September 15, 2026
As Jesus traveled throughout Israel urging people to repent and believe the gospel, “Follow me” was a constant refrain in his message. At the beginning of his ministry, he called his first disciples with the terse command, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” As his ministry progressed, he told the crowds, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me” (Mark 8:34). At the end of his earthly ministry, he recommissioned the repentant Peter with the words, “Follow me” (John 21:19). …
What does it mean to follow Jesus? Following Jesus begins when we respond to his call to repent and believe the gospel. The Good News that God loves us and has taken the initiative to reconcile us to himself by giving his Son to atone for our sins awakens us to God’s grace and moves us to want to live for Christ and follow him. …
When we look carefully at the teachings and example of Jesus Christ, the call to “follow me” takes on much greater clarity and specificity. It is indeed a call to “walk as Jesus walked,” to live a life of radical faith and love. Once we truly grasp this, our first reaction is likely to be one of dismay. If we are at all aware of the depth of indwelling sin and the dysfunctions that plague our lives, we know it is impossible for us to fulfill such a call. Yet this reaction is actually healthy, because it is based in reality. It is indeed impossible for us to live this way. And that is precisely the point. Jesus knows we cannot follow him without a power beyond ourselves. And that is why he sent the Holy Spirit to empower us.
It is only through the indwelling Holy Spirit that we can obey the teaching of Jesus and follow his example. He assures us of the Father’s love, he makes the things of Christ real to us; he makes the gospel precious to us; he convicts us of sin and assures of forgiveness when we repent; he transforms us from glory to glory, into the likeness of Jesus (2 Corinthians 3:16–18). That is why we are taught to earnestly seek to be filled with the Spirit each day (Ephesians 5:18) and to be led by him in all our ways (Galatians 5:16–17). When we do, we will find that we can live in newness of life. Not perfectly and not immediately.
But day by day, as we walk in faith and obedience, the Spirit will produce in us the character of Jesus: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22–23).—Thomas A. Tarrants1
A disciple is defined as a “follower of Jesus,” “a learner,” “one who follows in the master’s footsteps,” “an adherent,” “someone who is aiming to be like Jesus.” Disciples seek to learn, study, and then follow and apply what their teacher tells them. We are students of Jesus—our Master. We seek to not only learn about His life on earth, the truths of God’s Word, and His nature and character, but we seek to follow His example and to live as He taught us to live, to love as He loved, and to live a life of faith.
One of Jesus’ most life-changing calls was given in just two words: “Follow Me.” And when He said that, He meant for us to shape our lives, thoughts, habits, and actions after His. As fallible human beings, we aren’t capable of rising to this challenge, but as we surrender to God and draw on the power of the Holy Spirit, we are progressively transformed into the image of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18).
Discipleship is not an isolated, once-in-a-lifetime happening. It’s a spiritual journey, a faith journey. It involves daily choices and actions to place Jesus at the center of our lives, to abide in Him, and to let Him abide in us, to be led by His Word, to yield to His will for our lives, to obey Him to the best of our ability, and to testify of His love through our words and actions.
Christian discipleship is a commitment to pattern our lives, attitudes, and actions in accordance with the teachings and example of Jesus; in short, to be like Him. And that’s a tall order, since Jesus lived the ultimate life of love, mercy, compassion, sacrifice, truth, and integrity, of any man or woman who has ever walked the earth.
God wants everything—your heart, your life, your career, and your personal pursuit—to glorify Him, to lift up Jesus, to serve as a light on a hill shining to light the way for others, whatever your calling, profession, or career may be.—Peter Amsterdam
Self-control is the emancipating power of the Spirit that sets us free, not to master ourselves or be mastered by anything else but to be able to say we submit to the best master, Jesus. … In Christ, sin and our selfish desires are no longer our masters. Jesus alone is our King. What a sweet relief! If our heart desires sin, we don’t have to act on it; the Spirit gives us self-control. …
Self-control comes from two things. It’s a God-given desire to do what God desires, and it’s a God-given strength to honor God in what we do. It’s freedom from a desire to disobey God, and it’s freedom from the detriment that comes from dishonoring God with our lives.
You have one master, and he is the best. Let’s root out any temptation to replace him with ourselves or to replace him with the pleasure of any human being. It’s very difficult sometimes for us to notice when we have slipped into following other masters. That’s why God describes it as a trap. He says that the “fear of man lays a snare” (Proverbs 29:25). A snare is a trap that is hidden. You fall into danger unknowingly. When we live our lives making decisions based on what we think will please the people around us, as if they were our masters, we step into danger. …
Here is the good news. You do not have to surrender to the whims of any earthly master. Paul appeals—literally pleads with Christians—to “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 12:2). The fruit of the Spirit is self-control. Being led by the Spirit fosters incredible strength in you. You can row upstream. You can run uphill. You can parent differently, set free from the oppression of masters other than Christ.
We have an appetite for sin, but sin is not our master. We face a culture that does not drive us toward Christ, but our culture is not our master. … The good news is that our master gives us the strength to follow him.—Adam Griffin2
In Matthew 6:24, Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” He spoke these words as part of His Sermon on the Mount, in which He had said it was foolish to store up treasures on earth, where “moths and vermin destroy and where thieves break in and steal” (Matthew 6:19–20); rather, He urged us to store up treasure in heaven, where it will last forever.
The obstacle that prevents us from wise investment is the heart. Wherever our treasure is, there will our hearts be (Matthew 6:21). We follow what has captivated our hearts, and Jesus made it clear that we cannot serve two masters. A master is anything that enslaves us (Romans 6:16). …
Jesus’ call to follow Him is a call to abandon all other masters… Jesus’ claim to us is exclusive. He bought us with His own blood and delivered us from our former master, sin (1 Corinthians 6:20). He doesn’t share His throne with anyone… When we follow Christ, we must die to everything else.—Got Questions3
Published on Anchor September 2026. Read by Reuben Ruchevsky. Music by John Listen.
1 Thomas A. Tarrants, “Following Jesus Christ,” cslewisinstitute.org, September 2, 2011, https://www.cslewisinstitute.org/resources/following-jesus-christ.
2 Adam Griffin, “When Pleasing Our Kids Becomes Idolatry,” crossway.org, October 26, 2025, https://www.crossway.org/articles/when-pleasing-our-kids-becomes-idolatry.
3 “What does it mean that you cannot serve two masters in Matthew 6:24?” gotquestions.org, https://www.gotquestions.org/you-cannot-serve-two-masters.html.
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