What is the relationship between salvation and discipleship? (Mark 8:27-38)

The relationship between salvation and discipleship is a complex one. There may even be different perspectives among people listening to this podcast today. Some say, you get saved, and then you become a disciple. Other teach that you must be disciple in order to be a Christian. Some ask the question why some people appear to make a Christian commitment in their lives but then it doesn’t lead to the transformation in the way we expect.

So, what I would like to try and do this episode is throw some light on these issues by considering the relationship between salvation and discipleship? Are they the same thing, or are they two different things?

The passage that was read for us consists of two very simple but distinct parts. In the first half of the passage there is a discussion between Jesus and his disciples about who the people think he is.

Then in the second part of the passage beginning with verse 34, he teaches them about what it means to be a disciple.

It starts in the verse 27.

Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, ‘Who do people say I am?’ They replied, ‘Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.

(Mark 8: 27-28)

I want us just to think about this for a moment. Jesus asks a very perceptive question, a deeply significant question, which is, who do people say that I am. The disciples answer by saying “some people say you are John the Baptist, and some say you are Elijah. This is not as strange an answer as it sounds, because the last book of the Old Testament, a book called Malachi said that before the Messiah came, Elijah would re-appear. Some people saw the ministry and miracles of Christ and concluded that maybe this was the forerunner of the Messiah, Elijah come back again. Other said Jesus is a Prophet, another prophet of God, in a long line of prophets.

‘But what about you?’ he asked. ‘Who do you say I am?’

Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah. Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.

(Mark 8: 29-30)

This is not the first time that Pater is seen to clearly have articulated that he understood that Jesus was the Messiah. Right at the beginning of John’s Gospel account in chapter 1, we see Peter’s brother Andrew meeting the Lord for the  first time and then after that going to Peter and telling him, “We have found the Messiah”. So, having been introduced to him as the Messiah, Peter himself is now saying, I am personally persuaded that you are indeed the Messiah. At this point in the passage Jesus begins to teach Peter and the others about how God’s free gift of salvation through Him will actually play out.

He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. ‘Get behind me, Satan!’ he said. ‘You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.’

(Mark 8: 31-33)

Peter didn’t like Jesus’ version of events particularly his need to die.

And when Peter says so we see Jesus rebuke him, and this is not a mild ticking off. “Get thee behind me Satan” he says.Jesus tells Peter, that to his reaction what he has just told him, is not of God, and is in fact is inspired by the devil himself and that he has only reached that wrong conclusion because he is not mindful of the things of God, he is thinking of his own selfish concerns.

For many in that day the concept of the Messiah, was that he was going to come and set up a kingdom. However, the concept of a suffering Messiah was also contained within the Old Testament and the teachers of the law, knew it well. However, the Jews of Jesus day focused on the Messiah as the Son of David, the Messiah as a conquering king. The suffering servant Messiah was incompatible with popular teaching of the day.

Obviously, Peter had soaked up the current ideas and was mindful of what these men where teaching. Jesus doesn’t mince his words, when he says that this teaching came straight from the heart of Satan not the throne room of God. The Lord rebukes Peter because he did not accept that the Messiah needed to die and be raised from the dead.

Peter is flip flopping here one minute enlightened by the spirt of God and the next minute, thinking like and expressing the thoughts of Satan. One minute Peter was the rock the next he is a stumbling block.

Peter does not yet understand the relationship between suffering and glory and he would eventually learn the lesson and emphasis it in his first letter. In the meantime, he was following Satan’s worldly philosophy of glory without suffering, rather than God philosophy of suffering being transformed into glory.

Before we go on to the rest of the passage, I want to talk for a moment about Salvation. The bible tells us how we are saved, saved from judgement and eternal separation from God. We trust in Christ and Christ alone to get you to heaven, and we need add nothing to that. The book of Romans clarifies what this all means very clearly when it says.

And all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

(Romans 3:24)

In fact, the New Testament closes with a very final phrase about this, when it says.

The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come!’ Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.

(Rev 22: 17)

Both of these verses are both talking about the free gift of salvation, given freely. Eternal life is a free gift of God. Romans 6: 23 says it in plain English.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

(Romans 6:23)

A gift costs the giver, but it is free to the receiver. So, in this situation salvation being the gift means that Jesus paid the cost, so that you can receive Gods favour as a free gift. The cost is not yours; the cost was met by Jesus, for you to receive it there was no price to pay. This simply means Salvation does not cost us anything. There is no external cost to us, so, take it, receive it today, if you haven’t that done already, do it today. Nothing required other than a spiritual response of thanks to God.

The other great thing about this gift is that we are told it is everlasting, so once gained it has no expiration date. God’s gift of salvation does not expire, and it is not reversible. If you have trusted Jesus Christ, this means you’ve got it, it is eternal, and he won’t take it back and nothing can change that offer on His part. That means that some take and say thank you take the gift and never do anything more about it. Let’s now look at the second half of the passage and see what it now says about the life journey after salvation called discipleship.

Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.

(Mark 8: 34)

So, the next passage is saying, OK, you have now been saved, now, he asks the question, are you going to follow me. However, warning that if you do so, then for this there is going to be a cost. Maybe now we can see why so many people give the hearts to the Lord, and then never do much about it afterwards. The want to take the free gift but they don’t want to offer to pay the price of discipleship afterwards. This is a price.

