Count the Cost

Would you obey God if it cost everything you had?

Three hundred years ago Alexander Mack and a group of seven Christians risked their lives to do something we take for granted. They were baptized.

“Now hold on just a minute. Why would Christian baptism be dangerous?”

Religion was controlled by the State in 18th Century Germany. Each province’s prince chose which Church his citizens attended. And the State enforced the rules of Church as law.

To be a Christian in that time meant to be baptized as an infant and agree with Church beliefs. How one lived didn’t matter much at all.

Alexander Mack was influenced by a new idea called Pietism. Pietists believed Christians should follow the teachings of Jesus and live their faith every day. Such a life, they felt, should show honesty, humility and Christian love.

Another group that affected Mack was the Mennonites. They were punished by the State because they didn’t baptize their infants. Instead they baptized adults who chose to follow Jesus.

Eventually Mack began meeting with others to study and discuss the Bible. They talked about how Jesus’ teachings should affect their lives. But church leaders of that day didn’t want others studying and teaching from the Bible.

Since they were not following the laws of the Church and the State, Mack’s group was threatened with arrest. But they bravely continued obeying the Bible.

Jesus told several stories in the Bible about the cost of following him. He said the cost was complete surrender to him as Lord. Mack’s group counted the cost and obeyed Jesus.

In August of 1708, Alexander Mack gathered with four other men and three women by the Eider River in Schwarzenau, Germany. After singing hymns and reading Jesus’ words about counting the cost, the eight brave Christians were baptized.

As word of the baptisms spread people came to hear what this new group believed. At first they were called New Baptists and then German Baptists. Soon the group began to grow.

Because the religious climate in Europe was not friendly to groups like Mack’s the new church eventually moved to America. William Penn invited them to settle in Pennsylvania.

Soon a church was started in Germantown near Philadelphia. They became known as the German Baptist Brethren.

Enjoying their new freedom in America, Brethren churches grew and began printing a newspaper. They also printed the first Bible from moveable type cast in America (in German).

But soon the Brethren had to count the cost again. As the colonies moved toward war, Brethren were persecuted for refusing to take an oath of allegiance to the King of England. They also refused to take up weapons to fight because of their peaceful nature.

As a result many were forced to flee and settled in the Shenandoah Valley and the Midwest.

Last weekend almost one thousand spiritual descendants of Mack’s movement gathered in Schwarzenau, Germany to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the first Brethren baptism.

Today Brethren churches are spread around the world. Just like throwing a stone in a river sends out ripples, Mack’s actions have impacted the lives of thousands of people today. And it’s all because one man listened and counted the cost when Jesus said, “Follow me.”

As a Brethren pastor I still invite people to count the cost and follow Jesus Christ as Lord.

Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!

The Christian Test

Question: “When is a “Christian” a true Christian? Answer: “When he or she--”

“Wait--hold on just a minute! Who decides what makes one a true follower of Jesus Christ?”

You’re right. It’s not up to me. Only God decides what makes a Christian a true Christian. And his book, the Bible, tells us what that is.

Some believe that to be a Christian all you do is believe in God, go to church and pray. But, as I‘ve pointed out before, Jesus didn’t call anyone to be a Christian. He called us to follow him.

Before the Bible even mentions the word “Christian,” it talks about becoming a “child of God” instead of being a “child of the devil.” So how does one become a “child of God”?

We must receive Jesus Christ. The Bible says, “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” Sounds simple enough.

In the framework of the New Testament, “receiving” Jesus meant accepting him for who he claimed to be: the divine Son of God who died for the sins of the world so he could save people everywhere from their sin. It didn’t just mean agreeing that he is the Savior.

When you “believe in his name” you trust in Jesus Christ to forgive your sin and make you part of God’s forever family. But you must believe for yourself. No one else can do it for you.

What if you were baptized as a baby? If so your parents made a wonderful commitment to bring you up in the church. But infants can’t “receive him” and “believe in his name.”

Another scripture makes it clearer: “If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” It’s obvious that a baby cannot yet “confess” or “believe.”

So what should you do if you were baptized as a baby? Complete your parents’ intentions. Their hope was that you would choose to follow Jesus with your life. So put your trust in him.

The church cannot save you. The Bible says that only personal faith in Christ can save you.

Perhaps you know someone who says they have trusted in Christ but their life or their lips tell an entirely different story. What about that?

We cannot judge what has happened in another’s heart. God will do that. But the Bible does say to “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course you fail the test.”

The Bible adds, “Make your calling and election sure…. For if you do…you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

To pass the Christian Test, first check if you have personally received and trusted in Jesus. Then examine your life. Are you growing in “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control”? Those are the result of God’s work in your heart.

Next, do you love to obey God? The Bible says, “Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”

If you claim to be a Christian, go to church and hear the Bible taught, but don’t obey God, you are deceiving yourself. Sadly that’s what so many do.

Some say, “But I’m trying!” That’s nice. But as Jedi Master Yoda said to Luke Skywalker in “Star Wars,” “Do or do not. There is no ‘try.’” Simple but profound.

So how can you tell if you are a true Christian? Answer: If you trust in Christ and obey him.

God helps true Christians obey him and gives them joy. I wonder--do you pass the test?

Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!