Making Peace

While studying Jesus’ seventh Beatitude, “Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God“ (Matthew 5:9), it occurred to me that He was instructing His followers to emulate His perfect countenance in every aspect of their lives.

Spurgeon agrees: “There’s a mystery always connected with the number seven. It was the number of perfection among the Hebrews, and it appears the Savior put the peacemaker there as if such a man was nearly approaching the perfect man in Christ Jesus. He who wants to have perfect blessedness, as far as it can be enjoyed on earth, must labor to attain this seventh benediction and become a peacemaker.”

As I’ve expressed, the Beatitudes represent a “ladder of light.” Each successive rung is presented in its proper order and context. The previous Beatitude concerned the Holy Spirit’s purifying our heart. That blessing allows us to be effective peacemakers. “The wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable… The fruit of righteousness is planted in peace among those who make peace“ (James 3:17-18).

Understand Jesus’ mission was to make peace between sinful mankind and God. “There’s one God and one intermediary between God and humanity, Christ Jesus…” (1 Timothy 2:5). “He’s the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the eternal inheritance He’s promised, since He died to set them free from the violations committed under the first covenant“ (Hebrews 9:15).

In other words, since He’s reconciled us with God on our behalf, our Lord commands that all Christians live peaceably with everyone they come in contact with. However, being a peacemaker will bring ridicule, harassment and even persecution into our life. Just as it did for our Savior.

It’s not far-fetched to state that human beings aren’t instinctively peaceable. Our sordid history reveals our inclination to make war, not love. That’s why imitating Christ distinguishes us from those who feel they must always remain on the defensive. Believers are taught to “…not engage in heated disputes, but be kind toward all, apt teachers, patient, correcting opponents with gentleness“ (2 Timothy 2:24).

Sadly, pacificism is too often equated with cowardice. That’s not a fair assessment. It implies that being a peacemaker means never getting angry or venting frustrations. Yet Jesus once “entered the temple area and drove out all those who were selling and buying in the temple courts and turned over the tables of the money changers…” (Matthew 21:12). Note His justified outburst wasn’t directed toward any person in particular but rather at the disrespectful “religious culture” shamefully defiling God’s house of worship.

The Bible urges Christians to control their “righteous indignation.” “Be angry and do not sin; don’t let the sun go down on the cause of your anger. Don’t give the devil an opportunity“ (Ephesians 4:26). Getting mad isn’t necessarily sinful. Staying that way always is. Be quick to forgive and to promptly make amends. Actually, a dedicated peacemaker should be immune to insults because they remain consciously aware of their status as adopted “children of God.”

While it’s never wise to meddle in other people’s private business, it’s the obligation of every Christ-follower to intervene as an impartial peacemaker when a quarrel between two individuals or groups of people threatens to escalate into violence. Can doing so put them in harm’s way? Yes. Never forget Jesus took the cruelest blows from both His Father and us in order to make peace between God and humankind.

The Bible doesn’t soft-pedal this subject, warning “Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness, for without it no one will see the Lord“ (Hebrews 12:14). A.W. Pink wrote, “To walk worthy of God is to walk as Christ walked, and any deviation from that standard is a reflection on our profession and a reproach upon Him. It’s for our own peace that we be conformed to Christ’s pattern.”

Some may conclude being a peacemaker is akin to being a masochistic doormat who doesn’t treasure his/her own wellbeing. Or mind suffering pain. If you think that’s how you can best serve Jesus, you’re misinformed. God’s children are to enjoy His gift of life. Henri Nouwen wrote, “The great struggle facing you is not to leave the world, to reject your ambitions and aspirations or to despise money, prestige or success, but to claim your spiritual truth and to live in the world as someone who doesn’t belong to it.”

A peacemaker’s goal is to show others there’s a better way. Christ’s way. Throughout His delivery of the Beatitudes Jesus never accused those listening of being horrible, unredeemable creatures. On the contrary, He called them blessed. He repeatedly urged everybody to “love one another“ (John 13:34).

Brennan Manning wrote, “To live and think as Jesus did is to discover the sincerity, goodness, and truth often hidden behind the gross, coarse exteriors of our fellow human beings. It’s seeing the potential good in others they don’t see in themselves and to affirm this good in the face of powerful evidence to the contrary. It’s not a blind optimism that ignores the reality of evil, but a perspective that acknowledges their potential for good so insistently that the wayward must eventually respond in agreement.”

A love-saturated peacemaker refuses to be coerced into lashing out in retaliation, no matter the circumstances. Manning commented, “Turning the other cheek, walking the extra mile, offering no resistance to injury, being reconciled with one another, and forgiving seventy times seven times are not arbitrary whims of the Savior. He didn’t preface the Sermon on the Mount with, ‘It would be nice if….’ “

In this Beatitude Jesus is basically saying, “Be more like Me.” He’s the promised Messiah who’ll one day establish permanent “peace on earth…” (Luke 2:14). He’s our ideal role model, our ever-present friend and trustworthy guide. He utilized the concept of His being the “Son of God” to help us comprehend the eternal Trinitarian relationship of which He is part. Therefore, the idea that being peacemakers makes us “children of God“ doesn’t seem so unimaginable.

My Lord Jesus Christ

It’s only proper for my last essay of 2022 to be all about my precious Savior. My vocabulary falls woefully short of adequately describing my gracious Redeemer, so I’ll highlight what many of my favorite Christian authors have written. However, it’s impossible to top what the Bible declares of Him.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was fully God. …All things were created by Him, and apart from Him not one thing was created that’s been created. In Him was life, and the life was the light of mankind. And the light shines on in the darkness, but the darkness has not mastered it“ (John 1:1-5).

Why is Jesus called “The Word?” Thomas Watson wrote, “As a word is the interpreter of the mind, and reveals what’s in a man’s breast; so Jesus Christ reveals His Father’s mind to us concerning the great matters of our salvation.” Miraculously, The Word came in person to deliver the Good News and to proclaim absolute truths. Scripture affirms, “The Word became flesh and took up residence among us“ (John 1:14).

