How much was it your decision to know God? Answer - none. You can’t know God unless He lets you. Whoever has foreknowledge has the power and decides the terms and conditions of meeting. Let’s say you don’t know anything about me but I have foreknowledge of you. I have gained access to all your files and done 24-hour surveillance. I know your tax file number, what you look like, where you live, what you do, the places you go, the stores you shop at, the food you like, your daily routine, where you will be and what time you will be there. I know everything there is to know about you. Because of my knowledge, for us to meet would be totally my decision; you have no say in it. You could walk past me in the street and even look at my face but still have no idea who I am even though I know everything about you. You could stand right next to me in a line at the supermarket but unless I reveal myself to you, you cannot know me. I decide when, where and how we meet or even if we meet at all. That’s the power of foreknowledge.
God has foreknowledge. In fact, He has all knowledge. There is nothing in the past, present or future He doesn’t know about. He knew us before we were born, before the foundation of the world. He knows every decision we will make. The future holds no secrets. But the most astounding thing is this: He knows every bad, evil and despicable thing we have done and will do. Why is that most astounding? It is because after knowing that He still revealed Himself! ‘But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).’ How great His love must be! No wonder the Psalmist says ‘His love endures forever’. If all the bad stuff He knows did not turn Him away, what does that say about God’s terms for acceptance? God’s terms for accepting us are simple - come as you are. There is nothing we can do or say either now or in the future to change that. He accepts us just as we are.
Ephesians 2:8-9, ‘For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast’. We have nothing to do with our salvation. Even the ability to believe, like the ability to see and hear, is given to us by God. In a way, becoming a Christian had nothing to do with you; it was not your choice. It’s not like you were at the horse races and picked the winner. God picked you! This is why the Bible talks about boasting. If it has anything to do with us we will always boast. Think what people do when the horse THEY picked wins The Melbourne Cup. They aren’t exactly humble about it, are they? They brag about their choice. You must be humble when you realise how salvation came to you because it is all God.
It’s all God. We don’t initiate anything. The Bible is clear; it is only because of His grace. My salvation is a gift from God. I did nothing! He even gave me the faith to believe. By now we should all feel secure, privileged, special, chosen; some of us may even feel a bit smug. We aren’t responsible for anything! So we say, ‘It’s all God, it’s all grace’, as we settle into our big soft lounge chair of ‘eternal security’. Then Jesus says two words that change everything, ‘Follow Me’. The moment those words were spoken our will entered the equation and the conditions were stated. The terms and conditions of the Christian life are clear. The ‘terms’ - come as you are; the ‘conditions’ - follow me.
‘Follow Me’ were the first words Jesus said when He was choosing His disciples (see Matthew 4:19). Jesus never forced any of His disciples to follow Him; it was something they did of their own free will. They had no say in the act of being chosen, but God in His sovereignty, awarded them the freedom to be a disciple - a follower of Jesus. We are His disciples and just like the first twelve it means we are chosen, set apart. But God has given to us the responsibility to follow. You can choose not to follow but it still doesn’t change the fact you are chosen. Judas was as much one of the chosen as James was. It was in the way they followed that made the difference.
What do the words ‘follow me’ actually mean? A look through the New Testament reveals the massive impact those two words had on people’s lives. ‘Follow Me’ cost people their jobs, their family, their social position, their money, their will, their freedom…. their life. Believing is not the hard bit; everyone seems to believe in God, even the demons. In Mark 10 a rich young ruler came to Jesus and asked how he could ‘inherit eternal life’. Verses 21-22 say, ‘Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me”. But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions’. Believing in Jesus was not a problem for the rich young ruler; it was ‘follow Me’ that caused Him to walk away. Jesus was not suggesting that good deeds and benevolence are the way to salvation. He was making the point that only those who follow Him will inherit eternal life.
If you agree to follow Jesus, make no mistake, you will take up a cross and it will cost you. So why follow Jesus if it costs so much? Why do people take up this cross and suffer for it? Why is there a ‘Foxe’s Book of Martyrs’? These questions are best answered by a paradox. Jesus said in Matthew 10:39, ‘…he who loses his life for My sake will find it’. The only way to get a life is to lose it. Don’t ask me how or why it works, it just does. It’s a divine, eternal law that you can’t by-pass.
By revealing Himself to you God has made it clear that He loves you and has chosen you. The ‘terms’ show us God’s amazing grace - simply come, just as you are. You can’t earn forgiveness or acceptance by trying harder. The ‘conditions’, on the other hand, show us our responsibility to follow. It’s not about perfection, it’s about obedience in following Jesus. There will be no ‘believers’ in heaven, only followers, people who took up their cross.
(All Bible quotes from the NKJV)