Gospel Truth Project

Store

The Real Gospel: Grace, Repentance, and the Cost of Discipleship

Intro: The Question We Don’t Ask Anymore

Ask yourself this: What does it actually mean to follow Jesus? What is grace, really? And how do repentance and sacrifice fit into the Gospel message?

We’re living in a time when the message of Christ has been softened; grace is highlighted, but repentance is skipped. Discipleship is marketed as optional. Church culture often sounds more like a TED Talk on self-empowerment than a call to die to self.

But Jesus never offered a casual invitation. He never said, “Add Me to your life.” He said, “Lose your life for My sake” (Luke 9:24). His call was one of surrender, cost, and resurrection into a new life—not just a better version of the old one.

If we strip the Gospel of repentance and sacrifice, we’re not preaching the Gospel at all. So lets talk about this.

Grace Is Not Permission, It’s Power

The Apostle Paul makes it clear in Ephesians 2:8–10 that grace is not a passive gift—it is the foundation and fuel of a transformed life:

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God—not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:8–10, NASB)

The context here is Ephesians 2:1–10, which clearly explains the relationship between our lack of obedience, the grace of God, and our salvation. Those who are saved by Christ do not deserve this salvation. It is only by mercy, and by grace, that God chooses to forgive. Paul repeats the claim that human effort has no impact on salvation whatsoever. No Christian can brag about their ”goodness,” since we are saved entirely by the grace of God—not by our own good deeds.

In verse 8, Paul returns again to his theme of grace in this classic passage. Salvation’s source is grace; the means of salvation is faith. We believe by faith to be saved (Romans 10:9), but would never choose to believe apart from the grace of God operating in our lives. That salvation would never be available, except as a result of God’s grace. Both parts (grace and faith) are essential to salvation.

Immediately following this declaration, in verse 9, Paul gives yet another reminder that works do not and cannot save us. Good deeds are important in the lives of believers, but they do not provide salvation. It has been said we work as a result of our salvation, not to provide our salvation. Paul’s Jewish upbringing had emphasized devout adherence to the law as the means to please God. He was faithful to his religion, yet did not know God. His salvation came when God revealed Himself to Paul by grace, and Paul believed and was saved (Acts 9).

Since verses 8 and 9 are so often quoted, many miss out on verse 10 when seeking to understand God’s salvation by grace through faith. However, this important statement offers tremendous insight into what God desires after salvation. God calls us His workmanship (His artwork) from the Greek word poiēma. We are something crafted, with skill and a purpose, by God, for His purposes. Specifically, we are “created in Christ Jesus for good works.” Good works do not give us salvation, but they are absolutely meant to be the result of salvation.

This aligns with Paul’s challenge in Romans 6:1–2:

“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? Far from it! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?”

Paul begins this chapter by posing a question about the implications of what he said in chapter 5: that where sin increased, God’s grace “super-increased.” In other words, as sin multiplied, God’s grace abounded even more to cover the sins of all who trust in Christ.

So, what does that mean for those who’ve been reconciled to God through faith? What should Christians do about sin now that we’ve been saved? Should we just keep sinning so that God’s grace keeps flowing?

This seems to have been a common criticism of Paul’s teaching—and it still is. It’s the charge that Christianity is just a license to sin. But Paul shuts that down hard: “By no means!” (Greek: mē genoito)—an emphatic rejection. It’s the same phrase he often uses to respond to absurdity.

Christians should not continue in willful sin. In fact, Scripture makes it clear that a life of persistent rebellion is inconsistent with someone who has truly been saved (see Galatians 5:19–24; 1 John 3:6–9).

Paul goes further: those who are not in Christ are slaves to sin. They cannot help but sin. But Christ’s death broke that bondage. We now have the power, in Christ, to resist sin. That doesn’t mean our desire to sin is gone—but it means we are no longer ruled by it.

Grace is not divine permission—it’s divine empowerment. If your version of grace makes room for rebellion instead of holiness, you’ve misunderstood the Gospel.

The Forgotten Call to Repentance

If you asked most modern Christians to define the Gospel, they’d likely say something about grace, love, and forgiveness. And they wouldn’t be wrong, but they would likely be incomplete.