Jesus, being God, could’ve displayed His sovereignty in any number of ways. But He chose to be Himself. So, what was He like? He told us, “I’m gentle and humble in heart“ (Matthew 11:29). Christ exhibited those traits consistently throughout His earthly sojourn. He got mad only when His Father was disrespected and even then, His ire wasn’t directed at any particular individual.

Brennan Manning emphasized our Lord’s compassion. In his book, The Relentless Tenderness of Jesus, he wrote, “The Jesus of my journey, the way He’s revealed Himself to me, is as the Compassionate One. Not because He’s the Son of God, but Son of God because He’s compassionate beyond mortal possibility. Therein lies His divinity for me. He’s the image of the invisible God. Should you choose to call Jesus goodness, He’ll be good to you; should you choose to call Him love, He’ll be loving to you; should you choose to call Him compassionate, He will know that you know.” Christ taught, “Everyone will know by this that you’re my disciples – if you have love for one another“ (John 13:35).

Christ wasn’t a stoic. He experienced every emotion and impulse that we do but patiently. In his book, The Jesus I Never Knew, Philip Yancey wrote, “The Gospels reveal a range of Jesus’ emotional responses; sudden sympathy for a person with leprosy, exuberance over His disciples’ successes, a blast of anger at coldhearted legalists, grief over an unreceptive city, and then those awful cries of anguish in Gethsemane and on the cross. He had nearly inexhaustible patience with individuals but no patience at all with institutions and injustice.”

Jesus demonstrated the vital importance of prayer. You’d figure God would have no need to pray, but He proved that notion wrong. James S. Stewart wrote in his book, The Life & Teaching of Jesus Christ, “The practical conclusion to which a study of the prayer life of Jesus is that prayer must ever be the heart and center of all true religion and the dynamic and driving power of all the best and noblest of living. …It’s those who’ve learned the way of prayer from Jesus who’ve found the secret of victorious life. They go from strength to strength; every one of them appears before God in Zion.”

Jesus boldly taught His followers to think of God as being the best Father we can imagine. In his superb, The Return of the Prodigal Son, Henri Nouwen wrote, “Here’s the God I want to believe in; a Father who, from the beginning of creation, has stretched out His arms in merciful blessing, never forcing Himself on anyone, but always waiting; never letting His arms drop down in despair, but always hoping His children will return so He can speak words of love to them and let His tired arms rest on their shoulders. His only desire is to bless.”

The Lord is our sympathetic, steadfast, and everlasting friend. “A person who has friends may be harmed by them, but there’s a friend who sticks closer than a brother“ (Proverbs 18:24). That friend is Jesus. In The Glory of Christ A.W. Pink wrote, “Since He’s a faithful Friend, we may safely tell Him the secrets of our hearts, for He’ll never betray our confidence. But His friendship also imposes definite obligations – to please Him, promote His cause, and daily seek His counsel.”

Jesus is our Justifier. Charles Spurgeon put it succinctly: “Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. It’s to me even to this day the greatest wonder I’ve ever heard of that God should ever justify me. …I, who am altogether undeserving, am treated as if I am deserving. I’m loved with as much love as if I’d always been godly, whereas previously I was ungodly. Who can help being astonished at this? Gratitude for such favor stands dressed in robes of wonder.”

Yet it’s Christ’s love for us that defies conception. “Having loved His own who were in the world, He now loved them to the very end“ (John 13:1). In his excellent book, Gentle and Lowly, Dane Ortlund wrote, “John’s point is that in going to the cross, Jesus didn’t retain something for Himself, the way we tend to do when we seek to love others sacrificially. He doesn’t love like us. We love until we’re betrayed. Jesus continued to the cross despite betrayal. We love until we’re forsaken. Jesus loved through forsakenness. We love up to a limit. Jesus loves to the end.”

Me? I grow closer to Jesus daily. Every time I read the “red letter” passages in the New Testament I gain more profound love and sincere appreciation for my Savior. My friends and family know I’m a Christian committed to imitating my Lord. Some call me a “Jesus Freak.” That’s okay. It’s no burden. It’s an honor. Christ is all I need. He’s more than sufficient. He’s everything to me.

The Providence of God

There’s no such thing as “chance” or “luck.” They’re nouns, not entities. They’re powerless. They can’t create. They have no mind or will. But God’s Providence exists. It’s what guides and governs the cosmos and everything in it. Thomas Watson defined it as “God’s ordering all issues and events of things, after the counsel of His will, to His own glory.”

The Bible is the greatest source of truth concerning the Providence that affects everyone, but in particular God’s elect. “The LORD takes notice of His loyal followers, those who wait for Him to demonstrate His faithfulness by saving their lives from death and sustaining them during times of famine“ (Psalm 33:18-19).

He has predetermined all circumstances in our world. Nothing surprises God. He knows all because He has decreed all. Jesus preached, “Aren’t two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. Even all the hairs on your head are numbered“ (Matthew 10:29-30).

Of course, many refuse to acknowledge God’s Providence. They argue that too many disturbing, unfair and downright evil things happen across the globe for them to be part of His perfect will. The Scriptures address that accusation head on in Genesis chapters 37 through 50. It’s Joseph’s story.

I won’t go into details because you can read it for yourself. Basically, Joseph suffered various injustices and hardships due to his jealous brothers’ selling him into slavery. However, he never ceased to trust God had his back. He ended up being appointed Pharaoh’s CEO. When he finally confronted his worried brothers about what their treachery had put him through, he said, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant to harm me, but God intended it for a good purpose, so He could preserve the lives of many people, as you can see this day“ (Genesis 50:19-20).

Some claim Joseph’s saga infers God purposefully impels some folks to sin. The truth is He merely lets them sin. Big difference. “He allowed all nations to walk in their own ways“ (Acts 14:16). Mankind’s ways are rarely His.

Some contend, “The Bible states God hardened Pharaoh’s heart. Doesn’t that prove God’s the instigator?” Not directly. All God had to do in order for Pharaoh’s heart to harden was to withdraw the influence of His general grace. The heart in question hardened on its own accord. “When Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and didn’t listen to them, just as the LORD had predicted“ (Exodus 8:15).

