This is a seven-part series of sermons that falls during a period
in the Church Year known as Ordinary Time. I am calling this series, “True
to the Core: The Imitation of Christ Toward Christ-likeness.”
Now, in this case, ordinary does not mean boring, uneventful,
usual, or average (at least, we hope not!) Here, ordinary is simply a term
used to describe how the Sundays are numbered in the Christian Year. Ordinal
numbers, like first, second, and third are used instead of cardinal numbers
like one, two, or three. An Ordinary Sunday, then, is any Sunday not included
in the Advent/Christmas or Lent/Easter seasons.
Traditionally, preaching in Ordinary Time centers around the
events of Christ’s earthly life, especially those events other than His
birth, death, and resurrection. Those events are covered well in Advent and
Lent. Ordinary Time has been a time to tell the rest of the story and to focus
on the imitation of Christ’s earthly life. Attention is given to practical
instruction on how to live a Christ-like life. Webster suggests that when
we give Christ’s earthly life the attention it deserves, we unite Christology
with discipleship and sanctification. “The evangelical wing of Christianity
often succumbs to the temptation to concentrate its attention on the crucified
and risen Lord at the expense of his earthly life. Many Christians have only
a Christmas and Easter Christology. They jump from the manger to the cross
without giving much serious consideration to the life of the Lord” (Webster,
A Passion For Christ, p. 55).
Therefore, these seven Ordinary Time sermons will focus on Jesus’
earthly life and the principles upon which Jesus Christ organized it: Devotion,
Worship, Discipleship, Service, and Witness. The purpose of this series is
to challenge followers of Jesus Christ to imitate Him by organizing their
lives around the same core values. To be true to the core, to be like Jesus
is our goal. And there is nothing ordinary about that!
The theological basis for the development of these sermons is
the imitation of Christ moving us toward Christ-likeness. Simply put, the
five core values around which we invite persons to organize their lives (i.e.
devotions, public worship, discipleship, service, and witness) are an imitation
of the way Jesus of Nazareth organized and conducted His earthly life and
ministry. They become, when sincerely pursued, a means of grace leading to
Christ-likeness.
The imitation of Christ is the key to Christian spiritual formation
in several ways. Jesus becomes our leader. His example shows us that spirituality
is expressed in living a fully human life in the world. Jesus becomes our
source. Only union with Jesus Christ provides the power and desire needed
to imitate this life of Christ. Jesus’ earthly life and ministry is our
model for the organization of our whole life.
The Scripture clearly directs Christians to pursue Christ-likeness.
As God’s dearly loved children, we are to imitate God and “live
a life of love, just as Christ loved us” (Ephesians 5:1-2). “Whoever
claims to live in God must walk as Jesus did” (1 John 2:6). Make no mistake.
This imitation is not possible through mere human effort. This imitation is
only possible because Christ “dwells in our hearts through faith”
and is present to help us attain “to the measure of all the fullness
of God” (Ephesians 5:17-19). When we pursue Christ-likeness, we are cooperating
with the grace of God already at work within us. Thomas Oden observes:
“The locus classicus text of cooperating grace is Philippians
2:12-13: ‘Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it
is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and work for his good
pleasure.’ Cooperating grace allows the will to give its own free consent
to the divine will” (Oden, Transforming Power of Grace, p. 53).
When the sincere Christian, in cooperation with God’s Spirit,
begins to pursue Christ-likeness, “God’s Spirit begins to write
Jesus on our hearts and ‘we are being transformed into his likeness with
ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit’
(2 Corinthians 3:18)” (Richards, A Practical Theology of Spirituality,
p. 56).
The greater Holiness tradition, of which the Wesleyan-Holiness
movement is an offspring, “ . . .constantly holds before us the ultimate
goal of the Christian life: an even deeper formation of the inner personality
so as to reflect the glory and goodness of God; and ever more radiant conformity
to the life and faith and desires and habits of Jesus . . .” (Foster,
Streams of Living Water, p. 85).
Becoming like Jesus, or Christ-likeness, became one of John
Wesley’s favorite ways of explaining what he meant by holiness:
“In the year of 1792, I began not only to read, but to
the study the Bible, as the one, the only standard of truth, and the only
model of pure religion. Hence I saw, in a clearer and clearer light, the indispensable
necessity of having ‘the mind which was in Christ,’ and in ‘walking
as Christ also walked;’ even of having, not some part only, but all of
the mind which was in Him, and of walking as He walked, not only in many or
most respects, but in all things. And this was the light, wherein at this
time I generally considered religion, as an uniform following of Christ, and
entire inward and outward conformity to our master” (Wesley, Works, Vol.
11, p. 367).
Richard Foster, Mennonite scholar, author and founder of Renovare,
an infrachurch movement committed to the renewal of the church writes:
“When we carefully consider how Jesus lived while among
us in the flesh, we learn how we are to live—truly live—empowered
by him who is with us always even to the end of the age. We then begin an
intentional imitation Christi, imitation of Christ, not in some slavish or
literal fashion but by catching the spirit and power in which he lived and
by learning to walk ‘in his steps’ (1 Peter 2:21)” (Foster,
Streams of Living Water, p. 3).
In this book, Streams of Living Water, Foster describes
the Holiness tradition’s ultimate goal:
“First of all the Holiness tradition constantly holds before
us the ultimate goal of the Christian life: an even deeper formation of the
inner personality so as to reflect the glory and goodness of God; an ever
more radiant conformity to the life and faith and desires and habits of Jesus;
an utter transformation of our creatureliness into whole and perfect sons
and daughters of God” (Foster, Streams of Living Water, p. 85).
The possibility, active pursuit, and actual experience of Christ-likeness
is the theological basis for True to the Core, a program for the spiritual
growth and development of the people of a Wesleyan-Holiness parish. The theological
emphasis has a solid formation in Scripture as interpreted and reinforced
by Christian tradition generally and Wesleyan-Holiness tradition specifically.
The church’s emphasis on Christ-likeness is an often neglected but largely
effective way of uniting Christology, discipleship, and sanctification.
(For the full manuscript of this sermon
go to www.preachersmagazine.org and click on “Sermons”)
As recently as June 26, 2001, Dr. Jim Bond, General Superintendent
of the Church of the Nazarene, put forth a strong appeal to our church’s
leadership that we must recast the message of holiness of heart and life .
. . that we must use different language and terminology to describe the need
for and result of the experience of entire sanctification. Interestingly enough,
Bond, who was a college president for 15 years as well as a missionary, feels
strongly that “Christ-likeness” language will be most appealing
to this generation:
“‘Sanctification’ is what is done in us by the Holy Spirit. Entire sanctification ‘comprehends in one experience the cleansing of the heart from sin and the abiding indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, empowering the believer for life and service’ (Manual, Article X). Sanctification is both a crisis experience and a lifelong process that moves us toward complete Christ-likeness. Christ becomes for us our holiness. And through His grace, we are being transformed into His likeness. Question, church: Do we yet believe in this glorious, liberating truth? How well are we doing in its proclamation? We must persistently proclaim the fullness of the gospel message. We must do it with clarity, conviction, and anointing. Our message must focus on Jesus, our hope. I believe that our postmodern world will respond best to our message if we become very intentional about preaching Jesus and holiness as Jesus-likeness. It is our mission to make Christ-like disciples in every nation. We are to call people to Jesus as the world’s only Savior—that’s evangelism! And we’re to call people to Jesus-likeness as God’s highest objective in our lives—that’s discipleship with a holiness perspective. We must center everything that happens in the life of the Church on Jesus” (from the Board of General Superintendent’s Quadrennial Address, General Assembly, 2001).
