Was Jesus an Individualist?

Jesus did not cooperate with the religious leaders of His day. He was not an "in man." He could have joined the conservatives (the Pharisees) or the liberals (the Sadducees), but He simply ignored all current organization—religious or political. So Jesus was an individualist, right? Wrong!

Jesus was obedient to His heavenly Father in everything He said and did (John 14:10). In the end, that did not make Him many friends. The religious systems turned against Him and caused Him to be crucified. That was the price of not being submissive to the religious order of the day. Satan used every available pressure upon Him to turn Him from obeying His Father. And thus he does to us.

So when is a man an individualist? When he is lord of his life instead of walking in obedience to the Heavenly Father. Strong-willed people find it difficult to know whether they are an individualist or not. A self-willed person is most certainly is an individualist. An unsubmissive person is an individualist. The whole issue boils down to the question of who we are submitting to: is it self, a system, or God?

In the case of Jesus, He was submitted to God. That put Him at odds with the system. They hypocritically acknowledged that He did not have respect of persons and was doing the will of God (Mark 12:14). But "system" people never can truly accept that, so they said he had a devil. They tried their best to trick him into saying something that they might catch him in His words. Jesus had to be vilified and the system justified. Things have not changed much since then. Where do we stand in the scheme of things?

A man who rejects the system is an individualist unless he is unreservedly committed to do what pleases the Heavenly Father. So when a man walks with God in full obedience with heart, soul, mind, and strength he cannot rightly be called an individualist. Nevertheless, he will be called one by everyone who wants to bring him into bondage to themselves or their system, whether it be religious or otherwise. "Individualism" is a derogatory term used to bring people into bondage. But it can never be rightfully used for a true child of God.

While this understanding is necessary, we must be alert to the fact that our own hearts can deceive us. If we have not been crucified with Christ and risen again by the Spirit of God, we are a prime target for satanic power. On the other hand, men who walk with God will most certainly walk with other men who are filled with the Spirit of God. They will mutually challenge each other to walk in the ways of God. What a blessing for the man who finds himself in such a case.

Satan will most certainly try to confuse and intimidate us as he did with Jesus. We must always choose the way of faithfulness to God and His word regardless of the circumstances or the source. Since every man is religious and a worshiper of something, most of our temptations will come from human sources, whether through science falsely so called, philosophies, religious systems, etc. Jesus came to set us free, and we must maintain that freedom by faithfulness to Him. May the body of Christ walk in holiness and freedom.

—Silas Martin