In His Steps: What Would Jesus Do?
08/05/07 PM
Text: 1 Peter 2:21
Introduction
Peter wrote: 1 Peter 2:21 “For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps,” The word rendered “example” (hupogrammon) occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. It means properly “a writing copy,” such as an outline or sketch for a painter to fill up; and then, in general, a pattern for imitation. The idea is illustrated in the way many of us learned how to write as children. The teacher would provide lined paper with a preprinted example or “overwriting” of a character for us to follow in recreating the character in question. The closer we matched the “overwriting,” the more accurate were our letters. In much the same way Peter is telling all of mankind that being “like God” means we are staying close to the “overwriting,” and the “overwriting” is Christ. Therefore, we should follow “In His Steps.”
In His Steps
A.Charles M. Sheldon wrote a novel in 1896 called In His Steps. In a nutshell, the book told the story of a preacher who challenged the congregation where he preached to commit to a year of total submission of walking in the steps of Jesus. The challenge was to pause before making any decisions and ask “what would Jesus do” in that particular situation. The book tells of the drastic changes that took place in the lives of those who submitted to this challenge.
B.One critic pointed out that Sheldon’s idea would not work in the real world because of a fundamental flaw in the premise. The book presents people making decisions on the spot, or on the spur of the moment. But the book never presents the real fact that to do what Jesus did it is necessary to adopt His total lifestyle. In other words, what Jesus did when on the spot was simply a continuation of what He did when not on the spot. When people follow “In His Steps,” it becomes a whole life approach, not an “on the spot” answer to a situation faced.
C.Daniel understood this basic principle. This is why Daniel was able to survive the lion’s den in his old age (Daniel 6). When the decree was issued to prevent men from following God, with punishment for disobedience being death in the lion’s den, Daniel didn’t have to ask what God would have him do. Daniel had been living how God would have him to live for many years, so there was no doubt as to the answer.
Daniel 6:10 “Now when Daniel knew that the document was signed, he entered his house (now in his roof chamber he had windows open toward Jerusalem); and he continued kneeling on his knees three times a day, praying and giving thanks before his God, as he had been doing previously.”
The key to Daniel 6:10 is found in the final phrase: “as he had been doing previously.” Daniel had already been living the life, so he only needed to carry through, not answer on the spur of the moment. The prayer windows were already open in Daniel’s life, so he just continued to use them. This is what it means to walk “In His Steps.”
I.Walking “In His Steps” Means Imitating Him.
A.Parenting brings a lot of thrilling moments. Parenting also brings a lot of sobering moments.
1.Rodney Adkins lyrics “Watching You”: In the first verse of the song a man and his son are in the car and a sudden stop makes the boy spill his happy meal and drink into his lap which causes him to utter a profanity. The man asks his son where he learned to talk like that and the boy answers in the chorus which begins:
“He said I’ve been watching you dad, ain’t that cool
and ends:
I wanna do everything you do
So I’ve been watching you”
2.Some like me may be old enough to remember the anti-smoking commercial which had the small boy shadowing his father, mimicking his actions up to and including picking up a pack of cigarettes.
3.Kids are like the cell phones so many carry today, which record audio and video. And it is a fact that they are prone to imitate what they witness in the actions of the adults around whom they grow up. The child wears daddy’s shoes because daddy is a hero, and as the child grows older he graduates from daddy’s shoes to daddy’s life.
B.In a very real sense, we are trying to walk in Jesus “shoes” because He is our hero. He came to this earth and died, fully aware of the sins I would commit that would require His death. Paul wrote:
Romans 5:6-10 “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.”
C.This is why we are called “Christians”; because we are seeking to be like Christ, to follow the example of His life, to walk “In His Steps.”
II.Walking “In His Steps” Means Being An Influence
A.One fundamental truth of evangelism is that influence by example is immeasurable. People are often open to hearing the message which is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16) because they are influenced by those who are living that message. More can be taught in one example than can be taught in ten sermons.
B.Imagine reading a book designed to teach the fundamentals of swimming. If you finish reading the book and immediately go and jump into a pool, will you have the art of swimming down well enough to look like a master swimmer? Not likely! But learning how to swim from an instructor, one who can influence you by the example of swimming, will cause you to be much more successful.
C.In much the same way Christianity is influence. Jesus calls it salt and light,
Matthew 5:13-16 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”
and He taught us about the importance of influence if we are to walk “In His Steps.”
III.Walking “In His Steps” Means Not Putting On A Religious Show
A.In Matthew 23 Jesus gives one of the boldest rebukes recorded in Scripture. In that chapter Jesus is exposing the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. In v 5 He says: “But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men…”
1.There are many things found in Matthew 23 concerning the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, but it seems to have all been rooted in this problem of wanting to look good before others. No matter what their actions, if the wrong motivation was behind the actions, then the actions were of no value.
2.In 1 Corinthians 13:1 Paul wrote: “If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” In other words, if God is not being served or worshiped out of a proper motivation, then we are just putting on a show.
B.Seeking to impress others with our spirituality is not the path of Christianity. Christianity is sitting in the humble seat and allowing the Master to see what is happening and exalt you Himself. The importance of serving God and others is not found in the glorification of self. If this is our motivation, then service will ultimately become a burden.
C.Our actions are for the purpose of glorifying God: Matthew 5:16 “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” When this is our motivation, we aren’t concerned with putting on a show for those around us. Walking in the steps of Jesus will cause us to avoid putting on a show.
IV.Walking “In His Steps” Means Laying Up Spiritual Treasures
A.Matthew 6:19-34 One of the greatest weaknesses of humanity is the seeming inability to see beyond the surface. Beauty, success, love, honor (and just about everything); all these things are often based on outward appearance. The problem with this is that it is entirely backward, and everything that glitters isn’t gold (as the old song said). The outside is corruptible and therefore changes, but the inside remains constant. Though the physical man decays, the spiritual man is renewed as we follow God
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 “Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
B.This physical/spiritual problem arises in the area of wealth also. We see treasure in the physical sense; Jesus tried to allow us a glimpse of true treasure by talking about spiritual wealth. Everything physical can be destroyed, and even if it is not destroyed, it must one day be left behind (Luke 12:13-21). Heaven is where true treasure and honor is found, we must keep our focus on that treasure and live with that as our focus if we are to walk “In His Steps.”
V.Walking “In His Steps” Means A Happy Ending
A.This is the bottom line to everything else. The whole purpose of everything God has done for mankind is to get us from here to heaven safely. He never promised it would be an easy journey, in fact He promised just the opposite. But His footprints are visible in God’s Word, and we are to follow.
B.The devil has placed his detours along the way, and there are many potholes, but Jesus has walked the journey and has provided us with the way. It may be narrow, but it will be successful for those who are willing to submit and follow.
C.The classic ending to a fairy tale is “and they lived happily ever after.” For most people time will not have a fairy tale ending, but it will for those who have been washed in the blood of the Lamb. Walking “In His Steps” means a happy ending.
CONCLUSION:
Walking in the steps of Jesus is a very powerful journey. His steps are unique. In John 14:1-6 Jesus told the disciples:
“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.”
At this point the text reveals to us the confusion of Thomas, and most likely the unspoken confusion of the others also. Thomas says, “...Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?” Jesus calms the fear by saying, “...I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
He didn’t simply show them, and us, the way to the Father; He became the way to the Father. Jesus didn’t just tell us how to live the truly abundant life of John 10:10, He showed us how to live it by living it Himself. He is our “overwriting.” Therefore, we should strap on the truth to our feet, pick up our cross and walk “In His Steps.”
Invitation
