Learning How to Imitate

My twin daughters love to imitate. Often they will hear Steph or I say something and they will try to say it right back to us. Or they try to imitate something they see another person do. It was so comical Saturday evening to watch the girls try their best (especially Elizabeth) to imitate their two-year-old neighbor friend, Hayden. It’s say to safe they have an intense desire to imitate what they see and hear in others and I’m sure all parents out there can relate. This is an important part of a child’s development and we can be thankful they have this God-given desire. This reminded me of the apostle Paul’s instructions regarding “imitation” in his New Testament epistles. He writes:

 

“I urge you then, be imitators of me.” (1 Corinthians 4:16) “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 11:1) “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.” (Ephesians 5:1) “Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.” (Philippians 3:17)

 

Apparently, this man was not shy about telling his readers not only to imitate the example of Christ, but also to imitate his life, as he followed Christ. How many of us would have the courage to say that? Not me. But Paul was a man of God who had one consuming passion – to know and follow Christ (Philippians 3:10-11). He wanted the life of Christ to so permeate his own life, that to follow Paul would be to follow Christ. As he explains, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Galatians 2:20).

 

It seems as though the older we get, the less we try to imitate others. When I was growing up I wanted to be a professional athlete and so I would try to imitate the pros. Obviously, not very well, but that didn’t matter to me. I figured that with enough practice, eventually I would “be like Mike” (remember the late 90’s Michael Jordan commercial?). That dream has long since died, but over the years the Lord has put godly men in my life who were worthy of imitation. They walked so closely with the Lord that it made we want to be like them, and to enjoy the same type of intimacy with Christ that they had.

 

It is priceless to watch Anna and Elizabeth attempt to imitate and copy what they see and hear. Often it’s their fallen, sinful, and (praise God) redeemed father they try to imitate. This is humbling to say the least and shows me how much responsibility we parents have. But how much more should we as Christians, attempt to imitate our Heavenly Father (1 Peter 1:16)? How much more should we try to “imitate Christ”?

 

If this post resonates with you, here are 3 things we can pray for:

 

1. That God would put people in our lives like Paul, who are worthy of imitation.
2. That God would make us worthy of imitation only because we walk close to the Lord.
3. That God would give us an intense desire to “imitate Christ.”

We Can’t Have a Foot in Both Worlds

David F. Wells:

 

“There is no doubt that we are now having to come back to some very basic Christian questions. Those who pursue their selves, with all their worldly and self-serving interests, lose their selves. Those who become like the world, and live for the world, end up like the world, but they are not liked by the world. Because they are hypocrites. Those who become poor in their own eyes, and before God, become rich. Those who forsake all things for Christ’s sake are given all things. Those who want to have a foot in both worlds lose their place in both.

 

As baffling as all of this may seem, as wrongheaded as it may seem, the fact is that there is no personal, Christian authenticity if we are playing the game by two sets of rules, one set from the Bible we claim to believe and the other set from the strategies we have devised for ourselves. We cannot claim to know God and not know that he is holy. We cannot say we know his truth and not know that we must forsake ourselves to be accepted by Christ. We cannot say we are born again and not show any signs of regeneration. We cannot run with the hares and yet imagine that we are hunting with the hounds.

 

The fact that the modern self is empty and disintegrating, that our (post)modern society is fragmented and fragile, presents biblical faith with a truly golden moment. A deep longing exists in our society to see the real thing, to see lives lived out that have authenticity, that have substance. This authenticity, however, has nothing to do with following the broken promises of the self movement, which is now simply bankrupt. It has everything to do with taking our place before a holy God, through Christ, in such a way that his character, as it were, reaches into our lives with both the restraint and the direction we need if we are to be restored. It is when this kind of thing happens that integrity is born. And with integrity come the salt and light of which our society stands in such great need.

 

Much in the world of our daily experience is not enduring. Its experiences are real, but their deepest reality is what parts good from what is bad. That adjudication is made in eternity, and so we live in the postmodern world not just as postmoderns, consumed by the present age, but as those who are of eternity and whose eyes are on the “age to come.” We live not simply as those born again, but as those who belong in God’s world, those who, by his grace, are to be a reminder in this fallen world that there is another world that will be there long after all the ravages of time have done their work and all that we now see in our world has passed away.”

 

Copied from pages 173-174 of “The Courage To Be Protestant” by David F. Wells.

Everyone Knows God

There is a universal knowledge of God. Every person on the planet has an awareness of the Creator God. Yes, even someone like Richard Dawkins, perhaps the most famous atheist in the world today, knows God. Some of you are unconvinced at this point so allow me to make my case.

