Holiness – The Cost: Part 1

What It Costs to Be a True Christian 1. It Costs Your Self Righteousness – You must give up on trusting in your morality, prayers, Bible-reading, church attendance, service projects, and mission trips. You must throw away all pride and high thoughts of your own goodness. You must trust in nothing but the free grace of God. You must trust in Jesus Christ alone. 2. It Costs Your Sins – You must be willing to give up every practice and habit which is wrong in God’s sight. You must count every sin as a deadly enemy and not make a truce with special sins. To part with some our sins is as hard as cutting off a hand or gouging out an eye. 3. It Costs Your Love of Ease – You must enter the fight and pick up the armor. You must run the race. You must stand guard and keep watch. The enemy never takes a day off therefore a Christian cannot either. When you come to Christ there are no days of vacation, there are no days off, not even a moment off. When a Christian takes a break is when they lose ground. 4. It Costs the Favor of the World – You must be content with be thought bad of by everyone. “Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.” John 15:20. This is not easy or natural to our desires. We prefer being thought well of others. But a Christian must be like their master who was despised and rejected of men. It costs much to be a true Christian. But it is like sailors on a sinking ship who cast everything overboard to save their life. What is of such great a worth in this life that you would save it at the expense of our eternal soul?