Like Simon the Zealous One, We Must FOLLOW Christ

Pt. 6: Prescription for Discipleship

Luke 14:27, 9:23–25; Matthew 10:38, 16:24–26; Mark 1:16–20 John 21:19–22

 FOLLOW ME: The Third Exclusionary Call from Discipleship

1. What Jesus Means by “Follow Me” 

Four times in Luke 14, Jesus specifically said who “cannot be” His disciple: if you do not follow Christ, you cannot be His disciple.

To follow Jesus is to reorient identity, loyalty, and daily life around Him. It is not merely believing in Him but apprenticing under Him.  Following Jesus means learning His way, obeying His voice, and walking in His steps.

 

2. What Following Jesus Requires

A. Surrender of Self: following Jesus begins with denying self and laying down personal agendas, preferences, and self‑rule. 

B. Daily Obedience: the cross is not a one‑time event but a daily posture. See Luke 9:23 below

C. Immediate Response: the first disciples did not negotiate or delay. 

D. Lifelong Faithfulness: Peter’s restoration shows that following Jesus is a lifelong call, even after failure. See John 21:19 on back of this page.

 

3. Core Scriptures

“And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.” ............................................................................................. Luke 14:27

 

Similar verses

²³ Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily,  and follow Me. ²⁴ For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. ²⁵ For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?    Luke 9:23–25 

Jesus defines discipleship as self‑denial, daily cross‑bearing, and following Him. This is the clearest and most comprehensive “Follow Me” passage.

“And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.” Matthew 10:38 

Following Jesus requires taking up the cross.  No one is worthy of Him who refuses this call.

²⁴ Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. ²⁵ For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. ²⁶ For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?      Matthew 16:24–26 

This is like Luke 14:27, and 9:23–25, emphasizing the exchange of life or losing life for Christ to find true life.

¹⁶ And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. ¹⁷ Then Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” ¹⁸ They immediately left their nets and followed Him. ¹⁹ When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets. ²⁰ And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and went after Him.......................................................... Mark 1:16–20 

James and John leave their nets and family business.  A narrative example of immediate obedience. This is the first call to Peter.

 ¹⁸ Most assuredly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish.” ¹⁹ This He spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, “Follow Me.” ²⁰ Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on His breast at the supper, and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?” ²¹ Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, “But Lord, what about this man?” ²² Jesus said to him, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.”  John 21:19–22 

And this is Jesus’s final personal call to Peter, “Follow Me.”   A summons to faithfulness even unto death.

 

4. What Following Jesus Produces

A. A Changed Life: following Jesus reshapes character, desires, and habits.

B. A New Mission: “Follow Me” leads to “I will make you fishers of men.” Disciples become disciple‑makers.

C. A New Future: Following Him leads to a prepared place and eternal hope.

 

1. What part of Jesus’s call to “Follow Me”
is most challenging for you right now?

2. What “nets” or “boats” might Jesus be asking you to leave?

3. How does cross‑bearing show in your life? What about “daily”

4. Where do you sense Jesus saying “Follow Me” today?

Paul’s Discipline to Make Disciples

 

Paul - Kenneth Wyatt Galleries

2 Timothy 2:2, 2 Timothy 3:10–11, Philippians 4:8–9

This 12‑part series on Jesus’ Prescriptions for Discipleship, the first prescription is simple enough to write on a sticky note: Be disciplined to make disciples.

If anyone modeled that prescription well, it was the apostle Paul. The New Testament links Paul with seventy‑five different people he influenced: taught, traveled with, corrected, encouraged, or entrusted with ministry. Seventy‑five. Most of us struggle to disciple two or three.

Paul is out here running a small seminary everywhere he goes.

His story begins with Ananias (Acts 9:10–19), who restored Paul’s sight and probably wondered what he had gotten himself into. He turned the hearts of the people of Damascus that the people helped him escape from the hands of the Jews by lowering him in a basket (Acts 9:25).

Then came Barnabas (Acts 9:26–27), the man who vouched for Paul when nobody else would. He took Paul by the hand, and soon the team of Barnabas and Saul became Barnabas and Paul, and ultimately, Paul and Barnabas.