 

The apostle Paul writes, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse” (Romans 1:18-20).

 

What Paul is saying is that God has revealed himself to all men through the medium of the created world. As we look at creation, it is almost as if there is an arrow pointed upward directing us to the Creator. In another well-known passage, David writes, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge” (Psalm 19:1-2). In other words, the creation speaks. It tells us of God and his handiwork. That’s why Paul says, “what can be known about God is plain” (Romans 1:19). You simply can’t miss it!

 

In the study of theology, we learn of two types of revelation, or two ways in which God reveals himself to humanity. These are general revelation, the kind already referred to above and, special revelation, the kind that comes to us through God’s Word, the Bible. As I already explained, general revelation points us to God. It tells us that the beauty we see in the created world is not an accident, even though many would have us believe that. Rather, it came to be through the creative power of the One who spoke the world into existence (Genesis 1). It is because of general revelation that Paul says, “they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20). On the Day of Judgment, no one will be able to accuse God of not sufficiently revealing himself. This is why Paul follows up by saying, “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God” (Romans 1:21). In short, they rejected the Creator God and they will die in their sins.

 

At this point you might be wondering about the “few” (Matthew 7:14) who don’t reject God? This is where special revelation comes into play. General revelation points us to God, but it is unable to tell us about God’s redemptive work through the Lord Jesus Christ. Hence, God wrote a book (2 Timothy 3:16) that we call the Bible.  As we read the Holy Scriptures, we are continually pointed to the saving work of Christ on the cross. In fact, Jesus once said, “it is they (the Scriptures) that bear witness about me” (John 5:39). So special revelation is entirely necessary because it teaches us how we can be reconciled to God through faith in Christ.

 

The bible is clear that everyone knows God. Unfortunately, not everyone responds appropriately to this knowledge. But for those who call upon the name of the Lord (Romans 10:13) and repent of their sins, they will be saved. They will have the amazing privilege of coming to a true “knowledge” of God. “Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known” (1 Corinthians 13:12).

 

Are you helping other Christian’s follow Jesus?

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.” (Matthew 28:19)

 

In the Great Commission, we find our marching orders. The mission of the church is to make disciples who make disciples who make disciples who…..you get the point. Jesus did not simply say this to the apostles. He did not simply say this to pastors and church leaders. He gave these instructions to all Christians for all time – to go and make disciples. One way to personalize this would be to ask – are you helping other Christians follow Jesus? This is a simple but important question.

 

Next Sunday in church, take a look at the people sitting next to you in the pew. These are your brothers and sisters in Christ and you are responsible and accountable to them. The writer of Hebrews tells us, “And let us consider how to stir one another to love and good works” (Hebrews 10:24). Our desire for “one another” should be that we are more in love with Jesus this week than we were last week. More in love with Jesus this month than we were last month. And more in love with Jesus in 2012 than in 2011. As we grow in our love for Jesus, it always translates into “love and good works” and we delight to see the increase of this in other Christians.

 

It is truly remarkable how much influence we have on one another – both for good and for bad. Someone who is pursuing hard after God can fuel the fire in the hearts of those around him. Unfortunately, it works the other way as well. A Christian who is stagnant and not diligently pursuing God can tame the fire in the heart of a fellow believer. Even something like spreading gossip can have a destructive impact on a fellow believer and actually hinder their walk with the Lord. So ask yourself; what kind of influence I am having on the Christian’s around me? Do they see someone who is growing more in love with Christ? Or I am I being a tool of Satan and spreading negative influence?

 

Question: if we are responsible and accountable to one another in the Body of Christ, what do we do when we see a brother or sister who is stagnant in their walk with the Lord? Most of the time we do nothing and this is tragic. But if we truly care for them and love them, then we need to check in from time to time and even challenge them. Ask – how is your walk with the Lord? Are you staying in the Word? Are you killing the sin in your life? I realize this is hard because we live in such a privatized world where we never feel the right to challenge anyone else. But at the end of the day, I want to be able to say that I did my best to help the Christians around me to follow Jesus and sometimes that involves challenging them in their walk with God.

 

Friend, are you helping other Christian’s follow Jesus? What’s great is that as you help them to follow Jesus, they can help other people follow Jesus. Disciples making disciples. This was the Master’s plan all along. It is true that sometimes this process does not move along as fast as ‘we’ would like, but the plan has work marvelously for 2000 years, so why change it? Just do your best to help others follow Jesus and then trust “the Lord of the harvest” (Luke 10:2) to do His good work.

