."  They cast in their lot with His Apostles, and followed Him without thinking of the consequences.  But when they found that there were hard doctrines to be believed, and hard work to be done, and hard treatment to be borne, their faith gave way entirely and proved to be nothing at all.  In a word, they had not "counted the cost," and so made shipwreck of their profession.

For want of "counting the cost," King Herod returned to his old sins and destroyed his soul.  He liked to hear John the Baptist preach.  He "observed" and honoured him as a just and holy man.  He even "did many things" which were right and good.  But when he found that he must give up his darling Herodias, his religion entirely broke down.  He had not reckoned on this.  He had not "counted the cost." (Mark 6:20)

For want of "counting the cost," Demas forsook the company of St. Paul, forsook the Gospel, forsook Christ, forsook heaven.  For a long time, he journeyed with the great Apostle of the Gentiles, and was a actually a "fellow-labourer."  But when he found he could not have the friendship of this world as well as the friendship of God, he gave up his Christianity and clave to the world.  "Demas hath forsaken me," says St. Paul, "having loved this present world." (2Tim 4:10)  He had not "counted the cost."

For want of "counting the cost," the hearers of powerful Evangelical preachers often come to miserable ends.  They are stirred and excited into professing what they have not really experienced.  They receive the Word with a "joy: so extravagant that it almost startles old Christians.  They run for a time with such zeal and fervour that they seem likely to outstrip all others.  They talk and work for spiritual objects with such enthusiasm that they make older believers feel ashamed.  But when the novelty and freshness of their feelings is gone, a change comes over them.  They prove to have been nothing more than stony-ground hearers.  The description the great Master gives in the Parable of the Sower is exactly exemplified: "Temptation or persecution arises because of the Word, and they are offended." (Matt 13:21)  Little by little, their zeal melts away, and their love becomes cold.  By and by, their seats are empty in the assembly of God's people, and they are heard of no more among Christians.  And why?  They had "never counted the cost."

For want of "counting the cost," hundreds of professed converts, under religious revivals, go back to the world after a time, and bring disgrace on religion.  They begin with a sadly mistaken notion of what is true Christianity.  They fancy it consists in nothing more than a so-called "coming to Christ," and have strong inward feelings of joy and peace.  And so, when they find, after a time, that there is a cross to be carried, that our hearts are deceitful, and that there is a busy devil always near us, they cool down in disgust, and return to their old sins.  And why?  Because they had really never known what Bible Christianity is.  They had never learned that we must "count the cost."

For want of "counting the cost," the children of religious parents often turn out ill, and bring disgrace on Christianity.  Familiar from their earliest years with the form and theory of the Gospel, taught even from infancy to repeat great leading texts, accustomed every week to be instructed in the Gospel, or to instruct others in Sunday schools, they often grow up professing a religion without knowing why, or without ever having thought seriously about it.  And then, when the realities of grown-up life begin to press upon them, they often astound every one by dropping all their religion and plunging right into the world.  And why?  They had never thoroughly understood the sacrifices which Christianity entails.  They had never been taught to "count the cost."

These are solemn and painful truths.  But they are truths.  They all help to show the immense importance of the subject I am now considering.  They all point out the absolute necessity of pressing the subject of this paper on all who profess a desire for holiness, and of crying aloud in all the churches, "Count the Cost!"

I am bold to say that it would be well if the duty of "counting the cost" were more frequently taught than it is.  Impatient hurry is the order of the day with many religionists.  Instantaneous conversions, and immediate sensible peace, are the only results they seem to care for from the gospel.  Compared with these, all other things are thrown into the shade.  To produce them is the grand end and object, apparently, of all their labours.  I say without hesitation that such a naked, one-sided mode of teaching Christianity is mischievous in the extreme.

 Let no one mistake my meaning.  I thoroughly approve of offering men a full, free, present, immediate salvation in Christ Jesus.  I thoroughly approve of urging on man the possibility and the duty of immediate instantaneous conversion.  In these matters I give place to no one.  But I do say that these truths ought not to be set before men nakedly, singly, and alone.  They ought to be told honestly what it is they are taking up, if they profess a desire to come out from the world and serve Christ.  They ought not to be pressed into the ranks of Christ's army without being told what the warfare entails.  In a word, they should be told honestly to "count the cost."

Does anyone ask what our LORD Jesus Christ's practice was in this matter?  Let him read what St. Luke records.  He tells us that on a certain occasion "There went great multitudes from Him: and He turned and said unto them, 'If any come to Me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.  And whosoever doth not bear his cross and come after Me, cannot be My disciple." (Luke 14:25-27)  I must plainly say that I cannot reconcile this passage with the proceedings of many modern religious teachers.  And yet, to my mind, the doctrine of it is as clear as the sun at noon-day.  It shows us that we ought not to hurry men into professing discipleship, without warning them plainly to "count the cost."

