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Why Following Jesus is a High-Demand Faith (And Why That's Actually Good News)

Following Jesus isn't meant to be easy. In fact, Christianity is one of the most demanding religions in the world - but not in the way you might think. When we look at Jesus' words in Mark 8:34-35, we see Him making some pretty intense demands: "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me."

What Makes Christianity a High-Demand Religion?

Research has shown that churches with high expectations tend to grow more than those with low demands. When Dean Kelly wrote "Why Conservative Churches are Growing" in 1972, he identified something important: people value their religion based on what it costs them, not how easy it is.

The Difference Between High-Demand and Low-Demand Churches

High-demand churches expect their members to:

 

  • Adhere to orthodox doctrine
  • Live by traditional Christian morality
  • Make strong commitments to their faith
  • Change their lives in meaningful ways

 

Low-demand churches, on the other hand, tend to be "sloppy" and don't expect much from their members. The result? If there's no demand to change your life, there's no change. If there's no demand for strong commitment, there's no commitment.

What Does Jesus Actually Demand From Us?

Jesus doesn't mince words when it comes to the cost of following Him. Look at these challenging statements:

Complete Self-Denial

"Deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me" (Mark 8:34). This isn't just about giving up chocolate for Lent - it's about complete surrender.

Radical Action Against Sin

"If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off" (Mark 9:43). While this is likely hyperbole, the point is clear: sin is serious business.

The Difficulty of Wealth

"It's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God" (Mark 10:25). Jesus makes it clear that following Him often means letting go of what we think we need.

The Problem With "Try Harder" Christianity

Here's where many churches get it wrong. They preach these high demands but then tell people, "You just need to try harder." This approach is devastating because most people are already trying as hard as they can.

Why "Try Harder" Doesn't Work

When someone says "you've got to try harder," the natural response is often: "I've been trying as hard as I can. Apparently I can't do it, so why should I even try?" This leads to discouragement and often causes people to walk away from faith entirely.

The truth is, none of us can live a Christian life through our own effort. We're not capable of meeting Jesus' demands on our own strength.

The Real Solution: Getting Closer to Jesus

Instead of "try harder," the message should be "get closer to Jesus." When we realize we can't meet His demands on our own, it should drive us to Him, not away from Him.

The Honest Response to High Demands

The proper response to Jesus' impossible demands isn't "I'll try my best." It's "Lord, I can't. I'll try, but I'm going to fail." This honest admission does something powerful - it causes us to get closer to Jesus, our Savior.

Why This Approach Works

When you try to follow Jesus in your own strength, you actually get further away from Him because you start relying on yourself. But when you acknowledge your inability and turn to Him for help, you draw closer to the source of all strength.

The Impossibility That Leads to Possibility

When the disciples heard Jesus' demanding words about wealth and salvation, they asked, "Then who can be saved?" They understood that His standards were impossibly high.

Jesus' Encouraging Answer

Jesus responded with hope: "With man it is impossible, but not with God. For with God all things are possible" (Mark 10:27). The key insight here is that God is doing the work, not us.

High Demands, Wide Mercy

Jesus makes unreasonable and impossible demands on us, but He's also able to sympathize with our weakness and patiently endure our selfishness. If His demands are mountain-high, His mercy is as wide as the east is from the west.

Learning to Walk With Jesus, Not For Jesus

The goal isn't to climb the spiritual mountain alone. When we look at Jesus' demands and our hearts sink, we have two choices:

 

  • Listen to the enemy who says "you can't do it" and give up
  • Fall to our knees and ask Jesus, "How am I going to get up this mountain?"

 

Jesus' Promise to Walk Beside Us

When we choose the second option, Jesus answers: "I'll walk beside you. And sometimes I'm going to carry you. You just have to want to start."

Jesus doesn't expect us to reach the top of the mountain in a few hours. He'll never let us forget the goal, but He's always going to be merciful along the way.

When We Fail (And We Will)

Failure is part of the journey. Whether it's breaking a Lent fast or falling into old patterns of sin, Jesus isn't surprised by our failures. He knew we were going to fail before we even started.

The Right Response to Failure

When we fail, we have two options:

 

  • Fall on our knees, come closer to Jesus, and advance in our faith
  • Listen to the enemy, feel condemned, and fall back

 

The enemy wants us to fail and then quit. Jesus wants us to fail and then draw closer to Him.

The Purpose Behind the Demands

Jesus' demands aren't simply to get us to a holy destination or to make us better people. His demands are all about getting us closer to Him. Every impossible standard, every challenging command, every difficult teaching - it's all designed to drive us into deeper relationship with our Savior.

It's All About Relationship

Following Jesus successfully means acknowledging: "I want to follow Jesus, but I can't without Him holding my hand. I want to pray, but I can't really pray unless I know I'm talking with Him. I want to praise Him, but I can't really praise Him unless I realize what He's doing and what He's done."

Life Application

This week, instead of trying to follow Jesus in your own strength, commit to walking with Him rather than for Him. Each morning when you wake up, pray: "Lord, I am going to walk with You today instead of for You today. Lord, I need You with me today."

When you face challenges or fall short of His standards, don't let the enemy convince you that you've failed. Instead, recognize that if your struggles drive you closer to Jesus, you've succeeded in the real purpose - deepening your relationship with Him.

Ask yourself these questions:

 

  • Am I trying to follow Jesus in my own strength, or am I depending on Him to walk with me?
  • When I fail to meet God's standards, do I get discouraged and pull away, or do I draw closer to Him for help?
  • How can I shift from a "try harder" mentality to a "get closer to Jesus" approach in my daily walk with Him?

 

Remember: Jesus' high demands aren't meant to crush you - they're meant to drive you into His loving arms where all things become possible.