How “Not” To Think Like A Missionary

1. Have the attitude, “I’ll let someone else go.”
2. Stop believing that the task of missions is urgent.
3. Conclude that the suffering involved in missions is not worth it.
4. Tell yourself, “I’m inadequate to serve the Lord in this way.”
5. Believe the lie that all those who perish apart from believing in the gospel, will be ok in the end.
6. Think that “lifestyle evangelism” is enough and that you will never have to open your mouth.
7. Be any less than totally reliant on the power of the Holy Spirit.
8. Believe that because you went on a mission’s trip that you are not required to “go” across the street to your neighbor who doesn’t know Jesus.
9. Stop believing that God has “many in this city who are my people” (Acts 18:10).
10. Think that missions is only for crazy, radical, sold-out for Jesus kind of people who go overseas and have to learn a new language.

Every Story Whispers His Name

Almost every evening, our family reads from the Jesus Storybook Bible. If you have young children, I would heartily commend this book to you. I think Steph and I have enjoyed it more than Elizabeth and Anna. Just to give you a taste of the Jesus Storybook Bible, the following is an excerpt from the beginning of the book.

 

God wrote, “I love you” – He wrote it in the sky, and on earth, and under the sea. He wrote his message everywhere! Because God created everything in his world to reflect him like a mirror – to show us what he is like, to help us know him, to make our hearts sing. The way a kitten chases her tail. The way red poppies grow wild. The way a dolphin swims. And God put it into words, too, and wrote it in a book called “the Bible.”

 

Now, some people think the Bible is a book of rules, telling you what you should and shouldn’t do. The Bible certainly does have rules in it. They show you how life works best. But the Bible isn’t mainly about you and what you should be doing. It’s about God and what he has done.

 

Other people think the Bible is a book of heroes, showing you people you should copy. The Bible does have some heroes in it, but most of the people in the Bible aren’t heroes at all. They make some big mistakes (often on purpose). They get afraid and run away. At times they are downright mean.

 

No, the Bible isn’t a book of rules, or a book of heroes. The Bible is most of all a Story. It’s an adventure story about a young Hero who comes from a far country to win back his lost treasure. It’s a love story about a brave Prince who leaves his palace, his throne – everything – to rescue the one he loves. It’s like the most wonderful of fairy tales that has come true in real life!

 

You see, the thing about this Story is – it’s true. There are lots of stories in the Bible, but all the stories are telling one Big Story. The Story of how God loves his children and comes to rescue them.

 

It takes the whole Bible to tell this Story. And at the center of the Story, there is a baby. Every story in the Bible whispers his name. He is like the missing piece in a puzzle – the piece that makes all the other pieces fit together, and suddenly you can see a beautiful picture.

 

Copied from the Jesus Storybook Bible, pages 12-17.

 

Attending a 9 Marks Conference

On Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, I attended a 9 Marks conference in Cedarville, Ohio. Not surprisingly, the conference was on “9 Marks of a Healthy Church.” For those of you who are not familiar with the 9 marks, they are as follows:

 

1. Expositional Preaching
2. Biblical Theology
3. A Biblical Understanding of the Gospel
4. A Biblical Understanding of Conversion
5. A Biblical Understanding of Evangelism
6. A Biblical Understanding of Membership
7. Biblical Church Discipline
8. Biblical Discipleship and Growth
9. Biblical Church Leadership

 

Some of you might be thinking – these are obvious! But as pastor Mark Dever (president and founder of 9 Marks ministries) explained at the start of the conference, sometimes we need to challenge assumptions. He is right to say this. Today the gospel is largely assumed in the Christian world, but that does not necessarily mean it is largely understood. I am thankful for the good work 9 Marks ministries is doing to highlight the importance of building healthy local churches and it was a blessing to attend this conference. I would encourage you visit the www.9marks.org website. They have some great articles and resources that I think you will find helpful.

Accountable To God, Not Man

“So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them, ‘Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard’” (Acts 4:18-20).

 

Beginning with the early church and continuing on to the present day, the gospel message has offended and angered multitudes of people. We should not be surprised. The bible tells us that we have a deadly condition known as sin. If no remedy is applied to this condition, we will surely die (Romans 6:23). The carnal mind simply does not embrace this message because it offends our prideful hearts. As the apostle Paul explains, “the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18).