Does anyone ask what the practice of the eminent and best preachers of the Gospel has been in days gone by?  I am bold to say that they have all with one mouth borne testimony to the wisdom of our LORD's dealing with the multitudes to which I have just referred.  Luther, and Latimer, and Baxter, and Wesley, and Whitfield, and Berridge, and Rowland Hill, were all keenly alive to the deceitfulness of man's heart.  They knew full well that all is not gold that glitters, that conviction is not conversion, that feeling is not faith, that sentiment is not grace, that all blossoms do not come to fruit.  "Be not deceived," was their constant cry.  "Consider well what you do.  Do not run before you are called.  Count the cost."

If we desire to do good, let us never be ashamed of walking in the steps of our LORD Jesus Christ.  Work hard, if you will, and have the opportunity for the souls of others.  Press them to consider their ways.  Compel them with holy violence to come in, to lay down their arms, and to yield themselves to God.  Offer them salvation - ready, free, full, immediate salvation.  But in all your work, tell the truth, and the whole truth.  Be ashamed to use the vulgar arts of a recruiting serjeant (sic).  Do not speak only of the uniform, the pay, and the glory; speak also of the enemies, the battle, the armour, the watching, the marching, and the drill.  Do not present only one side of Christianity.  Do not keep back "the cross" of self-denial that must be carried when you speak of the cross on which Christ died for our redemption.  Explain fully what Christianity entails.  Entreat men to repent and come to Christ; but bid them at the same time to "count the cost."

(End of Part II) 

 I hope you will all come back next week for the final installment of Ryle's exhortation to "count the cost" of your profession in Christ Jesus.  May today's reading strengthen you and encourage you to strive towards His holiness and righteousness.

What It Means To "Count the Cost"

Last year, my Mom bought me a Kindle.  I inherited my love of books and reading from her and her family, especially her father, Duncan.  He was an Irishman with a wonderful gift for telling stories.

I wasn't sure I wanted a Kindle, though.  I love the feel and smell of a thick tome; its pages filled with the author's ability to convey a good story.  Because there are so many books available to us - some good, some not so good - I decided to start re-reading the classics:  Robert Louis Stevenson, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Charles Dickens, to name just a few.  The price is also very affordable.  Most, if not all the books I've purchased, have cost me a mere 99 cents each.   The book I'm currently reading at night is The Complete Works of Charles Dickens, including a biography and illustrations, and I am thoroughly enjoying it.

However, I quickly realized how beneficial the Kindle would also become as I scanned through Amazon's list of books written by trusted theologians and pastors.  I have spent the last year absorbing the likes of C.H. Spurgeon, J.C. Ryle, A.W. Tozer, John Bunyan, and recently downloaded  free books from John MacArthur and R.C. Sproul.  Currently, there are several waiting in queue to be read and I'm constantly looking for more.  But my practice is to not merely sit down and read through a book from beginning to end.  I like to take my time, usually reading one chapter each day with my Bible open next to me, and benefiting greatly from the time-honored words of men who preached the word of God with faithfulness, and who were unwavering in their deliverance of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in its purest form.   Many of you will probably agree that to find such exegesis in today's church is a difficulty, if not  improbability, at best.

Each morning, I spend some time reading my devotion, then move on to the latest apologetic that I'm reading through.   I am currently absorbing J.C. Ryle's "Holiness: Its Nature, Hindrance, Difficulties, and Roots," and it has proven to be extremely beneficial.  With that said, I have decided that I would like to share a particular chapter with my readers, hoping I'm not breaking any copyright laws by doing so.

As I read through the chapter bit by bit, I felt that its title bore some significance to the title of this blog.  My intention three years ago was to remind all of us that we do bear a great responsibility in "counting the cost" of our relationship with Jesus Christ.  Proclaiming Him as the LORD and Master of our lives is one thing.  But when trials and tribulation come, are we caught off guard and unwilling to believe that each and every thing that comes into our lives is ordained of God?  Ryle is able to more eloquently answer the question, "What does it cost?", than I.

The chapter will be divided into more than one post because of its length.  After reading this first installment, I hope you will return to finish the chapter.

 
So, without further ado, let's see how Ryle answers this important question.  I hope and pray that, as you read through this chapter, you, also, will be strengthened and renewed.

