31 Bible Verses about discipleship, cost of

Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If any one desires to follow me, let him renounce self and take up his cross, and so be my follower.

Then calling to Him the crowd and also His disciples, He said to them, "If any one is desirous of following me, let him ignore self and take up his cross, and so be my follower.

And He said to all, "If any one is desirous of following me, let him ignore self and take up his cross day by day, and so be my follower.

and any one who does not take up his cross and follow where I lead is not worthy of me.

when a Scribe came and said to Him, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go." "Foxes have holes," replied Jesus, "and birds have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."

No one who does not carry his own cross and come after me can be a disciple of mine.

And, as they proceeded on their way, a man came to Him and said, "I will follow you wherever you go." "The foxes have holes," said Jesus, "and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."

For not one of us lives to himself, and not one dies to himself.

"Follow me," He said to another. "Master," the man replied, "allow me first to go and bury my father." "Leave the dead," Jesus rejoined, "to bury their own dead; but you must go and announce far and wide the coming of the Kingdom of God."

and that He died for all in order that the living may no longer live to themselves, but to Him who died for them and rose again.

Another of the disciples said to Him, "Sir, allow me first to go and bury my father." "Follow me," said Jesus, "and leave the dead to bury their own dead."

I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I that live, but Christ that lives in me; and the life which I now live in the body I live through faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself up to death on my behalf.

"Teacher," said one man, coming up to Him, "what that is good shall I do in order to win the Life of the Ages?" "Why do you ask me," He replied, "about what is good? There is only One who is truly good. But if you desire to enter into Life, keep the Commandments." "Which Commandments?" he asked. Jesus answered, "'Thou shalt not kill;' 'Thou shalt not commit adultery;' 'Thou shalt not steal;' 'Thou shalt not lie in giving evidence;'read more.
Honour thy father and thy mother'; and 'Thou shalt love thy fellow man as much as thyself.'" "All of these," said the young man, "I have carefully kept. What do I still lack?" "If you desire to be perfect," replied Jesus, "go and sell all that you have, and give to the poor, and you shall have wealth in Heaven; and come, follow me."

that in future you may spend the rest of your earthly lives, governed not by human passions, but by the will of God.

As He went out to resume His journey, there came a man running up to Him, who knelt at His feet and asked, "Good Rabbi, what am I to do in order to inherit the Life of the Ages?" "Why do you call me good?" asked Jesus in reply; "there is no one truly good except One--that is, God. You know the Commandments--'Do not murder;' 'Do not commit adultery;' 'Do not steal;' 'Do not lie in giving evidence;' 'Do not defraud;' 'Honour thy father and thy mother.'"read more.
"Rabbi," he replied, "all these Commandments I have carefully obeyed from my youth." Then Jesus looked at him and loved him, and said, "One thing is lacking in you: go, sell all you possess and give the proceeds to the poor, and you shall have riches in Heaven; and come and be a follower of mine."

"Which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not sit down first and calculate the cost, asking if he has the means to finish it? -- lest perhaps, when he has laid the foundation and is unable to finish, all who see it shall begin to jeer at him, saying, 'This man began to build, but could not finish.'read more.
Or what king, marching to encounter another king in war, does not first sit down and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand men to meet the one who is advancing against him with twenty thousand? If not, while the other is still a long way off, he sends messengers and sues for peace.

The question was put to Him by a Ruler: "Good Rabbi, what shall I do to inherit the Life of the Ages?" "Why do you call me good?" replied Jesus; "there is no one good but One, namely God. You know the Commandments: 'Do not commit adultery;' 'Do not murder;' 'Do not steal;' 'Do not lie in giving evidence;' 'Honour thy father and thy mother.'"read more.
"All of those," he replied, "I have kept from my youth." On receiving this answer Jesus said to him, "There is still one thing wanting in you. Sell everything you possess and give the money to the poor, and you shall have wealth in Heaven; and then come, follow me."

Moreover He is the Head of His Body, the Church. He is the Beginning, the Firstborn from among the dead, in order that He Himself may in all things occupy the foremost place.

Just as no one of you who does not detach himself from all that belongs to him can be a disciple of mine.

Yet all that was gain to me--for Christ's sake I have reckoned it loss. Nay, I even reckon all things as pure loss because of the priceless privilege of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. And for His sake I have suffered the loss of everything, and reckon it all as mere refuse, in order that I may win Christ and be found in union with Him,

"Master," said yet another, "I will follow you; but allow me first to go and say good-bye to my friends at home." Jesus answered him, "No one who has put his hand to the plough, and then looks behind him, is fit for the Kingdom of God.

Any one who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and any one who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;

"If any one is coming to me who does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes and his own life also, he cannot be a disciple of mine.

Bear in mind what I said to you, 'A servant is not superior to his master.' If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you: if they have obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.

Everywhere they strengthened the disciples by encouraging them to hold fast to the faith, and warned them saying, "It is through many afflictions that we must make our way into the Kingdom of God."

And indeed every one who is determined to live a godly life as a follower of Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

and any one who does not take up his cross and follow where I lead is not worthy of me. To save your life is to lose it, and to lose your life for my sake is to save it.

Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If any one desires to follow me, let him renounce self and take up his cross, and so be my follower. For whoever desires to save his life shall lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake shall find it.

Then calling to Him the crowd and also His disciples, He said to them, "If any one is desirous of following me, let him ignore self and take up his cross, and so be my follower. For whoever is bent on securing his life will lose it, but he who loses his life for my sake, and for the sake of the Good News, will secure it.

And He said to all, "If any one is desirous of following me, let him ignore self and take up his cross day by day, and so be my follower. For whoever desires to save his life shall lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake shall save it.

He who holds his life dear, is destroying it; and he who makes his life of no account in this world shall keep it to the Life of the Ages.