What Did Jesus Really Mean When He Said Follow Me?

by David Platt

Jesus did not claim to be one dish on the buffet line of spirituality from which we can pick and choose the elements that best suit our taste.

his call demands everything,

the call to follow Jesus is a call to die—to die to ourselves and to die to the things of this world.

to experience unbridled joy as we follow Jesus wherever he leads in this world.

we are all—at the very core of our being—rebels against God.

Bible calls sin,

Achan

Who, where?

We naturally view sin through man-centered eyes.

unable to turn to God on our own.

we are dead in sin.

In your death, you need someone else, completely outside of you, to call you

to life and enable you to live.

one sin before an infinitely holy and eternal God warrants infinite and eternal punishment.

(John 3:16: “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal

“Whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.”

he was paying the price that was due us as sinners. He was dying for us, in our place, as our substitute.

Isaiah 53, “He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities . . . and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

He was enduring the full punishment due you and me as sinners.

“We all, like sheep, have gone astray.”

“all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

At the cross of Christ, God shows the full expression of both his wrath and his love as Jesus is stricken, smitten, afflicted, wounded, crushed, and chastised for the sake of sinners.

from their sins.”

“Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

“Though your sins are like scarlet,” God says, “they shall be...

“Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me...

“You were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Such cleansing is a gift from God

God’s ...

“When the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He s...

faith alone in Christ alone is the only way to salvation from sin.

God’s pleasure in you will never be based upon your performance for him.

always be based upon Christ’s performance for you.

elemental transformation in someone’s mind, heart, and life.

From that point forward, they think differently, believe differently, feel differently, love differently, and live differently.

Jewish audience believed that their family heritage, social status, knowledge of specific rules, and obedience to certain regulations were sufficient to make them right before God.

Only by turning from their sin and themselves and toward Jesus could they be saved.

repentance involves renouncing a former way of life in favor of a new way of life.

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you. . . . I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.”

“You have died with Christ, and you’re not even alive anymore. Instead, Christ is alive in you, and the only way you live is by faith in him.”

“If Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.”

he imparts to you an entirely new

that belongs to him becomes yours. His righteousness replaces your unrighteousness. His Spirit fills your spirit. His love becomes your love. His joy becomes your joy. His mind becomes your mind. His desires become your desires. His will becomes your will. His purpose becomes your purpose. His power becomes your power.

Christian—a follower of Christ.

leave behind their professions, possessions, dreams, ambitions, family, friends, safety, and security.

yourself—Jesus said, “Slay yourself.”

Peter was crucified upside down, Andrew was crucified in Greece, James was beheaded, and John was exiled.

a love that surpassed comprehension, a satisfaction that superseded circumstances, and a purpose that transcended every other possible pursuit in this world. They eagerly, willingly, and gladly lost their lives in order to know, follow, and proclaim him.

a summons to lose our lives.

indescribable joy to be found, deep satisfaction to be felt, and an eternal purpose to be fulfilled in dying to ourselves and living for him.

In Matthew 7,