On his first missionary journey, Paul traveled with John Mark (Acts 13:5), who famously quit early but later became one of Paul’s restored and trusted partners (Colossians 4:10; 2 Timothy 4:11). There’s hope for all of us.

On the second journey, Paul gathered a remarkable team: Silas (Acts 15:22, 40), Timothy (Acts 16:1–3), Luke (Acts 16:10), Lydia (Acts 16:14–15), and the ministry couple Priscilla and Aquila (Acts 18:2–3). They helped shape Apollos (Acts 18:24–28), who became a powerful teacher in his own right.

The third journey added more names: Gaius and Aristarchus (Acts 19:29), Trophimus, Sopater, and Secundus (Acts 20:4), and the Ephesian elders whom Paul trained with tears and urgency (Acts 20:17–38). During his imprisonment, he discipled Philip the Evangelist (Acts 21:8), Onesimus (Colossians 4:9; Philemon 10–12), Tychicus (Acts 20:4; Ephesians 6:21), and Epaphras (Colossians 1:7; 4:12).

And then there’s Romans 16, where Paul greets so many coworkers that it reads like the credits at the end of a movie: Phoebe, Andronicus and Junia (Romans 16:7), Ampliatus (Romans 16:8), Urbanus and Stachys (Romans 16:9), Apelles (Romans 16:10), Tryphena and Tryphosa (Romans 16:12), Persis (Romans 16:12), Rufus and his mother (Romans 16:13), Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas (Romans 16:14), Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, Olympas (Romans 16:15), Tertius (Romans 16:22), Gaius, Erastus, and Quartus (Romans 16:23). And that’s just one chapter.

Other letters add names like Stephanas (1 Corinthians 16:15–17), Titus (2 Corinthians 2:13; 7:6), Epaphroditus (Philippians 2:25), Justus, Nympha, and Archippus (Colossians 4:11, 15, 17), Onesiphorus (2 Timothy 1:16), Prisca and Aquila again (2 Timothy 4:19), and Philemon, Apphia, and Archippus (Philemon 1–2).

In short, Paul didn’t just make disciples: he made disciple‑makers.

He lived a life worthy of replication and imitation, he entrusted disciple-making truths in faithful people, and practiced the kind of character qualities that not only multiplies, not only exemplifies, but also magnifies the ministry of disciple-making.

Tonight we begin with Jesus’s first prescription Disciples should be disciplined to make disciples, found in Matthew 28:19.

This prescription is of course seen best in the Apostle Paul

 

Pictures are used from Kenneth Wyatt Galleries  

Copyright:  © Timothy C. McKeown (www.timothymckeown.blogspot.com)

Jesus's 12 Prescriptions for Discipleship

    In Every Man a Warrior (Helping Men Succeed in Life), Lonnie Berger wrote on page 24 of Book 1, “Jesus gave us HIS definition of discipleship. We need to teach what HE taught.” That is absolutely true!

    In the gospels, there are many descriptions of what the early disciples did, and some of the descriptions were not very flattering. The disciples were far from perfect. They argued over who was the greatest. They doubted, disbelieved, and disobeyed Jesus, their “Master”. They were fearful. They shunned children from coming to Christ, when Jesus actually wanted to bless them. They frequently misunderstood Christ and sometimes they stopped following Him when His words were too hard to understand. They slept when they should have watched and prayed. One famously denied he even knew the man. Ultimately, they all fled when He needed them most.

    However, the failures of the early disciples can actually encourage us. We too will fail when we are tested, falter when we try our best, and even fall when we are tempted. We simply are in “bad company” with other faulty disciples. However, our faults should not stop us from seeking to be discipled.

    Failures do not define us. Descriptions are not prescriptions! Our past will not determine our future. God has prepared good things for us (see Ephesians 2:10).

    Jesus’s definition of discipleship are HIS prescriptions for discipleship! The following are clear prescriptions from the Gospels of what Jesus said a disciple should be and what a disciple should do. Coincidentally, I found precisely 12 prescriptions to define what a disciple should aspire to be and do, the same number of his original disciples.

