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So, thank you for that. Thank you to Mighty Muscadine for sponsoring this episode. Let's jump in. The best things in life are often free, and that's true with the simple things like a sunset or a child's laughter. But it's also true with something as complex as your eternal salvation.
Let's talk more about it on today's episode of Clearview Today. You're listening to Clear View today with Dr. Abadon Shah, the daily show that engages mind and heart for the gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm Ryan Hill. I'm John Galantis.
Welcome to the Clear View Today show. We're here in the studio live with our host, Dr. Abadon Shah. And if you're listening for the very first time, we want to hear from you. Two five two four two nine six zero six nine.
That's a number that you can text any day of the week, twenty four seven, and it goes directly to us. Not some team of interns. Not some group of chat bots waiting to sell you something or take your data. It all goes directly to us, and we can't wait to be able to talk with you as well, Doctor Shaw. These conversations about the parables have been so helpful for us in seeing ourselves in Scripture, and also in understanding what the purpose of the parables was in the first place.
Yes, the purpose was not to make things clearer, but to expose the hearts of the people who were listening to Jesus's teachings.
So, the ones who received His teachings were able to see things. Even clearer, those who were rejecting his teachings, it became more difficult for them to understand.
So, parables was were almost like a judgment against people's hearts. The Pharisees, the scribes, they were constantly looking for something wrong in Jesus, and for them, his message became even more difficult and complex. The disciples, as simple as they were, they were receptive to his teachings, and the message became even clearer. They saw the parables, and they heard the parables, and it became even clearer for them than it was before. That's right.
You know, we're talking about a parable today where this king tries to build a tower and he can't do it because he hasn't counted the cost. And we're going to get into that parable in a little bit. But I think it's so fitting for today, and not just today, but like this day and age, because we're living in a time where everything costs. Like you can't even you can't even barely breathe no more without having to pay something. Like posting on Facebook, they they have a thing now where if you post on Facebook, you can't post a link more than twice a month.
Unless you pay a little extra, then you can post as many links as really yes. I just know that yeah yeah. We have to put all of our links in comments now because you can't post. I did not know you can't post links, but twice a month, but. You can become a premium member on Facebook.
I was a business. I was about to say I would be interested to know if you just pulled the average person how many subscriptions they have, how many how many services they are regularly paying money to. It seems like it's this it's this idea that we're going to give you something and we're going to let you keep it for a while, then we're going to take it away, but you can pay us to have it back. Right, and that's just how business goes today. See, so also when it comes to salvation, it is a free gift.
It is. Free. There's zero cost to it. It doesn't cost us anything, but it cost Jesus His life. And you don't have to pay anything for your salvation, but salvation means that now you are a disciple of Christ, a disciple of Jesus, and everything you have now belongs to Him.
So the question for us as believers is: Have you counted the cost of discipleship? Do you know that it's going to cost you, and it's not a test for your salvation. Like, if you don't count the cost, then you cannot be saved. It's not like that because salvation is a free gift. But now that you are saved.
Count the cost because it's going to get difficult, and I think a lot of Christians have not taken that into account. We want the we want the insurance. We want to get to heaven, and then beyond that. I haven't really thought out my Christian life very much. We're so accustomed to comfort.
I mean, we're so accustomed to things being easy or things being like deluxe or plush or, I mean, especially living in 21st century America, we have all kinds of comforts at our fingertips. We have every single way to make our lives easier, and we capitalize on it. Our entire lives are automated more or less. I've spent the last I've spent the last two or three days here at the church using Companion to completely automate everything. TVs come on, lights.
Come on, everything comes on by itself. Why? Because I am used to life being easy, and I want to make it easier. Yeah, and that sort of runs contrary to what the Bible says the Christian life is actually like. Yeah, well, t here is a great parable that I want us to read.
It's coming from Luke chapter fourteen and verse twenty five.
So, if one of you guys want to read all the way to verse thirty three, sure.
Now great multitudes went with him, and he turned and said to them, 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. And whoever does not bear his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. 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 has laid the foundation and is not able to finish it, all who see it begin to. Him saying, "This man began to build and was not able to finish." Or what king, going to 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, or else while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace?
So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has, cannot be my disciple.
