“How to Be an Almost Follower of Christ”
Luke 9:57-62
May 10, 2026
There is a kind of follower of Christ who is not a follower of Christ.
Consider the crowds that followed Jesus; on one occasion, after He taught of the necessity of believing solely in Him and the Spirit’s role in bringing them to faith and the Father’s call of all who believe, John says, “As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore” (6:66).
Or consider the man who made the claim to Jesus that he had kept the entire Law — what more did he have to do to inherit eternal life? When Jesus told him, “sell all that you possess and distribute it to the poor,” Luke tells us that “he became very sad, for he was extremely rich” (Lk. 18:22-23).
Or consider a more recent example, the atheist Anthony Flew who announced a few years before he died that he had become a theist. A reporter for a Christian journal interviewed him:
“Flew has had to assure former students that he does not now believe in revealed religion. ‘Even one of my daughters asked if this meant we were going to say grace at meals,’ he said. ‘The answer is no.’ Flew is also quick to point out that he is not a Christian. ‘I have become a deist like Thomas Jefferson.’… To make things perfectly clear, he told me: ‘I understand why Christians are excited, but if they think I am going to become a convert to Christ in the near future, they are very much mistaken.’ ‘Are you Paul on the road to Damascus?’ I asked him. ‘Certainly not.’”
Flew died in that unbelief. There is a kind of follower who is not a follower of Christ. And as Christ more actively makes His way to Jerusalem to die, He again challenges the crowds following Him to genuinely follow Him. We summarize Luke 9:57–62 this way —
To follow Christ, give up anything (everything) to gain Him.
Following Christ is believing Christ. And to believe Christ means we want Him more than we want anything else. We will give up all to have Him (v. 23; Mt. 13:44-46). Like the parable of the sower and the soils (8:4-15), this passage is not just a call to follow but a call to self-examination — what is the state of my following? Am I following Christ according to His standards or according to my desires? It’s common to presume that one is a follower of Christ when he is not; while Jesus and Luke make no comment about the responses of the three individuals in this passage, it is safe to assume that like the rich young ruler (18:22-23) these men did not actually trust and follow Christ. In this passage we see three pathways to almost follow Christ (but not be a true follower of Christ)…
- To Almost Follow Christ, Prioritize Comfort (v. 57-58)
- To Almost Follow Christ, Prioritize Cash (vv. 59-60)
- To Almost Follow Christ, Prioritize Communion (vv. 61-62)
Download the rest of this sermon on Luke 9:57-62.
Path at Azekah in Israel.
The audio will be posted on the GBC website by Tuesday.
Words of Grace 