Immediately They Followed Him

This section of Scripture speaks the message of the gospel of Christ, of our salvation, for it begins with a call to repent of (to die to) our sins and then is followed by a call to leave our old lives behind us and to follow Jesus Christ with our lives, without delay, without hesitation, but immediately when called of God. So this is not about lip service only. The disciples of Jesus didn’t respond to his call with, “I will follow you,” only then to remain where they were, still doing the same things that they had been doing every day. But they immediately left it all behind them to follow Jesus with their lives.

Do you see the parallel here? When our Lord calls us to repent of our sins and to follow him in obedience to his commands, by God-persuaded and God-gifted faith in him, which comes from God, and which is not of our own doing, we should immediately respond by surrendering our lives to him to do his will. We should, at that moment, choose to now die to sin and to obey God, and to do what pleases the Lord in surrender to his will, and to forfeit our old lives of living in sin and for self, which are controlled by the flesh, and not by God. For this is the divine will and purpose of God for our lives.

Yet we live in a day and age when this is not being taught much at all anymore. The vast majority appear to be teaching, instead, that we can just profess Jesus as Lord (Owner-Master) of our lives, convinced that all our sins are now forgiven, and that heaven is our eternal destiny, but without us immediately leaving our former lives of sin behind us to now follow our Lord in walks of obedience to his will and purpose for our lives. But if we don’t leave our lives of sin behind us to follow Jesus where he leads us, then we are not truly his, by faith in him, because we didn’t follow him with our lives.

So…

By God-gifted faith in Jesus Christ, which is not of our own doing, we are crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as slaves to righteousness in walks of obedience to God’s commands. We are no longer to permit sin to reign in our mortal bodies to make us obey its desires. For if sin is what we obey, it results in death. But if obedience to God is what we obey, it results in sanctification, and its end is eternal life with God (see Romans 6:1-23).

For Jesus Christ taught that to come to him we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin), and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to living in sin and for self, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, by the Spirit, and we walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in his power, then we have eternal life with God. For not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING (obeying) the will of God (see Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).

So, repent of your sins, and immediately leave your old lives of sin behind you, and now follow Jesus Christ with your lives in obedience to his will.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]

Seek the Lord

Based off Isaiah 55
Musical Instrumentation by Mark Bradley
An Original Work / July 20, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

“Come to Me all you who thirst; come to waters.
Listen to Me, and eat what’s good today,
And your soul will delight in richest of fare.
Give ear to Me, and you will live.
I have made an eternal covenant with you.
Wash in the blood of the Lamb.”

Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him.
Let the wicked forsake his way, in truth.
Let him turn to the Lord, and he will receive mercy.
Freely, God pardons him.
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,”
declares the Lord, our God.

“My word that goes out of My mouth is truthful.
It will not return to Me unfulfilled.
My word will accomplish all that I desire,
And achieve the goal I intend.
You will go in joy and be led forth in peace.
The mountains will burst into song… before you,
And all of the trees clap their hands.”


Immediately They Followed Him
An Original Work / July 12, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love