So, question for you guys. How do you picture Jesus, two thousand years ago? When you think about him, out there in the land of Israel, walking the streets of Galilee or the streets of Jerusalem, how do you picture him? Like a hippie? Like, like I mean, I'm I'm kind of I'm kind of being silly, but you know what I mean.
Like a very gentle, meek and mild. He goes around just kind of doing good, helping people. Everyone's kind of drawn to him. He's he's like in the Da Vinci painting. He's like right in the center.
There's an aura around him a little bit. That's that's kind of how I picture him. I kind of see that. I mean, hippie does make sense with like going around just just sort of like pursuing everyone. Like you're welcome, and you're welcome, and everybody's welcome.
Come on, let's talk about it. I like mentally. I can I can maybe understand that's not correct, but at like my first gut reaction, that's where my brain goes. You know that picture, you know that really famous painting of Aristotle and Plato, and they're walking, and one's pointing up and one's pointing down, kind of like that. Where like the way he's framed and everyone's around him, kind of like that.
But instead of in Greece, he's like in the in the countryside. Yeah. Do you see him surrounded by people, or just one or two, or maybe the twelve disciples? Most of the time, most of the time in my head, I see Surrounded by people, like tons of people, or just like okay, I mean, few people to walk in, like a little social gathering. Usually, for me, it's it's a it's a pretty significant.
I usually huge numbers, yeah, wow. I usually see the twelve, twelve, like the twelve. They're sitting by a pond. I guess in my head, I'm usually going like Sermon on the Mount, like big crowd gathered listening to Jesus.
So if you pay attention to verse 25, Luke 14:25, it says, "Now great multitudes went with him. Great multitudes." I mean, when the Bible says "great multitudes," means a lot of people, and they're traveling with him. Yes, and imagine. Jesus with huge crowds of people all around him, like you're coming out of a big baseball game, you know, tons of people. A football game, tons of people out there, or a fair, you know, that maybe the opening night of the fair and the second night.
I think it is the the biggest one. Imagine you're walking like shoulder to shoulder, you're barely trying to get through, and you cannot really move very far because it's just people, people, people, people. Yeah, that's what it looked like when Jesus walked. the The streets of Palestine. There's this massive crowd of people scrunched in together, craning to see Jesus.
Now, why were they following Jesus? Of course, some disciple, you know, like the disciples, were committed to him; they had accepted the call to discipleship. But many had not. They had ulterior motives in following Jesus.
Some were following because of the food. He was a walking, talking cafeteria. Yeah, wow. Can we get some fish sandwiches, Jesus? Little five loaves and two fish.
Hey, it's hunger time. It's getting to be six o'clock in the evening. Hang in there. He's going to do something. Just watch.
I promise you, it's going to be something good. Come out. It's coming today. It's going to be some fresh bread, some fish. It's coming.
There we go.
Some were there because of the miracles, like a mobile. Er, yeah, like just just if I hang around long enough, yeah, you know it's kind of expensive to go to the hospital these days, man. I need you just touch my forehead. My dog has a little sniffle. You could like my dog.
Imagine going, Jesus, I got, I know this is crazy, but I do kind of have a headache. Like if you could just, I stub my toe, put your thumb on my head, just take care of that for me. And some were there because of the preaching, because he was teaching them, he was talking to them. You know, they were looking for something new. And fresh, and you know, different than what they had been hearing—the Pharisees and the scribes and all the chief priests.
You know, all the junk they're talking. They don't know what they're talking about. And here is a man, man. He he just he speaks with power.
So people were surrounding him for all kinds of reasons. And Jesus, being God, remember, he's fully man, but he's also fully God. He knows all that. And he stopped, and turned around, and spoke to them. I mean, that's what it says right here, Luke fourteen twenty five.
Now, great multitudes went with him, and he turned and said to them, "Can you imagine? He's like, stop." It's like that scene, or you know, that scene in Forrest Gump when he's running and then he stops and he turns and everyone's back. And there's a big crowd. Yeah, but this is like the entire desert. I'm going home.
I'm going home, Nile. I'm done. I kind of see that. Like everybody stopped. They're like, "Oh, he's stopping.
He's stopping.
