Hazardous

By Derek Cooper and Ed Cyzewski

Hazardous is a call to become disciples of Jesus instead of just spectators, to listen to and obey God, even when He leads us down a difficult and dangerous path. Tired of trying to live a “safe” faith? Learn to become a “sheep among wolves”—a Hazardous disciple.

• Language: English
• Publisher: CLC Publications
• Release date: Jan 1, 2015
• ISBN: 9781619580190

Book preview

Introduction

What Does Following Jesus Look Like Today?

Christianity is a demanding and serious religion. When it is delivered as easy and amusing, it is another kind of religion altogether.

Neil Postman

Many of us think of Jesus as a nice guy who blesses children, pats lambs on their heads, serves up bread and fish for breakfast or dinner, takes quiet walks on the ocean and heals those who are sick. Jesus wants us to believe, to have eternal life, to be happy, to read our Bibles, to pray, to do good deeds and to spend time with other Christians. Fishermen find favor with the Son of God, sinners encounter a gentle Savior who carries them along the beach, and children always recognize Jesus in pictures because He’s wearing a white bathrobe and smiling.

And Jesus really is like that—well, to a certain degree.

It’s true, Jesus wants to bless us. He isn’t out to get us. Jesus reveals God the Father as a loving and compassionate Parent who cares for His children. That’s all true. However, it’s just not the whole flannelgraph.

While following Jesus brings unfathomable blessings and benefits, there is a very real surrender that must occur, a letting go of practices, possessions, goals—and even ourselves. There is a loss. When Jesus spoke of entering the kingdom of God, He was introducing a whole new way of life, a redefining of reality and a set of standards encompassing far more than attending synagogue once a week. It’s true that Jesus wants to be our Savior by welcoming us into His kingdom. However, when we enter His kingdom, we cannot challenge His role as King—Jesus is both Lord and Savior, and you can’t have one without the other.

This is where things get sticky for followers of Jesus today.

It’s tempting to reduce Christianity to a doctrine that followers believe. But this mindset completely fails to capture the full biblical picture of discipleship. Discipleship is defined as not only learning from a teacher and spreading his teachings, but also imitating this teacher’s way of life.¹ When we sign on as disciples, we, like trusting lambs, expect everything in the pasture with the Good Shepherd to be peaceful and abundant. If peace and safety is what we expect, we won’t know how to process the dark nights of the soul or the material and relational costs of discipleship. Those who begin with faith must follow with faithfulness in good times and in bad.

We just don’t talk about it very often.

However, this isn’t fine print in the Bible. In fact, it’s often in red letter ink. It’s not tucked away in an appendix or hidden in an apocalyptic story about multi-headed beasts and dragons. The cost of following God is apparent throughout the Old Testament and continues right through the ministry of Jesus.

Jesus made it as plain as can be, and the rest of the Bible is in agreement: discipleship is difficult and sometimes hazardous.

Jesus said, Take up your cross and follow me. But let’s be honest: We tend to skip over these tough parts of following Jesus. Instead, we prefer to focus on the benefits of following God and the promises that God will always meet our needs

How many followers of Jesus have a clear understanding of the costs from the outset?

We want the joy, peace and assurance of a comforting Savior, forgetting that gaining what is most precious requires letting go of what is less important. In the meantime, letting go of the things in this world can be frightening and difficult. What’s more, having Jesus as Lord and Savior does not assure us of smooth sailing. In fact, if anything, having Jesus as Lord and Savior tends to assure us that we will not have smooth sailing. Instead, we are promised a competent captain who leads us through difficult storms.

Before I overstate my case, let me joyfully share that following Jesus with all of its difficulties is still a wonderful deal for us—especially for us cost-benefit obsessed Americans. However, when we gloss over the costs, challenges and hazards of discipleship, we can make the mistake of assuming that God has failed us when times are difficult. We reduce the gospel to something it isn’t and miss out on the blessings and joy that come even in the hard times of taking up our crosses.

Jesus wants us to have eternal life and blessings, but following Him will require making sacrifices, taking leaps of faith and surrendering our plans to Him.