    This list includes four prescriptions from the Great Commission, four prescriptions of those whom Jesus says “cannot be My disciple”, and finally four prescriptions from John’s Gospel, from the aged apostle who had disciples who made disciples who can be traced well into the fourth century. Those historic disciples included Ignatius, Irenaeus, Hippolytus, who stem from John’s disciple named Polycarp, a martyr who “played the man” and famously said before his death, “Eighty-six years I have been his servant. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?”

   We will also see which disciple most identifies with each prescription. May this study encourage you to be Great Commission Disciple Makers.

1.       D       DISCIPLES  WHO  MAKE  DISCIPLES . Christ commissioned His disciples to make disciples who MAKE DISCIPLES.

¹⁹ Go … and make disciples of all the nations           Matthew 28:19-20

While not one of the original disciples whom Jesus called to be apostles, the Apostle Paul certainly was the example for making and encouraging others to make disciples. Paul discipled Barnabas, who then discipled John Mark. Paul also discipled others including Silas, Luke, Timothy, and Titus. See 2 Timothy 2:2 and Philippians 4:9.

2.     I         INSTRUCT  others. Teach what Jesus taught. The word disciple literally means a learner, being developed by a master teacher. The best teachers are those who are good learners.

²⁰ teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you     Matthew 28:20

Matthew (also called Levi), is believed to have written the gospel by his name on behalf of his Jewish believers. Originally a tax collector, he was undoubtedly smart and astute, but not loyal to his fellow Jews. Perhaps wanting to make up for his disloyalty as a despised tax collector, Matthew is our example of wanting to teach his brothers and sisters through writing his gospel.

3.       S        SEPARATE  (or forsake) from everything he or she has. This is the first of four “cannot be My disciple” that Jesus pronounced, all of which are found in Luke’s gospel.

³¹ What king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? ³² Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. ³³ So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.         Luke 14:28-33

Philip, although one of the first-called and first-listed disciples, had a hard time forsaking his preconceived images of Christ (John 14:8-9) and what Christ could do, (in the feeding of the 5,000, his first thought was financial, John 6:7). Linked with his hometown buddy Nathanael (Bartholomew), he may have prejudged people. Instead of going directly to Jesus with the Christ-seeking Greeks, he first went to Andrew. Philip had to learn from these lessons to forsake all for Christ.

4.       C       CARRY   their   CROSS ; a crucified life and/or death. Disciples must be willing to experience the baptism of sacrificial and crucified life or drink the cup of a sacrificial death. Sometimes, it is both. Both sons of Zebedee were told by Jesus they would be baptized in and drink the cup of suffering. Romans 12:1 describes a sacrificial life and Revelation 2:10 calls for us to be faithful until death. This is the second of four “cannot be My disciple” prescriptions.

²⁷ And whoever does not bear his cross … cannot be My disciple        Luke 14:27

James, son of Zebedee and brother of John, was the first apostle to die, exemplifying the crucified life, even though he was thrust through with a sword. Both he and John proclaimed that they were ready to drink of the cup and be baptized with the baptism that Jesus would be (see Mark 10:38-39). James lived and died to prove this (Acts 12:2).

5.       I         IMITATE  Christ. Jesus not only commissioned us to make disciples, but He commanded that disciples should strive to become like their teacher.

²⁰ …observe all things that I have commanded you          Matthew 28:20

²⁴ “A disciple is not above his teachernor a servant above his master. ²⁵ It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master.           Matthew 10:24 (Luke 6:40)

Thomas the Twin is our example (John 11:16). Since Thomas was probably himself a twin, he knew what it was like to be like someone else. If so, that may have accounted for his skepticism in believing that Christ was truly risen from the dead, as Thomas himself may also have often been a victim of a mistaken identity. He reminds us to be like Christ.

6.       P        PURSUE  Christ. They follow Christ. The third of four “cannot be My disciple” phrases Jesus used in Luke 14, this call to follow Christ was the first commands as well as last commands Jesus made to the fisherman and Matthew.
“And whoever does not … come after Me cannot be My disciple.”     Luke 14:27

“My sheep hear My voice … and they follow Me.”  John 10:27

Simon the Zealot, was a radical who apparently was radically saved. He had to abandon his desires to heroically overthrow the Romans and instead follow the meek and humble Messiah. He who once walked in his own way is often listed among the last of the disciples, with only Judas Iscariot being consistently listed at the back of the discipleship pack.

