I have often thought that the body of Christ is a lot like a soda fountain, with various denominations representing different flavors. Despite our differences, we are all united by the carbonated message of salvation through Jesus Christ alone. For example, Catholics could be seen as Classic Coke, mainline Evangelicals as Diet Coke, Baptists as Sprite, Presbyterians as Root Beer, and our Charismatic/Pentecostal brothers and sisters as Orange Fanta. At the heart of our beliefs lies the fundamental truth: That Jesus came to earth as God in human form. He lived a perfect life and offered it as a sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins, and this offer of salvation is extended to all who believe in Him.

With that simple exchange, you become a Christian. From that moment on, your life should increasingly reflect the nature of the God who created you and loved you so much He offered His Son as the sole mediator between you and your heavenly home. You have been bought with a price, and with that, the process of sanctification should begin.

Yet the false Christ of our day, New Age Jesus, Progressive Jesus and Life Coach Jesus, would have you believe that you can follow Jesus on your own terms. That you don’t need to really change you can keep living life however you want because Jesus “understands you” and isn’t expecting anything else then for you to acknowledge that He is real.

I think this belief system is best epitomized in the “He Gets Us” Super Bowl ad campaigns that depicted people washing the feet of those actively living in sin. The trouble with imagery like this is that it conflates biblical imagery and a half truth. Did Jesus love, heal and care for all people, absolutely, yet He also exhorted them to go and “sin no more.”

It is also important to note that Jesus only washed the feet of his disciples – not the feet of his followers. He had thousands upon thousands of followers. In scripture we see many accounts of the gospel writers recording the record size crowds Jesus attracted. Unlike the modern church who builds huge marketing machines to attract the masses when Jesus was faced with ever growing crowds he did something counter intuitive to what the church does today – he began to say things that thinned out the crowd. Why? Because Jesus didn’t want followers. He wanted disciples.

Jesus makes a big distinction between followers and disciples. In Luke 12:1 the author paints a picture of an overwhelming crowd, so vast and eager to hear Jesus, that they were trampling one another just to be near Him. Thousands had come to see his acts of healing, miraculous deeds, and hear his teachings. Similarly, Luke 14:25 records “great multitudes” accompanying Jesus – meaning many large crowds. What’s striking is amidst the sea of followers, those who had witnessed His wonders and hung on His words, Jesus draws a line in the sand. He doesn’t water down the teaching, he isn’t communicating a “he gets us” message… no in Luke 14:25 He says:

“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.” “And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it— lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish’? Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple. – Luke 14: 25 -33 

With the crowds surging around him we see Jesus introduce a challenging concept: to be His disciple, you need to HATE your father, mother, children, brothers, and sisters. I don’t believe He’s advocating for literal hatred. Instead, He employs language to emphasize that your devotion to Him should be supreme, to have him placed so far above every other relationship in your life that it pales in comparison to any other, even your own life (your wants and desires.)

Next, Jesus underscores the importance of understanding and accepting the cost of discipleship. He says plainly, “And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.” This call to “bear” your own cross is intertwined with the concept of forsaking your own life for His. It mirrors the willingness to endure hardship, sacrifice, and even persecution in pursuit of Jesus. It also highlights YOUR action of coming after him not just Him coming after you.

I imagine that as he said these things the thousands of followers began dwindling. Packing up their things heading home thinking, “this is too much,” “I can not hate my family,” “I have a good job,” or “I really love my life I can’t give it up.”

Yet, for those that remained they understood that following Jesus would cost them something. Following Jesus costs you your will, your desires, your relationships, and your comfort.

Jesus layers more into this teaching by talking about the cost of choosing a life of discipleship. He uses two metaphors to illustrate his point, asking, “Who among you, planning to build a tower, doesn’t first sit down to calculate the expense, ensuring you have the resources to complete it?” Similarly, He asks, “Which king, about to engage in battle, doesn’t first deliberate whether his ten thousand can confront the opposing twenty thousand?” These examples serve to underscore a critical message: discipleship requires deliberate consideration and preparation, akin to a builder planning a construction or a king strategizing for war.

Jesus concludes with the crescendo of his teaching, “whoever of you does not renounce all that he has cannot be My disciple.” Here we see that Jesus is looking for disciples. Even more evidence that his desire is for disciples is his final commandment to the apostles before he ascends into heaven, “Go and make Disciples of Nations,”

Don’t let the False Christs of our day lull you into just being a “follower” of Jesus. Biblical Jesus asks for much more then that. We are called to a life of radical commitment and devotion to the Lord.

Initially, we might find ourselves in the follower phase, drawn by the allure of something genuine and transformative, as being around Jesus introduces you to new ways of life and fills you with awe but at some point there is a moment. There is a knocking. There is a commissioning. There is call. There is a choice… to move from faithful follower to dedicated disciple.

Let me say it as a Millennial for a Gen. Z audience, if all your doing is passively consuming Jesus’ social media feed you are not living the Christian life. Jesus doesn’t want followers, He wants brand ambassadors. He doesn’t want consumers of His content He wants creators. You need to move from views and likes to shares and duets because true discipleship requires us to go beyond mere observation and enthusiasm. It demands a pivotal decision to fully surrender our lives to Jesus, embarking on a journey, where we choose God’s ways over our own desires.

I think true discipleship is what LOVING Jesus looks like. What is so fantastic about the Bible is that it clearly tells us so many things. In John 14:21 Jesus’ tells us exactly what loving Him should look like. He says: “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him. Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, ‘Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?’ Jesus answered and said to him, ‘If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.’”

What are His commandments? Jesus summarizes His commandments in Matthew 22:36-40 as, “‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” This obedience to his commandments is not about legalistic adherence but a manifestation of our love for Him and, by extension, the Father. This love is not passive; it actively involves keeping His word, thereby inviting His presence into your life daily.

Despite the False Christ misconceptions of today, Jesus did not come to abolish the Law but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17). His fulfillment of the law does not give us license to do whatever we want or live however we want. His fulfillment of the Law opened the way for us to be reconciled with God, not through our efforts but through faith in Him. As Paul explains, the Law served as a tutor to lead us to Christ, but now that we are in Christ, we are no longer under the tutor but under the grace and guidance of the law of Christ (Galatians 3:23–25).

Living the life of discipleship and actively adhering to Jesus’ commandments isn’t just one aspect of the Christian life—it’s the essence of it. It stands in stark contrast to the misrepresentations of Jesus perpetuated by ideologies like New Age Jesus, Progressive Jesus, and Life Coach Jesus. These distorted views suggest that Jesus abolished the law so we can indulge in self-centered pursuits without consequence.

But true discipleship paints a different picture. It challenges the half-truths in a “He Get’s Us” ideology by embracing the fullness of Jesus’ teachings, including His call to “go and sin no more.” It’s about recognizing that following Jesus isn’t just about receiving grace; it’s about responding to that grace with a transformed life. At its core, true discipleship offers something far greater than mere growth and obedience. It invites us into a profound journey of surrender and alignment with God’s will, where our lives become a testament to His transcendent power.