What does it Mean to be a Christ Follower?
- A Christ follower sees and acknowledges the existence of God and His right to rule
Read 1 Chronicles 29:10-13…It is important to acknowledge God’s power over us. Many Christ followers, including David here in 1 Chronicles, acknowledge God’s power over us in prayer.
Ask about control: Who is ultimately in control of what happens to you on this Earth? It is important to recognize that no one on this Earth, including ourselves and those in power, are ultimately in control of what occurs in our lifetime. Natural disasters may occur at any point, we may lose our family at any point, and even the end times may occur at any point. On the other hand, blessings may occur in our life at times where we least expect them.
Read Ecclesiastes 3:1-8…Even though life may appear to be going downhill for you, we must recognize that God is in control and He has a reason for everything. If we don’t acknowledge this, it may significantly affect our mood and make us feel down.
- A Christ follower is convinced by the words of the Bible and will see that they can never live up to the standard that God has put in place.
Ask about God’s gift to us: What gift has God given to us to help us to have eternity with Him? Even though we can never live up to the standard that God has put in place, which is perfection, God still gives us the gift of righteousness given through faith in Jesus Christ.
Read Romans 3:21-31…Due to being sinful at birth, we have inherited sin and we inevitably sin even though we desire not to. We may try everything we can to be like Christ but we continue to fall short because we are human.
Read Romans 7:13-25…Only God can deliver us from sin and evil, not us. Sin is a tough battle to fight.
Ask about fighting sin: What are some ways we may be able to fight sin?…prayer, reading our Bible for wisdom, accountability through believers, and being in community with other believers.
- A Christ follower accepts the reality that their deeds deserve death and that without God’s intervention, they will be lost eternally.
Read Romans 6:19-23…It is clearly written in the Bible that we deserve death due to our sin. With God, we can be gifted eternal life with him.
Ask about being slaves: Will you choose to be a slave to sin or a slave to God? Why? We can only pick one or the other.
- A Christ follower takes great joy and hope in the fact that Jesus Christ has taken the punishment for sin and has opened their way to heaven.
Read 1 Peter 4:12-19
Ask about rejoicing: Why should we rejoice in Christ’s death?…Because God gave us an opportunity to restore the broken relationship that humanity had with God through sacrificing Christ on the cross as the perfect lamb that was needed to be sacrificed. Additionally, we are given the gift of eternity with God in heaven, which is pretty cool.
- A Christ follower obeys the Lord- not out of desire to save themselves, but because of what has been done on the cross and because the “new self” desires to obey.
Read 2 John 1:3-6
Ask about obedience: What does obedience to God look like?…Obedience to God is an amazing journey. Christ wants us to love one another and to obey God’s commands, just as He did. It is amazing how much joy is brought to our life when we focus on what God wants for us. As mentioned in verse 3, grace, mercy and peace will be with us in truth and love. Grace, mercy, peace, truth and love are very fulfilling. As for most Christ followers, these components of faith in God prompt us in our “new self” to obey Him even more.
- A Christ follower will have peace in doing what is right-following him even when it hurts.
Read 2 Corinthians 1:3-7…As Christ followers, we know that the wisdom we receive from our sufferings can help others through their tough times. As we are comforted from God, we learn how to comfort others through their struggles.
Ask about comforting: Is there anyone you know that may need some extra comfort from you?
- A Christ follower is not a person that does everything right all the time, but a person who desires what God desires.
Read 1 Peter 4:1-6
Ask about your wants: What does it look like to want what God wants?…If you love your neighbor as yourself, and you desire for a world rid of sin, you are on the right path.
Read James 3:17-18
- A Christ follower is not a person that wins every battle against sin, but one that keeps on fighting.
Read 1 Corinthians 16:13…We must persevere and stay strong as we are faced with temptation. We must do everything we can to resist giving into temptation. Keep fighting though. Even though it may seem difficult at times to resist, you must.
Read 2 Timothy 4:7-8…God wants us to keep fighting for our faith.
- A Christ follower is a disciple
Read Matthew 28:16-20
Ask about a disciple: What are three characteristics of a disciple?…A disciple believes that the main command in the Great Commission is to make disciples. Second, a disciple challenges others to get baptized-which represents acceptance of Christ and a commitment to follow His teachings. Third, a disciple teaches others the way of Jesus-by growing in their knowledge of Christ and then teaching others.
- (optional) A Christ follower believes in God’s story. Here’s God’s Story Summarized:
The first humans that God created were Adam and Eve. In the beginning there was a perfect relationship between God and man (and woman of course). At this time there also existed a tree as a choosing point. Moreover, Adam and Eve were given a choice to obey or disobey God’s rule. His rule was to not eat the fruit that the tree produced. The choosing point had potential to completely separate humanity from the perfect relationship with God. Long-story-short, Adam and Eve ate the apple from the tree and then the perfect relationship between them and God had broken. Our (generalizing all humans) inherent rebellion from God separated us from God. We are aware of this distance from God. We may even try to reach God by doing things that He would consider “good”. Even though we had the potential to still please God, something was still missing. We need Grace. We deserve death because of our sin and rebellion. Moreover, we deserve both physical death and spiritual separation from God. In other words, we deserve Hell. Even though we deserve all of this, God has given us Grace. He wants us to live for eternity with Him. Because His love for us is so great, He has offered a way to come back to Him. He has offered a way to restore that perfect relationship with him. He sent Jesus, his only begotten son, aka God in Flesh, to take that punishment of death on Himself. He paid the penalty that we owed.
All of the sins and mistakes that we make in life can get quite overwhelming. You don’t need to hold on to these. There is no need to continue to remind yourself of them. God says that He will forget them if we put our faith in Him, through Jesus Christ. Your sins and mistakes will be forgiven and forgotten through what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross. If you want to be forgiven of the sins and mistakes that you have made in your life, put your faith in Christ. Let Him cleanse you and make you one of his newly adopted sons or daughters. If you choose to make this decision, contact a pastor of a local church or a trusted Christ-follower on what to do next. I promise you that this decision is the most important decision you will ever make in your life. God Bless.
References:
Bible Study Tools. (2017). Retrieved from http://www.biblestudytools.com/
NIV Life Application Study Bible. (2011). Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan.
The Bible Knowledge Commentary: New Testament. (2004). Colorado Springs, Colorado: International Bible Society.
The Bible Knowledge Commentary: Old Testament. (2004). Colorado Springs, Colorado: International Bible Society.
Unger, M. F. (1976) Unger’s bible disctionary. Chicago, IL: The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago.