The Cost of Being a Christian

• Imagine this. You have been working tirelessly your entire life. As a student, you were devoted to your education and after graduating college you obtained a high-paying job. Finally, you are able to afford the house of your dreams, but imagine that the day you move in something tragic happens…an uncontrollable fire burns down your new house to ashes. Right away you feel anguished and even more disappointed when you realize that what you have worked so hard for is now gone. However, could you imagine that this feeling of great loss is how many people will react once they die? Because after you live your short life in this world and face death, like your house, your earthly wealth that you have worked endlessly to earn will instantly perish and lose all its value.

• Not only will you lose everything once you die, but the harsh truth is that God will judge everyone. Since “all have sinned” (Romans 3:23) and “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23) most people will justly endure God’s wrath forever in hell. Fortunately by God’s grace Christians are the only ones with the hope of receiving eternal life in heaven. But what is the cost of being a Christian? The Bible says in Romans 10:9 that if “you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved”. This means you are going to heaven if Jesus is your one and only Lord.

• But just believing in Jesus’ existence is not enough to save you as the Bible says in James 2:19, “Even the demons believe [in God]—and shudder”. But obviously demons do not have salvation. To be a Christian, you must not only say you believe in God -- you must also reveal your dedicated faith in Him through what you do. In James 2:17, the Bible tells us that, “faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead”. Anyone can say “I have faith in God”, but your works will show whether your faith is genuine or fake. Let’s pretend that you tell your friend that you completely trust him, but later when he asks to borrow some money you say “no” to your friend because you have doubts whether or not he will pay you back. Even though you said you trusted your friend, we know that you really do not trust him because your actions reveal you as a liar. In the same way if we call Jesus is our Lord, but we live our life as if He is not our Lord then our words mean absolutely nothing.

• Did you know that 75% of Americans say that they are Christian? Sadly, what you say does not make you a Christian, but how you live your convictions. A Christian is basically a follower of Christ; therefore if you do not follow Christ, you are not a Christian. Jesus tells us in Luke 14:26, “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”. In order to be a follower of Christ we must put God before our family and even our own life.

• Jesus also tells us in Matthew 16:24-25, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Therefore, do not to place your hope in your perishable house or other earthly possessions, but in the “imperishable, undefiled, and unfading” (1 Peter 1:4) reward in heaven that waits for those who persevere. The cost of being a Christian is high, it is basically your life, but the reward is eternal. Therefore, if you say you are a Christian, live like one.