What does it mean to truly

follow Christ?

Question: "What does it mean to truly follow Christ?"

Answer: In the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), Jesus’ command to "follow
me" appears repeatedly (e.g., Matthew 8:22; 9:9, Mark 2:14; Luke 5:27; John 1:43). In
many cases, Jesus was calling the twelve men who would become His disciples
(Matthew 10:3–4). But other times, He was speaking to anyone who wanted what He
had to offer (John 3:16; Mark 8:34).

In Matthew 10:34–39, Jesus stated clearly what it means to follow Him. He said, "Do
not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring
peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn ‘a man against his father, a daughter
against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—a man’s enemies
will be the members of his own household.’ Anyone who loves their father or mother
more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than
me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not
worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my
sake will find it."

Jesus’ bringing a “sword” and turning family members against each other can seem a
little harsh after words like "whosoever believes on Him shall not perish" (John 3:16).
But Jesus never softened the truth, and the truth is that following Him leads to
difficult choices. Sometimes turning back may seem very appealing. When Jesus’
teaching went from the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3–11) to the coming cross, many who
had followed him turned away (John 6:66). Even the disciples decided that following
Jesus was too difficult the night He was arrested. Every one of them deserted Him
(Matthew 26:56; Mark 14:50). On that night, following Christ meant possible arrest
and execution. Rather than risk his own life, Peter denied that he even knew Jesus
three times (Matthew 26:69–75).

To truly follow Christ means He has become everything to us. Everyone follows
something: friends, popular culture, family, selfish desires, or God. We can only
follow one thing at a time (Matthew 6:24). God states we are to have no other gods
before Him (Exodus 20:3; Deuteronomy 5:7; Mark 12:30). To truly follow Christ means
we do not follow anything else. Jesus said in Luke 9:23, "Whoever wants to be my
disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me." There is
no such thing as a "halfway disciple." As the disciples demonstrated, no one can follow
Christ by the strength of his own willpower. The Pharisees were good examples of
those who were trying to obey God in their own strength. Their self-effort led only to
arrogance and distortion of the whole purpose of God’s Law (Luke 11:39; Matthew
23:24).

Jesus gave His disciples the secret to faithfully following Him, but they did not
recognize it at the time. He said, "The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing"
(John 6:63). And "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father
has enabled them” (verse 65). The disciples had walked with Jesus for three years,
learning, observing, and participating in His miracles. Yet, even they could not follow
Him faithfully in their own strength. They needed a Helper.

Jesus promised many times that, once He had ascended to the Father, He would send
a "Helper" to them—the Holy Spirit (John 14:26; 15:26). In fact, He told them that it
was for their good that He was going away so that the Holy Spirit could come (John
16:7). The Holy Spirit indwells the heart of every believer (Galatians 2:20; Romans
8:16; Hebrews 13:5; Matthew 28:20). Jesus warned His followers that they were not
to begin testifying of Him "until you have been clothed with power from on high"
(Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4). When the Holy Spirit came upon those first believers at
Pentecost, they suddenly had all the power they needed to follow Christ, even to the
death, if needed (Acts 2:1–4; 4:31; 7:59-60).

Following Jesus means striving to be like Him. He always obeyed His Father, so that’s
what we strive to do (John 8:29; 15:10). To truly follow Christ means to make Him the
Boss. That’s what it means to make Jesus Lord of our lives (Romans 10:9; 1
Corinthians 12:3; 2 Corinthians 4:5). Every decision and dream is filtered through His
Word with the goal of glorifying Him in everything (1 Corinthians 10:31). We are not
saved by the things we do for Christ (Ephesians 2:8–9) but by what He has done for us.
Because of His grace, we want to please Him in everything. All this is accomplished as
we allow the Holy Spirit to have complete control of every area of our lives (Ephesians
5:18). He explains the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 2:14), empowers us with spiritual gifts
(1 Corinthians 12:4-11), comforts us (John 14:16), and guides us (John 14:26). To
follow Christ means we apply the truths we learn from His Word and live as if Jesus
walked beside us in person.