Something's coming. Yeah, something's coming. Here it is." And what comes out of Jesus's mouth? He says, "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother," And wife, and children, brothers, and sisters, yes, and his own life, also, he cannot be my disciple.
Now, I am not gonna lie to you; these past couple episodes. Jesus has been talking kind of kind of crazy. This ain't this ain't the Jesus that we picture, right? This is not the Jesus that we that we know and love. Yeah, this is some this is some out of pocket stuff.
What are we what are we saying here? Because this feels like it goes contrary to other parts of the Bible. I mean, kind of famously in your mind, honor your father and mother. Yeah, it doesn't mean that we have to literally hate our family in order to follow Jesus. Of course not.
You know, in the Greek, when Influenced by Hebrew and the Old Testament, the words love and hate can almost mean choose and not choose, or choose and turn down. That's what the idea is behind it. For example, in Malachi chapter one verse two, where God says, "I have loved you," says the Lord. Yet you say, "In what way have you loved us?" Was not Esau Jacob's brother? Says the Lord.
Yet Jacob, I have loved, but Esau, I have hated. It does not mean that God's up there hating somebody. He just chose not to use Esau, but he chose Jacob. He chose Jacob, not because Jacob was special or Jacob, you know, had much talents. He chose him.
So that through Jacob he would bring his promised one. That's where I'm so thankful for your expertise in languages, Doctor Shaw, because it's not just about like this is the translation, like Greek word to English or Hebrew to English, but it's the it's the context, and we're talking about Greek that's influenced by Hebrew.
So understanding those nuances really helps us parse out difficult passages like this, where we're like, do I have to hate my parents? Do I have to hate my family? What does this look like? It's basically saying if you choose your parents over me or your family. Over me, you're not worthy.
You're not worthy. Do you think this is something that could do with an updated translation? Like, if a translation were to come out and it were to say, "Whoever chooses." Their parents over me. I think I think that could be the way we need to go. Really, I was going to say if if it were up to you, would you stick with whoever does not hate, or would you say no?
It's probably time for us to get back to well the original. Yeah, I mean, good good point. I mean, I would say in that situation, definitely we need to find the best possible rendition there.
So in Luke twenty five, I'm sorry, Luke fourteen and verse twenty six. If anyone comes to me and does not hate, missay, missay, in in this verse can mean to hate.
Okay, you know, miss is is is the opposite of loving, but it also has the idea of choosing and not choosing.
Okay, so. It has the subsidiary meaning, so sometimes that is what's needed here instead of hate. Yeah, whoever chooses over me. Certainly, certainly for English speakers, I I feel like choose makes more sense in our minds. Exactly.
Yeah, I agree. I agree.
So, yeah, translation is not easy. We have to really wrestle with some of these issues. Yeah, yeah.
So, having said that, Jesus wants us to pick Him over any and all earthly relationships. He wants us to pick Him.
Now, He's not like selfish. Like, if you don't pick Me, then I don't like you. No, it's more that when you pick Him, then you can properly place other relationships. In their proper place, yeah. It's like when you when you choose Jesus first, your other relationships don't get cut.
It's like they actually become better as long as they're honoring God. Yeah, right. You ever get halfway through the afternoon and you realize that everything you've had to drink today requires either a coffee maker, a vending machine, or a drive-through? Yeah. It's time to start drinking some water, and our friends over at Le Blue Ultra Pure Water take the purity of your drinking water very seriously.
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Now let's get back to it. By the way, this is not the first time that Jesus had made such a statement in in Luke chapter nine.
Okay, so we're reading from Luke 14, but if you back up like five chapters, Luke chapter Chapter nine, and verse fifty-seven. This man came and said, "Lord, I will follow you wherever you go." And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." Then he said to another, "Follow me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God." And another also said, "Lord, I will follow you, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house." But Jesus said to him, "No one, no one, having put his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God." So, this whole idea of putting Jesus first was very central. To Jesus's ministry, yeah, I think a lot of us in America, especially here in 2026, our our testimony involves leaving behind some habits, some patterns, some you know bad language, things I used to watch that I don't watch no more. But very rarely do we see. I mean, I'm sure it happens here in America, but very rarely do we see people having to lose their families, walk away from everything they know.
