Count the Cost

 

In Luke 14, Jesus said a person must “count the cost” to be His disciple. What is the cost of following Jesus Christ? What does it mean to count the cost?

Imagine what it would have been like to witness the Son of God’s 3½-year ministry on earth.

Wherever He went, His spectacular miracles and life-changing teachings attracted swarming crowds of people and created a buzz of anticipation.

One would assume that, with all of the excitement Jesus Christ generated during His public ministry, He would have mobilized a following numbering in the thousands. But the number of faithful disciples who remained after His death seems to have dwindled to the hundreds (1 Corinthians 15:6; Acts 1:15).

What happened to the multitudes that followed Him? Why the disparity?

Earlier in His ministry, John explained, “Jesus did not commit Himself to them [the multitudes], because He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man” (John 2:24-25).

Jesus was fully aware that most people’s faith was superficial and self-centered, regardless of whatever lip service was paid to Him. He understood the human tendency to become swept up in emotion by miraculous displays. He knew that most people were only interested in what they could get.

So Jesus instructed His followers to “count the cost” of discipleship. But what does that mean? How can you count the cost of following Jesus Christ?

Count the cost by knowing what is expected

“Count the cost” (Luke 14:28) is part of Jesus’ teaching that those who follow Him must make a full commitment.

He asked the multitudes, “For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it—lest, after he laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish’?” (verses 28-30).

In other words, let’s say you would like to build a skyscraper. Do you have the money for it? Can you afford to hire the labor? Are you willing to hassle with getting the right approvals and permits? Are you willing to overcome complications and setbacks to complete the job?

Jesus was effectively asking, “Are you really committed to becoming one of My followers?”

In a world where people can change labels as often as they change socks, the concept that you can’t become a Christian just by saying that you are one can sound strange. But there are real steps that need to be taken and real expectations that come with being a Christian. Jesus’ instruction is to think deeply about those things—about what is required, according to His teachings and not man’s traditions, to be one of His followers—before deciding to commit.

Being a sincere, dedicated, zealous disciple of Jesus Christ can’t be done without recognizing and agreeing to several conditions first. Prior to instructing His followers to count the cost, Jesus mentioned several things that show some of the sacrifices that can be involved.

Count the cost by being willing to be rejected by people

“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate [that is, love less by comparison] his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple,” Jesus said (verse 26).

God’s Word doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to the costly price of Christianity.

The lesson is, God must come first, before anyone or anything else.

Christians should strive to “live peaceably with all men” (Romans 12:18)—especially their family. But, sadly, sometimes family and friends aren’t willing to accept a true Christian’s new way of life.

As a Christian, your commitment to Jesus Christ must be stronger than your commitment to any other relationship, even if it means becoming estranged from your own family. If you are going to be a true Christian, you will have to accept the possibility that certain family members or friends will disown you because of your commitment to obey Jesus Christ.

Your family might not understand or be willing to accept the decisions you make to actually obey God. For example, they might question your decision to observe the Sabbath or your decision to discontinue certain traditional holidays and instead observe God’s annual holy days. (To learn more about God’s festivals and why Christians keep them today, see our booklet From Holidays to Holy Days: God’s Plan for You.)

It’s at such crossroads that a person should remember the tragic character flaw of many of the religious leaders of Jesus’ day: “For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God” (John 12:43).

When Jesus said “count the cost,” He was affirming that being one of His true followers comes at a cost.The fear of going against the mainstream crowd and being put out of the synagogues paralyzed many of these misguided men. But Jesus indicated that anyone who follows Him may one day pay a far greater price than that.

Prophesying of this scary time, Jesus said, “Brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake” (Matthew 10:21).

“You will be hated by all”—even family—is a prophecy that will one day apply to Christians, especially as we approach the end times. To learn more about this prophecy, read our article “You Will Be Hated.”

A question to ask yourself is, “If it someday becomes necessary, am I really prepared to give up personal relationships, status and my own comfort so that I can follow Jesus Christ?”

Count the cost by learning to deny yourself

Jesus continued, “And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:27).

To any first-century listener, bearing a cross meant one thing: death. Jesus’ words have several applications here:

• The readiness to be martyred for the faith.
• Having the strength to remain faithful even while dealing with the challenges and difficulties of life.
• The death of the self.

A few chapters earlier Jesus said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me” (Luke 9:23).

People naturally look out for themselves. They tend to think in terms of “What do I want?” or “How will this benefit me?” or “How can I get more out of this situation?” They go through life making their hopes, dreams and desires their top priority.

