Following Jesus brings hardship, holiness, and sacrifice, but the eternal reward of knowing Him makes the cost worth it.
With a Subtitle: A Biblical Christian call to count the cost of discipleship, holiness, and endurance
A brief Excerpt: Following Jesus was never meant to be easy. This post explores the cost of true discipleship, the battle against sin, the reality of persecution, and the eternal hope that makes faithful endurance worth everything.
The Author is: Zach O'Leary
If the Christian life isn’t difficult to some degree, we’re doing it wrong.
That doesn’t mean following Christ is one long, joyless slog. But we often forget that Jesus calls us to lay down our lives. We stop seriously thinking about what it means to follow Him.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer famously called this “cheap grace”:
“Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession… grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.” (The Cost of Discipleship)
In short, it’s a useless faith — shallow and rootless. But Jesus never said, “Believe in me and stay the same.”
He said:
“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and followme” (Luke 9:23)
That invitation involves self-denial, hardship, and maybe even death.
But Jesus lived it.
For a time, He gave up His eternal glory, entered a world that would reject Him, and went willingly to the cross — a brutal and humiliating death — so that sinners like us could be redeemed (Philippians 2:3–10).
So when He says, “Follow me,” I have to ask: am I prepared to walk the same costly path?
Because if the answer is yes, then following Him will, in fact, be difficult.
Dealing with sin
The Christian life is difficult because we must face sin honestly — and put it to death (Colossians 3:5).
Jesus gives us a serious warning on this issue:
“Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; leave Me, you who practice lawlessness.’” (Matthew 7:22–23)
Jesus didn’t say, “You weren’t good enough.” He said, “You who practicelawlessness” to call out that unrepentant sinners don’t belong to Him.
Similarly, consider John the Apostle:
“Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. No one who has been born of God practices sin, because His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin continually, because he has been born of God.” (1 John 3:7–9)
We cannot make an intentional habit of sin, be at peace with it, and expect God to overlook it. If sin weren’t serious, Scripture wouldn’t speak so clearly or repeatedly about it. God calls His people to be holy because He is holy (1 Peter 1:16).
Now, we all fall short daily — and thank God we are clothed in Jesus’s perfect righteousness when we believe! If we had to give an account to God apart from Christ as our mediator, who could stand? (Psalm 130:3; Romans 3:23–24)
Yet, killing sin is hard — even when our desire is to please God. Consider the apostle Paul describing his own inner struggle in Romans 7.
Our default desires and impulses are selfish. Prideful. Lustful. Untruthful. Wrathful. Quick to gossip and slander. Slow to patience. Loving ourselves more than God.
To love and obey God, we need Christ working in us to put those desires to death.
Is it easy? Often, no. But we still care about killing sin, even knowing the battle will be difficult.
And we take comfort in this: when we are tempted, Jesus understands our weakness. He was tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin — and He is able to help us (Hebrews 4:15; 2:18).
What if we fail? We have Jesus to run to. He did not fail! He lived a perfect life under the Law as a man, and as God, His death was sufficient as the atoning sacrifice for sin once for all (Hebrews 10:12–14).
Becoming like Jesus is hard work — but it’s good work.
Work that brings us closer to Him on earth and gives us hopeful expectation when we go Home to be with Him forever.
Dealing with persecution
Being a Christian is hard because of external pressures. In particular, Jesus promised persecution would come:
“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:11–12)
Do we believe Him and take it seriously? Or ignore His words entirely?
There’s always a temptation to avoid the cost of following. And in the United States, that temptation feels especially easy.
I live in Napa, California, which is hardly the epicenter of Christian persecution. But when my local church emphasizes international missions, I’m regularly slapped in the face—confronted by the real, visible suffering other believers face.
These brothers and sisters endure poverty, starvation, slavery, burned churches, threats, and death. And they still follow Jesus.
Slaves gather to sing praises of their freedom in Christ. Believers walk for hours to attend church. Women who have lost husbands to violent extremists continue to worship and are cared for by the church.
They can lose everything at a moment’s notice and still praise God. They take seriously His words: “Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven.”
And then I think about my own hesitations.
Consider persecution — or let’s just say mild discomfort — closer to home. At a basic level, I’m tempted not to share Jesus because it might be socially awkward or divisive.
What?! Christians around the world are willing to serve their Savior no matter what, and I’m afraid of discomfort.
Shame on me if I am unwilling to share the Gospel or stand with Christ (Romans 1:16). Jesus said,
“Whoever denies Me before others, I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 10:33)
That’s a heavy word. But He loves us enough to tell us the truth — so we will respond in faithful obedience.
I’m not praying for intense persecution to come to America. But if what we call “persecution” looks like ridicule, accusations that Christians are foolish or hateful, doubts about the Bible, slander, or even job loss because of Biblical convictions — then we still stand with Jesus.
We don’t cave to culture to stay comfortable.
And if opposition ever moves beyond social rejection to real danger, Jesus reminds us not to fear those who can only kill the body but to fear God, who has authority over the soul (Matthew 10:28).
Yes, Christ said following Him will bring persecution and hardship.
But whatever we lose in this world doesn’t compare to what awaits us. One day, when we are with Him, we will count the cost as eternally worth it.
Final encouragement
Following Jesus was never meant to be easy.
We should consider the cost of following Christ — dealing with sin and enduring opposition — so we don’t drift into something that looks like faith but asks very little of us.
But if you belong to Christ, take heart!
Remember who Christ is and what He’s done. You are united with Him. He is your Savior, and His words are good — healing to the soul.
He died the death you deserved in your place because of His great love for you. While you were dead in your sins, He gave His life for you (Romans 5:8). He will never leave you or forsake you in trial (Hebrews 13:5).
Your desire to obey Him — even imperfectly — truly pleases Him. He will help you walk with Him.
The Gospel doesn’t just save us. It strengthens us. It anchors us. The love God showed us — freely and without our deserving it — is something we must never forget or stop clinging to.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer described this kind of faith as “costly grace”:
“Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it a man will go and sell all that he has. It is the pearl of great price to buy which the merchant will sell all his goods. It is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble; it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him.” (The Cost of Discipleship)
Though following Him comes with cost, He is faithful to help, keep, and carry His people.
The eternal value of knowing Him forever — blameless, full of joy, free from sin, death, and tears — is something we cannot overlook.
