Discipled or saved?

I am reflecting on two doctrinal camps I find in the church today. One camp says, Jesus is my Lord, referring to believers who elevate discipleship at the expense of grace. This camp believes that good works prove, test, and build faith in Jesus. They view the Lord as Teacher. The other camp says, Jesus is my Saviour, referring to believers who emphasize the amazing grace of God and the faith that leads to good works. This camp believes in sonship over discipleship. They view the Lord as Savior.

Take up your cross and follow Me

Let's take a look at the Jesus is my Lord camp. In the synoptic gospels, there are a number of passages that talks about discipleship and the cost of discipleship. In Matthew 16:24, Mark 8:34, Luke 9:23, and Luke 14:26-27, Jesus emphatically says that you have to give up everything, even your own life, and to take up your cross to become His disciple. His language is the strongest in Luke 14:26 saying, "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple."
Let's put this in context. In the beginning of Luke 14, Jesus was a guest in a Sabbath meal hosted by one of the top leaders of the Pharisees. There were many guests at this dinner party. Seeing that there were guests who were in the best seats, He proceeded to tell a parable about the lowly places (Luke 14:7-14) and the parable of the great supper (Luke 14:15-24). Then beginning in verse 25, the great multitudes (referring to the guests at the Sabbath meal) were following Jesus to where He was going. Where? I can only deduce away from the house where the party was, to go outside. Jesus turned to the crowd who was after Him and told them how they can become His followers (and this is where we find the words in verse 26 above). You see, Jesus was addressing a different crowd and not the usual throng of sinners, the sick, and the outcasts. This crowd was the self-righteous bunch. They wore the same feather as the Pharisees who invited them to the dinner party. They were lawyers, physicians, scribes, and religious leaders. Being successful in their own right, conceivably they were interested to see the formula to Jesus' success. They wanted to know how to heal the sick, how to bring dead people back to life, how to cast out demons, and how to make the blind see, deaf hear, and mute speak. To them, discipleship means following Jesus so that they can learn how to do the miracles themselves.
Am I grasping if I said that these self-righteous people were by their very nature good-doers? They performed for merit and accomplishment. They relied on their own understanding and was interested in learning for their own sake. So, it is no wonder that they would be interested in learning what Jesus did and how He did things so they in turn could do it themselves. Possibly, they could even innovate and make Jesus' process more efficient. Jesus, inevitably would test their heart - their commitment by laying down his heaviest criteria.
A simple analogy I make is, let's say I am the greatest mountaineer on earth. I have followers who want to know what I know and what it takes to take on Mt. Everest. But I want to pick only the best. So I tell them that "if you want to follow me, you have to give up your family for one year to train and you could die in one of the practice mountains that culminates in taking on Mt. Everest. You have to pay for your own travelling, lodging, and other arrangements that could run upwards from $250,000. If you can commit to that then let's do it."
One more thing, when Jesus told His disciples, to take up his (own) cross, what would that have meant for them? The Greeks and Romans adopted the crucifixion from the Phoenicians as their form of capital punishment. It's reserved for the most guilty of criminals, inciters of rebellion, and thieves. Taking up the cross literally meant that you have had to acknowledge that you were guilty of a crime. Clearly, someone who didn't think they were guilty of anything much more a crime punishable by crucifixion would have already said no to Jesus' terms of discipleship.

Just a Disciple

The Greek word for disciple is mathētēs which means a pupil or learner. Is Jesus just a teacher we can learn from? Do I just want to learn from Him about how to live a good life? Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle had so many things to say about life and they are considered the fathers of western philosophy. Ancient China had its great teachers like Confucius and Laozi, the founder of Taoism. Ancient India produced some of the well-known teachers like Buddha, Mahavira founder of Jainism, and Patanjali founder of classical yoga.
In Matthew 7:12, Jesus said, "Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets." There were many texts in Ancient history in Greece, China, India, Egypt, and Persia that taught the same principle and was known as the Golden Rule. Jesus basically summarized the entire Law and the Prophets into the Golden Rule recognized by many ancient societies. Indeed, in Matthew 22:37-40, Jesus elaborated further, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." The Babylonian Code of Hammurabi in Mesopotamia predates Mosaic Law by 300 years and it too has a version of the Golden Rule. What is my point in bringing up all these? My point is, when Jesus lived he had possibly hundreds if not thousands of disciples just like any teacher or prophet or philosopher during that time. Just like all teachers, Jesus was simply stating His criteria for accepting followers and stating the cost of discipleship (a tuition of sorts). Jesus did not accept money for tuition. He only accepted the only currency that no person can just give up without His grace, and that is one's own life.