To deny the self means to set aside our own desires to do things that are contrary to God’s Word and instead make our highest priority what Jesus Christ, our Master and Savior, wants. We must deny the desire to get drunk, smoke, commit fornication, violate God’s Sabbath, hate our brother, reason around straightforward commands in the Bible in order to avoid quitting certain behaviors—everything that is contrary to God.

We need to surrender our entire life to God in order to obey Him wholeheartedly. Our rebellious human nature can sometimes make that task seem like a bitter pill to swallow, but it’s an order as rewarding as it is challenging.

Notice what Jesus said concerning the outcomes for those who stubbornly cling to this physical life and all the things it offers versus those who willingly surrender their lives for the sake of obeying Him: “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it” (verse 24).

Nothing in this fleeting, physical life—this blip of existence—compares to eternal life in the Kingdom of God.

While the future resurrection to eternal life is the ultimate reward, those who count the cost will be blessed before that as well. Jesus said those who have left possessions or relationships “for the sake of the kingdom of God” will “receive many times more in this present time” (Luke 18:29-30). Committing to Christ has benefits both in this life and the life to come (John 10:10; see our article “Life More Abundantly”).

Will you count the cost?

Jesus in no way advocated a “come as you are” policy (for more on this, see “The Problem With ‘Just as I Am’ Christianity”).

When Jesus said “count the cost,” He was affirming that being one of His true followers comes at a cost. Christianity without cost or sacrifice was never taught or practiced by Jesus, the apostles or any of the other members of the first-century Church.

When Jesus looked at the multitudes, He wanted to know who was truly willing to put Him ahead of family, friends, desires, dreams and possessions, and who would obey Him even if it meant death.

It’s no surprise that at one point during Jesus’ public ministry, “many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more” (John 6:66).

The real question to ask now is, Which group of people do you identify with? Do you relate to the crowd that turned their backs on some of Christ’s hard sayings about the kind of commitment necessary for being a true Christian? Or do you identify with the faithful few who evidently pledged their total love and loyalty to Him?

Will you count the cost and commit to following Jesus Christ?

(To study further about how to become a true Christian, see our booklet Change Your Life.)

How to Overcome Sinful Habits

 

Although we begin our new Christian life with enthusiasm, we quickly learn that overcoming isn’t easy. Why is it so difficult to make permanent changes?

There’s a lot of material available about the challenge of changing our behavior and thought patterns—breaking old (bad) habits and establishing new (good) habits.

Books such as The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg, published in 2012, and a more recent book (originally published in 2018) by James Clear, Atomic Habits, offer helpful insight into why it’s so difficult to make permanent changes in our behavior and thoughts.

An Internet search on the phrase changing behavior will provide links to dozens of articles on the subject, offering advice on how to make a change permanent, as well as explaining why it’s so difficult.

The authors of these articles and books write about behavior change in a general sense—how to stop the habit of biting your fingernails or how to permanently change diet and exercise routines. We might want to make those kinds of changes too.

But, as Christians, we look at the most important permanent changes in behavior from a different perspective. The changes we see the need for are of a spiritual nature—eliminating sinful habits and developing godly character.

Logically, it would seem that once we understand that a way of thinking or behavior is sinful, we’d be motivated to immediately make the necessary change. But it’s never that simple.

A slave to sin

The apostle Paul begins his vivid summary of our struggle in Romans 7:14: “For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin.” From the outset, Paul points out that our natural human mind is fundamentally incompatible with God’s law. God’s law is spiritual; we are flesh. It’s as if sin owns us—we are “sold as a slave to sin” (Frank Gaebelein, ed., Expositor’s Bible Commentary).

Paul introduced the analogy of being a slave to sin in chapter 6. Through baptism and receiving the Holy Spirit, we can be freed from that bondage and instead become “slaves of righteousness” (Romans 6:18). But freedom from sin isn’t won easily—there is a battle for the control of our mind, which Paul eloquently describes in chapter 7.

Paul is referring to deeply entrenched habits and attitudes, and our innately selfish human nature that we all struggle against. It’s some consolation to know that even Paul fought that battle, but it doesn’t make our struggle any easier.

Repentance means serious, permanent change

Repentance is the first step toward conversion. When God grants repentance (Romans 2:4), it leads to baptism (Acts 2:37-38), which begins a process of change and personal growth that will continue for the rest of our lives.

To permanently modify behavior, we have to break the cycle—we need to intercept the cue, control the craving and link the cue to a different behavior that produces a different result.The Greek word metanoeo (Strong’s #3340), translated “repent,” means “to change one’s way of life as the result of a complete change of thought and attitude with regard to sin and righteousness . . . Though in English a focal component of repent is the sorrow or contrition that a person experiences because of sin, the emphasis in μετανοέω [metanoeo] . . . seems to be more specifically the total change, both in thought and behavior, with respect to how one should both think and act” (J.P. Louw and Eugene Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament Based on Semantic Domains, 1988, 41.52).

