Cross Road

Baptist Church

© 2017

Sermon Text

Imitators of God

1. Therefore, be imitators of God as dear children.

2. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling aroma.

Ephesians 5:1-2

Looks can be Deceiving

Several years ago, there was a great deal of hype over cubic zirconia as being beautiful as diamonds at a fraction of the cost. The only problem was that the cubic zirconia was not a diamond and no matter what it looked like it would always be an imitation. When the world looks at the Christian, do they see a real diamond or a cheap imitation? When they look for examples of true humility and genuine dedication, what do they see? Christ has called us to be the real thing as we share His nature and His character. The Holy Spirit will not settle for anything less than the best. So what do Imitators of God actually look like?

The wording of Paul’s statement directs us to dig deeper in order to understand what it means to be an Imitator of God. With that being said, it is necessary to consider both the benefits and the barriers to being an Imitator of God.

Apostle Paul is strongly arguing that whoever you follow will show in your actions. In ancient times, students or disciples would follow their teacher from place to place. This is why the word ‘imitators’ or ‘followers’ is used in the text. Whatever the teacher did, the student would repeat as an act of honor to the teacher. This often meant ‘putting off’ certain habits and attitudes and ‘putting on’ the attitudes and habits of the teacher. In Ephesians 4:20-22, Paul says, but you have not so learned Christ… if so be that you have been taught by Him… that you put off... the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts. There were certain things that good students would stop doing as a result of showing respect and devotion to their teacher. Then Apostle Paul stated that we should put on the new man which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness, Verse 24. And be kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake has forgiven you, verse 32. Lest the student should then assume to have graduated from the Grace of God, Paul connects this as a continuous process. Therefore, be imitators of God as dear children. Whenever the Believer ceases to follow, they will also cease to be like Christ. This introduces a dynamic principle to us as followers of Christ. First, in order to be a good follower, our Teacher must always be with us. In the absence Jesus Christ as our Teacher, all our knowledge is worthless. That is why Jesus promises that He will never leave us nor forsake. Lo, I Am with you always even until the end of the age. Matthew 28:20.

The second dynamic principle is that of transformation. Unlike those students that followed their teachers, we become like our teacher. The more we follow Christ, the more we become like Him. That is the heart of this message and the miracle of being a Christ follower. We shall be like Him. This transformation sets our faith in a class by itself. There is no other teaching that speaks of God’s power operating in the believer’s life and changing them from the inside out.

I shall be like Him – I shall see Him as He is

This raises an important question. What are the things we need to do in order to truly follow Christ? How do I account for my Christian service and demonstrate that I am truly following Christ? Christian service is not a human enterprise it is Divine in every way. In the same way that Christ saved us from sin, Christ is now leading us by the power of the precious Holy Spirit. The truth is we could not save ourselves from sin. That first truth being firmly established, it is equally true that we cannot transform our character. Christ is the transformer of our lives. I cannot settle with simply being saved by God. That would deny God access to the rest of my life. I must allow Him to lead me to a glorious life in Christ. Here is where the Church has fallen short on teaching about the indwelling Power of the Holy Spirit. God is present with us to transform us from practicing sin to that of living in righteousness.

We are to act like God in every thing we do. We are to demonstrate that God is truly working in and through our lives. The key is to imitate God. So what does that process look like?

Following begins with understanding. You cannot imitate what you do not understand. The text says As dear children. How do children learn? They learn by repetition and by mimicking their parents. When my children were little toddlers they would ask a question. Then I would give them an answer. Guess what happened after that? They would ask the same question again, and again. Guess what happened after that? They would then ask, “why?” They wanted to understand not only my words but to understand in their words. Often they would repeat words in order to learn. Then there were times when they would go to the closet and get a pair of my shoes and begin walking in them. What was that all about? They were mimicking their parents. In their childish minds, they were becoming like us through their actions. Please understand that unless we repeat Jesus words and seek to live out the things He tells us, we are not truly His disciples. Every time we practice the things Jesus has taught we are being obedient, pliant, and submissive to God’s will for our life. Christianity is not a box you check on a form, it is the actions you  and I perform as we follow Christ.

