Have You Made a Decision for Jesus or Have You Committed to Jesus?
Idleman, Kyle (2011-05-24). Not a Fan: Becoming a Completely Committed Follower of Jesus (p. 32). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
For the next several days I will be looking at the differences between Jesus’ fans and His followers. Please accept for the moment that He calls us to be His followers and that just being a fan isn’t good enough. With me, please consider if you are a fan or a follower and what that means.
It is common in church to ask folks to “make a decision” for Jesus or to “accept” Him. This is usually interpreted to mean to “believe” in Jesus. It’s not enough to believe in Him. The demons believe. Jesus asks for a commitment to follow Him, to forsake all others. It is usually possible to distinguish between the believers and the followers. The lives of the followers show real change. They produce fruit.
In our zeal to get people to make a “decision” we sometimes fail to explain what is really involved. Consider this: There is no forgiveness without repentance. There is no salvation without surrender. There is no life without death. There is no believing without committing. To be born again, implies that something (our old self) has died. To experience new life, means the old life is gone. To be forgiven for sin, means we have turned away from them and not just gotten a free pass for them. We don’t just believe that Jesus was the Son of God who died for our sins; we put all our trust in Him forsaking everything else.
We may have charged the followers with being “radical” or “Jesus freaks” but a careful reading of the gospel reveals that Jesus asks for nothing less.
Please prayerfully consider whether you have committed to following Jesus and, if not, do so right now. It’s not enough to be a fan, we must be followers and we must begin right away.
Please let me know if you have questions or concerns and
Be blessed.
Nick
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