Notice that the “sorrow or contrition” for our sins causes remorse and regret that lead to a “total change, both in thought and behavior.” In 2 Corinthians 7 Paul refers to this as “godly sorrow,” which leads to permanent change, and he also describes the powerful emotions that are part of genuine repentance (verses 10-11).

The difficulty of a “complete change of thought and attitude” is emphasized in Scripture. Jesus used the analogy that new wine must be put into new wineskins, teaching us that when we begin to follow Him we must live a completely new life.

He used graphic language in Matthew 5:29-30, saying, if your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out, and if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off. “Of course, the words of Jesus are not to be taken with crude literalism. What they mean is that anything which helps to seduce us to sin is to be ruthlessly rooted out of life” (William Barclay, The New Daily Study Bible: The Gospel of Matthew).

This isn’t simple, and it’s not about making a few cosmetic changes. Jesus means we have to dig deep and completely remove sin. Ultimately, we need to accomplish a total transformation of thought and behavior (Romans 12:2)—a complete mental and spiritual makeover.

In this verse the Greek word translated “transformed” is metamorphoo (Strong’s #3339). It means “to change the essential form or nature of something . . . In a number of languages the equivalent may be ‘become completely different’” (Louw and Nida, 13.53).

In Jesus’ message to the churches in Revelation 2 and 3, He promises the gift of the Kingdom of God to those who overcome. The Greek word translated “overcome” means to conquer. We have a fight on our hands. Clearly, Jesus expects us to be victorious in our battle against sin.

While it can be frustrating and sometimes confusing, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that such a complete change in behavior and thought takes time and a great deal of effort. Paul concluded in Romans 7:24-25 and Galatians 5:16-17 that our only hope is in Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit.

How habits are formed

Much of the behavior we need to change is based on deeply ingrained habits. A habit is defined as a routine behavior that happens subconsciously. A habit is something that we have practiced so much that we can repeat it without thinking.

Living on autopilot might be fine for many of the routine aspects of life. But there are times when thoughtful awareness is necessary so we can make right choices.

Since a habit is something we’re so familiar with that we do it without consciously thinking, changing a habit requires focused and concentrated effort. According to Charles Duhigg in The Power of Habit, a habit is a repeated action or thought built by a three-step mental loop.

• First, there is the cue—a trigger that tells your brain to go into automatic response mode.
• Second, there is the response—the routine—an automatic action that results from the cue. The routine can be mental, physical or emotional.
• And, third, there is the reward—the sense of completion, pleasure or satisfaction based on the execution of the habit.

In Atomic Habits author James Clear adds one more step to that loop—cue, craving, response and reward. In his model the cue causes a craving or a desire for the reward that will result from the action.

Because it’s something that has been repeated often, this all happens subconsciously and usually very quickly. Much of our behavior isn’t guided by conscious or active thought; it’s a practiced and immediate reaction to a trigger or cue.

One reason a habit is difficult to modify is that it is literally part of our mind. A habit is formed in the basal ganglia, which makes new neurons that connect a cue to a desired reward. The more often we repeat a behavior, the stronger the connection becomes until it is literally and physically “wired” into the brain.

Once a habit is established, whenever we receive a specific cue, it leads to the desire for a particular result, which comes about through a specific action. As it’s repeated, the habit becomes deeply embedded in our brain.

To permanently modify behavior, we have to break the cycle—we need to intercept the cue, control the craving and link the cue to a different behavior that produces a different result. If we do that consistently and often enough, we build a new pathway in our brain, which establishes a new (presumably better) habit.

Old habits don’t die

The time from a cue to the behavior it triggers can be almost instantaneous. That means in a moment’s time, we need to recognize a cue that triggers a craving for an undesirable behavior so we can choose a different action.

With God’s help, we can reprogram our natural mind, take control of our thoughts, patterns and habits, and work toward becoming a new man, spiritually created in the image of God.This is difficult because of how quickly it all happens and because the existing habit produces a result that we find familiar and/or pleasurable. If we successfully intercept the cue and choose a different behavior, it will produce a different result (reward). The new reward must be worth the effort or else we will revert to the previous behavior. To break the negative cycle, we need to be alert and highly motivated so we can respond properly to the cue, choosing a different response.

In other words, we create a new habit. But the old habit never really goes away—the neuron pathway is still there, even after we build a new habit. When challenged by a cue, we sometimes find it easier to choose the old response and the familiar reward.