If we dare to say we are Jesus’ followers, we must take the full biblical picture of discipleship into account—looking at the stories in Scripture to see what it is to believe in and follow God. We must also examine the ways these stories of hazardous discipleship play out in everyday life and learn how to take practical steps forward each day as disciples.

Is Following Jesus Really Hazardous?

Some may think I’m overstating my point by saying that following Jesus is actually hazardous. However, Jesus stated bluntly to His followers that they could expect to be persecuted, flogged and even killed because of their allegiance to Him. To a North American Christian safely tucked away in a country offering freedom of religion, such a statement doesn’t connect. However, the truth of the matter is that following Jesus may well put us directly into harm’s way and not only into a comfortable personal relationship. Death or punishment may not be a real possibility for all of us, but we must nonetheless grapple with the material, relational and career-related costs of true discipleship. And besides facing these possibilities, we need to actively listen for the leading of God, obey His call and face the hazards when He leads us to them.

There are real hazards for following Jesus.

The typical follower of Jesus in North America still faces daunting decisions related to finances, career choices, goals, family and possessions. For instance, friends, family and colleagues may think we are foolish for the beliefs that we hold. We may lose some friendships. We may be called to move to a city or town we don’t like, to a house that’s too small or to a job that doesn’t allow us to purchase all the things we think we need. We may be called to lonely farm country, congested suburbs, fast-paced cities or high-crime areas. We may put our future into jeopardy, live paycheck to paycheck or walk through dark times of trial and suffering.

Thankfully, we are not called into costly discipleship as a dare.

Discipleship involves letting go of this world’s priorities, goals and rewards so that we are free to pursue God’s priorities and goals, receiving God’s rewards in the end. Discipleship means we hand over control and follow our leader wherever He takes us. However, in the midst of its hazards, following Jesus means we are free to enjoy God and to be the kind of people God made us to be. A partial picture of discipleship leaves us unprepared for the challenges we’ll face and robs us of the rewards for those who overcome.

Why Talk about the Hazards of Discipleship?

Is it wise, however, to emphasize the hazardous nature of discipleship? Is it healthy to take an approach that seems so negative? The answer to that is yes, and there are several reasons why.

Jesus Told Us to Count the Cost

We need to talk about the hazards of following Jesus because they’re exactly what Jesus wants us to consider. Just as an architect does not begin a building project or a general does not start an invasion without thinking about the cost, disciples should not tack Jesus onto their lives like the latest trend or a spiritual trump card.

A Savior who speaks of a kingdom and Himself as Lord is someone who drastically changes the lives of His followers.

When Jesus spoke of his disciples leaving mother and father behind to follow Him, He was making a very bold proclamation in His time. Many families built rooms onto their homes or at least cleared a spot where their children and in-laws could live with them. It doesn’t take a lot of imagination to figure out, therefore, that brothers James and John not only shared in their father’s fishing business, they also shared in their father’s home.

Following Jesus meant leaving behind the security and stability of the family system of the time. Indeed, from what we can tell, Jesus wasn’t on glowing terms with His family during His public ministry. As the Gospel of Mark states, His family tried to intervene, attempting to stop His rise as a prophet, teacher and healer, but Jesus replied with the shocking statement, Who are my mother and my brothers? Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.’

Of course, Jesus’ call for the disciples to leave behind their families is just the first step for those who would soon face persecution, poverty, beatings and even death because of their allegiance to this man from Nazareth. This is not a calling to be taken lightly. Jesus will change our lives drastically if we choose to follow Him.

Are we willing to take that chance?

We Will Live by Faith

Paul established in his epistles that the just shall live by faith, and a cold, hard look at the hazards of discipleship will drive us toward a life characterized by faith rather than relying upon ourselves or the resources of this world. When we see the many obstacles and hardships awaiting us on the path blazed by Jesus, we will quickly see we have no other option than trusting in His direction and power. God has a way of stripping away everything that pulls our attention away from Him. In the process we will find a deeper, more resilient faith.

Faith is precious for disciples, and God will grow and strengthen our faith. That’s the good news. The bad news is that the process of learning to live by faith is messy, unpredictable, difficult and sometimes hazardous.