Yes, we learn as we follow and we develop our understanding of Christ by learning His Words and obeying. We also realize that we cannot imitate God without honoring Him. We are to Walk in love. People have motives for doing things. Greed can be a motivator. Envy can be a motivator. Neither of these motivations, however, would be acceptable before God. What greater bond than that of unconditional love! What greater expression toward our Great Teacher than to love Him with all our heart, mind, and soul! It is truly amazing what Paul did not say. He did not say “walk in power.” He did not say “walk in wisdom.” Nor did he say “walk in praise.” Paul challenged the believer to walk in love. If God so loved us, would it not be in order to reciprocate with love. Our ultimate response to God’s love is to love Him in return. There is no greater honor than that.

Thirdly, Paul states that we should love as Christ loved us. This completes the cycle of dynamic transformation. We become like God by allowing God’s love to not only flow to us, but through us and ultimately back to God. You can imitate God because you have His Power. As Christ loved us means the Holy Spirit is active in our lives. The Love of God burns within our heart and we allow that love to bless others. We express it by sharing with those in need and not thinking about whether we can afford it. We express that love of Christ by sharing the good news of what Christ has done for us. We express that love by honoring God with our obedience and our allegiance to His Glorious Kingdom. That’s Love.

Barriers to Following Christ

The fact is the transformation of our life will not come without trials. We will face trials and hindrances as we strive to become Imitators of God. There were barriers for all the Saints; you can rest assured that our generation will not be exempt from the struggles.

So what are the barriers? The first barrier is Satanic interference. The same enemy of our soul that fought to keep us from Salvation also seeks to keep us from faithfully following Christ. I think it is interesting that Satan tempted Jesus Christ after the Holy Spirit came upon our Lord. Was our Lord dedicated to the Father’s work? Absolutely. Was Jesus motivated to fulfill the work of Redemption? Absolutely. So why did Satan tempt Jesus? While there are more reasons than I have time or space to tell, there was one very obvious reason. Satan wanted to interfere and interrupt Jesus. Satan would have killed Jesus if he had the power. Satan is also an enemy to the Saints and would destroy us if he had the power. Nevertheless, God permits Satan to interfere with us, but we have overcome him by the Blood of the Lamb of God. So Satan’s temptation becomes an opportunity for us to grow and discover that greater is He who is in us than he that is in the world. We learn, as Paul says, to put on the whole armor of God. The Armor of God is not for decoration it is for battle.

Not only does Satan hinder our work, we also face the barrier of Self identity and Self recognition. It does not matter who it is, every one has a desire to be appreciated. Some call this validation of our worth. Whatever title it goes by, it is a strong human desire to identify ourselves as being worth something. For that reason, people have award shows and image awards. People love to be congratulated on achievements. Lately, this has gotten out of hand in the Church. Rather than being an opportunity to encourage, this has become a mutual gratulatory practice. We spend more time and energy patting each other on the back than we do in the fields bringing in the souls. Jesus put it this way, woe unto you when all men speak well of you, for the also spoke well of the false prophets. Those are strong words and yet they are needed. We must not allow our need for recognition hinder the cause of Christ. Remember that our true rewards are in Heaven not this earth. So let us continue to follow regardless of whether we feel appreciated. The thing that we have been called to do is deny self and not recognize self. Walking humbly with God is the key. Serving the Lord with gladness is the key. Showing gratitude to God every day is the key.

Lastly, there is the barrier of Social interruptions. This barrier is caused by people who either don’t understand what we are doing or who don’t like what we are doing. They will try to get everyone on their side in order to keep the Christian from living for God’s glory. In Jesus’ day the social interruptions came from the religious leaders. In our day, the social interruptions are coming from a society that has rejected God. This barrier can be overcome by following the advice of Peter who said, we must obey God and not man. In conclusion, God has planned for us to complete this journey. When we stand before Him, we shall not only see God – we shall be like Him.