That’s why it’s so easy to fall back into old habits. If we have the awareness and self-control to consistently choose the new response, it can eventually become the dominant habit. But people often fail to make a change permanent because they slip back into the old response and reward. They can then get discouraged and give up on trying to change.

Temptation gives birth to sin

James warns that the old habits of sin are always there to tempt us. He wrote, “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin” (James 1:14-15).

The temptation is the cue that leads to craving, which draws us into an action that is sinful. His implicit warning is that we need to stop the habitual cycle where it starts—with the initial temptation (cue).

As we strive to control our thoughts and habits, sometimes we’ll be caught off guard and fall back into old habits. While it’s discouraging, we can recover from our mistakes and continue the battle (Proverbs 24:16). As long as we’re willing to renew our efforts, God will bless us and strengthen us (Psalm 37:23-24).

Putting off the old man and the creation of a new mind

Realizing that our behavior patterns are hard-wired into our brain helps us understand why permanent behavioral change is so difficult. We have to rewire our brain. This kind of change can only take place over a period of time and with a great deal of conscious thought and effort. We have to be highly motivated and willing to fight for control.

As we conquer sin, we are programming a new set of behaviors and habits—putting off the old man.

As Paul noted in Romans 6, we can be freed from bondage to sin through baptism and receiving the Holy Spirit. We’re assured in 2 Timothy 1:7 that “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (emphasis added).

The Greek word translated “sound mind” means a mind that is disciplined or self-controlled (Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words) or “to behave in a sensible manner, with the implication of thoughtful awareness of what is best” (Louw and Nida, 88.93). Both of those definitions of a sound mind imply the self-control and awareness we need to change our habits.

We start with the carnal mind Paul mentioned in Romans 7:14. But with God’s Spirit working in us, we can become a “new man,” with a renewed mind and new habits. In his epistles Paul refers to this transformation.

• Philippians 2:5: “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” The mind we’re to develop isn’t our natural mind. It isn’t the way we would typically think or behave. It’s a mind that is trained and disciplined to respond as Jesus would.
• Ephesians 4:23: We are “to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (New International Version). By rewiring our responses and habits, we will be a “new self.”
• Colossians 3:10: “Put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him.”

Overcoming bad habits

The battle to overcome will continue. One way to understand that struggle is to recognize the power of habit. With God’s help, we can reprogram our natural mind, take control of our thoughts, patterns and habits, and work toward becoming a new man, spiritually created in the image of God.

Come Out of Her, My People

 

Those called to live God’s way of life are told to live separately from this evil world. What does “come out of her, my people” mean? How are we to do this?

“Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues” (Revelation 18:4).

Though this verse specifically refers to coming out of an end-time religious system, Babylon the great, it aligns with other verses that admonish us to come out of this evil society in order to faithfully worship God and follow His teachings.

Other passages say Christians are not of this world or to love this world. The world refers to this evil age, to this society. These verses are not telling Christians to leave the planet, to denigrate God’s creation or to go to an isolated place and live separately from the rest of society.

Jesus Christ knew that down through time His followers must live in this world, scattered among the nations like grains of salt over food. “You are the salt of the earth,” He said (Matthew 5:13).

Not of this world

Just before He gave His life by crucifixion, Jesus prayed to the Father for His followers. “I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. …

“I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that you should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world” (John 17:9, 15-18).

Christ’s prayer was not just for those of that day, but for all who would read and accept their teaching from that time forward. “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word” (verse 20).

“Come out of her, my people”

Though Christians must live in this world, they are to resist the temptations and ways of the world around them. Not everyone or everything in the world is evil, but much of it is based on the fulfillment of selfish desires. And it continues to grow worse (see 2 Timothy 3:1-7).

The apostle John wrote, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:15-17).

The apostle Paul quoted from several Old Testament passages: “Therefore ‘Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you.’ ‘I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the LORD Almighty’” (2 Corinthians 6:17-18).

“Lest you share in her sins”

What are the sins that we must not share in? There are many. Sin is the violation of God’s laws. All of God’s 10 Commandments are being broken blatantly today. Murder, stealing and lying are rampant, and covetousness, idolatry and profanity are glorified in our entertainment.

All of God’s 10 Commandments are being broken blatantly today. Murder, stealing and lying are rampant, and covetousness, idolatry and profanity are glorified in our entertainment.Two commandments directly relate to marriage and family: the commandment against adultery and the commandment about honoring parents.

One of the most basic building blocks of a nation is the family. The holy institution of marriage that God set up from the very beginning of creation is now being abandoned at an alarming rate.

“Therefore shall a man leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24).

