A True Follower of Jesus Christ

What we say isn't nearly as convincing as what we do to show we are genuinely following Jesus Christ.

Oct 09, 2024

There’s a beautiful little video running around the internet making fun of those who claim the original apostles and followers of Christ were all lying to get ahead. They lied about the resurrection so they could be “powerful.”

Well, if that were true, they were a bunch of idiots because every one of them, except for St. John, died a martyr’s death. They were hunted, beaten, jailed, hated, driven from place to place, emptied of their wealth, and eventually arrested and killed for refusing to deny Christ. Even John, who died of old age, was arrested, tortured, and exiled. But none of the Apostles ever denied Christ after His resurrection.

The scoffers of Christianity insist all these witnesses lied or were deluded, and then spent the rest of their lives preaching what they knew was a lie, or worse, they were all deluded about the Man Jesus, and every one of them suffered for this belief in Christ.

As I’ve always said, it takes more “faith” to be an atheist than to be a follower of Jesus Christ.

But what of these heroes of our faith? Let’s learn how and why these men braved hardship, persecution, rejection, and death to serve Jesus Christ.

Look at our lesson today in 1 Corinthians 4:9-16:

Brethren, God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death; because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels and to men. We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute. To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are ill-clad and buffeted and homeless, and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we try to conciliate; we have become, and are now, as the refuse of the world, the off-scouring of all things. I do not write this to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. I urge you, then, be imitators of me.

St. Paul is about to teach his spiritual children in Corinth a valuable lesson IF they are humble enough and brave enough (by the way, notice humility and bravery are always companions. Always. True humility is always bravery and true bravery is always humble!) to embrace this powerful wisdom.

Paul spends the whole passage comparing his situation with his spiritual children in the Church of Corinth. And he makes sure they understand the reality of their place and his place.

If you had to choose, I bet you wouldn’t choose St. Paul’s situation.

That’s because St. Paul wants to illustrate to the Corinthian Christians that the Faith isn’t about making them “happy” or “comfortable.” The Faith is about making them resilient, strong, consistent, and faithful. The Faith is about making them “new creatures.”

In each comparison, St. Paul is clearly the “loser” according to the wealthy and prosperous Corinthians. The apostles are “a spectacle” to both angels and men. The apostles are fools for Christ, but the Corinthians are “wise” according to the world’s standards. Paul says he is “weak” but the Corinthians are “strong” by all appearances. Paul is hungry, they are well-fed. Paul is homeless, reviled, persecuted, and slandered. And how does Paul respond?

Here is the lesson St. Paul wants his spiritual children to learn from the life of their spiritual father.

Paul does the opposite of his treatment. Persecution is met with endurance. Slander is met with conciliation. Paul blesses even those who revile him. And the lesson is clear.

A True Follower of Jesus Christ always looks beyond the moment to the eternal.

A True Follower of Christ looks past the temporary faults of their “enemies” to the image of God that every person who ever lived possesses. And the True Follower in Christ refuses to return evil for evil. Revenge isn’t in the heart of the True Follower of Christ.

And then Paul reveals his heart to his spiritual children. “I do not write this to make you ashamed.” St. Paul isn’t throwing a pity party or trying to get sympathy from the Corinthians. He writes this way to admonish (a fancy word that means “strongly encouraged”) his spiritual children to take on his way of dealing with external circumstances. And this is because if they are humble enough and brave enough to react this way to how others treat them, they will always be free no matter what happens to them!

The Apostle James, the son of Alphaeus, was one of the original twelve disciples of Jesus and the brother of St. Matthew, the Evangelist. St. James was there through the life of Christ and witnessed His resurrection. He was there on the Day of Pentecost when the Lord empowered His disciples to obey the command of Christ to “go into all the world and preach the Gospel.” St. James traveled with St. Andrew, St. Peter’s older brother, through Judeah, Edessa, Gaza, and Eleutheropolis, making disciples and healing the sick. He was crucified by pagans in Ostrachina, Egypt, before the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD.

Today, are you stuck in a mood that results from being a slave to other people’s opinions of you? Are you constantly reacting to life instead of living free because of the peace in your heart? It’s time to reject living your life as a slave to external circumstances and start living a Normal Orthodox Life!!

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Fr. Barnabas Powell is the parish priest at Sts. Raphael, Nicholas, and Irene Greek Orthodox Church in Cumming, GA. He is also the founder of Faith Encouraged Ministries and produces the Faith Encouraged Daily Devotional on Substack. Watch the Faith Encouraged YouTube Channel here - https://www.youtube.com/@FaithEncouragedTV