Dire warning for not paying tuition

Jesus also issued a dire warning in Matthew 7:21-22, Matthew 25:11, Luke 6:46 saying, not everyone of those who says, "Lord, Lord" shall enter the kingdom of heaven. Clearly, Jesus knew that many of those who would follow him as disciples would flake out eventually. Jesus had many disciples in the beginning of His ministry. Luke records the 70 disciples that Jesus had at some point and those disciples were joyful that they could perform miracles just as Jesus did. In fact, Jesus told them not to enjoy their power but instead be joyful that their names are written in heaven. But in John's gospel (John 6:66), the Holy Spirit also recorded for us that many of the disciples left Jesus because they were offended that Jesus put restrictions on their discipleship. They couldn't understand that true discipleship involved faith, that in Him is life itself and that He is the Bread of life to be served up for all to eat (referring to the ordinance of communion). Jesus also hinted about the ascension and the coming of the Spirit (at Pentecost). These doctrines were very hard for them to understand. The last straw was that Jesus told them they couldn't understand all this on their own merits but can only come through the grace of God. We don't know for sure if the 70 were part of the bunch that left but it's a fact that many left Him.

From discipleship to apostleship

The word disciple was never again used after the book of Acts. Ananias, Tabitha, Timothy, Mnason of Cyprus, and other unnamed disciples from Caesarea were the last ones to be called disciples by the Holy Spirit. Paul, in his epistles, did not identify himself as a disciple but he referred to himself as an apostle of Jesus Christ. Peter, also called himself an apostle of Jesus Christ. The Greek word "apostolos" means a delegate, a messenger, one sent forth with orders (from Thayer's Greek Lexicon). There must be a reason the Holy Spirit never again used the word disciple to describe the followers of Jesus Christ after Acts.
In the Gospel accounts when Jesus was still living among them before His death on the cross, the Bible used the word apostle sparingly. Luke 6:13 mentions the transition from being just disciples to becoming apostles. Matthew 10:5-39 explains the difference. An apostle is a disciple who's been called out for a mission of proclaiming the kingdom of God. Verse 8, explains that as an apostle the twelve disciples have the mission of healing the sick, cleansing the lepers, raising the dead, and casting out demons. Verse 8 continues and Jesus reminded them, "Freely you have received, freely you give." In this context, it's understood and implied that the twelve had experienced the grace of God themselves (freely received) and because of it, they now have the power and authority to do those things that Jesus commanded them to do (freely give). The word "freely" in Greek is "dórean", which means gratuitously (literally or figuratively) -- without a cause, freely, for naught, in vain (from Strong's Concordance). Moreover, as the twelve disciples experienced grace after grace while they were with Jesus, they were able to approach Jesus' warnings of estrangement from family, persecution, and death from a position of strength from God and not from human weakness.
Paul says in his letter to the Romans that through Jesus "we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name." Romans 1:5
When Jesus carried His cross to Calvary, He was carrying our sins. When He hung on the cross and declared "Finished", He had finally paid in full all the requirements of the Law and exhausted all of God's judgment of our sins on His body. We are today called to believe that Jesus died for our sins so we may have eternal life. And when we believe that we have been saved, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we can truly say Jesus is Lord. We are not called to follow but rather to believe so that we can be led to our purpose in life. You see following Jesus involves too much of ourselves and less of Jesus. Jesus did not come to offer another religion. He came to liberate us from the bondage of the law. He came so that we may have life. It's true that even demons believe Jesus is Lord. But demons are not sons of the Father. They are not called to the obedience of the faith that Jesus is Saviour and so therefore they do not have the Spirit and furthermore, they can never be led to do any good work.

Jesus is my Saviour

After deep reflection I can say that I belong to the Jesus is my Saviour camp.  I believe in discipleship but I don't exalt it at the expense of grace. When I experienced the saving grace for the very first time, I reacted the same way Peter did at the boat when after witnessing the miracle of catching fish, Peter suddenly had a sense of his sins and Jesus' holiness that he shouted, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!" But the Lord did not depart, He saved me instead.

