In my younger days, when I went out to search for a job, what was most important to me was not whether or not the place I was applying to was going to hire me or not, but if I had any desire to work there. It was my desire to be hired, not there’s to hire me, that was the final decision to be made.
“For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?” (Luke 14:28)
Few people take the time to consider what they are getting into when they make a decision to follow the Lord, and even fewer are informed fully of what can be expected of them.
“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;” (2nd Thess. 2:3)
Numerous verses speak of our eternal salvation throughout the Scriptures, and so this particular verse is not speaking of those who have been born-again, but those who only profess Him with their lips, those who did not count the cost.
“Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?” (John 6:67)
It is a falling away from a faith that had no foundation in the Lord Jesus Christ, it is the weeds, the chaff, and while each of us will give an account before the Lord, for we all are accountable for ourselves, one must question, the one who led that person to the cross, did they reveal everything to them?
Did they tell them that they should expect suffering, or just that Jesus loves them so much and can help them out of their current situation? Did they inform that person that in all likelihood their family and friends would desert them, or at the least treat them in a manner that was only superficial love, that the world would begin to hate them, that trials and tribulations would begin to appear in their lives, that they would be expected to meet with suffering?
Or did they just touch upon the emotional aspects of love, peace, rest for their soul, and an eternity of pleasures forevermore?
I did not accept every job offer in my life just for the reason that once the requirements were explained to me, I did not want to do that.
“If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:” (2nd Tim. 2:12)
Those who will listen when the truth of the Scriptures are revealed to them I nearly always say in some form to them, “Count the cost.” You must be willing to go where He wants you to go without question and without hesitation, you must be willing to stand when others run, you must be prepared to suffer the loss of all things, and to do so with joy in your heart.
The Lord Jesus Christ, served for the glory of God, must not be the top priority in your life, it must be the only priority.
But instead, many just hear of the love, the tears and sorrows, the despondent outlook on their life is altered not by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, but by an emotionally charged, uplifting feeling that begins to dissipate over time. These are those who will, and are today, falling away.
“For many are called, but few are chosen.” (Matt. 22:14)
There are some of course, those few that are chosen, that study to show themselves approved, that over time learn to count the cost, and they begin to see the price that was paid for them as invaluable, incomparable to anything this world has to offer.
Sadly, while some pastors may recognize these truths, they have determined to call those whose hearts are far from the Lord, who have that form of godliness, the weaker brothers and sisters, for to confront them with what he may know as the truth would be rude, to say the least, and possibly put his employment position at risk.
I know the job I applied for, it is the last and only job I will ever have.
