Come, Follow Me

“Come, Follow me”. Those three words spoken by Jesus to Peter and Andrew on the shore of the Sea of Galilee 2,000 years ago have changed the fate of millions of souls and even the direction of history itself. It strikes me that the first words spoken to these early apostles were words that conveyed action. Of course, as they witnessed Jesus’  ministry, watched the numerous miracles He performed, and listened to His words they came to believe in Him as the son of God. However, His first call to them was not to just “believe” but simply to “follow”. It was a call to action. 

“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him. “

Matthew 4: 18-22

We often talk about the wonderful gift of salvation given to us by God through the sacrifice of His son on the cross. However, is this all we are called to do? Is it really enough to just believe, repent, and say we accept Christ as the lord of our lives but then continue on in life as if nothing has changed? 

Dietrich Bonhoeffer in his book, “The Cost of Discipleship”, talks about the concept of what he calls “cheap grace”. He defines cheap grace as “the justification of sin without the justification of the sinner”. In essence he makes the case that accepting God’s grace through belief in His son but not changing one’s life as a result of this belief is “cheap grace”. He argues that although  God’s grace is freely given it was not earned without a price. This price was paid by the suffering and death of His son Jesus on the cross at Calvary. 

Therefore, if we are to be like Jesus, we must also pick up the cross every day and follow His example of gracious sacrifice. Jesus tells us in Matthew 16:24-25, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.”

This is the very definition of what Bonhoeffer calls costly grace. He defines it as costly because in his words, “it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin and grace because it justifies the sinner”. This definition of grace is much broader in that it requires us to not only say we believe but to actuate this belief by doing something about it.  It is not merely a call to timidly follow a set of philosophical tenets or guidelines for living but a call from Jesus to pick up our cross and follow Him into action through discipleship. It is an integral part of salvation itself.

“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.”

Matthew 16:24-25

This idea of costly grace is echoed as well by the apostle James who wrote in James 2: 14-19, “what good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” 

In essence, James is saying that faith without discipleship is no faith at all. In other words, without action there can be no faith for the greatest indicator of what we truly believe in are the actions we take. And if faith is determined by our actions then can we be truly saved without discipleship? James goes on to write, “ But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.” 

“If someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them?”

James 2: 14

What a powerful statement. James points out that even Satan and his minions believe that Jesus is the son of God and that He was sent to save the world from its sins. However, what demons will not do is repent of their sin and they certainly will not become disciples of Christ for they are disciples of the very antithesis of God Himself. In fact, their very nature is to stop us from accepting Christ and doing His work as His disciples. 

So what do we do now? What does being a disciple of Christ look like especially during these hard times? First, pray to God to give you a servant’s heart and see those around you as Jesus sees them. Second, ask Him to reveal to you what you can do in your immediate sphere of influence to help. This could be as simple as calling your friends, family, and neighbors who are home bound to encourage them or run errands for them if they are in one of the high risk groups. Contact organizations in your community who may need help such as food banks, homeless shelters, churches, etc. Third, obey God’s call in whatever you feel moved to do. Finally, stop worrying about things that don’t directly affect your immediate world. Turn off the news alerts on your phone, limit social media, and don’t watch the news all day long. Constantly hearing of the death toll and numbers infected will only distract you from what you can actually do in your own world.

My friends, the call of Christ is as loud today as it was on the shores of the Sea of Galilee 2,000 years ago. All you have to do is seek Him and listen…

“Come, Follow Me”