(Text Only)
Title: Imitation
In the next two weeks we will finish 3 John. And you might think that as we wind down into John’s closing comments this could all be wrapped up in one final sermon. I admit, when I sat down to begin my study and writing, that’s the feeling I got as well. Then I hit verse eleven and I just kept writing and writing and writing, until I realized there is enough here to consider for several sermons, actually.
Most of you have been here long enough to know that I’d much rather go at a pace that suggests humility and pause at every indication of teaching, then to plow through sermons and books for the sake of “covering the material.” Were not in school right now, and I’m not bound a by a syllabus. And, I don’t give a final, A.U. students, can I get an “Amen”?
I’d rather us crawl, and truly comprehend and discuss every jot and tittle of this book, then to brag that we’ve covered huge sections of material at the expense of comprehension.
In my view in is comprehension, and only comprehension, that leads to application. My goal as the pastor of Heritage is not to teach you scripture. It’s to teach you scripture so that you apply it. And the bridge between teaching and applying is comprehension.
So let us move at a pace that honors God.
(pray/read)
- What do you imitate?
Here John says some relatively simple, yet, as always, relatively profound things. He tells us to imitate what is good over what is evil, and he says the reason we do this is because he who does good (real “good”, not a worldly version of “good”) is of God.
Seems simple enough.
But let me as you this: Who do you imitate?
I know you are all thinking: “Pastor Ben, the correct answer is Jesus!” And you are right, but do you really imitate him? Isn’t it hard to imitate Jesus Christ?
Why? (take answers)
- He was God. (sinless)
- We never spent time with him like the disciples did, face to face.
- We have a very limited amount of information about the person of Jesus.
Even Paul says in 1 Cor. 11:1 Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.
And Paul was writing to people only about 20-30 years after Christ walked the earth. Even Paul knew it was easy to say we ought to imitate Christ, but difficult to do. So Paul then bears the responsibility and models for his flock what it means to be Christ-like.
So my question is: Is it okay to imitate other Godly people? Absolutely. Especially for a young believer. Provided they are Godly. But remember, men are fallible, and you will not be held responsible for how much like Paul you acted, or how much like Pastor Ben you acted, but how much like Christ you acted.
Also consider, that for the mature believer, this gives you a double responsibility: 1. You have to make sure that you are acting like Christ for your own holiness.
- You have to make sure you are acting like Christ for responsibility of those who look up to you.
And who looks up to you? (take answers)
Those younger in the faith. Non-believing co-workers and family members. Your disciples. Anyone you teach. The list is long.
On the negative side of things, consider who it is that the world imitates. Who do we put on a pedestal to be admired and imitated? (take answers)
- Celebrities
- Athletes
- Politicians
- Authors
When was the last time you heard this said by a teenager: My hero is my pastor, because he shows me how to be like Christ. My hero is my father, because he shows me how to be like Christ. My hero is my mother, because she shows me how to be like Christ.
Look, you all know that I love sports. But if I hold any influence over my children at all, Nevaeh and Silas’ heroes will not be LeBron James, Jim Tressel, Grady Sizemore, or Jim Brown. I will be there hero. Because they will look at my life and see that everything I ever did I did to glorify Jesus Christ. And the other stuff, I repented of.
I don’t say that to be a braggart, nor do I make that proclamation lightly. I say it because I absolutely believe that it is in my best interest as a Christian to hold my children to the highest standard of excellence possible, and that standard is not any human that can dunk a ball, win a triple crown, or a national championship.
The standard is the man looked the devil and all his temptations square in the eye and said, “No. The cycle of death ends with me!”
That man in my hero, and my children will know that.
And think about when John says this sentence…right after his lengthy rebuke of Diotrephes. He lists all the issues he has with Diotrephes character and action and then says, “Don’t imitate what is evil.”
In other words, “Don’t follow that leader, because that leader isn’t following God.” It’s that simple, and I demand that you hold me to that very standard, and that you yourselves be willing to also be held to that standard. Isn’t that what we are really all doing here this morning.
John said it clear as day in I John: “He who loves Christ keeps his commandments.” We are here this morning to keep his commandments. And we are a whole lot better doing that together in community then we are as individuals.
Let’s Pray.