"YOU FOLLOW ME"
A Sermon by Rev. Frederick M. Chapin
"Jesus said to [Peter], `If I will that he remain till I come,
what is that to you? You follow Me'" (John 21:22).
Many times while the Lord was in the world He asked
various people to follow Him. He warned that this would
require sacrifice and hardships. On one occasion the Lord told
one perspective follower, "Foxes have holes and birds of the
air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His
head" (Matt. 8:20). However, along with the warnings of sac-
rifice the Lord also gave a promise of happiness to His
followers. He assured them that they would be on a clear path
that would lead them to the greatest joy possible. For
example, the Lord promised, "I am the light of the world. He
who follows Me shall not walk in darkness but have the light
of life" (John 8:12). Despite the hardships the Lord promised
all a life of true happiness that would be clear and obvious.
Many chose not to follow the Lord. They realized they
would have to give up things they enjoyed. Certain changes
would have to be made, and things could not proceed as they
had before. This was too much of a sacrifice for many to make.
One such young man demonstrated the unwillingness to give up
things he enjoyed. When told by the Lord to give his posses-
sions to the poor, he went away sorrowful because he could not
bring himself to perform such an act. Many today, like this
man, are unwilling to follow the Lord in His Word because they
do not wish to break away from the selfish loves that give
them enjoyments.
However, some did in fact choose to follow the Lord.
Many, without hesitation, left the life they were accustomed
to and went with the Lord, uncertain where He would lead them.
They were able to heed the Lord's call because they perceived
that the Lord could lead them to a greater happiness than what
they were experiencing before. They were able to look beyond
the sacrifices they had to make and see that the alternatives
would be far more enjoyable than the loves and delights they
previously had. We today are to have faith and confidence that
the Lord will guide us to heavenly joys and delights. And the
confidence or vision of the state where the Lord will take us
will be the means of looking beyond the trials and temptations
which we must go through. Certainly those that were willing to
respond to the Lord's invitation had such a vision that the
Lord would lead them to what was best for them.
However, not everyone that affirmatively obeyed the
Lord's call did so for the right reason. Just because they
were willing to accompany the Lord in His ministry did not
necessarily mean they were willing to turn from their selfish
practices. For example, Judas Iscariot was one of the Lord's
disciples, yet as he is portrayed in the gospels, he did not
actively receive the Lord's message but remained in the same
loves and desires as before the Lord's call to him. The Lord
also directly addressed the fact that not everyone who fol-
lowed Him would do so for honest and sincere reasons. Some
would have strictly selfish motives for accompanying the Lord.
The Lord explained this when He said, "Not everyone who says
to Me, `Lord, Lord' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he
who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me
in that day, `Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name,
cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your
name?' And then I will declare to them, `I never knew you;
depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.'" (Matt. 7:21-
23). Therefore, not everyone who practices generous deeds is
necessarily a part of the Lord's kingdom. It is possible for
someone to live a good life only for the sake of self and
nothing more. Such are associated with the church on earth but
are not a part of it.
Peter, a prominent disciple of the Lord, also showed two
ways in which we can follow the Lord. The Lord told Peter to
follow Him on two separate occasions. The first was when the
Lord was just beginning His public ministry. At that time,
when the Lord told Peter to follow Him, he and his brother
Andrew immediately dropped their fishing nets and followed the
Lord (see Matt. 4:18,19). Peter was not concerned who else
might follow the Lord. Nor was he bothered about his assign-
ment and how it would compare with the rest of the disciples.
He was only thinking about what the Lord wanted him to do.
However, on the second occasion Peter showed a different atti-
tude in following the Lord. This time the Lord was completing
His ministry on the earth when He told Peter again to follow
Him. And when Peter turned and saw John with Him, he was
bothered by this. He seemed to be envious of the relationship
John had with the Lord. Therefore, there was more of self-
involvement in Peter's following the Lord than on the first
occasion. Since there was more of self involved, there was
also more jealousy in Peter. This jealousy caused Peter to
look at John with contempt. Thus Peter in his first response
showed the genuine way in following the Lord. However, in his
second response he showed a following of the Lord that does
not lead to an active relationship with the Lord.
When there is the knowledge of what Peter and John spir-
itually represent, we can have a deeper insight as to what is
necessary to become true and genuine followers of the Lord.
Peter represents faith in the Lord. Peter consistently demon-
strated the confidence and the trust that the Lord's ways and
teachings were from the Divine. For example, Peter made the
bold confession to the Lord, "You are the Christ, the Son of
the living God" (Matt. 16:16). John represents love to the
Lord and charity toward the neighbor. John shows the willing-
ness, determination, and the commitment actually to apply the
Lord's teachings to life. John especially showed love to the
Lord when he leaned on the Lord's breast during the institu-
tion of the holy supper. Faith must be conjoined with charity
for a person to become a true follower of the Lord. When faith
is separated from charity, the person is not willing to
receive the Lord's operations into his life. Peter showed the
tragic results of a faith that is not conjoined to a love from
the Lord when the Lord told him the second time to follow Him.
In this instance Peter had to turn around. This indicated that
Peter faced away from the Lord. Faith that is more concerned
about self than it is about a relationship with the Lord
actually has its back to the Lord. This faith is not interest-
ed in the benefits others may receive, only what it can enjoy.
In fact, if it perceives that another is receiving a greater
reward, it becomes jealous and fights against him. Just as
Peter became jealous of John and rebuked him, so is this faith
or confession of the Lord harsh and not accommodating toward
others.