Watson commented, “God is the cause of no man’s sin. It’s true God has a hand in the action where sin is, but no hand in the sin of the action.” In other words, God doesn’t have to do anything to cause us to sin. R.C. Sproul wrote, “Sin isn’t tangential or peripheral but arises from the center of our being. …We’re not sinners because we sin; we sin because we’re sinners. Since the fall human nature has been corrupt. We’re born with a sin nature. Our acts of sin flow out of this corrupted nature.”

Enough about the doubters. Christians should be extremely glad that “Known unto God are all His works, from the beginning of the world“ (Acts 15:18). Puritan John Flavel wrote, “It’s the great support and solace of the saints in all distresses that befall them here, that there’s a wise Spirit sitting in all the wheels of motion and governing the most eccentric creatures and their most pernicious designs to blessed and happy issues. Indeed, it wouldn’t be worthwhile to live in a world devoid of God and Providence.”

A.W. Pink opined, “To deny the Divine decrees would be to predicate a world and all its concerns regulated by undesigned chance or blind fate. Then what peace, what assurance, what comfort would there be for our poor hearts and minds? What refuge would there be to fly to in the hour of need and trial? None at all. …How thankful we should be that everything is determined by infinite wisdom and goodness!”

Because of God’s sovereign oversight followers of Christ can find comfort in what Paul wrote: “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to His purpose…” (Romans 8:28). We can rejoice in the fact that “From Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever!“ (Romans 11:36).

Does this mean I fully comprehend God’s Providence? Nope. God says, “Indeed, my plans are not like your plans, and my deeds are not like your deeds, for just as the sky is higher than the earth, so my deeds are superior to your deeds and my plans superior to your plans“ (Isaiah 55:8-9). Therefore, I can confidently surrender my life to God’s loving care. “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding“ (Proverbs 3:5).

I’m not implying that’s always easy.

Watson wrote, “Now we scarce know what to make of God’s Providence and are ready to censure what we don’t understand; but in heaven we’ll see how all His Providences (sickness, losses, sufferings) contributed to our salvation. Here we see some dark pieces of God’s Providence; but when we come to heaven and see the full body and portrait of His Providence drawn out into its lively colors, it’ll be glorious to behold. Then we’ll see how all God’s Providences helped to fulfill His promises. There’s no Providence but we’ll see a wonder or a mercy in it.”

As a kid in Sunday School, one of my favorite gospel songs we sang was “He’s got the whole world in His hands.” Admittedly, I’ve struggled through difficult times when I harbored many doubts about that. No longer. I’ve seen His hands working in my life. And because I know I’m one of my Father’s adopted sons, nothing can separate me from His love due to His Providential care.

Our Merciful God

Questions many have (including some Christians) are: “Why does God allow so much hatred, injustice, murder, etc.?” and “Why doesn’t he fix all that’s wrong?” They’re reasonable questions. But the most logical would be: “What keeps God from simply flicking the earth into the sun and being done with it all?” The answer? He is merciful.

Truth be told, we brought the world’s sad situation upon ourselves. Check out Genesis 3. We can debate whether or not the fall of Adam & Eve was part of God’s master plan, but the bottom line is they chose to believe a lie rather than God and the consequences were severe and far-reaching. If God wasn’t “merciful, gracious, long-suffering and abundant in goodness…” (Exodus 34:6) we wouldn’t still be here. But He’s all that and more.

Thomas Watson noted, “The Scriptures represent God in white robes of mercy more often than with garments rolled in blood; with His golden scepter more often than His iron rod.” In other words, God’s inclined to generously pour out His gracious love on mankind rather than the disastrous wrath we’ve earned.

Understand, there are three distinct manifestations of God’s mercy – General, Special and Sovereign. The first is indiscriminately bestowed upon all of creation continuously. “The LORD is good to all and has compassion on all He’s made“ (Psalm 145:9). “He gives life and breath and everything to everyone“ (Acts 17:25).

His Special mercy is given to every man and woman regardless of their beliefs. All necessities for sustaining one’s life are freely available (Except when human greed interferes). Jesus taught, “…Love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be like your Father in heaven, since He causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous“ (Matthew 5:44-45).

That doesn’t mean everybody will spend eternity in paradise. Alas, those who reject God will pay an appropriately steep price. “It is a people of no understanding; therefore, He that made them will not have mercy on them, and He that formed them will show them no favor“ (Isaiah 27:11).

His Sovereign mercy is reserved exclusively for the elect, i.e., those God has chosen to adopt. Some claim that contradicts the proclamation of Psalm 145:9, “The LORD is good to all and has compassion on all He’s made.” It doesn’t. Since God is immutable, His merciful essence remains constant. However, the granting of His mercy is regulated by His sovereign will.

A.W. Pink wrote, “This must be so, for there’s nothing outside Himself which obliges Him to act; if there were, that ‘something’ would be supreme, and God would cease to be God. It’s pure sovereign grace which alone determines the exercise of Divine mercy.”

To clarify, nobody deserves heaven. “…There’s no distinction, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God“ (Romans 3:23). We’re utterly unworthy of receiving any mercy. “But God chose what the world thinks foolish to shame the wise, and God chose what the world thinks weak to shame the strong. God chose what’s low and despised in the world, what’s regarded as nothing, to set aside what’s regarded as something, so that no one can boast in His presence. He’s the reason you have a relationship with Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption…” (1 Corinthians 1:27-30).

So, does God’s mercy interfere with His justice? Not one bit. Calvin wrote, “It’s impossible to doubt His punishment of crimes… Though He often permits the guilty to exult for a time with impunity, and the innocent to be driven to and fro in adversity, even to be wickedly and iniquitously oppressed, this ought not to produce any uncertainty as to the uniform justice of all His procedure. An opposite inference should be drawn… His leaving many crimes unpunished only proves there’s a judgment in reserve, when the punishment now delayed shall be inflicted.”

