The Bible is clear that leaving everything behind is a requirement for all disciples of Jesus. As He said to the rich young ruler, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give it to the poor, and you will have a treasure in heaven; and come and follow me” (Matthew 19:21). This is not just a requirement for the rich young ruler, but for all of us who follow Jesus. We must leave behind the principles of the doctrine of Christ and move towards perfection, without once again laying the foundations of repentance for dead works and of faith in God (Hebrews 6:1).
It is not enough to simply say goodbye to the things and interests of the world. We must actively choose to leave them behind. We must choose to skip the evening church service or Bible study to watch the Super Bowl game. We must choose to leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and move towards maturity, without once again laying the foundations of repentance for dead works and faith in God, nor of instruction on washing, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment (Hebrews 6:1-2).
We are called to do this because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us with an example so that we can follow in his footsteps (1 Peter 2:21). We must keep our lives free from the love of money and be content with what we have, because He has said: “I will never leave you or abandon you” (Hebrews 13:5). The Bible contains many verses about leaving behind everything. Here are 102 verses from the Bible about leaving behind, ordered from most to least relevant.
All quotes from the Scriptures, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, the standard version in English.