Jesus Himself made it clear that repentance is not a side note, it’s a core part of the message. In Luke 24:46–47, the resurrected Christ says:

“Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” (NASB)

The context here is Luke 24:44–49. In verse 46, Luke is giving an overview of how Jesus revealed His fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. Likely Jesus taught this multiple times between His resurrection and ascension, perhaps unfolding more with each teaching. Jesus is showing how the Old Testament prophesied the suffering and resurrection of the Jewish Messiah. The passages that cover His suffering are common in the Psalms and Isaiah. A small selection includes Isaiah 52:14, Psalm 69:20–21, Psalm 22:14, 18, and Isaiah 53:7–9. There are fewer prophecies about the Christ’s resurrection. Yet they include Psalm 118:17–18 and Isaiah 53:10–12.

What Jesus gives as definitive proof is the “sign of Jonah.” He says, “For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:40).

As Jesus speaks, those old passages gain new meaning in the hearts of the disciples. They begin to see how obvious it all seems. While building the church, contextualizing Jesus within Jewish Scriptures becomes the primary introduction to the gospel. Peter uses this method on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:17–21, 25–28, 34–35). Paul uses it in every town he enters that has a synagogue (Acts 13:13–47; 17:2–3).

Luke uses it, too. Even though Theophilus is probably not Jewish, Luke has shown how Jesus fulfills Jewish prophecy. In the last part of this chapter, Luke foreshadows the first two chapters of Acts. This verse previews the mission Jesus gives to the early church: as His “witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

The apostles and other disciples follow this outline, although not always proactively. The day Jesus’ followers receive the Holy Spirit, they begin teaching the Pentecost crowds what Jesus now explains: His place in the prophecies of Jewish Scripture (Acts 2). To the crowd at the temple, Peter shows their own place in prophecy: as those who brought suffering to the Messiah. He then calls them to repent and find forgiveness (Acts 3:11–26).

This message continues until Stephen is martyred and Paul begins his persecution of the church (Acts 7:54—8:3). Many of the disciples flee. Philip finds himself north where a great number of Samaritans, who are reviled by the Jews, believe his message about the Jewish Messiah. Peter and John follow to validate their faith and their place in the Christian church (Acts 8:4–25).

The Gentiles follow. Philip brings an Ethiopian proselyte to faith (Acts 8:26–40). Peter watches the Holy Spirit fall on an entire houseful of Gentiles (Acts 10:44–48). disciples from Cyprus and Cyrene, who had fled Jerusalem, witnessed to Gentiles in Syrian Antioch (Acts 11:19–20), building a church that became Paul’s home base to reach as far as Rome—or, possibly, Spain.

This message must be shared “in his name.” The message is powerful because it comes with the power and authority of Jesus. As Peter will tell the Sanhedrin, “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). This is the great mission Jesus gives the church. First, however, they need the Holy Spirit.

So we see that repentance isn’t just about feeling sorry. It’s not self-improvement or behavior modification. It’s a total realignment of the heart and mind—a turning from sin and self toward the Lordship of Christ. The Greek word used in the New Testament is metanoia, which literally means “a change of mind,” but in biblical context, it involves the whole being. It is a decisive turning away from sin and turning toward God.

The early church understood this deeply. In the Didache (an early first-century Christian manual), baptism was to be preceded by a life of repentance. Clement of Rome (c. AD 95) said that “Repentance from the heart” must accompany faith. Justin Martyr emphasized that those who profess Christ must not only believe but also “turn from their sins.”

They weren’t preaching moralism. They were calling people into a death-to-self transformation.

Sadly, this foundational truth has been quietly erased from many modern pulpits. Repentance is seen as too negative, too offensive, or too legalistic. But Jesus, John the Baptist, Peter, and Paul all preached it, because without repentance, there is no salvation.

Old Testament Consistency

This isn’t just a New Testament idea. God’s call to repentance has echoed from the beginning. Look at Ezekiel 18:30–32:

“‘Therefore I will judge you, house of Israel, each according to his conduct,’ declares the Lord God. ‘Repent and turn away from all your offenses, so that wrongdoing does not become a stumbling block to you. Cast away from yourselves all your offenses which you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! For why should you die, house of Israel? For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies,’ declares the Lord God. ‘Therefore, repent and live!’”