We read of a similar happening in Genesis with the story
of Cain and Abel. Cain represents faith that is separated from
charity. Therefore, he became jealous of Abel, who represents
love to the Lord and charity toward the neighbor. If faith is
not conjoined to charity, it hates charity and seeks to
destroy it. If a person decides to comply with the Word only
because he sees self advantages, he too will squash any
willingness to sacrifice selfish desires for the benefit of
others. We can see the importance of the conjunction of faith
with charity when the representations of Peter and John become
known.
This is the reason the Lord answered Peter's rebuke: "If
I will that [John} remain till I come, what is that to you?
You follow Me" (John 21:22). In this statement there is the
implication to be more concerned about the Lord's operation on
earth than the benefits toward self. Peter was not to focus on
what he himself could benefit from following the Lord, but on
the part he could have in the establishment of the Lord's
kingdom on the earth. The only way we can apply this statement
of the Lord in our lives is if there is a conjunction of
charity and faith in us. This happens when the determination
that it is best to obey the Word is conjoined with the accept-
ance for the Lord to lead us where we can be the most useful.
The Writings further point out that we follow the Lord in
sincerity when we sincerely acknowledge the Lord in life (see
Life 66). We truly acknowledge the Lord as God when we have a
willingness to be led by Him (see AE 9:5).
There are four things we must have in order to truly
follow the Lord. First, we must simply shun evils as sins
against the Lord. Just as Peter left everything behind and
started a new life by following the Lord at his first calling,
so too must we be willing to leave our evil practices behind
and force ourselves not to indulge in evil delights. The Lord
taught the necessity of separating from evils when He said,
"If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself and
take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever desires to save
his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake
will find it" (Matt. 16:24, 25žemphasis added). We "deny our-
selves" by shunning or separating ourselves from affections,
thoughts, and actions that are against the Lord's Word. When
there is such a removal, we are becoming receptive of the
Lord's life directly affecting us. When we shun evils because
they are sins against the Lord, we then are able to obey the
teachings in the Word from the Lord's power, not our own.
That leads to the second necessity to acknowledge the
Lord sincerely: doing the Lord's commandments (see AE 864:2).
Our confession that the Lord is God becomes genuine and
sincere only if we are willing to live the life the Lord wants
us to live. The Lord clearly brought this out when He said,
"If you love Me, keep My commandments" (John 14:15). Believing
in the Lord, accepting that He alone gives life that leads to
everlasting happiness, acknowledging that He alone is God and
eternal life comes from Him alone is not independent from
compliance with His Word in our daily lives. A genuine
acknowledgment of the Lord as God will come when there is the
willingness to love, think, and act the way the Lord wants us
to.
When there is the desire to obey the Lord's commandments
in His Word, there will also be the desire to learn more about
the Lord. This is the third ingredient necessary to acknowl-
edge the Lord sincerely. If there is a genuine affection to
follow the Lord, there will be a hunger to know more about the
Lord and how He operates. The prophet Hosea brought this
spiritual hunger out when he wrote, "Let us know, let us
pursue the knowledge of the Lord. His going forth is estab-
lished as the morning; He will come to us like the rain, like
the latter and former rain to the earth" (6:3, emphasis
added). Only a person with a genuine desire to have the Lord
active in his life will continually seek to know more and more
things concerning the Lord.
And fourthly, before we can shun our evils as sins
against the Lord, do His commandments, and have the desire to
learn more about Him continually we must acknowledge our
dependency upon the Lord. If our acknowledgment of the Lord as
God is to be sincere, we must honestly realize that we simply
cannot become spiritual without Him (see AE 864). When we
arrive at that realization, we can honestly choose to allow
the Lord to work in us. If a person believes that he does not
need the Lord in all areas of his life, then his acknowledg-
ment of the Lord is not pure, and he is not a genuine follower
of the Lord.
These four thingsžshunning evils as sins, doing the
Lord's commandments, the desire to learn more about the Lord,
and the realization of our dependency on Himžare all required
if our acknowledgment of the Lord is to become sincere. If
they are present in our lives, we are true followers of the
Lord. And the internal joys we receive from such a life will
allow us to be satisfied with our lot and what is given to us.
When we are so content, we will be like Peter the first time
the Lord told him to follow, and we will heed the Lord's words
to him the second time: "If I will that he remain till I come,
what is that to you? You follow Me" (John 21:22). Amen.
Lessons: Matt. 4:18-25, AC 1737
Preached in Baltimore, Maryland, June 11, 1989Arcana Coelestia 1737
Who hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. That this
signifies victory may be seen without explication. The
conjunction of the Human Essence with the Divine Essence was
procured and effected by the Lord by continual combats of
temptations and victories, and this from His own power. He who
apprehends the mode of the conjunction and union in any other
way is much mistaken. By this He became righteousness. The
conjunction or union was effected with the celestial of love,
that is with love itself, which, as before said, is Jehovah.
The conjunction of men with the Lord is also effected by
temptations and by the implanting of faith in love. Unless
faith is implanted in love, that is, unless a man by the
things that are of faith receives the life of faith, that is,
charity, there is no conjunction. This alone is to follow Him,
namely, to be conjoined with the Lord just as the Lord as to
His Human Essence was conjoined with Jehovah. Hence also all
such are called "sons of God," from the Lord who was the only
Son of God, and hence they become images of Him.