We Will be Sanctified in the Process

If we align our priorities and allegiances with God and begin to live by faith, we will find it necessary to abide in Christ as our Vine. Such a lifestyle is threatened by sin and, as such, holiness becomes more than a nice thing to do for God. Sin threatens our connection with God, and God is our only hope when we are living by faith. For disciples who follow Jesus, there is no other option. I’m reminded of the hymn, How Firm a Foundation:

When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,

My grace, all-sufficient, shall be thy supply;

The flame shall not harm thee; I only design

Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.

The soul that on Jesus doth lean for repose,

I will not, I will not, desert to his foes;

That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,

I’ll never, no never, no never forsake.

When we leave all behind to follow Jesus and live by faith as His disciples, we place ourselves in the sandals of Peter who said, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Being a disciple means listening to and following the only person who has words that give life.

Hazards Will Lead to Blessings

We need to consider the costs of following Jesus because the sacrifices and trials of this life cannot compare to God’s rewards. We can expect blessings in this life, and in the next, if we believe and live in faithful obedience. Besides, who wouldn’t want to live in such a way that God’s power is regularly evident? Jesus promised His followers, No one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life.

That’s a bold promise, but it requires faith to take the leap.

Though I’ve taken several leaps of faith, the time I flew to Pittsburgh to speak at a baccalaureate service and then at a church on Sunday morning stands out in my mind. I’d never spoken in front of so many people before. As I walked off the plane, I told God that I couldn’t do it on my own. What was I thinking? Did I really think I had anything of value to share?

I remember gliding down an escalator, next to a Tyrannosaurs Rex of all things, when God spoke to me that I was right where He wanted me to be and that He would handle the details. During the course of that weekend, I preached the gospel in ways I never could have dreamed up on my own, offered some powerful prayers that God directed and spoke at the church with a confidence that I had never before known. That weekend forever convinced me that taking leaps of faith to serve where God leads us is unbeatable.

Do we trust that Jesus has something better than what we can plan on our own? If so, nothing can stop us when we’re willing to follow wherever God leads us.

How We Count the Cost of Discipleship

The hazards of following where the Lord leads are plain to see throughout Scripture. Whether in the Old or New Testament, everything written is there to teach us so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. In addition, we turn to the stories of Scripture because they are God’s inspired words for us, which are useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that all God’s people may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Even though we face a daunting call to leave everything behind, to carry our crosses and to expect exclusion, persecution and possibly worse, we have the resources of Scripture to not only encourage us with hope but to train us in the ways of righteousness so that we can live as effective disciples. Whether it’s Abraham’s calling to leave his family, Ezekiel’s assurance of failure or Mary’s decision to have a child before marrying Joseph, we see that obeying God’s call isn’t necessarily popular or successful. There are, at times, long stretches of suffering, apparent failure and uncertainty.

Jesus experienced the same difficulties as the prophets before Him, and He promised the same to His followers.

When we encounter such circumstances, we will be encouraged to know that we are among God’s people and that the same God who worked among them is able to intervene in our lives today. The story of salvation is replete with hazards, and yet God remains faithful, even if the final outcome doesn’t match the expectations of His followers.

Typical North American Christians usually don’t imagine they can live out stories that match the dramatic tales in Scripture. We think there is just too much distance between saints of the biblical world and us living today. However, God is still calling His followers to count the cost, to live by faith and to enjoy fellowship with Him as fully committed disciples. God trains us step by step, helping us apply the lessons of Scripture to our lives as we gradually reorient ourselves to the call to follow.

To help apply these biblical stories to everyday life, we’ll walk through some very specific steps toward living as disciples. We’ll begin by comparing the risky and messy aspects of discipleship with the values of our culture that prizes security and with an easy Christianity that avoids discipleship. From there we’ll examine the scope of discipleship and how it shows up in our personal lives, as well as among our families and our public lives. Then we’ll dig into the specific ways we can hear God’s leading and obediently face the hazards of discipleship. Though parts of this process may seem daunting at first, those who persevere in obediently following Jesus in their daily lives will experience growth, intimacy with God and blessings even in the