Dallas Willard said, "While Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s great book was called The Cost of Discipleship, I think someone needs to write one called The Cost of Non-Discipleship." This is my feeble attempt to write that book. The key verse is Hebrews 11:6:

"And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."

God is a rewarder. It is impossible for me to draw near to God except that I believe that God is a rewarder. If God is a rewarder, I will be rewarded for seeking Him. It is always in my best interest to live the Christian life. It is always good for me to follow God. I love John Piper’s comment on this passage:

Every Sunday morning at 11 A.M., Hebrews 11:6 enters combat with Immanuel Kant. “Without faith it is impossible to please [God], for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” You cannot please God if you do not come to Him for reward! Therefore, worship that pleases God is the hedonistic pursuit of God. He is our exceeding great reward! In His presence is fullness of joy, and at His right hand are pleasures forevermore. Worship is the feast of Christian Hedonism.[1]

This is important because we are all irrevocably hardwired to do what we believe to be in our best interest. The key word is believe. This is why faith is so important to Christian living. What we believe determines what we do. If we believe that God is good; if we believe that He is smart; if we believe that He has our best interest at heart; then trusting Him is relatively easy.

But if in my heart of hearts I believe that God is not good, that He can’t be trusted, that He is not after my well-being, it is impossible—impossible for me to draw near to Him. Not because this belief that God is a rewarder is some kind of magic key that opens the door; it is simply the nature of things. I am irrevocably hardwired to do what I believe to be in my best interest. I will only seek God if I really believe He is a rewarder.

I must come to love the Christian life or I will never come to live the Christian life.

This book is about that very truth—and its mirror image. Yes, discipleship is costly. But non-discipleship is far more costly. This is not just a clever turn of phrase—it is a truth that cuts to the center of our spiritual lives. We tend to hear Jesus’ words—“Take up your cross,” “Deny yourself,” “Count the cost”—and assume that discipleship is mostly about pain. But Jesus never calls us to a life of suffering for its own sake. He calls us to the only kind of life that truly leads to joy.