For a sinner to think he/she can take advantage of God’s mercy is folly. Pink wrote, “Let us note how vain is the presumptuous hope of the wicked, who, notwithstanding their continued defiance of God, nevertheless count on His being merciful to them. How many there are who say ‘I don’t believe God will ever cast me into hell. He’s too merciful.’ Such a hope is a viper which will sting them to death.”

The bad news? Only the righteous will be saved. That disqualifies all of us. The Good News? The individual who “…believes in the One who declares the ungodly righteous, his faith is credited as righteousness“ (Romans 4:5). The “One” is Jesus Christ.

Spurgeon preached, “The grandest fact under heaven is this – that Christ by His precious blood does actually put away sin, and that God, for Christ’s sake, dealing with men on terms of Divine mercy, forgives the guilty and justifies them, not according to anything He sees in them, or foresees will be in them, but according to the riches of His mercy which lie in His own heart.”

It’s all about Jesus. It’s never been about anybody else. James S. Stewart wrote, “For God judges men, not by legal righteousness, but by their response to His righteousness in Christ; not, that is, by position, but by direction; not by the fact that some are ethically better equipped than others, but by the fact that some have their faces to Christ and some their backs.”

So how do we reconcile our inherently limited concepts of justice and mercy?

Frederick Buechner explained: “Romantic love is blind to everything except what is lovable and lovely, but Christ’s love sees us with terrible clarity and sees us whole. Christ’s love so wishes our joy that it’s ruthless against everything in us that diminishes our joy. The worst sentence love can pass is that we behold the suffering which love has endured for our sake, and that is also our acquittal. The justice and mercy of the judge are ultimately one.”

God and His Creation

God has a name for atheists. “Fools say to themselves, ‘There is no God’“ (Psalm 53:1). While the number of fools steadily increases, most of those surveyed are actually agnostic. I.e., either they’re not sure if there’s a God or they don’t believe it’s important to know. However, nothing’s more important.

Paul wrote, “Since the creation of the world His invisible attributes – His eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, because they’re understood through what’s been made. So, people are without excuse. For although they know God, they didn’t glorify Him as God or give Him thanks, but they became futile in their thoughts and their senseless hearts were darkened“ (Romans 1:20-21).

Thomas Watson opined, “I think it hard for a man to be a natural atheist; he may wish there were no God, he may dispute against a Deity, but he cannot in his judgement believe there’s no God, unless by accumulated sin his conscience be seared, and he has such a lethargy upon him, that he’s sinned away his very sense and reason.”

In contrast, many think there are multiple gods, so they pick the one they like the most. That’s what disturbed Paul when he visited Athens. The paganistic Athenians had erected an idol for every god imaginable. But Paul’s preaching of the gospel intrigued the intelligentsia of that city, so they invited him to speak before the Areopagus. (It wasn’t a “place” but an advisory council that dealt with ethical, cultural, and religious matters.)

Paul said to them, “Men of Athens, I see that you’re very religious in all respects. For as I went around and observed closely your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: ‘To an unknown god.’ Therefore, what you worship without knowing it, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, who is the Lord of heaven and earth, doesn’t live in temples made by human hands, nor is He served by human hands, as if He needed anything, because He Himself gives life and breath and everything to everyone“ (Acts 17:22-25).

The great I AM exists. The Bible’s opening declaration of truth is “In the beginning God…” (Genesis 1:1). Throughout history the vast majority of human beings and their tribes have acknowledged some kind of “higher power.” Christians, due to God’s gift of faith, know Him as Father. “Without faith it’s impossible to please Him, for the one who approaches God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him“ (Hebrews 11:6). The reward? “I will be found by you, says the LORD“ (Jeremiah 29:14).

The Holy Scriptures reveal to us in detail not only who God is but also what God is. First and foremost, He’s the Creator. The most basic and logical law of science is that something can’t come from nothing. David Limbaugh wrote, “It certainly takes more faith to believe that human beings evolved from the random interaction of molecules (which somehow had to come into existence themselves) than to believe in a Creator.”

Jesus taught that “God is spirit“ (John 4:24). Watson explained, “God is an immaterial substance, of a pure, subtle, unmixed essence, not compounded of body and soul, without all extension of parts.” God isn’t like us. Indeed, we’ve been made in His image but the only thing “spiritual” about us is our invisible soul. While our bodies will eventually return to the dust it’s made of, “The spirit will return to God that gave it“ (Ecclesiastes 12:7).

God is omniscient (all-knowing), omnipotent (all-powerful), omnipresent (everywhere 24/7), holy, perfect, immutable and utterly sovereign. (A book I recommend to those interested in learning more about Him is A.W. Pink’s The Attributes of God.) The Bible says of God, “His authority is an everlasting authority, and His kingdom extends from one generation to the next. All the inhabitants of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as He wishes with the army of heaven and with those who inhabit the earth. No one slaps His hand and says to Him, ‘What have you done?’“ (Daniel 4:34-35).

Pink concluded his book with this statement: “A creature, considered as such, has no rights. He can demand nothing from his Maker; and in whatever manner he may be treated, has no title to complain. Yet, when thinking of the absolute dominion of God over all, we ought never to lose sight of His moral perfections. God is just and good, and ever does that which is right.

Nevertheless, He exercises His sovereignty according to His own imperial and righteous pleasure. He assigns each creature his place as seems good in His own sight. He molds each vessel according to His own uninfluenced determination. He has mercy on whom He will, and whom He will He hardens. Wherever we are, His eye is upon us. Whoever we are, our life and everything is held at His disposal.”

The sad truth is that every person is born with an inclination to sin and an innate contempt of God’s being in complete control. Only by following and believing in Christ can we be saved from the hell our prideful rebelliousness will lead us into. Calvin wrote, “Let each of us, therefore, in contemplating his own nature, remember that there’s one God who governs all natures, and, in governing, wishes us to have respect to Himself, to make Him the object of our faith, worship and adoration.”