God, who doesn’t change His standard, reproved ancient Israel and Judah long ago for violating their marriage vows.

“Because the LORD has been witness between you and the wife of your youth, with whom you have dealt treacherously; yet she is your companion and your wife by covenant. But did He not make them one, having a remnant of the Spirit? And why one? He seeks godly offspring. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously with the wife of his youth” (Malachi 2:14-15).

Not only does the betrayal of marital promises bring about violence, anger and bitterness, but it also horribly affects the children. One of the intended benefits of a loving marriage is the positive effect upon the conduct and success of the children. That’s what Malachi meant by, “He seeks godly offspring.”

Denying the Creator

Another sin is the denial of the Creator’s very existence.

God reveals in the Bible that all that exists, visible and invisible, was created by God the Father through His Son.

“For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him” (Colossians 1:16).

But today much of our world accepts the theory of evolution.

If there were no Creator involved, we would have no power higher than ourselves to instruct us or hold us accountable. Thus acceptance of the theory of evolution provides people justification for assuming they can create and choose their own lifestyle.

But the complexity of all life should be sufficient evidence of a higher power.

Paul wrote, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20).

Though surrounded by such proof, man has rejected belief in a Creator God.

“Who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

“For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.

“And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting” (verses 25-28).

“To do those things which are not fitting” means to do things that are not right. The apostle Paul goes on to show how this rejection of God has led to immoral behavior, materialism, envy, shallow relationships, criminal behavior, etc.

“Lest you share in her plagues”

From Genesis to Revelation, God reveals that obedience to His laws brings blessings. But as our Creator and Life Giver, He also states that humanity will be held accountable for violating His laws. He doesn’t want us to bring suffering upon ourselves, but if it takes that to learn, He will allow us to suffer the consequences of our bad choices.

It is God’s desire to bless us with good things. But it would not fulfill His purpose for us if He blessed sinful behavior.

“Your iniquities have turned these things away, and your sins have withheld good from you” (Jeremiah 5:25).

“‘Your own wickedness will correct you, and your backslidings will rebuke you. Know therefore and see that it is an evil and bitter thing that you have forsaken the LORD your God, and the fear of Me is not in you,’ says the Lord GOD of hosts” (Jeremiah 2:19).

Citizens of the Kingdom of God

Perhaps you could say, once we commit our lives to God, we take on dual citizenship. Though physically we are still citizens of the country we were born in, spiritually we become citizens of the Kingdom of God.

“For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20). Until Jesus Christ returns to establish the Kingdom of God on earth, our citizenship is reserved in heaven for us.

Citizens of the Kingdom of God are to be law-abiding citizens of whatever country they live in, paying taxes and being good neighbors. Yet they will not get embroiled in this world’s political battles, which cannot solve man’s spiritual problems.Citizens of the Kingdom of God are to be law-abiding citizens of whatever country they live in, paying taxes and being good neighbors. Yet they will not get embroiled in this world’s political battles, which cannot solve man’s spiritual problems. Nor will they do anything else that violates God’s laws. This new citizenship takes precedence over all others.

Christians become sojourners and pilgrims in what is at the moment Satan’s world.

“Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul” (1 Peter 2:11).

Abraham, our example

Abraham, the father of the faithful, is a good example of our spiritual calling and journey. Like us, he was called to come out of his country and go to a good land that God would reveal to him.

“By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going” (Hebrews 11:8).

He knew God would make good on His promise, but there was a lot he didn’t know at that point about what all it entailed. He stepped out on faith, trusting God to guide him to an unknown land.

“By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise” (verse 9).

God would give that land to Abraham and his descendants. Yet Abraham, Isaac and Jacob never received it in their lifetime.

Abraham said, “I am a foreigner and a visitor” (Genesis 23:4). He recognized and accepted his status as a pilgrim, a sojourner. Knowing God cannot lie, he knew the promise would be fulfilled. Abraham and those who followed in his steps had their eyes set on something better and more permanent than even the bountiful land that God brought their descendants into.

New Jerusalem

“By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God” (Hebrews 11:9-10).

This “city which has foundations” was the New Jerusalem in the Kingdom of God. It was just as real to them. They were willing to stake everything on the attainment of that prize.

As we see the chaos and confusion of this world around us, it should become easier for us to see that those who have been called by God are no longer a part of this world. It should be easier to identify with the Kingdom to come, to separate ourselves from this world.

It would be easy to get caught up emotionally in the blaming, finger pointing and condemning of others, but we must not do that. We must set our sights on the life and Kingdom to come and live accordingly.

As we come out of this society and reject its sinful ways, we have something so much better awaiting us!

For further study, see The Mystery of the Kingdom.