Christ Never Gave An Altar Call - Matthew 16:24

    Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” - Matthew 16:24

    Here is a statement that we can hold firmly in our hearts: Jesus Christ never mislead anyone! He certainly never implied that following Him would be as easy as a leisurely stroll to the front of a crowd followed by the recitation of a simple prayer which would validate all the pain and suffering He went through to save us from an eternity in hell! No, Christ never suggested that following Him would be easy.
    Christ’s challenge to sinners was so provocative that it is repeated in all three of the Synoptic Gospels - Matthew, Mark, and Luke! He calls for us to “deny” ourselves. Deny ourselves? Surely the Lord must be mistaken! How could we ever deny our carnal desires. Isn’t there some simple prayer we can say to assure our salvation? Well, that’s what many of today’s evangelists would like for us to believe but nothing could be further from the truth. No where in all of Holy Scripture is such a prayer recommended, suggested, commanded, or endorsed! Jesus Christ didn’t willingly submit to the greatest torture and death ever devised by man so that we could insure our salvation by reciting something as lame as - “Jesus, I believe and I need the salvation you have provided. Come into my heart, rule my life today, and show me how to live. Amen.”
    I went to my doctor a couple of years ago and had some routine blood tests done. When I returned for a follow-up he informed me that I had Type 2 Diabetes. Imagine my surprise - I didn’t even know I was sick! So I asked him what I needed to do to “fix” my health. He suggested a harsh regimen including daily exercise, weight loss, and diet modification. I asked him if there wasn’t some simple pill I could take so I didn’t have to resort to his otherwise sever program. While I would need some oral medication, he assured me that without the other facets of the program I would still face the effects of the diabetes. In a word - “No!” There wasn’t a magic pill that I could take and continue in my former lifestyle unabated. I would have to deny myself many of the things I had grown accustomed to and comfortable with. My life was in need of a sever change, an austere change, if I wanted my health back. I had to deny myself. A simple pill wasn’t going to do it . . . and neither will a simple prayer!
    “For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.” - Matthew 10:35-37.  Pretty harsh position; wouldn’t you agree? But Christ wasn’t commanding us to hate our families. He was using that example for its sheer shock value. Our families, for most of us, are our world. He was merely saying that anyone who loved the world more than He was not worthy of Him.
    Mark 10:21 reiterates the point - “Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.” Again, Christ tells us that to follow Him we must give up our ties to the world, step out of our comfort zones, and take up our cross if we are to truly follow Him. Sound like a one pill (or prayer) fix?
    Christ never hints that accepting Him as LORD and Savior will be easy. He tells us the truth about the cost of discipleship because, as in Mark 10:21, He loves us.
    Jesus makes a further point that “easy believism”, the “one prayer and you’re there” method of many evangelical ministries today is NOT the cost of our discipleship - “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Matthew 7:13-14. Difficulty marks the way to Christ. He never gave an altar call. How many people would rush to the altar if a hammer, cruel spikes, and a hard wooden cross was waiting for them rather than a prayer? Christ picked up His cross for us and we are expected to do the same. Our resolve will be tried and tested. There will be no one pill - there will be no one prayer. But the reward is eternal salvation!
    May the Holy Spirit forge strength of faith within us on the anvil of our hearts.