Why should we adore the God we’re told to fear? Because the Bible assures us repeatedly that God is love. J.I. Packer commented, “God’s love is an exercise of His goodness toward individual sinners whereby, having identified Himself with their welfare, He’s given His Son to be their Savior, and now brings them to know and enjoy Him in a covenant relation.”

God created the most wonderful thing an individual can ever give and/or receive – love. That He is the epitome of it is a true blessing. Trust in His goodness.

It’s Not About Us

Everything is and always will be about Jesus.  He’s “the point of it all.”  While believers have been adopted and are now and forevermore “children of God”, our Heavenly Father’s ultimate goal is for us to become Christlike.  “Those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that His Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters” (Romans 8:29).

That’s a profound verse.  Consider 1 Peter 2:10, “You once were not a people, but now you are God’s people.”  In other words, prior to Christ’s incarnation, everyone on earth was a spiritual orphan.  But now, because of Him, believers are part of a divine family.  Paul wrote, “We who are many are one body in Christ, and individually we are members who belong to one another” (Romans 12:5).

The body of Christ is His church.  He’s the sole reason it exists.  No Jesus = No church.  Therefore the church is more vital to God’s master plan than you or I will ever be because it’s the initial training center for the “royal priesthood” (1 Peter 2:9) we’ve been inducted into.  And our assignment is to imitate our Lord so well that unbelievers “may see your good deeds and glorify God when He appears” (1 Peter 2:12).

Ian Hamilton wrote, “When the Lord brings us into the new birth, the birth from above, He plants within our yet sinful lives His ‘seed’, what one old writer called the ‘life of God in the soul of man’.  God’s purpose in saving sinners isn’t only to save them but to sanctify them, to transform them into the likeness of His Son.”

But what does that “likeness” look like?  The Bible tells us:

“As the elect of God, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with a heart of mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another…  Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also forgive others.  And to all these virtues add love, which is the perfect bond.  Let the peace of Christ be in control in your heart…  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly…” (Colossians 3:12-16).

It’s a tall order, for sure.  And definitely one we can’t achieve by ourselves.  Only God has the power to miraculously change us into beings that resemble Jesus Christ.  But, since among us “There’s no one righteous, not even one” (Romans 3:10), how does God accomplish such a difficult undertaking?

First, as the angel who appeared to the Virgin Mary said, “Nothing will be impossible with God” (Luke 1:37).  Second, every Christian must actively contribute, working daily to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18).  To do so requires continuous prayers for strength, perseverance, and unwavering dedication to studying God’s Holy Word.  Mostly, it’ll take all the patience we can muster because our Christlike perfection won’t be attained this side of paradise.

Paul taught us, “Our citizenship is in heaven – and we also await a savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who’ll transform these humble bodies of ours into the likeness of His glorious body by means of that power by which He’s able to subject all things to Himself” (Philippians 3:20-21).  How can we not rejoice in grateful anticipation of what we’re destined to become?

However, we must prepare for inevitable tests, trials, and hardships.  The road to perfection is narrow and often intimidating.  Jesus said, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them” (Matthew 5:10).  Persecution? That’s not what any of us wanted to hear.  But our Lord was just being honest.

John Calvin had much to say about that particular beatitude:  “By suffering persecution for righteousness’ sake, Jesus means not only striving for the defense of the Gospel, but for the defense of righteousness in any way.  Whether, therefore, in maintaining the truth of God against the lies of Satan, or defending the good and innocent against the injuries of the bad, we’re obliged to incur the offense and hatred of the world, so as to endanger life, fortune, or honor, let us not grieve or think ourselves wretched in those things in which He with His own lips has pronounced us blessed.”

Though our path through life on earth may at times seem an extremely challenging obstacle course, Christians must never doubt what the Bible has promised: “All things work together for good for those who love God” (Romans 8:28).  Hamilton commented, “‘All things’ are means of grace to God’s children as He wisely, sovereignly, gloriously, and mysteriously bends them to the beautifying of His children.”  Obviously, Jesus is the epitome of beauty.

Charles Spurgeon preached: “Christ is Lord over all things, for His Father has made Him so.  The glorious dignity of our Savior!  I can’t talk of it in words, beloved.  All I can say to you must be simple repetition.  I can only repeat the statements of scripture.  We must just keep where we’ve ever been, telling out the story that His Father has exalted Him to real honors and real dignities.”

To reiterate, everything is all about Jesus.  Thus, nobody’s worthier for us to emulate.  We should thank God for providing us with the greatest, most wonderful person to hold up as our ideal.  He didn’t give us a conceited taskmaster to follow but a gentle and lowly servant who announced, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. …For my load isn’t hard to carry” (Matthew 11:28,30).

A.W. Pink wrote, “This is a gracious call to those who seriously seek peace of heart, yet are still bowed down with a load of guilt.  It’s addressed to those who long for rest of soul, but who don’t know how it’s to be obtained, nor where it’s to be found.”  It’s our job to tell them about our Lord.  Jesus is the only solution because it’s all about Him.

Falling Short

The Bible says emulating our Lord – even in stressful times – is vital.  “If you do good and suffer and so endure, this finds favor with God.  For to this you were called, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving an example for you to follow in His steps.  He committed no sin nor was deceit found in His mouth” (1 Peter 2:20-22).

Thus, trying to live as Jesus did is mandatory.  A.W. Pink wrote, “Every person is bound to the imitation of Christ under penalty of forfeiting their claim to Christ.”  But, as each believer discovers, nothing’s more difficult because living up to His standards of righteousness is downright impossible because we’re still sinners.

What keeps us from giving up?  The Holy Word. Thank God we have the stark honesty of the Scriptures to spur us forward.  Paul’s reassuring statement, “There’s no distinction, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:22-23) gives Christians much-needed perspective concerning our dilemma.

When Jesus prayed that His followers “…may be brought to complete unity” (John 17:23), He knew the most effective unifier is our collective recognition of our sinfulness and desperate need of redemption.  For example, in the Celebrate Recovery ministry the common denominator among those who participate is the ego-killing acknowledgement that we’re all unworthy of God’s forgiveness.

