What if the Apostle Paul instructed you to follow him? Would you? Or would you reply, "I am not to follow a man. I am only to follow Christ." It is interesting that in the same epistle Paul instructs the Corinthians to not follow him and to follow him! ‘For when one says, "I follow Paul," and another, "I follow Apollos," are you not merely being human?' (1 Cor 3:4, ESV) Then in the very next chapter Paul writes, "For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. I urge you, then, be imitators of me." (1 Cor 4:15b-16)

Why am I even bringing this up? Simply put, we must be on guard about making blanket statements dogmatically apply to everyone in every situation. A familiar example would be when someone appears to be attached to a particular minister. In fact, this is what was occurring in 1 Cor 3. Well-meaning friends may suggest to that individual that he is not following Christ, but rather following a man, the minister. This blog is directed to those "well-meaning" friends. The person you are seeking to counsel may in fact be following the Lord via the means of following a spiritual leader. Listen to the instruction of Hebrews 13:7. "Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the Word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith."

I recall teaching on this very verse and an older gentleman emphatically declared that he would not follow anyone other than Christ. I attempted to demonstrate to him that this was indeed a scriptural teaching, and his disagreement was not with me but with Scripture. Still, he boldly asserted that he would only follow Christ. So I went on to instruct the rest of the audience with the rest of the lesson. Sadly, this man simply couldn't grasp a simple biblical truth because he was dogmatically applying another biblical truth to all situations.

So the question remains. When would it be biblically commended to follow another believer, and when would the Bible condemn following a man instead of following Christ? Let me offer two guidelines for consideration.

• 1. Are you following another believer because he is gifted in feeding others the truths of the Bible? Or are you following this person as your source of spiritual life and nourishment? Christ alone is our source. We only follow others as they are able to lead us to the source. They must not be viewed by us as our source, but as our means to the source, Christ.
• 2. Are you following a believer as one who is an example of faith or one who inspires you to pursue holiness? Or does your day-by-day walk of faith depend upon your relation to this person? Christ alone is our source of faith and grace. We only follow others as demonstrations of what occurs in lives devoted to Christ. Our dependence for faith, strength, and grace rests solely in Christ.

It is ok to have heroes. I have spiritual heroes in my life. I believe it is healthy. It is good to see the Scripture come alive in a person's life. And it is fine to be inspired and encouraged to imitate that person's walk with the Lord, as long as the goal is to become like Christ and not like that person.