Walking as Jesus walked
I am wrote this sermon on the week of my birthday. Almost 40 years ago, my parents started a ministry called Covenant Families. We traveled, spoke, and sang as a family; and sometimes we hosted people at our house. There was someone who really supported the ministry who had a house at the beach and would let us use it during the summer. One summer, we read the book “In His Steps” by Charles Sheldon. It was written in 1896 and tells the story of a pastor who has a shocking encounter and decides to start asking “What would Jesus do?” every time he needs to make a decision. He challenges others to do the same and it changes the town. It’s very inspiring and we decided to do this as a family (this was in 1987… long before the WWJD movement).
We already had a 19-year-old living with us trying to get back on her feet. Shortly after getting home, we received a phone call about a teenager who was caught stealing emblems from cars. His parents wanted to know if he could stay with us for a while. We asked, “What would Jesus do?” and decided that Jesus would take him in.
Then we got a call from a friend whose wife had just left him with no warning. He said he just couldn’t be alone. We were out of beds and told him he would have to sleep on a couch. He agreed and we asked “What would Jesus do?” and decided Jesus would take him in.
THEN… we got a call from a church. An entire family of five had pulled up in their parking lot. They were living out of their car and they wanted to know if we would take them in while they tried to help them. Just for context, the three children were all from different men, none of whom was the current husband. The mother had picked him up hitchhiking and married him in days. Having them move in would displace all of us children, but we asked “What would Jesus do?” and decided Jesus would take them in as well.
So we had 13 people in our house… and one bathroom. It was challenging. Eventually, everyone left and the last ones out were the street family. The church found them a place to live and a job. When they left, we found out they had left us a gift… head lice. My sisters had hair to their waists and it was an entire thing to get all the lice out.
I tell this story to remind you that following Jesus is not easy. The path He walks will take us to places we never would have imagined and do things we never would have wanted. That’s what we’re discussing today.
LOOK AT THE BOOK
John 2:1-6
My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. 2 He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.
3 And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. 4 If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. 5 But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. 6 Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.
Children (1) – John starts out by calling the readers “children.” He doesn’t address this to adults, or elders, or pastors. This is important because what he is about to say isn’t deep, seminary-level theology. He is bottom-shelving this for us. It’s simple to understand. Try understanding this with the mind of a child.
“…will not sin…” (1) – You and I were probably both raised in church to believe that it is impossible not to sin. No matter what, we are destined to be sinners for our entire lives. That is not what John says here. John, who is making this simple for us, says that he is writing to us so that we “will not sin.” The way it is written in Greek could be expanded to say “that, as a matter of fact, you might not ever miss the mark again.” Moses said this thousands of years before when he told the Israelites about obeying the Torah, “These things are not too difficult for you nor are they too far from you.” John, and Moses before him, tell us that it is possible to not sin.
“WHAT?!?”, you may cry. “THAT IS IMPOSSIBLE!!!” And I would have said the same thing, except that this passage, and others like it, are pretty clear. I guess it depends on what we consider “sin.” I am becoming less and less comfortable with that word because we have imbued it with centuries of theological meaning. James describes it more like wandering. There is deliberate sin, but I am to put that aside when I follow Jesus. I can choose to obey. There is nothing in me that forces me to wander. There’s three points I want to make here:
- We all need to correct this spiritual depression. We need to see ourselves through John’s point of view, not ours. We need to believe in the inspired word of God and it says that sin is the exception, not the norm. If we live our lives thinking that we will always fail, then we might never try and instead make excuses for our wrongdoings.
- We all need to realize what sin actually is. The word translated as “sin” literally means “missing the mark.” So what is the mark? The only mark we are given is the Torah and Jesus’ interpretation of the Torah. We’ve talked about this before. An illustration I’ve heard many times in the past is the idea of archery. Missing the mark is missing the target. If I’ve never touched a bow and arrow before, I am always going to miss the target. However, once I take up archery, I can learn how to shoot. I can practice hitting the target and get closer. I can study manuals on archery and learn from experts. I will never hit the bullseye every time, but over time I can increase my accuracy. Every once in a while, the wind might catch my arrow and blow it off course or I might get bumped, but over time my accuracy will increase. It is the same with following Jesus. I can be more like Him and CHOOSE to turn away from my sin.
