Being Imitators of God

Have you ever listened as somebody described you to someone who didn’t know you? I recently prayed at a meeting in our community and was introduced by someone who didn’t know me and was reading from information about me. I have to be honest. As I listened, I was impressed with the person that was being introduced, and then realized that it was me they were introducing. I asked them where they got the information and was informed that they had gotten it from our church’s web site and from someone who knew me. As I listened I realized that you can make most people sound really good. I also know that the introduction made me sound better than I really am, and that no matter how others view you, what matters is how God views you.

In Ephesians 5:1-2 Paul says, “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

We are to be imitators of God.

Leviticus 11:44-45
For I am the Lord your God, consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming thing that crawls on the ground. For I am the Lord who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.

1 Peter 1:15-16
But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

　

As imitators of God, we are to be holy.

Holiness has two components.

People who are holy as God is holy are morally upright.

Many times I am told by people that they believe in God or that they go to church or that they are Christians, but their lives don’t reflect the moral uprightness of God.

1 Thessalonians 4:3-6a
It is God’s will that you should be sanctified; that you should avoid sexual immorality ; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God; and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him.

If we are followers of Jesus then we are to be holy, and being holy means living a morally upright life.

The second component of holiness is to be separated.

We are to be different than people who are not followers of Jesus.

We are to be different in our:
Speech
Behavior
Thoughts
Values

Our speech, behavior, thoughts, values are to be those of Jesus.

Holiness means that we will reflect Jesus by being in the world but not of the world. We will love people but live in obedience to God’s will.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is living holy like God.

As imitators of God we are to be righteous.

Righteous means in right relationship with God.

We will not be in opposition to God.
We will be in cooperation with God.

Righteousness means we live in a way that honors God. We honor God by our lives reflecting God’s character.

We can’t earn holiness or righteousness.
We can’t work hard and produce holiness or righteousness.
We can’t create holiness or righteousness.

We are declared and made holy and righteous by our faith in Jesus’ death and resurrection.

When we surrender our lives to the absolute authority of Jesus, He then lives His holy and righteous life through us.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is living righteously like Jesus.

We are also to live a life of love.
We are to love like Jesus loved.

Jesus loved:
Unconditionally
With No Strings Attached
With No Boundaries
Not Based on Us But Based on Him

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is living love like Jesus.

Now for a reality check: Do I always live a holy, righteous, loving life?

No!

But we have such an awesome God in Jesus that He covers that.

We are His beloved children.
We are loved by Him all the time.
He gave Himself as our sacrifice.

Our motivation for being holy, righteous, and loving is not:
To Impress God
To earn God’s love

Our motivation for being holy, righteous, and loving is that we are loved by God.

1 John 4:19
We love because He first loved us.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is living like Jesus because He loves us.

We cannot be holy like God apart from Jesus.
We cannot be righteous like God apart from Jesus.
We cannot love like God apart from Jesus.

We have to yield, submit, surrender our lives to Jesus so that His holiness and righteousness and love is in us and flows out of us.

By Holiness, Righteousness, and Love Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls
                                                  Joe