Forsaking All 2

We saw, in part one, that Luke 14:33 is an exhortation to all Christians. The word ‘disciple’ here means ‘Christian’. This verse does not contain special instructions for those who want to follow Jesus closer than other Christians, it is for all true believers.

Note that, as for part one, the authors of this page make no claim of having found all there is to find regarding the topic of forsaking all. Rather the aim is to look at the passage as a whole, rather than as individual verses, and thereby derive the basic meaning . After we have understood the primary significance of this particular set of verses, we may then continue to learn new implications, but it is vital to start with a clear understanding of the overall meaning.

Here, as also listed in part one, is a brief synopsis of the topic of ‘forsaking all’.

Every Christian must forsake all.
Forsaking all is not an entrance test for Christians who want to do more for the Lord, or to become a missionary, for example. Forsaking all is a requirement for every Christian.
God requires every believer to forsake anything that comes between that person and God.
Forsaking all is first a spiritual act, a letting go of anything that obstructs our relationship with God.
Specific items are forsaken not because there is a particular time that Christians should forsake them but because we must not allow anything to come between ourselves and God.
Forsaking all includes, but is by no means limited to, people, secular jobs, possessions, wealth. Forsaking all encompasses anything and everything, all that is within a person’s understanding, except for God Himself.
While forsaking all is primarily a spiritual act, it is manifested in the physical when the believer literally cuts ties with the things he or she is required to forsake.
Forsaking all is not done in obedience to a particular group or church. Forsaking all is done only as we follow Jesus Christ Himself, not any organisation, and it certainly should not be done as a means for admission to a church.
There is no set formula as to the specific things that every Christian should physically forsake. Some will be required to forsake their employment, family and wealth. Others may need to forsake other things. There is no set rule as to when every Christian should forsake a particular thing.
There is no precedent in the Bible for the Family to insist that its members forsake all as a precondition of membership, neither is forsaking all supported in the Bible as a means of income for church administrations.
Christians forsake all as they follow the personal leading of Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit leading their life. We forsake all as we follow the personal call of God, not by imitating the way someone else forsook all.

Note that in part one we covered the first two items in this list.

Why should we forsake all?

Now that we have established who this verse is addressed to, perhaps we may look at the reasons for ‘forsaking all’. However Luke 14:33 does not stand by itself. It is not an individual instruction that has no relation to the other things Jesus said. In fact, the verse begins with the words ‘so likewise’ meaning ‘in the same way’. Jesus said that ‘forsaking all’ was along the same lines as the things He had been saying in the verses before this one. So, to understand Luke 14:33, we will have to start reading at the beginning of the section, which is at Luke 14:25.

Luke 14:25-35

25 Now great multitudes went with Him. And He turned and said to them,

26 “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.

27 “And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.

28 “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--

29 “lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him,

30 “saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’

31 “Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?

32 “Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace.

33 “So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.

34 “Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned?

35 “It is neither fit for the land nor for the dunghill, but men throw it out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

As we have already established, Jesus was talking to a great multitude. This was not a private sermon to His 12 apostles; He was speaking to the multitudes. He was talking to all. These verses should not be taken as special rules for those who want to ‘serve the Lord full time’ but as specific instructions for all Christians.

In verse 26 of Luke 14 Jesus made His controversial and enigmatic statement that all Christians were under obligation to ‘hate’ their own parents, their spouses, and even their own children. It could get very puzzling when we remember that Jesus also said that Christians would be known by their love!

John 13:35 “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

We would also do well to remember that Jesus quoted the fifth commandment (“Honour your father and your mother” Exodus 20:12) at least seven times.

Yet, on one occasion Jesus appeared to spurn His own relatives in favour of His disciples.

Matt 12:46-50

46 While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him.

47 Then one said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You.”

48 But He answered and said to the one who told Him, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?”

49 And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers!

50 “For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”

In contrast to this statement, Jesus showed special concern for His mother Mary, even while He was dying on the cross.

John 19:26-27

26 When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold your son!”

27 Then He said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!” And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home.

Some explain Luke 14:26 by saying that Jesus intended to mean that our love for Him should be so great that in comparison our love for our close relatives would seem like hate. In the book of Matthew Jesus does in fact compare our love for Him with our love for others.

Matt 10:37 “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.

