Being Like Jesus
by Dr. Paul Chappell
“If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.”
Ephesians 4:21–24
The great pioneer missionary Adoniram Judson suffered enormous hardship and loss during more than thirty years of faithful service in Burma (modern day Myanmar). He buried two wives and numerous children. He was persecuted, imprisoned, and tortured. He labored for more than six years before seeing his first convert. It took him years to translate the Bible into the very difficult Burmese language. Yet Judson did not consider himself to have reached a high level in the Christian life. When someone compared him to the Apostle Paul Judson responded, “I do not want to be like a Paul...or any mere man. I want to be like Christ. I want to follow Him only, copy His teachings, drink in His Spirit, and place my feet in His footprints. Oh, to be more like Christ!”
The world does not need better educated and trained Christians. The world does not need Christians who fit in better and don’t make waves with their beliefs. What it needs is Christians who are less like the world and more like Jesus. The sacrificial life of Christ is the pattern we are meant to follow. “For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps” (1 Peter 2:21). He is the standard by which we will be measured and evaluated for our service, and He is the example that we are meant to emulate. The more that we focus our efforts on following His steps, the more powerful and effective our lives will be.
Ephesians 4:21–24
The great pioneer missionary Adoniram Judson suffered enormous hardship and loss during more than thirty years of faithful service in Burma (modern day Myanmar). He buried two wives and numerous children. He was persecuted, imprisoned, and tortured. He labored for more than six years before seeing his first convert. It took him years to translate the Bible into the very difficult Burmese language. Yet Judson did not consider himself to have reached a high level in the Christian life. When someone compared him to the Apostle Paul Judson responded, “I do not want to be like a Paul...or any mere man. I want to be like Christ. I want to follow Him only, copy His teachings, drink in His Spirit, and place my feet in His footprints. Oh, to be more like Christ!”
The world does not need better educated and trained Christians. The world does not need Christians who fit in better and don’t make waves with their beliefs. What it needs is Christians who are less like the world and more like Jesus. The sacrificial life of Christ is the pattern we are meant to follow. “For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps” (1 Peter 2:21). He is the standard by which we will be measured and evaluated for our service, and He is the example that we are meant to emulate. The more that we focus our efforts on following His steps, the more powerful and effective our lives will be.
Today’s Growth Principle:
There is no higher calling or purpose that we can have than to live as Jesus did.
Staying Married to Your Current Spouse
“But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.” Matthew 5:32
The Bible clearly teaches that if you divorce your spouse and marry someone else, then you are committing adultery. People will sometimes misunderstand this concept and assume that they are living in a perpetual state of adultery if they’ve been divorced and remarried.
They’ll wonder if they are still married to the first person in God’s eyes, but that is not the case. The Bible teaches that once you remarry, it would be an abomination for you to go back to your former spouse—even after your current spouse dies. The only couples who are supposed to be reconciled are people who have gotten divorced but have both remained unmarried.
“When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house. And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another man's wife. And if the latter husband hate her, and write her a bill of divorcement, and giveth it in her hand, and sendeth her out of his house; or if the latter husband die, which took her to be his wife; Her former husband, which sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after that she is defiled; for that is abomination before the Lord: and thou shalt not cause the land to sin, which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.” Deuteronomy 24:1-4
“And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband: But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife.” 1 Corinthians 7:10-11
As a pastor, it is my job to preach against the wicked sin of divorce. I want to try to prevent people who have not already made that mistake from ever going down that road. Not only that, but if you are on your second or third marriage, I’m not trying to tear you down for your past sins. I’m warning you not to divorce your current spouse. Stay with the person you are married to right now because whoever you are currently married to is now God’s will for your life.
People have accused me of being a fraud because my parents are divorced and have both remarried. Since when is it the child’s fault when his parents get divorced? The only reason these people even know that about my parents is because I have mentioned it from the pulpit. Obviously, I am not trying to keep it a secret.
I’ve forgiven my parents, and I’m not mad at half of our society that gets divorced, but I’m not going to downplay divorce or stop preaching against it. God hates it, and it destroys families. If you have committed that sin in the past, you ought not be offended when you hear preaching on the subject. Don’t you want the younger generation to avoid the heartache and punishment you have experienced? Even if you don’t have children with you in church, I would think that you would want your current spouse to hear preaching that will give him or her a reason to stick with you through the bad times.
“But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.” Matthew 5:32
The Bible clearly teaches that if you divorce your spouse and marry someone else, then you are committing adultery. People will sometimes misunderstand this concept and assume that they are living in a perpetual state of adultery if they’ve been divorced and remarried.
They’ll wonder if they are still married to the first person in God’s eyes, but that is not the case. The Bible teaches that once you remarry, it would be an abomination for you to go back to your former spouse—even after your current spouse dies. The only couples who are supposed to be reconciled are people who have gotten divorced but have both remained unmarried.
“When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house. And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another man's wife. And if the latter husband hate her, and write her a bill of divorcement, and giveth it in her hand, and sendeth her out of his house; or if the latter husband die, which took her to be his wife; Her former husband, which sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after that she is defiled; for that is abomination before the Lord: and thou shalt not cause the land to sin, which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.” Deuteronomy 24:1-4
“And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband: But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife.” 1 Corinthians 7:10-11
As a pastor, it is my job to preach against the wicked sin of divorce. I want to try to prevent people who have not already made that mistake from ever going down that road. Not only that, but if you are on your second or third marriage, I’m not trying to tear you down for your past sins. I’m warning you not to divorce your current spouse. Stay with the person you are married to right now because whoever you are currently married to is now God’s will for your life.
People have accused me of being a fraud because my parents are divorced and have both remarried. Since when is it the child’s fault when his parents get divorced? The only reason these people even know that about my parents is because I have mentioned it from the pulpit. Obviously, I am not trying to keep it a secret.
I’ve forgiven my parents, and I’m not mad at half of our society that gets divorced, but I’m not going to downplay divorce or stop preaching against it. God hates it, and it destroys families. If you have committed that sin in the past, you ought not be offended when you hear preaching on the subject. Don’t you want the younger generation to avoid the heartache and punishment you have experienced? Even if you don’t have children with you in church, I would think that you would want your current spouse to hear preaching that will give him or her a reason to stick with you through the bad times.
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