Today we’ll look at the final 2 “costs” that J. C. Ryle mentions in his book on Holiness:
3) It will cost a man his love of ease. He must take pains and trouble, if he means to run a successful face towards heaven. He must daily watch and stand his guard, like a soldier on enemy’s ground. He must take heed to his behavior 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 imaginations, 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. “This also sounds hard. There is nothing we naturally dislike so much as ‘trouble’ about our religion. We hate trouble. We secretly wish we could have a ‘vicarious’ Christianity, and could be good by proxy, and have everything done for us. Anything that requires exertion and labor is entirely against the grain of our hearts. But the soul can have ‘no gains without pains.’ Let us set down that item third in our account. To be a Christian it will cost a man his love of ease.
4) It will cost a man the favor of the world. He must be content to be thought 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. “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 neighbors. 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 favor of the world.
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 much to be a true Christian. But who in his sound senses can doubt that it is worth 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 severe 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.
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Like Ryle mentions, we naturally want everything to be a bed of roses as we walk the road of this life. However, if we are to truly follow Jesus Christ, we must expect to be misunderstood by others and even hated by some, and we must be prepared to fight the good fight – putting forth effort to draw closer to God and further away from this world. In Ephesians 6:11, Paul encourages us to “Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.” Why do we need armor? Because we face a DAILY battle with this world in which we live.
The Christian who thinks he can just live out his faith in an easy chair hasn’t really any faith at all. Sure, Jesus Christ is our leader and protector, but we still must join the battle – we still have to fight to keep our focus on Him and sin out of our hearts and lives.
In 1 Timothy 6:11-12, Paul instructs Timothy, “…Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith…” Yes, it “costs” to serve the King of Kings, but when we stop to think of how our Savior Jesus Christ DIED on the cross and gave His LIFE for us, how can we NOT expect it to cost us something? True salvation is by faith alone in Christ alone – but once we have decided to place our faith in Him, it will costs us much to follow Him. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”
Paul wrote in Philippians 3:8; “…I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ”. Are we willing to make that choice as well? Have we counted the “cost” of genuine faith in God?