My confession

My sins have brought me to Jesus because I heard he could save me. And indeed I am not worthy to be in front of a holy and just God. But Jesus suffered for me, He died on the cross for me, and for my justification He rose up on the third day. I accept this truth and believe in the promise of eternal life. This is good news to me. I now come to a place of peace and love from Jesus that I allow myself to be vulnerable to His leading through the Spirit. Jesus your name is Yeshua, meaning "God saves". Today, I confess you are my saviour and my Lord. Amen.

Faith Healing

My heart grieves for the people who have been victimized by so-called faith healers. It's been reported many times in the 70s, 80s, and even today, that many purported faith healers had been basically stealing money from the sick enriching themselves. We hear of story after story of fake healers like Peter Popoff in the late 80s. Popoff tricked sick people into thinking he had God-given telepathic powers to know who they were in the audience and where they lived and other details. He gave such an impressive performance that enough people and advertisers believed in him and he generated millions for himself. This was later exposed as a fraud after learning that the "revelations" were sent by radio through an earpiece in his ear by his wife who relayed previously taken information from pre-interviews with the audience made prior to the faith healing extravaganza.
Sadly, this is not a unique case though. These fraudulent faith healings are present everywhere. You only have to turn on the TV and watch the late-night TV programs and infomercials and you'll see these people spreading their bait-and-hook modus operandi. It's amazing that innocent people still get victimized by these blatantly devious folks. If there's one thing to be learned about this is that it shows me that the world doesn't really know who Jesus is. I'm angry at these heartless fake healers who blaspheme Jesus and use his name to corrupt not just the world but the body of Christ - the church.

Quack, Quack

I am using the above observation as a prelude to what I want to share regarding my thoughts on faith healing. In all the synoptic gospels, meaning, Mark, Luke, and Matthew, there is the faith healing account of the woman who had a bleeding problem.
In Mark 5:25-34 NKJV, it says,

25 Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, 26 and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse. 27 When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment. 28 For she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.”
29 Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction. 30 And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My clothes?”
31 But His disciples said to Him, “You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’”
32 And He looked around to see her who had done this thing. 33 But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. 34 And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.”

In Luke 8:43-49 NKJV,

43 Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, 44 came from behind and touched the border of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped.
45 And Jesus said, “Who touched Me?”
When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, “Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’”
46 But Jesus said, “Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me.” 47 Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately.
48 And He said to her, “Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”

The gospel of Matthew has the shortest record of the event in Matthew 9:20-22 NKJV,

20 And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the hem of His garment. 21 For she said to herself, “If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well.” 22 But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, “Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And the woman was made well from that hour.

My favorite is in Mark's account because it gives more dimension to the story. Let's analyze.
In verses 25-26, it describes the woman's condition. It is a bleeding disorder that's afflicted her for twelve years. If you've read Leviticus 15, you'll find out that this kind of condition during those ancient times, made her unclean - both from the stance of religion and basic hygiene. So, anyone she touched while having this condition also became unclean. So, it's not a stretch to imagine this woman had been shunned by family and friends. If she were married, her condition would've been grounds for divorce. It's also interesting to find out that the physicians during those times were not really the medical doctors we now know but rather they were "law" physicians. Meaning, they were rabbis who tried to heal her from medicines recorded in the Talmud. It's not hard to imagine that many of these law physicians were probably like Popoff who ripped her off of her money with a promise of healing. Why else did she not get healed? And for twelve years this woman who most likely had financial means went from one con artist to another only to spend all that she had and still did not get cured. So her affliction made her very poor and her attempt to seek cure from the "law" made her even more sick.

