Who Are We Imitating?

Ephesians 5:1-14

Little children like to imitate their parents.  When daddy is out mowing the lawn, a young child might follow along after him, pushing a toy lawnmower.  They like to dress up like mommy and daddy, and copy their mannerisms. As parents, we hope our children will imitate our good qualities, and not any bad ones.  In his epistle to the Ephesians, Paul urges Christians to be imitators of God, our Heavenly Father. As we seek to imitate Him in our life, there should be changes in our lifestyle and conduct, as Paul teaches us in our passage today.

Just like children imitate their parents, Christians should imitate their Heavenly Father (vs. 1).  If we are refusing to walk in His ways, there might be a question as to who our father really is (I John 3:10).  Paul also urges believers to spread the aroma of Christ through our life and behavior (vs. 2). Just like when a woman puts a little perfume on herself to smell attractive, Christ should so permeate our life, that His character, like a pleasant aroma, is evident.

Paul goes on to teach in this Scripture passage that certain behavior should not be practiced by believers who want to be following and imitating the Lord Jesus (vs. 3-7).  Contrary to what many people teach from the pulpits of some churches, it does matter to God what we, as believers, do.  It is true that we can’t earn our salvation, but it matters very much how our behavior is, and what our actions are.  Spiritually dead people are confused in their moral thinking. To walk in Jesus’ path we must have Biblical principles and standards.  We need to imitate and obey God. Act as He would act. Do what Jesus would do. Sinfulness and impurity is foul-smelling to Him. God’s holiness does not compromise with sin.  There shouldn’t even be a hint of such behavior, or approval of it, in the church.

How can we praise God and speak to others of His goodness when we use filthy language? (vs. 4)  There is an old saying - See no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil. Christians should be careful what they watch (Psalm 101:3).  We shouldn’t spend time discussing dark and evil things. We should not be listening to the false philosophies so popular in the world today (Psalm 1:1-2, Colossians 2:8).  Christians should not condone sinful lifestyles or make excuses for bad behavior. Though we can befriend unbelievers, and lead them to the Lord, we must be wary of those who are evil, immoral, and who are viciously opposed to Christ and the Bible.  God does not tolerate sin. It has no place in His kingdom, nor will any person whose life pattern is one of habitual immorality or impurity.

Our Scripture passage continues with contrasting light and darkness (vs. 8-14).  There is a contrast between worldly darkness and Christian light. One cannot claim to have fellowship with Jesus, but walk in darkness.  Christians are to be beacons of light in this dark world, showing the way to spiritual safety to the lost (Matthew 5:14-16).  Our actions should reflect our faith and God’s goodness to others.

A tree is known by its fruit (Matthew 7:16-18).  The fruit of living in the light versus living in the dark is clear.  Live as children of the light. Pursue goodness, righteousness, and truth.  Do what pleases God. Have nothing to do with darkness, and those who live in dark lifestyles.  Christians should have no participation or association in such behavior, nor give any approval to this activity.  Instead, a believer should take a stand for what is right, as often silence is seen as approval. God has moral principles which most often oppose popular culture.  We need to judge sin, and rid it from our life.

Satan seeks to destroy God’s children, and turn them as far away as possible from His image.  In light of this, Christians should seek to live in righteousness and purity, and have nothing to do with Satan’s evil ways and works.  As believers, each of us needs to take our place as sons and daughters to our Heavenly Father. We need to appropriate the shed Blood of the Lamb of God, so that we can fulfill our destiny as children of God, and walk in the Light as He is in the Light.