Following Jesus can be translated as “doing all of Jesus’ will.” In the same way that a slave does all the will of his master, this is how the person who truly follows Jesus does all His will. In his epistle to the Romans, the apostle Paul makes the connection between slavery and obedience. He says that we become slaves to the one we choose, whether it is God or the devil.

“Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?” Romans 6:16

The person who accepts to follow Jesus is a person who accepts to become a slave of Jesus through radical obedience. As long as we are not ready to obey Jesus in everything throughout our entire lives until death, we are not qualified to be called disciples of Jesus. During His time on earth, Jesus Himself obeyed God the Father in everything. He remained obedient to the point of death on the cross.

“Jesus said to them, ‘My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.’” John 4:34

“And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” Philippians 2:8

Two Ways to Follow Jesus

Among the people who follow or claim to follow Jesus, we find two main categories: those who follow Him like sheep and those who follow Him like goats. The first category is the one Jesus recognizes.

• Following like a sheep

Contrary to what we may think, Jesus does not just want Christians to follow Him. He wants Christians to follow Him in a very specific way. He Himself determined the manner in which disciples should follow Him. In the text of John 10:25-27, we see clearly that Jesus intended for His disciples to follow Him like sheep.

“Jesus answered them, ‘I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name bear witness about Me, but you do not believe because you are not among My sheep. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.‘” John 10:25-27

According to this text, those who follow Jesus do not obey any other voice, thought, or opinion than that of Jesus. These people decide not to be wise in their own eyes, nor to rely on their own wisdom. These people are like very small children who follow their parents blindly. It must be admitted that this category of Christians is extremely rare because no one wants to be a sheep. Everyone wants to be wise and intelligent. No one wants to be like a little child. Everyone wants to have an opinion on everything.

• Following like a goat (wise and intelligent)

The second category of people who follow Jesus follows Him like goats. These are people who always take the time to think about every command or instruction Jesus gives. These people first compare Jesus’ words with those of tradition, society, school, media, etc., before deciding. These are the people who consider themselves wise and not dupes.

These people consider it very dangerous to behave like sheep. These people do not understand why God can give them wisdom and intelligence and then ask them not to rely on it. What these people ignore is that it is God who sets the rules and that God has chosen to walk with those who are like sheep and not with the wise and intelligent. This is what Jesus reminds us of in a certain way in Matthew 11:25.

“At that time Jesus declared, ‘I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children.‘” Matthew 11:25

We must definitively understand that Jesus wants Christians to follow Him like sheep and not like goats. To achieve this, we must all start by denying ourselves.

2. Denying Oneself

As we have understood, Jesus wants us to be sheep. This is why He asks every born-again Christian to first deny himself before starting to follow Him. We will look at seven truths about self-denial. This will help us understand what Jesus means by “denying oneself.”

2.1 Denying oneself means giving one’s free will to God

When God decided to create human beings, He chose to give them free will. It is this free will that allows us to make choices and decisions as we see fit.

“I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live.” Deuteronomy 30:19

Although free will can be considered a blessing, we must admit that it is often a source of misery when we make bad choices or decisions. To keep us in blessing, Jesus recommends that we trust Him by giving Him our free will so that He decides and chooses for us.

2.2 Denying oneself means renouncing what occupies your thoughts

The Bible informs us that we are as our thoughts in our soul. In other words, we are the reflection of our thoughts or, our thoughts represent us.

“For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.” Proverbs 23:7

If our thoughts represent us, it means that by renouncing our thoughts, we renounce ourselves. Just as a sheep does not think, a person who renounces their thoughts will no longer have them. This person will no longer have anything that tries to resist the thoughts and words of their master. A Christian who renounces their thoughts becomes free to follow the thoughts and words of Jesus.

2.3 Self-denial is the renewal of the mind

In his epistle to the Romans, the apostle Paul recommends that Christians renew their minds to be able to discern the will of God, what is good, acceptable, and perfect.

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:1-2

I often tell people that this Biblical text invites us to wash our brains. It is an invitation to personal brainwashing. This brainwashing allows us to become ignorant, which will make us capable of hearing and following the master. As long as our minds are not renewed, our thoughts will still be filled with everything we have learned from parents, tradition, society, school, media, etc.

We will continue to be led by these thoughts or by their authors. Most Christians unfortunately do not realize the importance of renewing the mind and especially the misfortunes linked to the lack of renewal.

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This text is an excerpt from the book “THE TRUE DISCIPLE OF JESUS CHRIST” written by Dominique MBOG.

We invite you to read the following article “Advice for Bearing Much Fruit in Christ.“