Faith Comes By Hearing

The succeeding verses 27-28, talks about her faith. My questions are, how did she develop her faith? And was her faith the same kind of faith we have now? The answer to the first is she must have been bombarded with information about the new rabbi in town. That the new rabbi, Jesus, healed many people. There's a song lyric that goes "grace like rain falls down on me". Similar to that analogy, the faith of the woman came like rain on her. Romans 10:17 talks about how "faith comes by hearing." I think this woman developed her faith after being told time and time again of Jesus' healing powers. And she believed this with all her heart. So, this woman must have just heard enough stories about Jesus (like rain falling on her) that her faith developed to the point that she must have drowned on that knowledge and became mentally and heartily convinced that even if she were to just touch Jesus' clothes she would be healed. This woman needed a healer and Jesus certainly healed her.
On the second question, personally, I didn't think there was anything wrong with the self-serving faith the woman had especially because the object of her faith was still Jesus Christ himself. After all I'm supposing the woman wasn't concerned about the kingdom of God that Jesus preached she just wanted to be healed. Also her faith action was quite different. What stood out for me was the simple fact that this woman got healed without Jesus first commanding her to be healed. Normally, the way Jesus exercised His healing power was by speaking commands. In this instance, because of the authenticity of the woman's faith she was able to actively pursue her healing without the benefit of Jesus' commands. She only touched Jesus' garment and she was healed. Perhaps this passage and the healing of the multitudes by touching Jesus' garment in Mark 6:56 gave reason for many denominations who believe that touching religious artifacts brought healing to them.
Also on the second question, remember that the power of the cross and his resurrection have not yet come to fruition. In context, faith in Jesus during the time he was living with the people involved only in believing that he has the power to heal and restore people to wholeness. Granted, Jesus also forgave sins and then healed people of their sicknesses but he also in the case of the multitudes just simply healed them on the basis of faith in his healing power not faith in the atoning of sins. Faith activated the healing grace that Jesus freely gave to everyone who asked for it. The faith we have now includes the cross and Jesus' atonement for our sins.

Honey, We Won the Lottery

Verse 29 describes her healing as immediate. The following verse tells us that Jesus felt power had left him and wanted to know who touched him. I love the sarcastic retort from the disciples asking Jesus, Really!?!? you want to know who touched you? Do you realize you are walking with a really large crowd? But Jesus really wanted to find out because he stopped and looked around. Of course, it is not to embarrass the woman but to bring glory to the Father.
In verse 33, the woman was fearful and trembling. In Luke's account, "she came trembling". In Mark, however, the phrasing is different and more telling, that it leads me to think that the woman wasn't afraid of what Jesus might do to her perhaps to scold at her for taking power from him. But it's the "fear and trembling" that you might experience after realizing that after twelve years of suffering you had just been cured. The closest I can imagine to this is that it's probably the same kind of frantic exuberance and tingling sensation that you might feel after learning you won the $50 million lottery and blurting out to your spouse that "Honey, we won the lottery!!!!!! Ahhhhhhyyyyyyaaaaaaayyyyyyyy!!!!" falling to the ground squirming with extreme joy.

Continued Healing Required

The last verse in 34, Jesus says, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.” Wait a minute. She was already healed, wasn't she? Why would Jesus follow up with a command of "be healed of your affliction"? The words "be healed" is in the present active signifying the healing goes on. I suppose after seeing her squirm frantically with joy on the ground Jesus must have thought she was a little cuckoo in the head. Kidding aside, I do think that the physical healing immediately came. But true healing was continuously happening to the woman. Her affliction was her bleeding condition which was cured but that affliction must have caused her to suffer shame and humiliation which we know needs time to heal. Imagine being ostracized by family and society and then bilked by opportunists. So maybe she did suffer some form of mental anguish and thus required more healing from Jesus. I just wonder if this woman after her physical healing then started to follow Jesus and witnessed the cross and the resurrection. How wonderful  that would have been that she had been totally liberated from her anguish.

The Scandal of Grace

Was there ever an account in the gospels where a self-righteous person ever received healing? I don't think so. The truth of Jesus' saving grace was never on the side of the Law. "Lawful" thinking is believing wrongly both in the subject and the object of your belief. The refrain from a song by Hillsong called Scandal of Grace goes like this,

"Oh to be like You
Give all I have just to know You
Jesus, there's no one besides You
Forever the hope in my heart"

