Following Jesus 60
I am a follower of Jesus. This means I am one of His disciples who seeks to follow His leading, and obey His biblical teachings. This results in me, by the Holy Spirit, becoming more like Him in my character. Character refers to a person’s thinking, emotions and will which evidence an integrity, strength, uprightness and a strong moral fiber of obedience to God’s Word.
We are living in a Christian sub-culture which often stresses a subjective, sentimental and emotional commitment to Jesus. This means that following Him can become blurred, unclear and no longer based upon the foundation of objective truth. Jesus did not mean for this to happen. He made it quite clear what following Him meant. He said, “If you love Me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15; 14:21-23; 15:10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 5:1-3; 2 John 6).
This subjective, sentimental, and emotional commitment to Jesus on one’s own terms was recently expressed by a young lady in a letter to the editor of her home town newspaper.
“I’m a Christian and I think gay marriage should be legal. I’m a believer, but I think everyone has the right to make their own choices. I’m a follower of Jesus Christ, and although I wouldn’t make the choice, a woman herself should have the choice to do with her body as she pleases with abortion.”
“Does not every religion have the golden rule in their scripture? It’s time everyone starts to follow it. Treat people how you’d want to be treated! Therefore, no matter who people are, what their personal choices are, or what religion they practice, we should just accept each other.”
Contained within these two paragraphs are two false teachings which continue to plague the church. The first one is called Antinomianism. Antinomianism is a compound word derived from two Greek Words: Anti meaning “to be against” and Nomos meaning “law.” It is the perspective that followers of Jesus Christ do not need to obey the commandments of Jesus Christ. Antinomians argue that an individual can have true faith in Christ and be saved even as they continue to live a godless life, or hold on to godless perspectives.
The second false teaching is known as “religious pluralism” or what I call the myth of the wagon wheel. This system supports the notion that it really does not matter what you believe because all roads lead to heaven. No one religion has all the answers. All that matters is that you are sincere in the religion you follow.
The wagon wheel image illustrates this idea. The “hub” or center of the wheel symbolizes God. The “rim” represents mankind. The “spokes” represent all the various religions which attempt to reach God. All are viewed as equal and true. You just have to choose the path that you prefer and ultimately it does not matter what that path that may be. Everyone will arrive in heaven by their own particular path or world view.
Apparently, Christianity has become a buffet of one’s own personal preferences and becoming conformed to world, instead of being transformed by the renewing of our minds through the Word of God (Psalm 1; Psalm 19; Psalm 119; Romans 12:1-2).
I began to wonder about those various individuals and groups who encountered Jesus not only prior to His conception, but also after His birth. You know, the characters of the Christmas story. Did they evidence their love for God by their obedience to God’s commandments? Let’s see.
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