So, although it appears to be a valid interpretation to make a comparison between our love for Jesus and our love for others, there is yet deeper meaning to come out of this passage.

There is a striking similarity in Luke 14:26 to an Old Testament passage which may help to shed some light on what Jesus said.

Deut 13:6-11

6 “If your brother, the son of your mother, your son or your daughter, the wife of your bosom, or your friend who is as your own soul, secretly entices you, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods,’ which you have not known, neither you nor your fathers,

7 “of the gods of the people which are all around you, near to you or far off from you, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth,

8 “you shall not consent to him or listen to him, nor shall your eye pity him, nor shall you spare him or conceal him;

9 “but you shall surely kill him; your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people.

10 “And you shall stone him with stones until he dies, because he sought to entice you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.

11 “So all Israel shall hear and fear, and not again do such wickedness as this among you.

In Deuteronomy 13, the warning is that Israelites should never allow anyone to ‘entice them away from the Lord.’ Should someone attempt to do this, they were to be stoned. Deuteronomy 13:6 specifically mentions close relatives to whom there is a personal attachment: your own brother, your children, ‘the wife of your bosom’ (‘the wife you love’ NIV), and your ‘friend who is as your own soul’ (‘your closest friend’ NIV).

The law was laid down in this chapter that if anyone should try to entice another away from the Lord, he was to be killed, with verse nine specifying that the first stone was to be thrown by the person who he tried to entice. Israel was to take their allegiance to the Lord their God seriously. Nothing and no one was to come between them and God.

Jesus statement that His disciples should ‘hate’ their immediate family is so strikingly similar that we may draw a parallel between His words in Luke 14 and the passage in Deuteronomy 13.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus quoted a number of Old Testament passages and then expanded the meaning so that His listeners would understand the Scripture in a far deeper, far more personal way. Examples may be found in the case of adultery, which Jesus said included looking in lust (Matthew 3:27,28) or murder, which Jesus said included the sin of anger (Matthew 5:21,22). In Luke 14, Jesus is doing the same thing.

In Deuteronomy 13, God makes it very clear that no person should ever be allowed to come between Himself and His people. The very first point, therefore, that Jesus makes in Luke 14:26 is that He identifies with God. Jesus came as the Son of God, as the Word of God made flesh. He said nothing, except what His Father told Him to say. All that Jesus said He heard from God.

John 7:16 Jesus answered them and said, “My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.

John 8:26 “I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him.”

We should allow nothing or no one to come between us and God. We should allow no one to entice us away from Jesus Christ, Who is God incarnate.

Now it is time to make another crucial point. The verse does not say, “Don’t let your family or friends prevent you from serving God.” It does not say, “Hate those who would try to prevent you from joining a Christian organisation”. It does not say, “Join and remain in the Family at all costs.” Jesus said, “If anyone comes to Me…” Jesus was talking to the multitude about their relationship with God the Father, to Whom no one could come, except through Jesus Christ His Son.

Nothing is more important than our relationship with Jesus, because it is this relationship that determines our eternal salvation or our eternal damnation. We are therefore not to let anyone prevent us from coming to God the Father through Jesus Christ the Son.

The Family is not God.

It may seem unnecessary to make this point, but it is in fact crucial to understanding Luke 14:33, given the interpretation applied to this verse by the Family.

No one is ever saved by joining the Family, or any other denomination. No one can ever come to God the Father, except through Jesus Christ His Son, and that can only happen independently of any organisation. The Lord may use people within a particular church to bring people to Himself, but the entire process is a work of God, not a work of the church. We may or may not be part of a church or group when we are converted, but salvation never comes through the church itself.

Jesus came to call people to be His disciples, meaning they would follow Him, receive forgiveness for their sins and thus become reconciled with God. For more, see ‘Salvation’. These verses in Luke 14 and in Deuteronomy 13 do not talk about denomination or Family membership requirements, but of our salvation, of our relationship with God Himself through Jesus Christ our Lord.

So, when the Bible talks about ‘coming to Jesus’ or ‘being Jesus’ disciple’ or ‘following Jesus’ or not being ‘enticed away from the LORD your God’, it is important to note that it is not referring to a church organisation of any kind. Being ‘Jesus’ disciple’ means we have become a Christian. We have come to Jesus Christ Himself, Who has forgiven our sins and restored our fellowship with God His Father. These passages do not refer to our place or method of service but to the One we are serving.