This best captures who your object of faith should be - Jesus Christ only. Indeed, the grace of Jesus is scandalous. Because as a Christian, you might be thinking that your performance is earning you favours from God. Or you might be thinking that you have to achieve holiness on your own so healing can be given.
The grace of Jesus Christ that Paul exposed so much in his ministry brought him accusations that he was giving people license to sin. On the contrary, he believed that law consciousness brought about more sin but where that happened grace exceeded much more. Come to think of it, that alone would have been easily perverted by some. That's why I also believe in the Holy Spirit's role as a helper to those who have received grace so they can truly understand this amazing gift.
The book of Romans summarizes Paul's rationale for teaching the scandal of grace that is, salvation from grace alone without an ounce of work through faith in Jesus and his finished work on the cross - the subject of our faith. Christian bible teachers who demand the law from the people while preaching grace is nullifying grace all together for the people. Paul explains that if obeying the law is all it takes to obtain the promise of eternal life then faith is voided (Romans 4).
Healing comes by grace through faith as much as salvation does. Faith turns into action much easily when you receive it with ears to hear. What I'm saying is, faith without works does not happen when grace is operating in your life. Works is a byproduct not the main ingredient of righteousness.

The Way I See Faith Healing

Let's not be the generation who seeks signs and miraculous wonders to anchor our faith in. Jesus sighs deeply when we do, just as he did in Mark 8:12 when the Pharisees insisted on seeking proof. Instead let's rest in the peace that Jesus can only give, and instead of seeking signs let's wait patiently for the Lord with the kind of hope in Psalm 40:1 AMP "I waited patiently and expectantly for the Lord; and He inclined to me and heard my cry."
And when the time of healing comes then we are more than ready to give glory to Him only, so that many who has ears let them hear and come to Christ. And if healing doesn't come at least in this world, then we can have the same peace that the woman in the story received from Jesus. And that's more important because if we can face the prospect of dying in the same manner that Jesus faced his death then we can truly say that we've been transformed. Of course, I hope you understand that you don't get to this point by your own sheer will power but by the power of the grace that you embraced through faith.
Again, as a true follower of Christ, we obey the basic truth that our faith is based on God's love for us not the other way around. When you put yourself under the Law, you cannot experience Grace.

My Prayer

Lord, I have friends and family who just received news they have cancer, who is experiencing extreme depression, who had sudden kidney failure and is waiting for a new kidney, and who is struggling with mobility. I myself still have the cough for three weeks now. We all have faith in you and your power to heal. Moreover, we live the faith that you died for our sins so that we can stand in front of a just God, righteous and blameless. You are the perfect lamb, the perfect sin offering. You received our sickness and ailments on the cross and we in return receive your health. Just as you are in heaven, so are we in this world. We thank you for your unceasing love for us. Abba, our Father, I pray all these things in the mighty name of Jesus your son. Amen.

His Way or the Highway

Last Sunday my pastor talked about "The Christian Perspective on Forgiveness". His sermon addressed the question of "does the Christian value of forgiveness bring about a peaceful society?" He concluded no, not necessarily so but as Christians we are called to live by His values. He added that as Christians we are citizens of heaven first. We follow Jesus' way of unmerited forgiveness and this may upset peace in the society. Listening to his sermon, I was struck by one passage that he used that spoke to me in real terms as I continue in my own life journey with Jesus.

I am going to reflect on one of the passages that my pastor used in his sermon.

"Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword."

Matthew 10:34

The Cost of Discipleship

The sword is symbolic of division. In Luke's account, the author phrased Jesus' statement in the positive interrogative saying, "Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division. - Luke 12:51" By phrasing it this way, it gives an impression that Jesus was issuing a stern challenge and an ominous warning to his followers. Jesus was implying that his Way was not going to be easy. Many of the remaining disciples and early church leaders of the Way died a martyr's death and/or imprisoned for rebellion. Some, according to the Bible and church traditions, were stoned and crucified even boiled in a cauldron of oil.
So does the message of grace, of underserved favour, of unmerited forgiveness, sit well with any society ancient or modern?

Radical Grace Divides

Grace and Truth is Jesus Christ. Jesus began his ministry by teaching in the synagogue the prophetic words of Isaiah. In Luke's account (Luke 4:18-19), Jesus read from the scroll,

“18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

then declared later on (in Luke 4:21) that "Today this Scripture is fulfilled". The "acceptable year of the Lord" is an expression that means the year of Jubilee. It's not a calendar year but a specific reference to the once every fifty years observance by the Jewish people for when the land rested, everyone returned to their family property, and slaves were freed. Reading back Isaiah's prophecy wasn't simply reciting a piece of Israel's history from when they were liberated from Babylonian exile, Jesus was in fact implicitly declaring to them their salvation from sin and liberation from all its consequences through him. 