V.  THE COST

"Which of you, intending to build a house, sitteth not down first and counteth the cost?" ~ Luke 14:28

The text which heads this page is one of great importance.  Few are the people who are not often obliged to ask themselves, "What does it cost?"

In buying property, in building houses, in furnishing rooms, in forming plans, in changing dwellings, in educating children, it is wise and prudent to look forward and consider.  Many would save themselves much sorry and trouble if they would only remember the question, "What does it cost?"

But there is one subject on which it is specially important to "count the cost."  That subject is the salvation of our souls.  What does it cost to be a true Christian?  What does it cost to be a really holy man?  This, after all, is the grand question.  For want of thought about this, thousands after seeming to begin well, turn away from the road to heaven, and are lost forever in hell.  Let me try to say a few words which may throw light on the subject.

I.    I will show, firstly, what it costs to be a true Christian.

II.   I will explain, secondly, why it is of such great importance to count the cost.

III.  I will give, in the last place, some hints which may help men to count the cost rightly.

We are living in strange times.  Events are hurrying on with singular rapidity.  We never know "what a day may bring forth"; how much less do we know what may happen in a year!  We live in day of great religious profession.  Scores of professing Christians in every part of the land are expressing a desire for more holiness and a higher degree of spiritual life.  Yet, nothing is more common than to see people receiving the Word with joy, and then after two or three years falling away, and going back to their sins.  They had not considered "what it costs" to be a really consistent believer and holy Christian.  Surely these are times when we ought often to sit down and "count the cost," and to consider the state of our souls.  We must mind what we are about.  If we desire to be truly holy, it is a good sign.  We may thank God for putting the desire into our hearts.  But still the cost ought to be counted.  No doubt Christ's way to eternal life is a way of pleasantness.  But it is folly to shut our eyes to the fact that His way is narrow, and the cross comes before the crown.

I.   I have, first, to show what it costs to be a true Christian.

 Let there be no mistake about my meaning.  I am not examining what it costs to save a Christian's soul.  I know well that it costs nothing less than the blood of the Son of God to provide an atonement, and to redeem man from hell.  The price paid for our redemption was nothing less than the death of Jesus Christ on Calvary.   We "are bought with a price."  "Christ gave Himself a ransom for all." (1Cor 6:20; 1Tim 2:6).  But all this is wide of the question.  The point I want to consider is another one altogether.  It is what a man must be ready to give up if he wishes to be saved.  It is the amount of sacrifice a man must submit to if he intends to serve Christ.  It is in this sense that I raise the question, "What does it cost?"  And I believe firmly that it is a most important one.

I grant freely that it costs little to be a mere outward Christian.  A man has only got to attend a place of worship twice on Sunday, and to be tolerably moral during the week, and he has gone as far as thousands around him ever go in religion.  All this is cheap and easy work: it entails no self-denial or self-sacrifice.  If this is saving Christianity, and will take us to heaven when we die, we must alter the description of the way of life, and write, "Wide is the gate and broad is that way that leads to heaven!"

But it does cost something to be a real Christian, according to the standard of the Bible.  There are enemies to be overcome, battles to be fought, sacrifices to be made, an Egypt to be forsaken, a wilderness to be passed through, a cross to be carried, a race to be run.  Conversion is not putting a man in an arm-chair and taking him easily to heaven.  It is the beginning of a mighty conflict, in which it costs much to win the victory.  Hence arises the unspeakable importance of "counting the cost."

 Let me try to show precisely and particularly what it costs to be a true Christian.  Let us suppose that a man is disposed to take service with Christ, and feels drawn and inclined to follow Him.  Let us suppose that some affliction, or some sudden death, or an awakening sermon, has stirred his conscience and made him feel the value of his soul and desire to be a true Christian.  No doubt there is everything to encourage him.  His sins may be freely forgiven, however many and great.  His heart may be completely changed, however cold and hard.  Christ and the Holy Spirit, mercy and grace, are all ready for him.  But still he should count the cost.  Let us see particularly, one by one, the things that his religion will cost him.

(1)  For one thing, it will cost him his self-righteousness.  He must cast away all pride and high thoughts, and conceit of his own goodness.  He must be content to go to heaven as a poor sinner saved only by free grace, and owing all to the merit and righteousness of another.  He must really feel as well as say the Prayer-book words that he has "erred and gone astray like a lost sheep," that he has "left undone the things he ought to have done, and done the things he ought not to have done, and that there is no health in him."  He must be willing to give up all trust in his own morality, respectability, praying, Bible-reading, church-going, and sacrament-receiving, and to trust in nothing but Jesus Christ.

