Don’t Just Be an Admirer of Jesus Be a Follower!

In last week’s blog, Yes, You Can Be Biblical and Political, I mentioned that our Couples’ Group is studying Dr. David Jeremiah’s new book, Where Do We Go From Here? In Chapter One, “A Cultural Prophecy—Socialism,” Dr. Jeremiah had a section that resonated with my spirit, Resolve to Follow Christ and Not Just Admire Him! Take a minute to reflect on that concept.

What differentiates a follower of Christ from an admirer? Words we associate with a Christ-follower are self-sacrifice, service, surrender. We can observe outward reflections of a follower of Jesus by their life-style, countenance, choices, actions, language, inner joy, love, and willingness to profess their faith in Christ and belief in the Gospel at all times under all circumstances.

An admirer might be in awe of Christ as an example of a good and moral man and the sacrifice He made for us, but they’re not willing to actually follow in His footsteps. They claim to be a Christian, but they’re not willing to completely surrender their entire life to Jesus when it’s uncomfortable or inconvenient. The fruit isn’t there. They may go to church every Sunday, serve on church committees, sing in the choir, take communion, and intellectually understand faith, but don’t let faith and the Bible define their life.

Dr. Jeremiah quotes Soren Kierkegaard who put it this way: “The admirer never makes any sacrifices. He always plays it safe. Though in words, phrases, songs, he is inexhaustible about how he praises Christ, but he renounces nothing, will not reconstruct his life, and will not let his life express what supposedly he admires. Not so for the follower. No, no. The follower aspires with all his strength to be what he admires.”

I think about Biden meeting with the Pope last week and claiming that the Pope told him he was a “good Catholic.” What does that mean anyway? Who determines what’s considered good? By whose standards?

Jesus doesn’t care if we’re a “good” Catholic, Baptist, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Methodist, Episcopalian, non-denominational, or a member of any organized denomination. Following Jesus is not about a specific church, religion, theology, or doctrine. He’s looking for one thing in His followers: a changed and surrendered heart. Salvation. Have you given your whole heart to Jesus? Have you received the Holy Spirit? Do you live out your faith everywhere and anywhere? Are you willing to pick up your cross and follow Jesus?

Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me. ²⁴ If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. Luke 9:23-24 NLT

³ Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.” John 3:3 NLT

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. John 14:6. NLT

What It Looks Like to Follow Jesus

When we’re truly born again, we’re a new person. We’re granted a new life in Christ and everything changes, if we’re willing to be a follower and not just a sideline admirer of Christ. Paul explains the life of a Christian best in Colossians 3:1-11:

Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. ² Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. ³ For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. ⁴ And when Christ, who is your^[a] life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.

⁵ So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. ⁶ Because of these sins, the anger of God is coming.^[b] 7 You used to do these things when your life was still part of this world. ⁸ But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. ⁹ Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. ¹⁰ Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. ¹¹ In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile,^[c] circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized,^[d] slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.

Maybe Biden, who I’ve only ever heard speak of himself as a Catholic not a Christian, and liberal progressive Democrats who claim to be Christians, admire Christ but not enough to follow Christ and make the political sacrifice of turning the Democrat party away from supporting and financing the murder of babies! Not enough to acknowledge that God only made two genders. Not enough to admit that God said marriage is between a man and a woman. Not enough to stop lying! Not enough to surrender their life to Holy Jesus, instead of the idol of political power!

Any politician, regardless of party affiliation, who is willing to be a Christ-follower will be hated and persecuted by the world but he or she will not back down because they understand that their authority comes from the King of kings and the Lord of Lords, not the government, and they will govern accordingly.

Here’s how Jesus put it:  The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you. John 15:19 NLT

Biblical Examples of Christ-Followers

In Everyday Brave: Living Courageously as a Woman of Faith, Chapter 17 “Brave Loyalty,” I offer examples of women willing to follow Christ no matter what the cost. Here is the opening to that chapter:

“In our current culture, it’s no longer cushy and easy being a Jesus-follower or loyally defending Jesus. Standing firm in our faith takes grit, determination, and fierce loyalty. When society tries to dissuade and discourage us from remaining true to Jesus, we must stand firm with bravery and courage, even it if means standing “alone”—God is always with us cheering us on.

