I. Introduction
a. Illustration –We have all seen young children imitate their parents. Young girls play with dolls and little boys play with plastic lawn mowers.
b. Paul writes to the church at Ephesus and tells them to imitate God.
c. Though Paul’s letter was written to the church at Ephesus, no doubt Paul would urge us today to Imitate God.
d. How Can we Imitate God?
i. Paul gives us Four ways to Imitate God.
II. The First way is to Walk in Love (2)
a. We are to walk in love the same way that Christ Did.
i. To walk in Love means to forgive the way Christ did.
ii. 1 John 3:16 says, “We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.”
iii. The “fragrant aroma” is the term used for an acceptable sacrifice.
III. The Second way is to Get Rid of Ungodly Habits. (3-5)
a. As Christians we are to get rid of anything in our life that is contrary to God. (3)
b. We are to get rid of the evil that flows from our mouth. (4)
i. Ephesians 4:29
c. No one with ungodly habits will enter the Kingdom.
i. We can’t be greedy.
IV. The Third way is to Let No One Deceive You. (6-10)
a. We are to let no one deceive us.
b. This means we must know the truth.(9-10)
V. The Fourth way is to Not Participate in Unfruitful Deeds. (11-14)
a. We need to expose the unfruitful deeds. (11)
b. We expose non-truth.
c. We use the light of Christ to expose evil.
d. We need to Rise from the Dead and allow Christ to shine on us.
e. We need to allow Christ to make us Imitators f God.
VI. Conclusion
a. The First way is to Walk in Love (2)
b. The Second way is to Get Rid of Ungodly Habits. (3-5)
c. The Third way is to Let No One Deceive You. (6-10)
d. The Fourth way is to Not Participate in Unfruitful Deeds. (11-14)
If we want to be Imitators of God we must be Imitators of Christ.
