"Follow Me"
John 21:19
Our primary responsibility in life is to
follow Christ. The all consuming business of your life and mine is to follow
Christ. We live in vain if we do not live for Christ. Indeed, it were better for us never to have been born than that we
should live and die without Christ.
THIS IS THE COMMANDMENT OF THE GOSPEL.
Many today try to separate salvation from discipleship. They suggest that there
may be faith in Christ without following Christ in obedience. But that is not
so. In Bible terms, to believe on Christ is to follow Christ (Matt.
THIS IS ALSO THE CHARACTER OF FAITH. Faith
follows Christ. Having been washed in Christ's precious blood, robed with his
righteousness, and born again by his Holy Spirit, our Master's word to us is,
"Follow me." When sin is pardoned and salvation is secure, the one
thing we must do is follow Christ. "The one thing we are to aim at is to
tread in Christ's footsteps, to do what he did; and, as far as he is imitable
by us, to do it as he did it, and to be as he was in the midst of the sons and
daughters of men" (C.H. Spurgeon). A disciple is one who learns to live as
his teacher lives. Discipleship is more than getting to know what the teacher
teaches. It is getting to be what the teacher is. And christianity
is more than believing the doctrines of Christ. Christianity is following
Christ. It is seeking to mold my life after Christ. If I am a child of God, I
am not a follower of Calvin, Gill, Spurgeon, or any other mere man. I am a
follower of Christ. I seek to mold my doctrine, my thoughts, my words, my
character, and my deeds after the example of Christ. Christ himself is the rule
and pattern of my life (John
AND THIS IS THE PROMISE OF GRACE. Our
Savior has gone home to heaven. And to all who follow him upon earth he
promises, "Thou shalt follow me afterwards" (John
Don Fortner