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The U. S. Army has adopted seven critical values for those who enlist: loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage. They want good people with good values. After Peter and his fellow disciples expressed confidence that Jesus is the Messiah, Jesus ended His public ministry and prepared them for His rejection and crucifixion. In doing so, He pointed to the kind of loyalty His followers would need if they intended to be true disciples. Matthew Chapter 16:21: “From then on Jesus began to tell his disciples plainly that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem, and that he would suffer many terrible things at the hands of the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but on the third day he would be raised from the dead. Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. If you hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul? For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father and will judge all people according to their deeds.” So while salvation is free to all who accept Christ by faith, true discipleship costs everything.