God doesn’t desire destruction—He desires restoration. But restoration requires repentance. Grace does not cancel this call; it enables us to respond to it.

To preach a gospel without repentance is to preach a gospel without transformation.

The Cost of Discipleship

Jesus never marketed the Gospel as easy. His invitation to follow Him came with a warning label: this will cost you everything.

In Luke 14:25–33, Jesus lays out the terms:

“Now large crowds were going along with Him; and He turned and said to them, ‘If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his own father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple… So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.’” (NASB)

These are not metaphorical flourishes. Jesus is making it clear—following Him is not about addition; it’s about abandonment.

Let’s look at the key Greek terms:

Jesus isn’t offering partial discipleship. He’s calling for total surrender.

Cultural Christianity vs. Biblical Discipleship

This sharply contrasts with much of what is called Christianity today. Cultural Christianity says you can add Jesus to your life like a supplement—He’ll make things better. But biblical discipleship says you lose your life so that Christ becomes your life (Colossians 3:3).

In Colossians 3:3, it says:

“For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” (NASB)

Paul has already noted that believers “died to the elemental spirits of the world” (Colossians 2:20). Here, he repeats the same metaphor. Since believers have “died” to sin, in the sense of being separated from it, the believer’s life is “hidden,” or “contained” within Christ. In the previous chapter, Paul discussed false teachers who used tricks and deceptive arguments. These men claimed special, hidden wisdom which only they had access to. In contrast, according to Paul, the believer’s wisdom is found in knowing the Lord.

Jesus’ words in Luke 14 cut through the illusion of easy faith. He tells the crowd to count the cost before following Him—just like a man building a tower or a king going to war. No one stumbles into discipleship. It is a calculated, conscious surrender of everything we are and have.

The early Christians lived this truth. They were beaten, imprisoned, martyred—often by family betrayal or government decree. Church historians like Eusebius record that first-century believers were crucified, thrown to beasts, or burned alive—and they considered it gain (Philippians 1:21).

Clement of Rome wrote of “those who were persecuted, and suffering many indignities and tortures, became a most noble example among us.” Ignatius, on his way to martyrdom in Rome, wrote: “Let me be food for the wild beasts… I am God’s wheat, and I am being ground by the teeth of the beasts, that I may be found the pure bread of Christ.”

They didn’t complain about cost—they counted it joy. Why? Because they believed what Jesus said: losing your life for His sake is how you find it (Luke 9:24).

I will add that for Luke 9:24, Jesus is not saying those who die for claiming loyalty to Jesus will automatically be saved. Martyrdom does not earn someone a ticket to heaven. Salvation is based on God’s grace received through faith (Ephesians 2:1–10). It has to do with our relationship with Jesus, not the manner of our death. It is the one who is unashamed of Jesus, His words, and His cross—who believes His words about salvation and follows Him—who will be saved. This is not about dramatic acts or public suffering, but about true allegiance, enduring faith, and obedience to the One who gave everything for us. (Luke 9:26).

Following Jesus Means Daily Surrender

Jesus doesn’t call us to a one-time decision. He calls us to a daily death.

In Luke 9:23, He says:

“If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” (NASB)

This verse is not just poetic—it is deeply practical. Jesus gives three commands that are central to true discipleship:

  1. Deny yourself – This means rejecting the desires of the flesh, pride, and self-will.
  2. Take up your cross daily – A call to die to yourself repeatedly. The cross isn’t just suffering—it’s the instrument of execution.
  3. Follow Me – To walk in obedience, not just believe in theory.

Jesus’ call to the disciples to “deny” themselves is set in the middle of the chapter where the disciples do the exact opposite. As Jesus sets His “face to go to Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51) to die on the cross (Luke 9:22), they still think the purpose of the Messiah (Luke 9:20) is to free the Jews from the Romans and give them their nation back. To that end, Peter rebukes Jesus when He warns of His coming death (Matthew 16:22), James and John threaten to destroy a Samaritan city that refuses to offer hospitality (Luke 9:51–55) instead of following Jesus’ command to merely shake the dust from their feet (Luke 9:5), and the disciples get into a fight about who will be greatest when Jesus comes into His kingdom (Luke 9:46–48).