Jesus was followed by many courageous women disciples, like Joanna, Susanna, and others who also went against the cultural norm to loyally support Jesus’s ministry, even as it became more and more controversial and his life, therefore theirs too, was in eminent danger. We can look to these women disciples as prime examples of faith and devotion to Christ and emulate them in our own lives as believing disciples today, regardless of daunting circumstances.”

Here’s a quick review of these women, which you can read about in Matt. 27:55-61; 28:1-10; Mark 15:33-16-8; Luke 8:1-3; 23:44-24:11:

Joanna was a wealthy woman accustomed to the glamour and prestige of living in Herod Antipas’s court as the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward and manager of his vast estate. When doctors couldn’t help her, she sought out Jesus who healed her and she became a devoted Jesus-follower joining a group of women who followed him on his journeys and financially supported his ministry. We don’t know what her husband or Herod thought of this, but she took the risk and joined Susanna and Mary Magdalene and a number of other women who traveled with Jesus during his ministry and became part of his inner circle.

These women bravely went against cultural norms to care faithfully for Jesus and the disciples. They selflessly gave of their time, energy, and resources to serve and support Jesus’s ministry, even though everyone knew the Pharisees threatened to expel Jesus’s followers from the synagogue. This didn’t deter them. They were committed Jesus-followers not mere admirers.

Current Example of Christ-Followers

If you’re not familiar with In-N-Out Burger, like Chick-fil-A, they are a Christian owned restaurant chain with Scriptures printed on all their cups and wrappers! I encourage you to read this article where the Jesus-follower owner, Lynsi Snyder, shares her faith and her testimony. Here’s the opening paragraph of the article: “In-N-Out Burger hasn’t necessarily been secretive about the fact that it’s a Christian establishment. It has printed John 3:16 on the bottom of its cups. However, like Chick-fil-A before it, the owner and heiress of the burger chain, Lynsi Snyder, is letting everyone know just how much Christ means to her publicly.“

Sometimes we need to engage in righteous rebellion. It is God and not the government that we obey when there is a moral conflict between the two. You may have read recently that several In-N-Out Burger restaurants in California were shut down because they refused to be vaccine police. Here is their statement:

“The reason for the closure is that In-N-Out Associates were not actively intervening by demanding COVID-19 vaccine or testing documentation and photo identification from each dine-in Customer before serving them. Rather than acting as enforcement agents, our Associates were allowing our Customers to be responsible for their own compliance with the divisive local regulations,” In-N-Out Chief Legal and Business Officer Arnie Wensinger said in a statement.

“We refuse to become the vaccination police for any government. It is unreasonable, invasive, and unsafe to force our restaurant Associates to segregate Customers into those who may be served and those who may not, whether based on the documentation they carry, or any other reason,” Wensinger said in a statement.”

In a tweet the Chief legal and Business Officer also wrote:
“We fiercely disagree with any government that dictates that forces a private company to discriminate against customers who choose to patronage their businesses. This is clear governmental overreach and is intrusive, improper, and offensive.”

We Must Live As Jesus-Followers, Not Mere Admirers!

I’ll leave you in closing with another quote from Dr. Jeremiah:

“To persevere in an increasingly socialist culture, you’re going to have to decide whether to be a Christ-follower or merely a Christ-admirer. . . . Set your mind fully on the hope you have in Christ, and be ready to pay any price, challenge any foe, and confront any lie for the sake of the Gospel . . . At any moment, Jesus Christ will descend from heaven for His people. We haven’t long to wait. But until then, we need to understand what the age requires—and we need to do what the Lord commands.”

When Christ returns . . .
the government will be on his shoulders. . . .
⁷ Of the greatness of his government and peace
    there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
    and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
    with justice and righteousness
    from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty
    will accomplish this. Isa. 9:6-7 NLT

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