Luke 14:31, commentary and pictures

The verse pictures a king sitting down first to weigh whether his ten thousand can meet an enemy coming with twenty thousand, and seeking terms of peace beforehand if he finds himself unable to stand.
It forbids rash, impulsive action taken in presumption of one's own strength, and calls for sober reckoning with the opposing power and the difficulties ahead.
For the Christian this means entering Christ's service only with thoughtful, deliberate, settled resolve, counting the cost of obedience because eternal life or eternal death hangs on the choice.
Counting that cost is dying to self, denying self and bearing the cross, renouncing pride, self-sufficiency and every sinful pleasure until the will is brought into perfect conformity with the will of God.
When that emptied nature is presented to God He supplies the lack by His Holy Spirit and gives of His fullness, so that those who trust Him do not face vast forces of evil alone but are strengthened and helped to endure without failing.

The King's Careful Reckoning

The picture is of a king who, before going to make war against another king, sits down first and consults whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him that comes against him with twenty thousand. If he judges his army unable to withstand that stronger approaching enemy, he seeks terms of peace before battle is joined. The picture warns against acting impulsively and rashly and against presuming on one's own strength. It teaches careful assessment of the strength of an opposing force, respect for the enemy's power, and preparation to meet difficulties.

Applied to the Christian life, it means following Christ calls for thoughtful, deliberate consideration rather than an impulsive start. As the king weighs whether his smaller force can meet a larger one, a person must seriously consider the cost of obedience and weigh the cost and the stakes before committing to battle. No one should enter a course that leaves him in the enemy's hands and ends in certain defeat. The stakes are eternal life, which may be gained or lost, so the choice must be to choose Christ fully.

Counting the Cost of Discipleship

Following Christ as a soldier requires counting the cost before entering His service, because a soldier's life is one of duty. Following Him calls for thoughtful, deliberate, settled commitment rather than an impulsive start or impulsive zeal. As a king weighs whether his smaller force can meet a larger one, so people must seriously consider the cost of obedience and not enter a course that ends in certain defeat. A person must consider the cost and be prepared to endure opposition without turning back.

Spiritual choices concern eternal life, which may be gained or lost, even eternal life or eternal death. No one should enter the struggle while choosing a course that leaves him in the enemy's hands and ends in defeat. Each must consider the stakes of eternal life and choose Christ fully. That choice requires giving up self and worldly attachments to serve God.

Counting the cost means submission to God with the whole heart, denying self, bearing the cross, and surrendering every sinful pleasure and wrong. It may take great effort, but abandoning sin brings lasting happiness and rest in His service. Eternal life has a price that must be sat down and counted and willingly paid. The price is dying to self, renouncing self, being emptied of self, crucifying pride and self-sufficiency, and bringing the will into perfect conformity with the will of God in order to receive the mind of Christ and be filled with the fullness of God. Heaven is worth that sacrifice and consecration of all, and sitting down to count the cost means deciding whether heaven is worth paying that price for eternal life by dying to self and having the will bent and fashioned into perfect conformity with the will of God.

Until a person is willing to pay it, the transforming grace of God will not be manifested or experienced. But when the emptied nature is presented to God, to Jesus and His cause, He by His Holy Spirit supplies the vacuum made by renunciation of self and gives of His fullness. He does not want anyone to perish, and He desires full consecration to His service even more urgently than the desire for more of God. Union with Christ by living faith costs something and must be entered with full counting of that cost. Christ first chose sinners at an infinite price for redemption, and the true believer in return chooses Christ as first and last and best in everything in an enduring union, while every other union must perish.

That union is one of utter dependence that is costly for a proud being to enter, requiring a sense of need of atoning blood, a change of heart, and submission of personal will to God's will. It brings struggle against outward and inward obstacles and a painful work of detachment as well as attachment in which pride, selfishness, vanity, worldliness, and sin in all its forms must be overcome. Attempting to attach to Christ without first detaching from cherished idols makes the Christian life hard, fickle, and variable. Discipleship requires a deliberate, serious decision about willingness to bear its cost, and mere profession of faith without that resolve is not enough. Choosing Christ means accepting separation from those who disregard divine things.

Christ's followers must count the cost before taking up the great warfare of carrying truth to the world with its eternal results, giving themselves wholeheartedly and relying on Christ's strength. With faith in divine help they can work despite weakness and advance without failing or becoming discouraged. Followers of God must count the cost of entering the battle against evil, but they do not fight alone against vast forces of evil, for heavenly beings, the Holy Spirit, and angels help them. Those who trust in God can be made strong despite weakness, and those who confess and forsake their sins with contrite hearts can be forgiven and receive the help they need.

Israel's Failure and Practical Enterprises

The king's reckoning exposes the course of the Jewish nation, which pressed on in pride and religious bigotry without considering the result even though the world was against them. That uncounted course left them in the hands of hostile nations. Their only hope was to accept Christ, forsake sins, and be reconciled to God. They should have sought peace from the only One who could create it, and if they had sought peace with God He would have worked for them as in the past and brought them to the heavenly Canaan. The same reckoning touches Gentiles, among whom some were convicted and invited to accept the gospel yet were kept from accepting it by fear of provoking the scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees.

Before undertaking a major enterprise such as building a sanitarium, the cost must be soberly assessed and available resources weighed to see whether they are sufficient to carry it through. That weighing must consider where the funds will come from. The warning is against launching suddenly or hastily on suppositions or assumptions that needed funds will be available. Such caution is especially urgent when fields are poor and cannot support the work. Plans should therefore be considered carefully and developed gradually rather than acted upon impulsively. The same principle binds institutions that take on debt or continue building, which must count the cost and consider whether their limited resources can meet their obligations or whether they need more support. As the king considers beforehand whether with his force he can meet the stronger enemy, so parents and children are to count the cost and understand the commitment before receiving the ordinance of baptism.