But what does “take up his cross daily” mean? This simple phrase has inspired several handfuls of interpretations. Some say it means to live under a particular burden, such as chronic illness or an unpleasant marriage. Others imply it means being unashamed to worship a God who died on a cross. Some interpret this to mean willingness to be martyred, as Peter was.

Others say it is a stronger call of submission: we need to consistently lay down our rights up to and including our own death. This last idea seems most consistent with the rest of the passage. We need to be completely devoted to Christ and His message to the point that nothing on earth can scare us away from Him. As with many of Jesus’ teachings, it’s a hard lesson to accept (John 6:60). But either Christ is our most important priority, above even our lives, or we’re putting something above God in our hearts (Matthew 19:21–23).

Jesus goes on to say that only those who lose their lives for his sake will live (Luke 9:24). Paul says something similar in 1 Corinthians 15:30–32. He faced severe persecution regularly and possibly even died once (2 Corinthians 11:23–27; Acts 14:19–20). All that means nothing if he will not be resurrected.

The use of “daily” in this verse is critical. Discipleship isn’t a moment of passion—it’s a lifestyle of persistence. The Christian life is a daily surrender of our own will in favor of God’s. That includes our plans, our opinions, our comfort, and our identity.

Our Identity Is No Longer Our Own

Paul echoes this in Galatians 2:20:

“I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” (NASB)

This much-loved verse is quoted, printed, and repeated often, most especially the first half of this statement. This is also Paul’s grandest declaration yet about what exactly happens when someone is saved or justified by placing their faith in Christ. In a very real sense, Paul’s argument is that we become so closely attached to Him that we die with Him and He begins to live in us. Paul has been emphasizing that faith, and faith alone, is what saves us—adding any requirement of good deeds or rituals is contrary to the gospel (Galatians 1:8–9; 2:16).

Christ was crucified for our sin. By faith, we trust that His death paid for our own personal sin. In that way, we are crucified with Him, our sin with him on the cross. That sinful “us” dies, replaced by the resurrected Christ “in us.” We continue to live in the flesh, of course, but our lives are now directed not by our sinful selves but by our faith in Christ. Paul expands on this great truth powerfully in Romans 6:1–6.

For the first time, Paul mentions Jesus’ motive for giving Himself for us: love. Christ died for us because He loves us. Unlike the unyielding system of the law, Christ is a person motivated by His love and concern for us.

This is a radical truth: your identity is not found in who you are, what you do, or what the world calls you. It is found entirely in Jesus. Your old self has been crucified. Your desires, your labels, your attachments—they no longer define you.

Early Christian thinkers emphasized this transformation. Origen wrote that the Christian must “die to the world daily.” Athanasius argued that Christ’s indwelling presence makes the believer a “temple” of the Holy Spirit, no longer ruled by sin but shaped by holiness. These were not theological luxuries—they were survival truths in a persecuted church.

Today, the call hasn’t changed. Whether you’re facing persecution or pressure, applause or apathy, Jesus still calls you to daily surrender. To die to the things of this world so you can live fully in Him.

Conclusion: A Gospel Worth Living and Dying For

The modern church often asks, “How much can I keep and still follow Jesus?” But the real Gospel asks, “What must I lose so Christ can live through me?”

This is not the easy road. It’s not flashy, comfortable, or self-serving.
But it is the road that leads to life—true, everlasting, joy-filled life in Christ.

We’ve seen:

This Gospel is not new. It’s the same message preached by Jesus, proclaimed by the apostles, lived by the early church, and passed down through the centuries by faithful saints—many of whom paid for it with their lives.

So we must ask ourselves a serious question:

Have we believed the full Gospel—or a safer, softer substitute?

If your faith has cost you nothing, changed nothing, or challenged nothing, it’s time to examine whether you’re following the real Jesus or a version more palatable to culture.

Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, i leave you with this: The real Gospel is grace-fueled, repentance-centered, and obedience-driven. And it’s worth everything. Because Jesus gave everything.

I pray you stand strong on the foundation of truth that is the word of God and stand firm on the foundation that has been laid before you. I pray you trust the Holy Spirit to work within you and you to fully understand your identity within Christ. Peace be with you.

Jazonic Avatar

Posted by

Jazonic