Following in His Steps

In my article, What Jesus Did Not Do on the Cross, which I highly recommend reading, I highlighted twenty-one things the Lord did not do during His betrayal, passion, and crucifixion. One of those was that He did not sin. Today I would like to focus on that one in particular, since He did not sin at any point during His earthly life. Let's see what the Scriptures say:

He Did Not Sin
We know for certain that the Lord did not commit any sin, because the Bible tells us so. It says:

"For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin." (Heb 4:15)

I have highlighted in my article, The Temptation of Christ, how He overcame all the devil's temptations in the wilderness and committed no sin. What was true of that experience was true of His entire life. He never sinned.

The apostle Paul affirmed the sinlessness of Christ when he wrote: "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." (2Co 5:21)

The apostle Peter wrote: "For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in his mouth." (1Pe 2:21-22)

We learn two important things from this passage. First, that Jesus committed no sin, and secondly that He left us an example that we should follow in His steps.

He Suffered for Righteousness
Another important point that Peter made in verse 21 was that we have been called to suffer. This is clearer when we read it in context with the verse before it:

"For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God. For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps..." (1Pe 2:20-21)

Later in that same epistle, he further emphasized this aspect of participating in Christ's sufferings, when he wrote: "But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed." (1 Pe 4:13, NIV)

The apostle Paul affirmed this in his epistle to the Philippians, when he wrote: "For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him..." (Phil 1:29, NIV). For more on that topic, please see my article, The Fiery Sufferings of the Believer.

Follow Him
As I have just mentioned, Peter said that Jesus Christ is your example, and you must follow in his steps (1 Pe 2:21). Truly in all things, Jesus is our perfect example. The apostle John also said the same thing in his epistle: "Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did." (1 Jn 2:6).

This is what Jesus Himself taught His disciples. He said: "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me." (Mt 16:24, NIV). When He said we must deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him, He meant just what He said. We must follow in His steps in every aspect of life.

These are the requirements in order to be a disciple of Christ. He said, “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be My disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow Me cannot be My disciple." (Lk 14:26-27, NIV 1978).

This is a daily requirement: "Then he said to them all: 'Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.'" (Lk 9:23, NIV)

On another occasion He said, "Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." (Mt 11:29, NIV). This also speaks of learning from Him the way to live and doing what He did.

I Have Decided to Follow Jesus
As that old hymn I Have Decided to Follow Jesus says, "The cross before me, the world behind me. No turning back, no turning back. Though none go with me, still I will follow." According to Wikipedia, "...the lyrics are based on the last words of Nokseng, a Garo man, a tribe from Meghalaya [India] which then was in Assam, who along with his family decided to follow Jesus Christ in the middle of the 19th century through the efforts of an American Baptist missionary. Called to renounce his faith by the village chief, the convert declared, 'I have decided to follow Jesus.' His two children were killed and in response to threats to his wife, he continued, 'Though none go with me, still I will follow.' His wife was killed, and he was executed while singing, 'The cross before me, the world behind me.' This display of faith is reported to have led to the conversion of the chief and others in the village."

The article goes on to say that "The formation of these words into a hymn is attributed to the Indian missionary Sadhu Sundar Singh. The melody is also Indian, and entitled 'Assam' after the region where the text originated. An American hymn editor, William Jensen Reynolds, composed an arrangement," which we now know as the wonderful old hymn I Have Decided to Follow Jesus. It aptly describes the point I am making in this article.

No Turning Back
As that hymn says, once we have decided to follow Jesus, we must never turn back, no matter what happens. As Jesus said, "No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God." (Lk 9:62, NIV). For more on this, please see No Turning Back and Remember Lot's Wife.

Putting it All Together
Since Jesus committed no sin, then we should follow in His steps and follow in His example, which means we should also commit no sin, as I explained in my article Aim for Perfection. Just as He denied Himself and took up His cross, we also must deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him. And just as He suffered for righteousness, we must participate in His sufferings, too.

I hope this has helped to encourage you in your walk with God to seek Him with all your heart. Fight the good fight, keep the faith, deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Jesus! The cross before you, the world behind you, no turning back, no turning back. Though none go with you, still you must follow Jesus without turning back.

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB, unless otherwise noted. Other Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®. Image from Christ Lutheran Church, which may be subject to copyright, used according to Fair Use Act for educational and commentary purposes only.

Author's note: If you enjoyed this post, you may also like Aim for Perfection, Called to Be Blameless, Christian Perfection, Walking in the Perfect Will of God, For the Glory of God Alone, Crucified with Christ, What Jesus Did Not Do on the Cross, Sins That Will Keep You From Heaven, The Glory of Martyrdom for Christ, The Obedience of Faith, Restored Truth, Ask for the Ancient Paths, Pleasing the Lord, Clean Hands and a Pure Heart, Salvation with Fear and Trembling, Righteous Deeds and White Robes, The Ways of Life, The Forgotten Sin of Worldliness, Is Tithing Required for Christians?, Godly Attire and Adornment -- Seven Divine Revelations, Having a Servant's Heart, Alcohol and Cigarettes -- Ten Divine Revelations, Divorce -- Three Divine Revelations, A Warning for Married Christian Couples, Separation from the World, and Standing in the Gap. My daughter has also written a lovely poem called Cross Bearing. You can access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master." Now I'd like to ask a very important question.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

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Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org

The Cost of Discipleship

Deitrich Bonhoeffer

Most preachers today are preaching cheap grace.  But this is not the true gospel.  True grace is costly.

