Charles H. Spurgeon

“If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.” —Luke 14:26

JESUS Christ knew that the persons to whom He spoke would not be able to bear the tests that awaited His disciples.

They did not know that He would be crucified, for just then He was popular; and they hoped that He was to be the King of Israel. But the Savior knew that there would come dark days in which the King of the Jews would be hanged upon a [cross], and His disciples, even His true ones, would forsake Him for the moment and would flee. Therefore, He in effect said to them, “You must be prepared for cross-bearing: you must be prepared to follow Me amid derision and shame and reproach; and if you are not ready for this, your discipleship is a mistake.” In their case, it did not stand the test; these people were nowhere when the time of trial came. And remember, dear friends, and I dwell with great emphasis upon this point, we want a religion that will abide the inspection of the great Judge at the Last Day…If our religion is to be weighed in the balances, and may perchance be found wanting, it is well for us to see to it and to know that it must be sincere, genuine, and costly if it is to pass that ordeal.

What, then, is the expense?…The answer is given by our Savior, not by me. I should not have dared to invent such tests as He has ordained. It is for me to be the echo of His voice and no more. What does He say? Why, first, that if you would be His and have His salvation, you must love Him beyond every other person in this world. Is not that the meaning of this expression, “If any man come to me and hate not his father and mother”? Dear names! Dear names! “Father and mother!” Lives there a man with soul so dead that he can pronounce either of these words without emotion, and especially the last— “mother”? Men and brethren, this is a dear and tender name to us, it touches a chord that thrills our being. Yet far more powerful is the name of Savior, the name of Jesus.

Less loved must father and mother be than Jesus Christ. The Lord demands precedence also of the best beloved “wife.” Here He touches another set of heartstrings. Dear is that word wife—partner of our being, comfort of our sorrow, delight of our eyes—“wife!” Yet, Wife, thou must not take the chief place, thou must sit at Jesus’ feet, or else thou art an idol; and Jesus will not brook thy rivalry. And “children,” the dear babes that nestle in the bosom, clamber to the knee, and pronounce the parent’s name in accents of music—they must not be our chief love. They must not come in between the Savior and us. Nor for their sakes—to give them pleasure or to promote their worldly advantage—must we grieve our Lord…If they tempt us to evil, they must be treated as if we hated them!

Yea, the evil in them must be hated for Christ’s sake. If ye be Christ’s disciples, your Lord must be first, then father, mother, wife, children, brethren, and sisters will follow in due rank and order. I am afraid that many professors are not prepared for this. They would be Christians if their family would approve, but they must consult their brother, father, or wife. They would make a stand against worldly pleasures if others would, but they cannot bear to appear [peculiar] or to oppose the views of relatives. They say, “My father wishes it, and I dare not tell him that it is wrong.” “My mother says that we must not be too strait-laced, and therefore, though my conscience tells me it is wrong, yet will I do it.” Or else they say, “My girls are growing up and must have amusement, and my boys must be allowed their pleasures. Therefore, I must wink at sin.” Ah, my brethren, this must not be if you are indeed Christ’s disciples. You must put them all aside; the dearest must go sooner than Jesus be forsaken. For does He not say in the Psalms, “Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy father’s house; So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty: for he is thy Lord; and worship thou him” (Psa 45:10)? Mark you, you will best prove your love to your relatives by being decided for the right, since you will be the more likely to win their souls. Love them too much to indulge the wrong in them; love them so truly that you hate in them that [which] would injure you and ruin them. You must be prepared to suffer from those who are bound to you by the dearest ties…We cannot yield in the point of sin, our determination is invincible: come hate or come love, we must follow Christ.

From a sermon delivered on Lord’s Day morning, February 22, 1874, at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington. Courtesy of Chapel Library.
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Charles H. Spurgeon (1834-1892): Influential English Baptist; history’s most widely read preacher; born at Kelvedon, Essex, England