CR’s twelve steps teach the only cure for our iniquitous nature comes via learning to mimic Christ better.  “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people.  It trains us to reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in the present age…” (Titus 2:11-12).  Until we appoint Jesus as our one-and-only guide we’re doomed to relapse into the bad behaviors and thought patterns we formerly prayed to be rescued from.

What’s at stake?  Nothing less than our eternal destination. “Do you not know the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?  Don’t be deceived!  The sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, passive homosexual partners, practicing homosexuals, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, the verbally abusive, and swindlers will not inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10).

Only by following Jesus can any of us experience the liberation that comes from being thoroughly “…transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve what is the will of God – what is good and well-pleasing and perfect” (Romans 12:2).

Our core objective should be to act more like Christ.  We’re to “…grow up into Him in all things” (Ephesians 4:15).  Pink wrote, “If Christ has conformed Himself to us by taking upon Him our nature, how reasonable it is we should conform ourselves to Him in a way of obedience.  It was Christ’s abasement to conform Himself to those who were infinitely beneath Him; it’ll be our advancement to conform ourselves to Him who’s so high above us.”

In other words, since in heaven we’ll be miraculously conformed to Jesus in glory, we must try our best while on earth to display His holiness in our dealings with others.  The Bible states, “Dear friends, we’re God’s children now, and what we’ll be has not yet been revealed.  We know whenever it’s revealed we’ll be like Him, because we’ll see Him just as He is” (1 John 3:2).

Paul exhorted believers to “…live in a way worthy of God who calls you to his own kingdom and his glory” (1 Thessalonians 2:12).  Understand the term “worthy” in this instance has nothing to do with us meriting grace and everything to do with conducting our lives in a way that honors our merciful Father in heaven who’s spared us from paying the steep price of our wickedness.

Yet guilt resulting from constantly “falling short” can’t be dismissed out of hand. It’s real.  Consciousness of my ongoing, disgusting sinfulness haunts me every day.  Pink understood, writing, “According to the yearnings of the new nature, you’ve sincerely endeavored to follow Christ’s example.  But being weak in grace and meeting with much opposition from the flesh and temptations from the devil, you’ve been frequently turned aside from the holy purposes of your honest hearts, to the great discouragement of your souls.”

We must turn to God’s Word when we feel defeated for it assures us our failure to be perfect can never invalidate our salvation or make God’s love for us wither.  We may feel incomplete in ourselves from time to time but we’re forever “…complete in Him” (Colossians 2:10).  Another way to look at it is to comprehend that our remorse over sins we commit against God is proof the Holy Spirit dwells within us, goading us to repent in earnest.

David wrote, “The sacrifices God desires are a humble spirit – O God, a humble and repentant heart you will not reject” (Psalm 51:17).  What God wants to see in our lives is change; progressive change that slowly but surely causes us to more resemble His Son; change that draws us ever closer to the light of holiness and farther away from the darkness of sin.  Only by following Christ will that change happen.

J.I. Packer wrote, “Is it not maddening when, after correcting someone’s wrong ideas, you find they weren’t listening and are still trotting out their old mistakes?  Measure this by the provocation offered to God if we fail to take note of what He’s shown us of Himself.  He’s made a point of showing us both His hand and His heart, in His words and deeds recorded in Scripture, and supremely in the earthly life of His incarnate Son, Jesus Christ, who’s in every sense His image.  God the Father is altogether Jesus-like!”

Yes, all Christians fall short.  But, because God has regenerated our heart, we can find solace in the recognition that committing sins isn’t fun anymore.  Instead our sins have become generators of abject shame.  We can also receive comfort knowing all true believers worldwide share in our yearning to be less like ourselves and more like our precious Lord and Savior.

The Not Do’s

Christ-followers know the fundamental “do’s” by heart.  The most important being, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” and “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37,39).  We learn the rest from reading the Scriptures, diligently studying our Savior’s life and patterning ours after His in all respects.

Does that mean the more faithfully we emulate Jesus the less trouble we’ll encounter during our remaining time on earth?  No.  In fact, the opposite’s true.  We’re taught our salvation will be perfected “…through sufferings” (Hebrews 2:10); sufferings that include a kind of death.  “If we died with Him, we’ll also live with Him” (2 Timothy 2:11).  Authentic Christians are “always carrying around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our body” (2 Corinthians 4:10).

In other words, a believer’s sinful nature must die daily and we, along with the indwelling Holy Spirit, must be proactive partners in killing it.  The hardest part? It’ll always put up a fierce fight to survive and it won’t give up this side of heaven.  Therefore, along with knowing what we’re to do, we must learn what we’re not to do.

Like Christ, we’re not to allow impure motives to influence our thoughts and behavior.  “Everyone who has this hope focused on Him purifies himself (just as Jesus is pure)” (1 John 3:3).  Holiness is to be our goal.  We’re instructed, “…don’t comply with the evil urges you used to follow in your ignorance, but, like the Holy One who called you, become holy yourselves in all of your conduct” (1 Peter 1:14-15).

That’s a tall order but an order nonetheless.  We’re to be “…blameless and pure, children of God without blemish though you live in a crooked and perverse society, in which you shine as lights in the world…” (Philippians 2:15).  IMHO, we Christians had better get to shining.  The darkness is overwhelming these days.

We’re not to disobey our heavenly Father.  Rather, we’re to emulate our Lord, who “…humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death – even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:8).  Understand His obedience was always voluntary, never forced.  His joy was doing His Father’s will.  It should be ours, too.  A.W. Pink wrote, “Our obedience must be rendered cheerfully if it’s to be acceptable.  …Loveless obedience is of no value in the sight of God.”

We’re not to put ourselves first.  It’s all about putting Jesus first.  He said, “If anyone wants to become my follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.  For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matthew 16:24-25).  May it never be said of us, “[They’re] busy with their own concerns, not those of Jesus Christ” Philippians 2:21).