- The measure of our marksmanship is Torah and Jesus’ interpretation of it. It is NOT all the extra things that the Pharisees added, nor is it all the extra rules that church people add today. It is simple. We are the ones who make it difficult.
However (and this is the truly amazing thing) if we do sin, Jesus is our defender. He paid the price for our sins, and He stands in our place. WOW!
Know (3) – John is about to tell us that the proof that we know God is obedience. I’ve been in church since I was born, and have been serving as a minister for over 35 years. There are many people who have said to me, “They can’t be Christians. Look at their lives!” There are churches that make a list of sins or point to a list in the Bible, and cast aside people. The word here and the idea it contains is self-knowledge. I am not to be walking around judging whether other people know God. I am only to be concerned with my own knowledge. I must be looking at MY life, MY obedience, to see if I know Jesus. I don’t spend my life worrying about others. It is enough to worry about myself!
Commandments (3) – We don’t like the word “command” in our culture. I want to recontextualize this for you. The word is more like a policy letter giving out a new regulation or order. The idea is someone who is looking out for your best interest and wants to make your life better. For instance, there is a policy that says that every year I have to do a records review. It’s a bit of a pain, but they do it to make sure that everything is right and I don’t overlook something. I’ve had more than on occasion where a soldier died and hadn’t looked at their insurance in years, so instead of their money going to their spouses and children, it winds up going to their mother or an ex-wife.
I’ve spoken about this at length, but it’s a good reminder that John is talking about the Torah and that those commandments were seen as your favorite school teacher, a person who lovingly looks out for you and teaches you to help you grow!
Liar (4) – If you claim to know God but it doesn’t come out in your actions, then you are a liar. Literally, you are a devil because that’s what the word translated “devil” means: deceiver or liar. How many people do you know who say they know God but prove they are not by their actions? Maybe you are that person? Churches are full of people who say they follow God, but then say things like:
“We will not open our church to a Hispanic church plant. They might mess up our building.”
“We won’t use our land to reach the community. It might impact our insurance.”
“We shouldn’t worry about reaching the lost in the community. If they want to come, they will. You should just focus on us."
“Quit talking about reaching younger families. We’re mostly older and you should just be concerned with us.”
“You know that young people don’t pay the bills in this church. We do.”
“We shouldn’t be thinking about hiring a black pastor. It makes some people in the church uncomfortable.”
I could go on and on. Each of those things has been said to me in my years of ministry. Each of them was said by long-time members of churches who said they followed God. Each of them were liars. They are devils sitting in the pews of those churches. Going back to verse 3, I must be constantly examining my life to be sure that I am not a devil…and so should you!
Walk (6) – “You know a disciple because he has the dust of his rabbi on him.” My wife and I love hiking. There are times we will come to a stream that must be crossed. She calls me a gazelle sometimes because I’m fairly nimble and will skip across the rocks. However, when she’s following me, I will be sure the rocks are stable and I will point out where to step to her. She then follows in my steps.
When we walk as Jesus walked, we follow His lead. The quote is an old Jewish saying about discipleship. If I’m really following my Rabbi, Jesus, then I will be covered in the dust that He kicks up from the road. I want to be a dusty follower.
As I’ve said before, the first use of a word is important, and the first use of “walk” was when Jesus walked by the sea of Galilee in Matthew 4 and called the disciples to “fish for men.” Walking like Jesus is calling others to walk like Jesus…
TOOK
…and that’s really the point, isn’t it? Jesus made it easy to walk like Him because He showed us. Should I show hate or love to this person? It’s easy! Sadly, many church people don’t walk like Jesus. Should I feed this hungry person? It’s easy! Sadly, many church people don’t walk like Jesus. Should I welcome this stranger into my home, my community, and my country? It’s easy! Sadly, many church people don’t walk like Jesus.
There are certainly commands regarding personal holiness and purity, but the majority of Jesus’ commands are about how we treat other people, especially those rejected by the rest of the world. “…those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. (5)” Let’s work on showing how much we love God by loving those around us… and in the process, let’s call people to follow Him!
SONGS FOR SUNDAY
Trading My Sorrows
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbUlzXTKIKU
It Is Well
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ysQCTJSAcc
Reckless Love
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sc6SSHuZvQE
Come Alive
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7PUW1olxx8
Run the the Father