Does Christianity Make You Cross?

I've been reading a book called Holiness by J.C. Ryle for the last few months. (Is it just me or do all true men of God have names that go X.Y. [Surname] - R.C. Sproul, D.A. Carson, N.T. Wright, F.F. Bruce. From now on, I insist you call me D.J. Kelly). There's a lot to discuss from it so this certainly won't be the last time I mention it, but I bring this book up now because it came up in a conversation the other day. Yesterday, in fact.

We got to talking about people who used to be Christians but have now turned their backs on the Christian life. Obviously this is a tricky topic, and I'm not going to go into things like 'Were they even Christians to begin with?' and 'If so, then have they lost their salvation, or is that possible?' These are fascinating questions no doubt, but I'm not going to answer them for several reasons, chief of which is that I don't know the answers, which kind of makes all the other reasons a bit irrelevant.

Anyway, the issue at hand is why this happens? Why this fallout? If Christianity (and more specifically, Christ) really is the one true answer to all of life's questions then why do people let go of it when they have it in their grasp?

One of my fellow conversers gave Biblical proof that such a thing will happen, because we are told "the gate is narrow and few will find it".

So while we know what will happen - few will finish the Christian race - the why wasn't clarified. Enter D.J. Kelly, armed with his previous night's reading material. I said to them 'These people never counted the cost.'

Ryle opened his chapter entitled 'The Cost' with the verse in Luke that says:

'Which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first and counteth the cost?'

The people we mentioned who have fallen away from Christ, the people who turned their backs on him, in all liklihood never truly counted the cost, or were never taught to do so to begin with. And this goes as a warning for me to. Have I sat down lately and counted the cost? Am I aware of the struggle that lies ahead? Do I know the hardship that a life lived for Christ entails?

Ryle says that "a religion which costs nothing is worth nothing". So what does it cost?

He lays out four costs which he elaborates on. These four are:

- It will cost him his self-righteousness...He must be willing to give up all trust in his own morality, respectability, praying, Bible reading, church-going, and sacrament receiving, and to trust in nothing but Jesus Christ.

- It will cost a man his sins. He must be willing to give up every habit and practice which is wrong in God's sight...There must be no separate truce with any special sin that he loves.

- It will cost a man his love of ease. He must take pains and trouble, if he means to run a successful race towards heaven.

- It will cost a man the favour of the world

This may not be an exhaustive list, but it covers most of the things which make Christianity a 'narrow way'. When we look at this list, is it little wonder that people opt for the broad path? And more pressingly, if you're a Christian, when you look at this list, can you identify with these costs? Are you out of favour with the world? Is your life difficult and troublesome? Are you willing to surrender those sins which you would wish to cling to? And most importantly, are you willing to give up all trust in yourself and trust only on Jesus?

I ask these things of myself as much as anyone else, because as Ryle puts it,

A cheap Christianity, without a cross, will prove in the end to be a useless Christianity, without a crown.

How often is this kind of message preached when people are putting their trust in Jesus for the first time? How often do pastors remind their congregation of these hard-to-swallow truths? Ryle says that we should "Entreat men to repent and come to Christ; but bid them at the same time to count the cost."

Jesus never made it easy for people to follow Him, nor should we. There is amazing hope in the gospel, of course. We're not supposed to just give people a doom and gloom picture of what it means to be a Christian. "Christ in you, the hope of glory" is the goal of the Christian life. We will one day be fully restored to the image of God, and enjoy perfect fellowship with Him and one another because of all that Christ accomplished. But to get to that place there is a price to pay and a cross to bear. To be aware of this and to daily draw on Christ's strength is to run a successful race. To be ignorant of this and turn back to the broad way is to gain the whole world, but lose your own soul.

"It may cost much to be a true Christian and a holy man; but it pays." - J.C. Ryle

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(For another excellent resource on the cost of living a Christian life, see Creflo Dollar's sermon series entitled 'Putting the $ back in Chri$tianity'.)