Now this sounds hard to some.  I do not wonder.  "Sir," said a godly ploughman to the well-known James Hervy, of Weston Favell, "it is harder to deny proud self than sinful self.  But it is absolutely necessary."  Let us set down this item first and foremost in our account.  To be a true Christian it will cost a man his self-righteousness.

(2)  For another thing, it will cost a man his sins.  He must be willing to give up every habit and practice which is wrong in God's sight.  He must set his face against it, quarrel with it, break off from it, fight with it, crucify it, and labour to keep it under, whatever the world around him may say or think.  He must do this honestly and fairly.  There must be no separate truce with any special sin which he loves.  He must count all sins as his deadly enemies, and hate every false way.  Whether little or great, whether open or secret, all his sins must be thoroughly renounced.  They may struggle hard with him every day, and sometimes almost get the mastery over him.  But he must never give way to them.  He must keep up a perpetual war with his sins.  It is written, "Cast away from you all your transgressions."  "Break off thy sins and iniquities."  "Cease to do evil."  (Ezekiel 28:31; Daniel 4:27; Isaiah 1:16)

This also sounds hard.  I do not wonder.  Our sins are often as dear to us as our children; we love them, hug them, cleave to them, and delight in them.  To part with them is as hard as cutting off a right hand, or plucking out a right eye.  But it must be done.  The parting must come.  "Though wickedness be sweet in the sinner's mouth, though he hid it under his tongue, though he spare it and forsake it not," yet it must be given up, if he wishes to be saved (Job 20:12-13).   He and sin must quarrel, if he and God are to be friends.  Christ is willing to receive any sinners.  But He will not receive them if they will stick to their sins.  Let us set down that item second in our account.  To be a Christian it will cost a man his sins.

(3)  For another thing, it will cost a man his love of ease.  He must take pains and trouble, if he means to run a successful race towards heaven.  He must daily watch and stand on his guard, like a soldier on enemy's ground.  He must take heed to his behaviour every hour of the day, in every company, and in every place, in public as well as in private, among strangers as well as at home.  He must be careful over his time, his tongue, his temper, his thoughts, his imagination, his motives, his conduct in every relation of life.  He must be diligent about his prayers, his Bible-reading, and his use of Sundays, with all their means of grace.  In attending to these things, he may come far short of perfection; but there is none of them that he can safely neglect.  "The soul of the sluggard desireth and hath nothing; but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat." (Prov 13:4)

(4)  In the last place, it will cost a man the favour of the world.  He must be content to be though ill of by man if he pleases God.  He must count it no strange thing to be mocked, ridiculed, slandered, persecuted, and even hated.  He must not be surprised to find his opinions and practices in religion despised and held up to scorn.  He must submit to be thought by many a fool, an enthusiast, and a fanatic, to have his words perverted and his actions misrepresented.  In fact, he must not marvel if some call him mad.  The Master says, "Remember the word that I said unto you.  The servant is not greater than his lord.  If they have persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept My saying, they will keep yours also." (John 15:20)

I dare say this also sounds hard.  We naturally dislike unjust dealing and false charges, and think it very hard to be accused without cause.  We should not be flesh and blood if we did not wish to have the good opinion of our neighbours.  It is always unpleasant to be spoken against, and forsaken, and lied about, and to stand alone.  But there is no help for it.  The cup which our Master drank must be drunk by His disciples.  They must be "despised and rejected of men." (Isaiah 53:3)  Let us set down that item last in our account.  To be a Christian it will cost a man the favour of the world.

Such is the account of what it costs to be a true Christian.  I grant the list is a heavy one.  But where is the item that could be removed?  Bold indeed must that man be who would dare to say that we may keep our self-righteousness, our sins, our laziness, and our love of the world, and yet be saved!

I grant it costs must to be a true Christian.  But who in his sound senses can doubt that it is worthy any cost to have the soul saved?  When the ship is in danger of sinking, the crew think nothing of casting overboard the precious cargo.  When a limb is mortified, a man will submit to any sever operation, and even to amputation, to save life.  Surely a Christian should be willing to give up anything which stands between him and heaven.  A religion that costs nothing is worth nothing!  A cheap Christianity without a cross will prove in the end a useless Christianity without a crown.

(End of Part I)

I hope this first installment is helping you to gain a better understanding of the cost of following Jesus Christ, and that professing Him is more than just words or feelings.   The next part of chapter 5 will deal with explaining why "counting the cost" is of such great importance to a man's soul.  I hope you will come back.

Until next time, may the Holy Spirit lead you in righteousness and instill in each of you a striving after holiness, and may He impart upon all the necessity of "counting the cost" of our profession of Christ Jesus.  To Him be given all glory, honor, and praise.