 

Fellow Christians, how will we respond to this? How will we respond to the offense of the gospel? Unfortunately, many pastors and Christian leaders have responded by “taming” the message of Christ. For example, pastor Joel Osteen has been quoted as saying he does not like to preach about sin. Instead, Osteen brings a feel-good message of prosperity to his audience. Some might say his approach is working. Osteen is pastor of Lakewood Church in Houston, which happens to be the largest church in America. Indeed, this type of response is very appealing to Christian leaders, and many have followed the example of Osteen.

 

Let me suggest an alternative to the Osteen response. Rather than trying to find a “culturally acceptable” message, why not follow the example of Peter and John in Acts 4? When we look at the context of this passage, we see that they were facing immense pressure to tone down their message. They could have easily complied, but Peter and John knew they were accountable to a Higher Authority. Having been entrusted with the gospel, they were to faithfully proclaim the message wherever they went and no matter what the cost.

 

As they suffered time and time again, I am sure that Jesus’ words to them came to mind. “So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:26-28).

 

As Christians, we must remember that it’s not our persuasive words that will win someone to Christ. That is the work of the Holy Spirit. Our job is to faithfully deliver the gospel and never entertain the thought of tinkering with the message. It is my prayer that we might declare, along with the apostle Paul, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16).

 

How to Think Like a Missionary

1. The Missionary’s Calling: Go and Make Disciples – Matthew 28:19
2. The Missionary’s Primary Question: Where is the Gospel Not Known?  – Romans 15:20-21
3. The Missionary’s Mandate: That the Nations Might Declare the Praises of God – Psalm 96
4. The Missionary’s Message: Christ Crucified – 1 Corinthians 1:20-25
5. The Missionary’s Power Source: The Holy Spirit – John 16:4-7
6. The Missionary’s Confidence: The Sufficiency of Scripture – 2 Timothy 3:16-17
7. The Missionary’s Defense: Being Prepared to Share the Hope of Christ  – 1 Peter 3:15
8. The Missionary’s Identification: The People – 1 Corinthians 9:19-23
9. The Missionary’s Most Important Mission Field: Their Family – Ephesians 5:22 – 6:4
10. The Missionary’s Co-workers: The Body of Christ – 1 Corinthians 12:14-20

Only One Way?

I will never forget a discussion I was part of while still in seminary. Our professor posed the question for our small group – is Jesus the only way to salvation? If I remember correctly, there were about 10 people in our group and only two answered, “yes” to that question. The sad thing was that the professor himself denied the exclusivity of Christ. Over the past few years I have come to realize that this view is not uncommon among professing Christians. More and more people deny that faith in Jesus is the only way to be saved. This is tragic.

 

When professing Christians deny the exclusivity of Christ, we must ask them, do you believe the bible is the Word of God? I say that because the bible is crystal clear that Jesus is the only way to God and the only way to be saved from sin, death, and eternal torment in hell. I have a lot of Christian brothers and sisters who have different views on baptism and eschatology and other theological issues, but we can agree to disagree on those “secondary” matters. The exclusivity of Christ, however, is not in that category. It is not up for theological debate simply because the Scriptures are clear. What I am saying is that to deny the exclusivity of Christ is to deny the veracity or accuracy of the Bible.

 

There are plenty of Scriptures that point to “Christ alone.” Verses like John 14:6 and Acts 4:12 immediately come to mind, but I would like to focus on Romans 10:13-17 for the remainder of this post.

 

Paul writes, “For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news! But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us? So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”

 

Those of you familiar with Paul’s letter to the Romans will know that he powerfully makes his case for justification through faith in Christ alone. That is the assumption he brings to this passage. And so if Jesus is not the only way, then why support missions? If Jesus is not the only way, then why do evangelism? If Jesus is not the only way, then why not let the heathen find some “other way” to be saved? However, as Paul makes clear, “faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” Paul knew that there is no only way. Paul knew that “there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5). The only hope the lost have is if someone is sent to them to “preach the good news” of Jesus Christ.

 

Today I visited the website: www.joshuaproject.net where I learned that out of 16788 people groups in the world today, there are still 6955 unreached people groups. Many of these people groups are small, but praise God that there are thousands of missionaries all over the world working to bring the gospel to the unreached. In many cases, these missionaries labor in countries and environments very hostile to Christianity.

 

Let me ask you a question – if Jesus is not the only way, why risk dying for those who have never heard? Would it not make sense to let these people find some “other way” to be saved? But these missionaries know that Jesus is the “only way” and therefore, they press on and “endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory” (2 Timothy 2:10).

 

May it be said of us that we did the same in order that the name of Jesus might be praised and worshipped among the nations.