We’re not to be lackadaisical in doing God’s will.  Christ was never lazy.  On the contrary, “He went around doing good” (Acts 10:38).  He once said, “My food’s to do the will of the one who sent me and to complete his work” (John 4:34).  We’re all living on borrowed time down here so Jesus urges all His disciples, “We must perform the deeds of the one who sent me as long as it’s daytime.  Night’s coming when no one can work” (John 9:4).  Christ is coming.  Don’t procrastinate spreading the gospel.

We’re not to cause offense or engage in “getting even.”  It’s said of our Savior, “When He was maligned, He didn’t answer back; when He suffered, He threatened no retaliation, but committed Himself to God who judges justly” (1 Peter 2:23).  This doesn’t mean be cowardly when our faith’s challenged, just smart.  Christ said, “I’m sending you out like sheep surrounded by wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16).

We’re not to be conceited about anything, especially over being one of God’s elect.  Jesus told us, “Learn from me, because I’m gentle and lowly in heart…” (Matthew 11:29).  Our demeanor should always be courteous, humble and kind towards everybody.  Christ said of Himself, “The Son of Man didn’t come to be served but to serve” (Matthew 20:28).  Like our Lord, we should be grateful servants.

“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18).  That’s not just a slogan.  It’s a warning to all who let their ego puff up.  “Though the LORD is exalted, he takes note of the lowly, and recognizes the proud from far away” (Psalm 138:6).  Like Paul, we should consider ourselves “…the least of all saints” (Ephesians 3:8) and act accordingly.

We’re not to be discontented people.  Most of us, compared to Jesus, have it made in the shade.  He was born in a barn to poor parents of low social standing and, in His adulthood, had “no place to lay his head” (Luke 9:58).  Yet He didn’t grumble.  If we’re to imitate Christ we should never utter complaints about our lot in life.  “The one who says he resides in God ought himself to walk just as Jesus walked” (1 John 2:6).

All Christians benefit not only by mimicking what Jesus did, but also by what He didn’t do.  He didn’t react like we do because He wasn’t sinful like we are.  He’s better than all of us put together on our best day!  John Calvin wrote, “There’s nothing that troubles our consciences more than when we think that God is like ourselves.”

Dane Ortlund opined, “He isn’t like you.  Even the most intense of human love is but the faintest echo of heaven’s cascading abundance.  His heartfelt thoughts for you outstrip what you can conceive.”

J.I. Packer wrote, “Slippings and strayings there’ll be, but the everlasting arms are beneath us; we’ll be caught, rescued, restored.  Thus it appears the right context for discussing guidance is one of confidence in the God who’ll not let us ruin our souls.”  Christians, follow our perfect guide.

Walking the Walk

Most people, even atheists, concede it’s hard to top Jesus as the exemplary role model for living.  The ideal human being set the bar extraordinarily high and we’d all do well to imitate Him.  That actually sounds doable and many proudly “talk the talk.”  But when it comes to “walking the walk” eventually everybody realizes nothing’s harder.  God knows that.  Thus, He’s provided a “how to do it” guide – the Bible.

The impossible-to-get-around requirement is to first become born again.  It’s also something only God can make happen.  To those He’s chosen to adopt He’s promised, “I’ll give them one heart and I’ll put a new spirit within them; I’ll remove the hearts of stone from their bodies and I’ll give them tender hearts, so they may follow my statutes and observe my regulations and carry them out.  Then they’ll be my people, and I’ll be their God” (Ezekiel 11:19-20).

That indicates only those who are God’s possession can even come close to successfully emulating the righteous mien of our Lord and Savior.  Paul wrote, “Now those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.  If we live by the Spirit, let us also behave in accordance with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:24-25).

The next step is to forfeit our will in order to do God’s will (as if we have a choice).  “LORD, we know people don’t control their own destiny.  It’s not in their power to determine what’ll happen to them” (Jeremiah 10:23).  God is sovereign.  Therefore what we’re giving up is our illusion of being in charge and, instead, earnestly praying His will be done through us.

This includes any mistaken idea that Christ-followers have a right to rule over anyone else.  We’re to let Jesus’ will be done, not ours.  A.W. Pink wrote, “The best of men are but men at best; they have their errors and faults, and where they differ from Christ it’s our duty to differ from them.  It’s very important we be clear upon this point, for much mischief has resulted from allowing some to deprive others of a vital part of their rightful liberty.”

Another aspect of acting like Jesus is acknowledging we don’t get to cut corners in our quest for righteousness.  We’re to strictly adhere to our Savior’s teachings, which includes His admonition, “…Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48).  In other words, we can’t be worldly, selfish or unforgiving.  No exceptions.  “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from evil” (2 Timothy 2:19).

Having said that, it’s important we accept our inherent un-holiness.  “There’s no one righteous, not even one, there’s no one who understands, there’s no one who seeks God.  All have turned away, together they’ve become worthless; there’s no one who shows kindness, not even one” (Romans 10-12).  This passage of Scripture isn’t intended to discourage, it’s to humble us and thereby prevent us from thinking we’re in any way superior to others.

I plead guilty.  For instance, I often deem myself better than “prosperity gospel” preachers when I have no right to do that.  Jesus criticized a Pharisee who thought so highly of himself he prayed, “God, I thank you I’m not like other people: extortionists, unrighteous people, adulterers – or even like this tax collector.”  Christ then commended the repentant tax collector who “…beat his breast and said, ‘God, be merciful to me, sinner that I am!’” (Luke 18:11,13).  Point taken.

When our goal is to actively strive to mimic Jesus 24/7 we glorify Him as being the holiest of all persons in the universe.  However, His isn’t an easy road to travel.  Paul wrote, “My aim is to know Him, to experience the power of His resurrection, to share in His sufferings, and to be like Him in His death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead” (Philippians 3:10-11).

Finally, our sincere emulation of Christ and the good works that’ll inevitably result are the most effective testimonials we can share with non-believers because they display our unwavering “assurance of acceptance.”  Even though we’ll sooner or later be persecuted for our faith, we have “…the peace of God that surpasses all understanding” (Philippians 4:7).

