Are You Coming After Him?

When the gospel is shared with unbelievers, there are critical elements that are often left out. There is the carnal desire for evangelists or chaplains like myself to “get decisions” for Christ, especially in environments that are often not conducive for properly sharing the full aspects of the gospel. Frequently non-believers are misled into making decisions to follow Christ with no understanding of the three primary conditions for becoming a disciple. All three of which are essentially non-existent in the lives of Christian’s today, particularly in America.

Jesus says “If anyone wishes to come after me” (Luke 9:23). Let me stop there for a moment. This phrase means to follow me, to be my disciple, to become a Christian. This cannot be skipped over. When we are giving an invitation to someone to receive Christ are we not asking them to come after Jesus? We better be. The world is already full of false converts or those who have received the gospel seed on rocky ground (Matthew 13:20, 21). With the current state of the American church and the continual onslaught of moral relativism, a greater focus must be placed upon making disciples and not getting decisions of people “confessing the sinner’s prayer.”

Our mission must be to make disciples who have been made aware of the conditions that Jesus set in Luke 9 and are willing to strive towards them. These conditions should be discerned and posed to those whom we share the gospel with. The first element is “denying self.” I once shared the gospel with a person and I mentioned self-denial and giving up his self-interests and he said he believed in Jesus, but he wasn’t willing to put Christ above his own needs or even his girlfriend. A person can’t do the will of God or obey the teachings of Jesus without denying self. The second element is “taking up one’s cross.” This means a person is willing to suffer and die for the sake of Christ and His gospel. This is a daily act. It’s like a military solider marching into war unafraid of dying for their country. The final element is to “follow Jesus.” This is to be done continually, as a military soldier following their platoon leader into battle.

Ensure you are asking those questions when sharing the gospel. If a person has acknowledged their sin and depravity before God and truly believed upon Christ for their salvation, then they will be willing to come after Jesus, deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Jesus without question, even to the point of death.

This is what will revive the church and save our nation.