Jesus had much to say about the cost of being His disciple; in fact, true discipleship will cost you everything, and yet, the value of His grace is limitless! This quote from Jesus compares such a cost with the practicality of war:

31 “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33 In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples. -Luke 14:31-33

We also know of the cost of a stronger nation at war against a weaker power, which holds out with great resistance and perseverence, because the weaker power’s homeland means everything to the people, even life itself. The stronger power must be forced to weigh the cost, even weighing the diminishing returns from a seemingly endless war. America has witnessed this from the Vietnam War and the war in Afghanistan. Russia may be experiencing this principle in its war against Ukraine, and also suffered heavy losses in the 1980s in the Russian invasion of Afghanistan. In fact, the principle of diminishing returns goes back in history to ancient times. Aristotle referred to the fading Persian empire’s struggle against Atarneus, a stronghold town on the coast of Asia Minor (Politics, Book II, iv, 10), in which the city’s mega-wealthy financier, Eubulus the Bithynian banker, suggested to the Persian general, Autophradates, that he count the cost in time, expense, and lives to take the city. Autophradates wisely withdrew the seige from Atarneus.

Now Jesus’ example in Luke chapter 14 refers to the weaker power offering peace terms when the cost would be too great. We have therefore two examples from history: the diminishing returns of the stronger power in one example, and the likely defeat or excessive cost of the weaker power in another example. Our moral of these illustrations pertains to becoming a Christian. To be a Christian, Jesus says, you must go “all in.” The cost is your life, whether literally in the case of your martyrdom, or the cost over your natural lifetime as a slave of Christ.

Then He said to them all: 23 “Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.” -Luke 9:23-24

Self-denial places others ahead of yourself, and the motivation is love. The cost of discipleship is everything, but the gain is everything for eternity. Oh, the amazing riches of Christ (Romans 9:23; Colossians 1:27; Hebrews 11:26)!

Now the cost of discipleship to Jesus may be regarded, in the case of the strong Christian, as the stronger power waging war on the weaker, who may perhaps find himself casting his pearls before swine (Matthew 7:6) in the hope of saving the irretrievable, only to sink himself in the mire of the other’s depravity. Once you have laid out the gospel and your arsenal of prooftext – that is, your memorized Scriptures that show the way of repentance and salvation in Christ – it becomes necessary to “dissolve the bands” (T. Jefferson) that may lead to evil influence. As the apostle said, once you have warned the wayward one, watch that you yourself be not tempted. Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good character,” which Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:33, quoting from the Greek Poet, Menander.

In the case of an ordinary Christian, or a new Christian, or even a weaker Christian, how do you ask for peace against the stronger power? One must not negotiate with evil, especially the devil. Surrender, not to evil, but to the risen Savior. Do as Paul described in Colossians 3:1-3; namely, hide your life in Christ. As you deny self and hide your life in Christ, the Lord Jesus stands between you and evil. We are all weak in one way or other, and Jesus knows your every weakness. Call on Jesus for protection. Take that temptation to the Lord in prayer. Such is the resistance of the saved, calling on the name above all names, Jesus. As James wrote, resist the devil, and he will flee (James 4:7). Is he fleeing from your power? No, he is fleeing from you because of who is in you, Jesus, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27).