a man who counted the cost of living in enemy territory.
What’s the point of Yeshua giving us this example of how to die? Why would He teach the world how to be humble by letting Himself get killed?
The point is that getting “saved” is not a one-time deal. It takes only a moment to decide to believe in Yeshua, but it takes a whole lifetime to learn what that means. In fact, Yeshua told us to count the cost before deciding to follow Him (Luke 14:26-33). He knew we would want to stay in our own little comfortable worlds and serve ourselves rather than serve God, so He explained from the beginning that following Him would take everything we have – including our lives.
The truth is, the two most powerful beings in the universe both want to kill you. Satan wants to kill you because he exists to destroy everything God has made. But God wants to kill you, too. He wants to kill that old sin nature in you, the thing that makes you want to serve yourself rather than God (Romans 8:10-13). That’s the only way He can build the nature of Messiah in you (II Peter 2:2-9) so you can become what He designed you to be. And that’s why Yeshua said this:
“And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.” (Matthew 10:38-39)
Hopefully by now you realize that following Yeshua, or calling yourself a Christian, is not something you put on like an old sweater when it is convenient, but take off whenever it becomes uncomfortable. This is a life-and-death proposition. Either way you are in danger. If you don’t believe in Yeshua, you will stay in rebellion against God and face His punishment for all eternity. If you do believe in Yeshua, then you find yourself in enemy territory because Satan is still ruling this earth, and he does not tolerate disloyalty.
Think carefully before you choose. There is pain involved with each choice, but the amount of pain is up to you. If you go with God, the pain ends when your life on this earth ends. If you go with Satan, you may be comfortable in this life, but the pain will come, and it will stay with you forever.
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