7.       L        Love  other disciples. The first of four prescriptions related to John’s Gospel, no gospel emphasized the prescription of agape love more than the fourth gospel. Love is not a suggestion, nor a stated aspiration. It is a commanded call in order to be a disciple. While loving neighbors as themselves was listed as an old commandment, Jesus gave the new commandment for discipleship is to love “as I have loved you.

³⁴ A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. ³⁵ By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”           John 13:35

John, the self-described beloved disciple, is our example for this prescription of love. Once known as being a “son of Thunder” with his brother James, John was well known to the court of the high priest, allowing himself and Simon Peter access when Christ was on trial. John was undoubtedly among the youngest and certainly lived the longest, being the only disciple who was said to die a natural death. Yet his life of discipleship was imparted to others, including Polycarp, who then discipled Irenaeus, the first church historian.

8.       E        EVANGELIZE  and  BAPTIZE  converts. This is the final prescription from the Great Commission. While Christ’s commission to baptism is not the same as evangelism, the two are equated since one should only be baptized after he is evangelized and converted. Jesus prescribed his disciples to make disciples, but also to follow His example of preaching the gospel (Matthew 4:23, 9:35, 11:5, 24:14). 

¹⁹ Go therefore … baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit             Matthew 28:19

Andrew was, along with the Apostle John, were the first to recognize Christ as the Messiah. Both were fishermen by trade along with their brothers. Andrew first got his brother, Simon, who would later be called Peter. He also brought the lad with the five loaves and two fish, and also brought the Greeks to Christ along with Philip. Despite this, for some inexplicable reason, Andrew was omitted from the inner circle of Peter, James, and John (Matthew 17:1, Mark 5:37, Mark 14:33).

9.       S        SUBORDINATE  all relationships in comparison to love for Christ. This is the final of four “cannot be My disciple” prescriptions. While it seems harsh to hate father, mother, wife, siblings, and children, it comes into greater perspective when we read the “yes, and his own life also” prescription.

²⁶ “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.        Luke 14:26

Linking James the Less to the call to subordinate all family relationships isn’t obvious at first. However, James is likely the closest kin to Christ. He was Christ’s own cousin, seen when we compare Mark 15:40 (“Mary the mother of James the Less” to John 19:25, where Mary was likely an aunt of Jesus and sister to Christ’s mother (“Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas…” John 19:25). In Christ’s call to his own cousin, James the Less, would go on to face the same fate as Jesus’s other cousin, John the Baptist.

10.     H       HUMILITY  and  SELF  -  DENIAL  is prescribed for discipleship. This is the second of four prescriptions linked to John’s gospel, but also recording in the Synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Self-denial was prescribed by Christ, and exemplified by our Lord most notably when He stooped to wash the disciples’s feet in John 13. Paul described Christ’s self-denial and humility beautifully in Philippians 2:5-11. Christ called his disciples to deny themselves, in such things as in fasting (Mark 8:34; also Mark 2:20, Luke 5:35, Matthew 16:24).

²⁴ Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself … ²⁵ For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. ²⁶ For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” Matthew 16:24-26

Simon Peter (Cephas), yes, Simon Peter, because he struggled with humility in so many ways, even to the point where he at first denied Jesus when the Lord came to wash Peter’s feet (John 13:8). He also is famous for another type of “denial”, but not of himself, but of Christ. Three denials, in fact. But at the end of his life, Peter was told “you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish.” 19  He said to him, “Follow Me.”

11.     I        INDWELLING  (stay, abide, continue, hold to and remain with) the Words of Christ. Obey, abide in, and remain faithful to what Jesus commanded is implied in the Great Commission and other places (Matthew 28:20, Luke 6:40), but very explicit in John’s Gospel (John 8:31, 35; 15:4-10). This is the third of four prescriptions found in John.

