Following Jesus!
by Pastor John LaVier
(John
LaVier served as the pastor of the Grace Church in Indianapolis, IN
for 47 years until his retirement. He was one of the founding fathers of the
Grace Movement who never wavered in his stand for the Word, rightly divided, as
the following article demonstrates.)
Many times we have noticed various church
bulletin boards, and have often wondered as to the source of the “words of
wisdom” displayed on them. Most of them must have been taken from the almanac,
for very few of them come from the Bible. One thing may be said in their favor;
though often senseless, they are usually harmless as well. However, just
recently, we were astounded to notice the following on the board in front of a
large denominational church. It said: “Jesus Christ should be followed, not
worshipped.”
Surely we are living in days of apostasy when
a man who calls himself a minister of the gospel would have the brazenness to
put such a saying in front of a church which pretends to bear the Name of
Christ.
How can we follow Christ, unless we can
worship Him as well? If the Lord Jesus Christ was not the Eternal Son of the
Living God, then He was a deceiver of the basest sort, and is neither to be
followed nor worshipped. If He was God manifest in the flesh, as He
claimed to be, then He certainly is to be worshipped as well as followed, and
like Thomas, we should prostrate ourselves at His feet and say, “My Lord and my
God.” We need not speculate, though, as to whether He was or was not the
God-Man. Hear the testimony of the Father Himself, who testified from heaven,
saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye Him.” We
read also, “That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father.
He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent Him”
(John 5:23). Is God the Father worthy of our worship? Then so is God the Son.
The cry of these so-called Modernists, who
are no more than christianized agnostics, is “Back to Jesus,” and it is sad to relate
that some Fundamentalists seem to be echoing the cry of these infidel
preachers. God’s program is not back to Jesus, but on to the Mystery. We are
not to follow Jesus, a minister of the circumcision in the land of the Jews,
but we are to be occupied with Him as He now is, seated at the
Father’s right hand in the heavenlies, and made to be the Head over all things
to the Church, which is His Body.
The statement is often made that we should
follow the Lord in baptism. If this is so, we ought also to follow the Lord in
circumcision (Luke 2:21). We ought to follow Him into the synagogue on the
Sabbath day (Luke 4:16). We ought to follow Him as One under the Law, obeying
them that sit in Moses’ seat (Galatians 4:4 & Matthew 23:1-3). We ought to
follow Him as He proclaims the kingdom at hand (Matthew 4:17; 9:35; 10:7). We
should heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, and raise the dead (Matthew 10:8). If
anyone sues us, we should not contest the suit, but should give them even more
than they demand (Matthew 5:40). If one would borrow from us, we should not
deny their request, but should lend to them without expecting to be repaid (Matthew
5:42 & Luke 6:34-35). If we are going to follow Jesus of Nazareth, we
should do all these things, for Jesus Himself taught and practiced them.
While on earth, “Jesus Christ was a
minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made
unto the fathers” (Romans 15:8). He was a Jew among the Jews, confining His
ministry to the nation Israel, and announcing Himself as their King. Israel
having rejected Him, He went back to glory, and when Israel continued in their
rejection, He revealed through the Apostle Paul His new program for this
dispensation of the grace of God, so that now we do not follow Him in His
humility, as the Messiah of Israel, but we follow Him as the glorified One at
God’s right hand, and the Head of the Body.
The Apostle Paul, through whom the truth for
this age has been revealed, says, “Wherefore henceforth know we no man after
the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth
know we Him no more” (2 Corinthians 5:16). If we are to follow Christ today, we
must obey 1 Corinthians 11:1, “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of
Christ.” Thus, as we follow the Risen, Ascended Christ in Glory, according to
the revelation of the mystery, we also worship and adore Him as the Blessed Son
of God, “Our Lord Jesus Christ, which in His times He shall shew, who is the
blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords” (1 Timothy
6:15).
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