Bear in mind imitating Jesus isn’t a suggestion, it’s a command.  It’s not optional, it’s obligatory.  “For to this you were called, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving an example for you to follow in His steps” (1 Peter 2:21).  The path our Lord took led directly to the cross so we must be willing to walk that same path for His glory.

Jesus knew full well severe hardship and pain lay ahead for His disciples.  The night before His crucifixion He prayed to His Father, “I’m praying on behalf of them.  I’m not praying on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those you’ve given me, because they belong to you.  Everything I have belongs to you, and everything you have belongs to me, and I’ve been glorified by them” (John 17:9-10).

That means by “walking the walk” of Christ we’ll, indeed, glorify the “Son of God.”  No blessing can surpass that honor.  God didn’t give us more laws to obey, He gave us a flesh-and-blood “Son of Man” to pattern our life after.  J.I. Packer, in his book, Knowing God, had much to say about letting Jesus guide us:

“To many Christians, guidance is a chronic problem.  Why?  Not because they doubt divine guidance is a fact, but because they’re sure it is.  …They remain anxious because they’re not certain of their own receptiveness to the guidance God offers.”

He added, “God seeks His glory in our lives, and He’s glorified in us only when we obey His will.  It follows that, as a means to His own end, He must be ready to teach us His way, so we may walk in it.”  Our job? Seeking His way with all our soul, heart and mind.

The Ideal Human Being

When I watch television I end up browsing YouTube channels because I can usually find something interesting/educational to view.  Recently I became aware of Jordan Peterson, a Canadian psychology professor who’s gotten very popular.  He seems to be what I’d call a “Christian agnostic.”  In my book that’s an oxymoron but he’s free to believe what he wants.

But I was taken aback (as were many of his secular fans) by what he conceded earlier this year.  He said, “I’ve seen sometimes the objective world and the narrative world touch. That’s Jungian synchronicity. And I’ve seen that many times in my own life and so, in some sense, I believe it’s undeniable.  Though the narrative world and the objective world are not the same, they intersect and the ultimate example of that in principle is supposed to be Christ. And that seems to be oddly plausible.”

In another interview I heard him more or less concede Jesus is the ultimate role model, the ideal human being.  In essence that puts Dr. Peterson in agreement with the early 20th century Bible scholar A.W. Pink who wrote, “The Lord Jesus is not only a perfect and glorious pattern of all graces, holiness, virtue and obedience, to be preferred above all others, but also he alone is such.”

In studying Old Testament characters it can get confusing when it comes to knowing precisely what we’re to do and what we’re to avoid doing because every one of them were flawed individuals.  But our gracious God has provided, in Christ, a flawless example of how to live righteously.  While none of us can become sinless this side of heaven, what we can do is strive to be more like Jesus every day.

Sadly, we live in a culture where a person’s skin color or nationality often takes precedence over every other trait.  It’s also something we have no say in because God, not us, made that determination before He created the universe.  But Jesus’ teachings supersede all racial, ethnic, hereditary and environmental biases.  All men and women can relate to how He conducted His earthly life because He’s not only the “Son of God” but also the “Son of Man.”

Thus a Brazilian can adapt Christ’s mindset as well as a Norwegian.  And Jesus’ way of dealing with people is as exemplary for a teenager to imitate as it is for an elderly man or woman.  Not only that, but all of us living in the 21^st century can discover, by emulating Jesus, how to live a purposeful, fulfilling life exactly the same way Christians in the 1^st century could.  This is but one of the many reasons God incarnate came to terra firma – to show us how to live a godly life.

Because of Christ believers don’t have to remain clueless regarding how to trust completely in God’s sovereign will and obey His commandments.  Jesus showed us the way.  Angels have never been up to the task because they exist in a spiritual dimension that precludes cultivating patience, suffering pain, maintaining a humble countenance in the face of adversity, etc.

The Scriptures are full of references presenting Jesus as our ideal.  The most obvious is the one I’ve been writing extensively about lately.  Christ said, “Take my yoke on you and learn from me, because I’m gentle and lowly in heart, and you’ll find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:29).  He’s the self-identified “Good Shepherd” who “…calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  …He goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they recognize his voice.  They’ll never follow a stranger…” (John 10:3-5).

He didn’t just “talk the talk,” He “walked the walk,” preaching, “For I’ve given you an example – you should do just as I’ve done for you” (John 13:15).  Paul instructed believers, “Now may the God of endurance and comfort give you unity with one another in accordance with Christ Jesus…” (Romans 15:5) and, in Philippians 2:5, “You should have the same attitude toward one another that Christ Jesus had.”

Wait, there’s more!  Christians are encouraged to “…run with endurance the race set our for us, keeping our eyes focused on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:1-2).  Plus we’re taught “The one who says he resides in God ought himself to walk just as Jesus walked” (1 John 2:6).  It’s hard to miss the Holy Spirit’s point when it’s been emphasized repeatedly.

Pink commented, “Example is better than precept.  Why?  Because a precept’s more or less an abstraction, whereas an example sets before us a concrete representation.”  In other words, it’s much more doable to mimic an authentic flesh-and-blood prototype than a mere hypothetical one.

The better acquainted we become with Jesus – the ideal human being – the more influence He’ll have on our behavior.  We all tend to identify with the company we keep. Therefore the Bible warns us, “Don’t make friends with an angry person, and don’t associate with a wrathful person, lest you learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare” (Proverbs 22:24-25).  Want to make a difference? Let the perfect Jesus be your role model.

J.I. Packer opined, “The moral qualities which belonged to the divine image were lost at the Fall; God’s image in man has been universally defaced, for all humankind has in one way or another lapsed into ungodliness.  But the Bible tells us that now, in fulfillment of His plan of redemption, God’s at work in Christian believers to repair His ruined image by communicating these qualities to them afresh.  This is what Scripture means when it says Christians are being renewed in the image of Christ and of God.”

Dr. Peterson and hopefully many others are starting to realize emulating Jesus is the only hope this confused, hate-infested world has.  If everyone was as loving, compassionate, forgiving and composed as Christ was while He was here with us, this planet would be a much more peaceful place in every respect. Guaranteed.