Count the Cost of Not Following Jesus

“So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.” MATTHEW 10:32

God has fixed a day when Jesus will return as judge (Acts 17:31). He will say to some, “Enter into the joy of your master” (Matt. 25:21). He will say to others, “I never knew you; depart from me” (Matt. 7:23). Whoever denies Him in this life, He also will deny before His Father in heaven.

When you make your decision about Jesus, you must do so in the light of that day. When you ask, “Am I going to confess Him before men?” you must also ask, “Do I want Him to confess me before the Father who is in heaven?”
If you are holding back from committing yourself fully to following Jesus, it may be because you have only counted the cost on one side. You see what you might lose if you follow Jesus. But you are missing what you will gain if you follow Jesus: “Everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven.”

Jesus came so that when the day of judgment comes, you might enter into the world of peace and joy where God will dwell with His people and wipe all tears from their eyes.

Here is what it means to follow Jesus: if you will confess Jesus as Savior and Lord, and take up the cross that He lays before you, He will confess you before the Father in heaven. When the day of the Lord comes, Jesus will say of you, “He is Mine! She is Mine!” And you, by His grace, will enter the world of peace and love that God has prepared for all who love Him (1 Cor. 2:9).

Have you given any thought to what it will cost you if you do not follow Jesus?