“If you abide (continue) in my word, you really are my disciples.”   John 8:31

Judas, not Iscariot (Lebbaeus/Thaddaeus) responded to abiding and manifesting in him, see John 14:20-24. Judas felt comfortable enough to interrupt Jesus with a question, wanting to know why Jesus would treat disciples differently from the world. Judah thought the Messiah would reveal Himself in power, but Jesus said, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.” In John 15:7-8, Jesus further said, “If you abide in Me and my words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.”

 

12.     P       PRODUCE  fruit. Flowing directly after abidance or remaining with Christ, a disciple is prescribed by Jesus to produce fruit, a direct result from nourishment and pruning.

“By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.”         John 15:8

Nathanael (Bartholomew) was a devout Israelite and student of prophecy.  Skeptical of anyone from Nazareth, he quickly changed his mind. Found by Philip, He reminds us that bearing fruit is what disciples should do because his call to be a disciple was related to him sitting beneath a fig tree (see John 1:50).

How Jesus defined discipleship

Making disciples is a life-long project.

I was first discipled by my senior pastor Kenny Lewis in 1994. Being a disciple is not something we do on our own. We need to find someone to go along in this journey. John the Baptist had John and Andrew. Jesus had Peter, James, and John. Paul had Barnabas, Silas, Luke and Timothy.

But what does it mean to be a disciple-maker?

In Every Man a Warrior (Helping Men Succeed in Life), Lonnie Berger wrote on page 24 of Book 1, “Jesus gave us HIS definition of discipleship. We need to teach what HE taught.”

That is absolutely true!

In the gospels, there are many descriptions of what the early disciples did, and some descriptions were not very flattering. They were far from perfect. They argued over who was the greatest. They doubted, disbelieved, and disobeyed Jesus, their “master”. They were fearful. They shunned children from coming to Christ, when Jesus actually wanted to bless them. They frequently misunderstood Christ and sometimes they stopped following Him when His words were too hard to understand. They slept when they should have watched and prayed. One famously denied he even knew the man. Ultimately they all fled when He needed them most.

The failures of the early disciples can actually encourage us. We too will fail when we are tested, falter when we try our best, and even fall when we are tempted. We simply are in “bad company” with other faulty disciples. However, our faults should not stop us from seeking to be discipled.

Failures do not define us. Descriptions are not prescriptions! Our past will not determine our future. God has prepared good things for us (see Ephesians 2:10).

Jesus’s definition of discipleship is HIS prescription of what a disciple should be. The following are clear prescriptions from the Gospels of what Jesus said a disciple should be and do. Coincidentally, I found 12 prescriptions to define what a disciple should aspire to be and do, the same number of his original disciples.

This list begins with the Great Commission, then follows in order throughout the rest of the gospels.

Disciples are believers who…

    1. …evangelize and baptize converts. (Matthew 28:19, John 4:2) 

    2. …make other disciples. (Matthew 28:19) 

    3. …teach what Jesus taught. (Matthew 28:20, Matthew 10:25) 

    4. …obey, abide in, and remain faithful to what Jesus commanded. (Matthew 28:20, Luke 6:40, John 8:31, 15:4-8) 

    5. …deny themselves, such as in fasting. (Mark 2:20, Luke 5:35, Matthew 16:24) 

    6. …are not above Jesus but strive to become like Jesus (Luke 6:40, Matthew 10:24-25) 

    7. …love Christ more than anything and anyone else. (Luke 14:26) 

    8. …carry their crosses; that is, are willing to sacrifice to the death. (Luke 14:27, Matthew 16:24) 

    9. …follow after Christ (Luke 14:27) 

    10. …forsake all that they have for Christ. (Luke 14:33, Matthew 10:24-25) 

    11. …love other disciples. (John 13:35) 

    12. …bear fruit. (John 15:8)

There are other parallel verses that are similar in Jesus saying what are the requirements in following Him, but these are specifically tied to discipleship.

Like I said at the beginning, making disciples is a life-long project. So is being made into a disciple.

Don't forget the "once saved" part...