Let no one entice you away from God.

Nothing, said Jesus, is more important than following Him. Remember, following Him is the same as being a disciple, which is the same as being a Christian. ‘Following Jesus’ means being a Christian. Following the Family means adhering to their practices, doctrines and goals. These passages are in no way talking about following the Family, joining a particular church, following a prophet, or being a missionary.

God requires every believer to forsake anything that comes between that person and God.
Forsaking all is first a spiritual act, a letting go of anything that obstructs our relationship with God.

Who or what should we forsake?

First of all, if we take a closer look at Deuteronomy 13, we’ll see that there are at least three categories of ‘enticers’ that we are to beware:

Firstly, in verse 1-5, we are to beware of prophets or ‘dreamers’ whose words draw us away from the God of the Bible.

Deut 13:1-5

1 “If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder,

2 “and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods’-- which you have not known--’ and let us serve them,’

3 “you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the LORD your God is testing you to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

4 “You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice, and you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him.

5 “But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has spoken in order to turn you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of bondage, to entice you from the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk. So you shall put away the evil from your midst.

How are we to know if the prophet is enticing us away from the Lord? A good indication would be to ask whether the Bible has prominence or the words of the prophet. Which does the prophet promote more, the Bible or his or her own words? Which are read for inspiration, for doctrine, for instruction? Which do we look to for a definition of sin? Of righteousness? The instant that the words of the prophet are given greater prominence than the words of the Bible, we know that the prophet is no longer drawing us towards God, but has begun enticing us away from Him. For more, see the study on Prophecy and new Revelations.

Secondly, we are to beware our close relatives and friends who might similarly entice us away from the Lord. Remember, not away from the Family or away from our church, but away from the Lord.

Deut 13:6-11

7 “of the gods of the people which are all around you, near to you or far off from you, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth,

8 “you shall not consent to him or listen to him, nor shall your eye pity him, nor shall you spare him or conceal him;

9 “but you shall surely kill him; your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people.

10 “And you shall stone him with stones until he dies, because he sought to entice you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.

11 “So all Israel shall hear and fear, and not again do such wickedness as this among you.

Thirdly, we are to beware ‘cities’. These might be actual cities which seek to replace a desire for the Lord with a hunger for materialism, or these might be groups of people, organisations, even churches who might have a collective influence on us, dragging us away from the Bible through some form of peer pressure.

Deut 13:12-16

12 “If you hear someone in one of your cities, which the LORD your God gives you to dwell in, saying,

13 ‘Corrupt men have gone out from among you and enticed the inhabitants of their city, saying, “Let us go and serve other gods” ‘--which you have not known--

14 “then you shall inquire, search out, and ask diligently. And if it is indeed true and certain that such an abomination was committed among you,

15 “you shall surely strike the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword-- utterly destroying it, all that is in it and its livestock, with the edge of the sword.

16 “And you shall gather all its plunder into the middle of the street, and completely burn with fire the city and all its plunder, for the LORD your God; and it shall be a heap forever. It shall not be built again.

Fourthly, returning to Luke 14:26, we are to even beware of our own life, which has potential to draw us away from God. Nothing, not even our own life, is to come between us and God. This is echoed in Revelations, where the saving blood of Jesus Christ was more precious to the believers than even their own lives.

Rev 12:11 “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.

Nothing and no one should ever be allowed to come between us and God. We should never allow anyone, no matter how dear they are to us to entice us away from the Bible. No prophet may ever replace the Bible with his or her own words.

We cannot be saved unless we have Jesus Christ, the divine Son of God, in first place. He must come before our family and friends, He Himself (not His service) must come before the Family, before any prophet, before any church denomination. The Bible must come before the words of any prophet or teacher, regardless of how godly they appear to be. Jesus Christ, Who is the only way to God, has priority over the breath that gives us life. This is the heart of Christianity. Jesus said that if He does not occupy that place in our lives, then we are not following Him, and we may not call ourselves ‘Christian’.

Specific items are forsaken not because there is a particular time that Christians should forsake them but because we must not allow anything to come between ourselves and God.

Forsaking All part three will continue examining the fourteenth chapter of Luke.

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