He started an uproar and the people were so incensed at what he said later on (in Luke 4:25-27) about two examples of Gentiles receiving help from God (possibly insinuating that the blessings from Deuteronomy 28 will be bestowed to the non-covenant Gentile peoples rather than them who are the true sons of God). The people were so angry at that insinuation, which was a picture of radical grace, that they shoved Jesus to the edge of a hill ready to push him over the cliff. Of course, Jesus escaped that riot unharmed. But to the question, did Jesus come to bring peace? In this example, he caused quite a stir that brought out the wrath in people's hearts.

Sword Examples

As a Christian living here in Vancouver, am I also prepared for this kind of reception when I start sharing God's story of grace in the person of Jesus? The worst I could imagine is being dismissed and ridiculed. I remember an experience during one of our Church's outreach ministry to the homeless. We started to approach a homeless person who recognized us from a week before when we distributed a hot meal to two of his friends. My friend and I extended our hands to greet him when he hurriedly walked past us and angrily blurted out as he passed that he didn't accept anything from church folks. That experience was new to me but I've never personally witnessed anything worse than that. I acknowledge my experience pales in comparison to other Christians worldwide.
I occasionally sparred with officemates who are atheists (the ordinary kind not the intellectuals) who are just simply dismissive because in their mind they can't accept a powerful and seemingly loving God who allows suffering and strife in the world to continue. Honestly, I find it easier to argue with atheists than to talk about God's undeserved, unmerited, and unearned favour to fellow Christians who have fallen from grace (Galatians 5:4) because they stuck ardently to living rightly instead of believing rightly in the Grace and Truth of Jesus Christ.
Then to the question, does the message of grace, of underserved favour, of unmerited forgiveness, sit well with any society ancient or modern? In my opinion, the answer is a resounding no. The concept of grace isn't natural for all people Christian or otherwise. It is so unnatural that when you demonstrate grace today in public, you'll be mocked, labeled as an irrational fool, seen as pretentious, and worst of all even killed. Growing up I had uncles and aunts who worked as engineers and nurses in Saudi Arabia. I recalled them telling me that many times they risked their jobs and lives gathering together for Bible studies. If they were ever caught in the hallways of their apartments with a Bible they could be charged with proselytizing which was punishable by death. Many societies today in Asia and the Middle East are still like the ancient world where Christians are persecuted and killed for their faith.
In my own Bible study group, we had a visitor once who was personally struggling to understand why her son became a born-again Christian from Catholicism (or I should say folk Catholicism). She was convinced that her son was unduly influenced to break from her household because of the biblical passages in Matthew 10:35-37, which is a continuation of the passage above in my preface,

"35 For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; 36 and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ 37 He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me."

Perhaps she was blinded by her own ignorance of the Word because she herself haven't read that passage before and was surprised to find out later that it was in the Bible and immediately attributed her son's estrangement to those very passages. She stuck around with us for a few succeeding sessions but eventually flaked out. In retrospect, we could have ministered to her much more about her own personal struggles on feeling abandoned by her son. I have faith though that a seed has been planted in her heart. I pray that her heart is good ground for God's word.

In Conclusion

Some fellow Christians tell me that being saved is not enough. Confessing Jesus is Lord is the next step in the Way, therefore discipleship is hard work.
However, it is by grace that I am saved through faith in Jesus who died for my sake that I may have life. His blood washed my sins clean and his resurrection made me righteous before a just God. He gave his life so that I may have life so abundant in grace.
His Way or the Highway? I agree that discipleship has a cost. But that cost was paid for and nailed to the cross. Then Jesus said, "It is finished." Sure, I expect to lose friends, perhaps invite enemies, experience hardships, and upset the peace from time to time. But by the grace of God, the only obedience that is required of me is the obedience to the faith not obedience to good works. I echo Paul's prayer below.

12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength to do his work. He considered me trustworthy and appointed me to serve him, 13 even though I used to blaspheme the name of Christ. In my insolence, I persecuted his people. But God had mercy on me because I did it in ignorance and unbelief. 14 Oh, how generous and gracious our Lord was! He filled me with the faith and love that come from Christ Jesus.
15 This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them all. 16 But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life. 17 All honor and glory to God forever and ever! He is the eternal King, the unseen one who never dies; he alone is God. Amen.
1 Timothy 1: 12-17 MSG