15 December 2008

Follow On – 12.15.08

John 6:66-69 From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.

Sadly, the scene of John 6:66 is replicated on almost a daily basis. Christ's disciples turning back. Back to the world. Back to the flesh. Back to the old life. Back to the carnal pursuits. Back to the spiritual apathy. Back to the Bible neglect. Back to the life of prayerlessness.

I ask myself and I ask you today what Christ asked His 12 disciples 2,000 years ago. Will ye also go away? Each of us ought to realize that we're not above it (1 Corinthians 10:12). And we ought to take some time right now not only to determine that we won't but to figure out and establish in our hearts and minds just exactly why we won't.

Peter nailed it. Lord, to whom shall we go? Answer that question personally and hypothetically. If you were to turn away from following the Lord, what are some things that would cause you to do so or what would you turn to instead? Sports? Popularity? Pursuit of material wealth? Laziness? Selfishness? Immorality? Others' failures? Trials and testings? Etc.

And now consider how any of those things compare to following the One Who has the words of eternal life (John 6:68). The One Who gives us life more abundant (John 10:10). The One Who gives us all things richly to enjoy (1 Timothy 6:17). The One at Whose right hand there are pleasures FOREVERMORE (Psalm 16:11).

We use the verse in our witnessing, but I believe we can make application to our Christian lives as well. Mark 8:36-37 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

Bro. James comments on John 6:68 in the New Testament Survey book:

"This was one of the first verses I was given to memorize by those who discipled me. Before one ever comes to Christ for salvation he has learned the emptiness of the things of this world. When one comes to Christ for forgiveness of sins, he does so because he knows that no one else can meet his need. Once one has been made a new creature by the working of God's grace, he knows there is nothing to compare with the joy of eternal life.

"So the response to those that would call us to sin, the reply to those who ask us to quit when times get tough and the response to the devil when he seeks to lead us astray are provided here: To whom shall we go? There's no one in this universe with anything to offer that can compare with what we have found in Jesus."

Follow on.

2 comments:

  1. thanks for sending the blog our way.So many times in my life I have said to myself "what good is it" and just plain quit on the Lord.I gauge my so called Christianity on what others were doing, which was nothing, so I said to my myself why "follow on" But the Lord was always there, waiting for me to come back, with a look of love,that nothing in this world could ever match. You can never lose in following on with the Lord!!!

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  2. Wow!! Do you know how few are teaching this in the church anymore? This is really important teaching! There are many who have turned back from following Christ! It is so sad. And so many who think they've added Christ to their life while they're still living in sin. These verses have been really helpful to me at many points in time. I have been through exactly these thoughts and questions several times to check my own heart as I've read Scriptures on the topic and/or faced situations that caused me to have to rethink my condition. How I wish more people would read God's Word for themselves and stop drowning themselves in all the lies they're hearing (in churches even and) on TV and in colleges and from the world. This is what caused me to begin doing street evangelism - when I saw how many of my own friends turned away from God while thinking they had truth. It is horrible. And many of them refuse to listen to me explain the truth from the Word of God. I pray for them constantly, and I trust God will rescue some of them from their fake salvation, like He rescued me! Thank you God!

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