Years ago, when my friend, Mike, was discipling me, we read a book together, called The Cost of Discipleship, by Dietrich Bonhoeffer.  It challenged and enriched my understanding of grace and what it means to be a disciple of Christ.  Let's look at some quotes from Bonhoeffer.


 “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.”
― Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship 

“Grace at a low cost, is in the last resort simply a new law, which brings neither help nor freedom.”
― Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship 

"Cheap grace means grace sold on the market like cheapjacks' wares. The sacraments, the forgiveness of sin, and the consolations of religion are thrown away at cut prices. Grace is represented as the Church's inexhaustible treasury, from which she showers blessings with generous hands, without asking questions or fixing limits. Grace without price; grace without cost! The essence of grace, we suppose, is that the account has been paid in advance; and, because it has been paid, everything can be had for nothing. Since the cost was infinite, the possibilities of using and spending it are infinite. What would grace be if it were not cheap?...

Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.

The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer is available at Amazon.


Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it a man will go and sell all that he has. It is the pearl of great price to buy which the merchant will sell all his goods. It is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble; it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him.

Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock.

Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son: 'Ye were bought at a price', and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us. Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon his Son too dear a price to pay for our life, but delivered him up for us. Costly grace is the Incarnation of God.” 
― Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship 

“But the disciple had the advantage over the Pharisee in that his doing of the law is in fact perfect. How is such a thing possible? Because between the disciples and the law stands one who has perfectly fulfilled it, on with whom they live in communion...Jesus not only possesses this righteousness, but is himself the personal embodiment of it. He is the righteousness of the disciples...This is where the righteousness of the disciple exceeds that of the Pharisees; it is grounded solely upon the call to fellowship with him who alone fulfills the law.”
― Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship    

Willingly He Died
I think the way a man dies says a lot about his character.   According to the Wikipedia article about him, "Bonhoeffer was condemned to death on April 8, 1945...without witnesses, records of proceedings or a defence...He was executed there by hanging at dawn on April 9, 1945...the execution was particularly brutal. Bonhoeffer was stripped of his clothing and led naked into the execution yard, where he was hanged with thin wire for death by strangulation."

The article goes on to state that. "The camp doctor who witnessed the execution wrote: 'I saw Pastor Bonhoeffer ... kneeling on the floor praying fervently to God. I was most deeply moved by the way this lovable man prayed, so devout and so certain that God heard his prayer. At the place of execution, he again said a short prayer and then climbed the few steps to the gallows, brave and composed. His death ensued after a few seconds. In the almost fifty years that I worked as a doctor, I have hardly ever seen a man die so entirely submissive to the will of God.'”

In Bonhoeffer's death, we see a lovable man who was entirely submissive to the will of God, as the doctor who witnessed it said.  He was able to die this way, because he had died to self long beforehand.  He lived what he believed, and he possessed the costly grace of Christ.  Within him lived the Lamb of God, Who said, "I gave My back to those who strike Me, And My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard; I did not cover My face from humiliation and spitting. For the Lord GOD helps Me, Therefore, I am not disgraced; Therefore, I have set My face like flint, And I know that I will not be ashamed." (Isa 50:6-7).

When Jesus was crucified, it was not as though He was dragged away against His will.  He could have easily prevented His own arrest.  But He came to die for our sins, and He did not shrink back.  He did not resist the brutality directed against Him.  No, He offered Himself willingly.  And He expects us to do the same, as Bonhoeffer did in his life and in his death.

I want to make an appeal to you, my friend.  If you are a preacher, please seek the Lord for a true understanding of this costly grace, before you preach another message.  Then speak as a voice for God about it.  Please do not simply be an echo of all the other voices in the world, preaching cheap grace.

To those who are not preachers, if you are a Christian, and you never realized the grace of God was so costly, I ask you to get with the Lord.  Cry out in repentance for all known sin in your life.  Ask the Lord for this costly grace that will cost you everything.  Come and die, so that you may follow Jesus.  This is true grace.  This is the true gospel.


Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.

Author's note: This post is a follow up on the following articles I've written recently:

The Law of Love in the New Testament
The Law Established Through Faith
Is Obedience Optional?
The Law Fulfilled in Us
Keeping Sundays Holy
Resting from Work
Is Tithing Required for Christians?
Salvation with Fear and Trembling
Is Practical Righteousness a Lost Truth?
The New Covenant
Obedience by the Spirit
The Highest Form of Slavery
Called to be Blameless 

I invite you to read my daughter's poem, called "The Cost." You can also find my complete collection of blogs at Writing for the Master.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.