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[Newbie]

Do you think someone should read the Bible more to understand what it means to be saved before they actually commit themselves to taking up that belief?

[jimwalton]

What an excellent question!!

I'll say this: A person should commit him- or herself to the Lord when the Lord speaks to their heart, and tugs them to commit. When the Lord draws you, respond. Once I heard a speaker say, "Salvation is you giving all that you know of yourself to all that you know of God." I think that's both excellent and true. Even young children can give their lives to the Lord. Even people with very little exposure and understanding can give their lives to the Lord. God can make a huge feast out of a small lunch.

But I'll also say this: The more understanding you have, the better. I'll start off in Luke 9.57-62. If people don't understand who Jesus is and what he is doing, they can't very well make a commitment to his cause. A casual disciple is a casualty waiting to happen. In the parable of the soils we find that there are many obstacles to faith, and faith can easily be stolen away or choked out of a person. But that is not necessarily dependent on how much understanding you had when you went into the deal. It depends on a person's commitment and how they play it through. The road is narrow and the gate is small, and few there be who find it.

Luke 14.27 tells us the demands of a disciple turn out to be deep and steep. Some people understand that from the beginning, while others learn it along the way. No matter. it's the depth of the commitment, not the comprehensiveness of the understanding, that really matters.

Jesus follows that up in vv. 28ff with some examples. His point is: Know what you are getting into. Know what you are committing yourself to. Think it through, and weigh the decision. There are benefits, but there are also costs. The value is not in starting, but in finishing.