A person who is a believer, with God’s Holy Spirit living within them, cannot continually and unrepentantly reject God’s Holiness within them without burning their conscience and departing from the truth.

But what if our desires constantly and consistently deviate from God’s clear and explicit commandments? The Bible and especially Jesus is clear: We must die to those desires. Jesus Himself gave us this example.

“Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not My will but Thine be done,” He prayed.

After all, is not the symbol of our faith a cross? A cross at that time stood for death, excruciating death, from which we get the very word “ex-cruc-iating” (“cruc” means “cross”).

What does the cross stand for? Merely that Christ died and we do not have to? No, for if that were the case, why would Jesus explicitly teach otherwise?

“And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.” Matt. 10:38.

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” Matt. 16:34.

Shall I go on? I could you know…

If a person claims to be a Christian and utterly refuses to follow His clear commands (see Matt. 7:21-23 below), that person should seriously question his or her faith.

“How dare you say that? Who are you to judge?”

I did not say it. The Bible did in 2 Cor. 13:5. Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified.

“Oh I am not disqualified! I prayed a prayer when I was a kid! I am saved by grace and faith, not by works!”

Where did we first learn about salvation and grace and faith? THE BIBLE. So, can we claim some parts of the Bible as true and other parts false? How is that consistent?

Let’s look how Paul (who wrote the most about salvation through faith and grace) how he tells us to examine and test ourselves. Did he really teach that we can pray a prayer as a kid and then live according to our desires and never feel a twinge of guilt? Never repent? (Jesus’ first sermon was, “Repent for the Kingdom of God is near.”)

Here is the entire 2 Cor. 13 passage in the New Living Translation. Does this sound like you or I can pray a prayer and then live a life of rebellion or compromise or disobedience and still “pass the test” of true salvation?

5 Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you (literally “in” you); if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith. 6 As you test yourselves, I hope you will recognize that we have not failed the test of apostolic authority.

7 We pray to God that you will not do what is wrong by refusing our correction. I hope we won’t need to demonstrate our authority when we arrive. Do the right thing before we come—even if that makes it look like we have failed to demonstrate our authority. 8 For we cannot oppose the truth, but must always stand for the truth. 9 We are glad to seem weak if it helps show that you are actually strong. We pray that you will become mature.

10 I am writing this to you before I come, hoping that I won’t need to deal severely with you when I do come. For I want to use the authority the Lord has given me to strengthen you, not to tear you down.

Paul is saying, “Don’t make me pull over the car! Don’t make me come down there and correct you! I would rather appear weak and not have to correct you rather than be the tough guy and demonstrate that your bad behavior will force us to exercise authority. Show that you are in the faith by living to the commands of Christ. If you oppose the truth, the truth won’t conform to you (sorry Os Guinness), you will fail and show yourself as disqualified from the faith!”

We are saved by faith and kept saved by faith and grace, but we prove the validity of our faith by our works, for which God saved us. If we show otherwise, we prove our faith is false. This is not sinless perfection. This is “saved to serve, not saved by serving” theology.

“Once saved always saved” hinges on one very important truth: ONCE SAVED.

If we fail the test of examination here and now or fail to examine ourselves and change, there will be a final test, and it is pass or fail. Jesus will be the examiner. Jesus said to those who practice lawlessness but still called Jesus “Lord, Lord” in Matthew 7:21-23—“I NEVER KNEW YOU.”

The cross of Christianity is not a shiny gold medallion to wear. It is a rough, splintery life to bear.

This is so hard to write because I am writing to a particular loved one whom I greatly love. I see why Paul said, “I would rather be weak than strong, but if you force me I will say some strong things.” And He had apostolic authority. He had the truth. He wrote the majority of the New Testament. 

If you reject what Paul said, you reject the Bible. Without the Bible, how can you pick and choose what is right and what is wrong? You reject the martyred lives who laid their lives down in response to the cross, without which we would not have the Bible at all. You make God in your own sinful image, no longer a Father who loves through disciplining us for our own good and His own glory. 

We submit to Christ, not only for a FREE SALVATION but also for CRUCIFIED LIVING. We follow a crucified Christ, who carried the cross and calls us to go and do likewise.