And it makes me think of your dad, who had to literally do just that. Oh yeah, yeah. My dad. I mean, he grew up in a Christian. He did not grow up in a Christian.
He grew up in a affluent home. He grew up in an educated home, a very affectionate home, is what I was trying to say earlier, but a Muslim home. When he became a Christian, the biggest struggle that he had. Was not that I won't have money, or I won't have things, or I won't have opportunities and the luxuries of life. The biggest struggle was that I will have to leave my family.
I can't even begin to understand. I can't. How could someone say leaving my family, and that is the cost you have to pay? To become a Christian, in the West, when somebody gets saved, or they give their life to Jesus, or they want to be baptized, I mean, the whole family shows up. Yeah, they celebrate.
They celebrate. Yeah. At our church, we've been having God's been blessing us. We've been having a string of baptism every Sunday. There's one, two, three baptisms taking place.
Even this coming Sunday, there's a there are two baptisms, and families come. And they sit on the front row, and they clap the loudest, and they have their phones, you know, they're they're filming the entire ceremony. In most of the world, especially Middle East, Asia, Eastern Europe, when people come to know Jesus Christ, their loved ones. Turn against them.
Well, I like the way you frame that because you you said the Middle East, Asia, Eastern Europe. To the to us, those are outliers. But no, you're right. That's most of the world. Most of the world.
Yeah. If you look at the world population, that's that's most of that's most of the world. Which means what we have in America, specifically right here in the Bible Belt, is very rare. Let's take a quick break. Hey guys, John here with the Clearview Today show, and I want to just take a second and talk to you about today's sponsor, WatchSafe.
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Now let's get into the show. And it's one thing to think about, you know, if if somebody gets saved and they they're leaving a life of hardship, or they're leaving a life where their family mistreats them, or their family is of hateful toward them. But I mean, in cases like your dad, he he had to walk away from a family that loved him. Oh, absolutely, was very caring, very kind, very wealthy, very wealthy. Yeah, very caring.
It was not like oh, there was a dysfunctional home or. They they they didn't love him. No, just to the contrary, they loved him. And yet, when it came to following Christ, that was it. Yeah.
And in this parable, Jesus says in verse twenty seven, "Whoever does not bear his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple." I mean, there is an immediacy to this call. Yeah. It doesn't mean that you follow flippantly. It means you go right now. If you stick around, like I think about my dad that night, if he had said, "Let me think over it one more night," let me wait till the morning.
I believe that if he had waited any longer, he would not have left. Wow! And if he had not left. Then I'm not sure what would have happened that night. Yeah, there's there's someone listening right now who there's something in their life that's keeping them from committing to Christ.
What do you what do you think that something might be?
Well, like what could what could be that thing right now for the listener that's like, hey, that is holding you back from? Yeah, I mean, family, friends, the the you know the the luxuries of life, the stability that you have. Those are things that we think. Oh man, I can't live without this. I gotta have this.
So you ask me to follow Jesus, I'm gonna have to leave all this. I know a couple right now in our church who, after the Charlie Kirk assassination—that's what it was, murder—they the wife gave her life to Christ fully, and then later on, her husband followed. And I I've talked to them since then. And they've said it. They said, you know, I've, I think I've lost friends.
I've lost friends, but I know which way I have to go. Yeah, I know how I, I can't go back there. My eyes are open. I, I got to go forward. And to me, that is a modern day, like my father.
That's what they're doing. Yeah, I agree with you. Losing friends, losing family members, losing those old buddies. He said, "It's it's tough, but I can't go back." Right, and I'm so proud of both of them because they they are living out Luke chapter nine. They're living out Luke chapter fourteen.
And in Luke chapter nine, it says, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God. And no one, having put his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." So, question again is, what is holding you back? Those who are listening to us right now, those who are watching us, is there something you are saying? I want to, but but I can't. Just know that you get one life, one.
Time that you and I come through this life, one opportunity to follow Jesus Christ. You don't get a second chance. There is no second life. There is no reincarnation. This is it.
And in this life, you have to choose Christ. You have to follow Him. You have to count the cost. Put your hand to the plow. Don't look back.
Start pushing forward. If you don't, you lose. I mean, there is no. Let's try it again next time. No, you have lost.
