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[Blooming]

I’m listening to David Platt’s “Follow Me” and wanted to get some thoughts from others.

He is a big believer that most people who go to church aren’t really Christians because they haven’t given up their lives to Christ and aren’t actively making disciples of all nations. So in order to truly be destined for heaven, we should give up all worldly pleasures, relationships, etc. and be in constant pursuit of witnessing, making disciples, and spreading gospel throughout the world. I’m assuming that if 99% of professing Christians did an inventory of their daily lives that a majority of their time is not spent on these things and are therefore destined for eternal damnation.

Anyone have any thoughts to this radical (and probably correct view) of what it means to be a follower of Christ?

[jimwalton]

It may be true that some (maybe a lot, it's impossible to know) people who attend church aren't really Christians. It's more likely that many of the people who attend church are still caught up in the world and are not fully devoted disciples. That's more likely what he's talking about (though I feign to speak for David).

I disagree, however, that a true Christian must give up all worldly pleasures, relationships, etc. That isn't what the Bible says. On two separate occasions Jesus was asked about the criteria for heaven. He gave a different answer than Platt.

1\. Love God with all that you are

2\. Love your neighbor

3\. Do God’s will by obeying his moral commands

4\. Be willing, if he asks, to drop everything and leave it behind to follow him.

Don't get me wrong. I understand what Platt was getting at: full commitment. And full commitment is also what Jesus asks. David's explication of it, however, seems different from Jesus's.

Jesus never taught easy believism, which is also Platt's point. Yes, invite Jesus into your heart as your personal savior. Then, empowered by God's grace, embark on the journey of discipleship in which you seek to love God with every fiber of your being, to love your neighbor as yourself, to live out God's moral will, and to follow Jesus where he leads you, whatever the cost.

Jesus had harsh words for hypocrites, and the mediocrity of those who claimed to follow Him. While most Americans and/or churchgoers claim to "believe" in Jesus, and while many may have said a prayer asking Jesus to save them, Jesus said that only those who are fully devoted are truly his followers. I'm sure that's what Platt is getting at. Although I consider myself fully devoted, I certainly haven't given up *all* worldly pleasures (I like sports, movies, concerts, plays, food, parties, music, etc.) nor all worldly relationships (I actually like having friends and doing things with them). But I would still say that I fit into Jesus's 4 categories.