Key Verse: Luke 9:23 

 Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.

I always hear people say that salvation Is free. This is true in the sense that you can’t buy it or trade for it. However there is a cost to following Jesus. Jesus explains that cost very clearly in Like 9:23. The cost of following him can be summed by saying simply saying that following Jesus requires sacrifice. The first way that following Jesus requires sacrifice is that it requires us to deny ourselves. We have to deny our own desires at times if we are really going to be a true follower of Christ. This is not easy. As sinful humans we all have certain ‘bad desires.’ Now your may be different than mine, but we all have them nonetheless. As a follower of Christ we have to learn how to give up and deny these sinful impulses. It is the art of denying ourself. This is also one of the signs of our salvation. If we consistently deny our fleshly impulses in can bring us great assurance concerning our faith. 

We also must be willing to take up our cross. This also is an act of sacrifice but it is quite different from the command to deny ourself. The Greek word here that is translated as take up literally means to pick up high for the world to see. This means that true followers of Jesus must not be ashamed of His cross. We must not be embarrassed or ashamed to be a Christian. This means that at school or at the workplace we should be happy to claim the name of Jesus. This is a sacrifice because it may cost us friends, fame, and even our job. But it is the call of the Christian. 

Finally we must also be willing to follow Jesus, no matter where He goes. This is a sacrifice as well as because sometimes following Jesus leads to suffering. But we must choose to follow Him again and again. It’s worth following him even though it requires great sacrifice. Because by following Him we find peace, joy, and eternal life. What sacrifices have you made for your faith? There is a cost to following Jesus! Have you paid the cost??