Can't do that. What would happen to the person who we're talking about counting the cost? I mean, Jesus gives several illustrations here in in the parables about people who failed to count the cost. What would happen to people who grow up, especially? I'm thinking about people who are here in the South, kind of grow up in this cultural Christianity and don't really count the cost of following Christ.
What are What's in store for them? What are they at risk of? Great, great point. I mean, it's it's a whole Christian life. It just ekes out a living.
I mean, they may have tons and tons of money. They may have friends. They may have parties. They may have the the the comforts of life. But inside, it's empty.
There's there's no joy. There's no fulfillment, and Having been a pastor of this church now, twenty eight years—that's a long time, almost three decades. Come nineteen—I'm sorry, twenty twenty nine—it will be thirty years. I have seen it all. Plus, I grew up in a Christian home, a pastor's home, so I saw it over there as well.
What you see on the outside. Is not what's on the inside. What if you've got that person who's listening right now, and they're saying, "You know, my life just seems colorless. There's no color in my life. It's pale.
It's gray. I don't get excited about the things of God. I know it's important, and I know it's good. And if you tell me that it's it's important to read my Bible, I'll agree with you. But I feel nothing.
How would you? Is it too late for that person? No, I mean, just listen to this. These illustrations here. First is a tower builder.
Jesus says, "You know, think about this man who is about to build a tower. Maybe he was building this tower for an agricultural purpose to watch over the fields, or maybe it was a military tower. I'm not sure. What matters is that this awkward, unfinished structure is standing now in the front yard and does nothing." Look at your life. Is it just standing as a monument to shame?
And then listen to verse twenty-nine. 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." I mean, they're laughing and saying, "What are you? What are you going to do with this thing? You going to hang your clothes on it? Yeah, you know, what are you going to do?
Tie some goats? Maybe sell it? Oh, wait, you can't even sell it. Can't sell it. Nobody can.
It's half obstruction. Because nobody can take it from here.
So you stuck with this thing that looks like some people's Christian life. Yeah, you know, or the king on a warpath. It says he didn't count the cost or what it will take to win this battle." And so he thought he was big and bad with his ten thousand soldiers, only to find out that the other side has twenty thousand. And now you are, you know, the battle lines are drawn. They're over there.
You're over here. About to start. Listen to verse thirty-one. 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? Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace.
So. Have you considered the cost of following Christ? I think that's that's a lot of people right now are feeling convicted. Like my life is an unfinished tower that I have no idea how to finish. My life is a defeated army.
I've been playing with the Christian life and haven't really considered what it would take to fully live out a life of obedience to God. In the next in the next couple of minutes before we close the show, Doctor Shaw, if that's me. Listening to this right now, what can I do today to get my back, my life back on the road? Once you've counted the cost, jump in and follow Christ. Don't wait.
Go all in, and and you will not lose. You will not lose. And you know, I'm talking to all kinds of people. Maybe somebody is listening right now who doesn't even know Jesus as your Savior. Just know that the cost is free.
You don't have to count the cost to be saved. The cost is free. Jesus paid it all. Just come to Him and tell Him that you are a sinner. He is the Savior.
He died in your place. He said, "Well, I don't understand all that." You can understand the rest of your life, but right now, just ask Jesus to come into your life. Ask Him to be your Savior. Ask Him to be your King. And tell him that you will follow him the best you can as he helps you.
That's all you have to do. That's right. Begin your Christian life.
Now, having begun the Christian life, start counting the cost of what it means to daily submit to the leading of Jesus in your life. Daily, daily, you have to say, "Yep, it's going to cost me. Yep, I won't be able to do those things. Yes, I won't be able to have those friends, but that's okay." It's okay because in the end, I win if I follow Christ. I love that distinction that you made that the the initial surrender to salvation, and then also the daily surrender to Christ.
That continual day by day saying, "I'm going to submit, I'm going to count the cost, and I'm going to follow after Jesus." And if you've done that for the first time today, we want to help you take the next steps in your walk with God. Text in and let us know at two five two four two nine six zero six nine. We would count it a privilege to number one pray with you, rejoice with you. Our new brother or sister in Christ, and to help you take those first steps in your walk with the Lord. That's right.
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