Number one the 1st cost is this, “You must deny yourself”. This phrase has nothing to do with what some call self-denial, like fasting or giving things up, that may be a valid thing to do sometimes, but that a different thing to what Jesus is talking about there. “Self-denial” is not the same thing as “denial of self”, that is being talked about here.

The following illustration I am about to give you is an accurate account. I had a friend who used to ration herself to one chocolate bar or special treat a day. During lent she would stop eating her treats but still buy them and put them in a box. The after lent she would open the box and catch them up by eating them over the next few weeks.

Denial of self is not the same as self-denial. Denial of self is the denying of yourself at the ultimate authority in your life. Denial of self means instead of following yourself own ideas  and motivations or even physical desires, you commit to follow the path of Lord and what his desires for your life are. Sometimes, it will mean saying no to what you want to do. Often, it might also mean saying yes to what you don’t really want to do because Christ tells you to do it. Discipleship has a cost because it means saying no to every action and desire that is driven purely by your selfish wants and needs. 

Rather you should now say yes to the voice of God revealed through his word, and the voice of Jesus prompted in your heart by the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul says it should feel like; “You no longer live, but Christ that lives in you” (Gal 2:20) Discipleship means your life is no longer a self-centred life, discipleship means making your life a Christ-centered life.

So, the first cost of discipleship, is, “denial of self”. But there is a  second cost of discipleship also revealed in this verse. Where it tells us to, “take up our cross and follow him” and Luke added the caveat, “to do that every day”. This has of course elements of self-sacrifice and suffering in it, but to take up your cross, I believe means following in the will of God wherever that may take you.

So, we are to practice, “denial of self”, and we are to take up our cross, and we are to follow him. But follow me also means doing as Christ would whilst we are on that journey.

At this point in the passage Jesus begins to describe the process of discipleship.

For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.

(Mark 8: 35)

If you live for yourself, you will lose your purpose in life. However, if you give your life over to the Jesus and His message you will end up discovering what life is really about. Handing over your life to God ironically means that you get a really meaningful life handed straight back to you. The more you are wrapped up in yourself the less happy you will be and the less you will really know what life is about. I believe the happiest people on this earth are those who hand themselves over to something greater than themselves. When it comes to cost in Gods economy, God gave us a life of value to spend on other people. Spend what we have on others, we are only spending what God gave us anyway. Finally, in the closing verses Jesus unpacks this all and by doing so he takes it to a whole new level.

What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?

(Mark 8: 36-37)

Remember the context of these verses, Jesus is teaching about discipleship. When He talks about losing your life, he is not just talking about a physical life but losing your old purpose and meaning of life and exchanging it for something better. Is your future life going to be a living dynamic thing or of just a dead soulless existence? The challenge is, are you going to waste what you have been given, or are you going to invest what you have been given? This tells me you can invest your life in something that will create spiritual profit for you and everyone around you, or you can squander your life and come out of it spiritually bankrupt.

If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.’

(Mark 8: 38)

Know the judgement mentioned here is not at the great white throne judgement, for as we said, salvation is secure, but this is a judgment in a sense of the weighing of believers lives at what is called the judgement seat of Christ. At the judgement seat of Christ what he offers us is more than the peace with God we achieved at the point of our salvation - we may also be offered Glory. You can’t dodge the service and reap the benefits. You can refuse the hard work of the campaign on earth and expect the highest place of glory in heaven.

Jesus is saying you live in a world that is hostile to my message if you are in effect ashamed of me, and if you avoid the cost of identifying with me. If you don’t do what I desire, you to do. Then I cannot give you a place of high honour when my kingdom finally comes. 

So, in a sense in order to be a disciple and for it to be profitable in the coming kingdom, it may very well involve sacrifice in this life.

Summary.

What I have tried to show in this chapter is point out that this passage is talking about two different things. Firstly Salvation, and then discipleship. Believing Jesus is the Messiah and following him as a disciple are two radically different things. Salvation is without cost, it’s a free gift. However, discipleship costs, which means there are sacrifices to be made.

Maybe you believe all God promised the believer is answered prayers, physical healings, and financial prosperity. It might be in God plan for you to be wealthy and blessed in life but do you know it might be God’s plan for you not to be wealthy and thereby be required to trust in Him?

I am promising you a cross to carry Jesus says. As a Christian preacher I believe always have to tell people the truth pf what Jesu and the bible says. What did Winston Churchill promise the British people when he took over the leading of the country early in WWII? He promised blood, toil, sweat and tears.  In some parts of the world that cost can be persecution. For us in the west it is more likely just to be criticism or a sort of implied prejudice.

Have I sold this Christian life of discipleship too you? Are you sitting there thinking, why would I sign up for that when all you are promising is a cross to carry? Well it is because Jesus teaches that if you follow him, he will reward you not only spiritually in this life but with glory in the kingdom to come. We enter that kingdom for free, but we are rewarded in heaven with the treasure we have laid up there. The acid test is you doing what this book called the bible says. Do you say you love people, or do you really love people? Are you a burden to other believers making them carry the cost of your criticism, or are you laying up treasure in heaven? Living for yourself and this world might bring you some temporary assets, but as the cliché says, you can’t take it with. Rather lay-up treasure in heaven that will last an eternity.

‘Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

(Matthew 6: 19-21)