LivePrayerSermon 1725. Imitators of God
(No. 1725)
DELIVERED ON LORD'S-DAY MORNING, JUNE 10, 1883,
BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.
"Be you therefore followers of God, as dear children." Ephesians 5:1.
WE shall read the text as it should more properly be translated-"Be you therefore imitators of God, as beloved children."Upon the word, "imitate," our discourse will hinge. The division into chapters is often most unfortunate and, in this case,it causes a break in a passage which, in its sense, is one and indivisible. The Apostle had said, "Be you kind, one to another,tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God, for Christ's sake, has forgiven you. Be you therefore imitators of God,as dear children." He has forgiven you, therefore imitate Him. It is a pity to have divided the argument from the conclusion.
Here, while your minds are fresh, let me remind you that this is Hospital Sunday. And let me add that my text is an argument,and a powerful one, for helping those houses of mercy. Your Lord would have you be kind, one to another, and tenderhearted-buthow can we be kind and tenderhearted if the sick poor are not cared for? When all the machinery and all the medical skillare waiting to relieve the suffering poor, it is a crying shame that beds in hospitals should be unused because of lack offunds. Yet this is sadly the case and several of those grand institutions are running into debt. We may, ourselves, have nosurgical skill, or nursing art, but we can each give of our substance to aid those whose lives are consecrated to the Christ-likework of healing.
We cannot be kind and tenderhearted unless we give according to our ability to such noble institutions as our hospitals. Preachersgenerally put the application at the end of a discourse, but on these warm days you are apt to grow tired and, therefore,I put the application at the beginning, that you may not give faintly and scantily when the sermon is over! All sorts of religionistsare contributing to the common fund and we must not be lacking. When the box comes round, "be you imitators of God, as dearchildren," in the largeness of your liberality and the freeness of your gifts! The Apostle urges us to give and forgive. Ifyou are imitators of God, give, for He is always giving. Give, for if He were not to give, our lives would end! Give, forHe gives unto all men liberally and upbraids not, and every good gift and every perfect gift is from above. Be you imitatorsof God, the constant, generous Giver, who spared not His own Son! Thanks be to His name for that unspeakable Gift!
Then comes that which, to most men, is a harder task, but which to a Christian man is a delight-I mean to forgive. God, forChrist's sake, has forgiven us. He has blotted out our transgressions like a cloud and cast our sins into the depth of thesea, plunging them into oblivion! Therefore, let us forgive most freely all who have done us wrong, so that when we bow ourknees, we may say without hypocrisy, "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those that trespass against us." Let givingand forgiving be two prominent features of our lives as Christians-giving to the needy and forgiving the guilty. Giving tosuch as ask of us and forgiving such as offend us. By these two things let us show that we walk in love as Christ also hasloved us. He has given Himself for us and through His precious blood we are forgiven our iniquities. Let us, therefore, blendgiving and forgiving into one God-like life, imitating our God. This is our Father's Commandment-let it be our delight!
I. With this as a preface, let us now come closely to the text, and let us CONSIDER THE PRECEPT here laid down-"Be you imitatorsof God, as dear children." I note upon this precept, first, that it calls us to practical duty. Many precepts of the Wordof God are thought by men of the world to be unpractical, but even in those instances, they are in error, for the result andoutcome of such precepts produce the practical holiness which all profess to desire. In this instance there can be no argumentat the too spiritual, sentimental, or speculative character of the text-there can be no question as to the eminently practicalcharacter of the exhortation-"Be you imitators of God, as dear children," for it points to action, continued action of thebest kind.
"Be you imitators"-that is, do not only meditate upon God and think that you have done enough, but go on to copy what youstudy. Meditation is a happy, holy, profitable engagement. It will instruct you, strengthen you, comfort you, inspire yourheart and make your soul steadfast. But you may not stop at meditation-you must go on to imitation of the Character of God!Let your spiritual life not only bud and blossom in devout thought, but let it bring forth fruit in holy action. Be not satisfiedwith feeding the soul by meditation, but rise up from the banquet and use the strength which you have gained! Sitting at thefeet of Jesus must be succeeded by following in the footsteps of Jesus!
Neither does the text say to us, "Be you admirers of God." This we ought to be and shall be if we are true Christians. Thepure in heart, who, alone, can truly see God, are filled with a reverent admiration of Him. With the angels, every graciousheart exclaims, "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Hosts." "There is none holy as the Lord" (Sam. 2:2). When the best of men arecompared with the Lord, their holiness is not to be mentioned. "Who is like unto You, O God, glorious in holiness?" But wecannot rest satisfied with rendering such admiration-we must prove that we really admire by closely imitating. The world'sproverb is that "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery." I shall alter it and adapt it to a higher use. "Imitation ofGod is the sincerest form of admiring Him!" Neither can we believe that you know God and are at all charmed with His holinessunless you endeavor, as He shall help you, to imitate Him as dear children.
Neither does the text stop at adoration, though that is a sublime height. Adoration springs out of meditation and admirationand is a very high and noble exercise of the mind. Perhaps we rise to the highest possible service of God on earth when weare adoring Him-this is the engagement of saints and angels before His Throne and never are we nearer Heaven than when wefollow the same occupation here below. Beloved, let your whole lives be adoration to God! Not only on Sundays and at certainhours, or in your assemblies, but everywhere adore, by good works-a manner of worship which is as real and acceptable as themost reverent public service! Remember, "to obey is better than sacrifice"-holy living outshines all other solemnities.
To love is to adore! To obey is to praise! To act is to worship! If you are imitators of God as dear children, your adorationwill be proved to be sincere. Worship unattended by imitation is fake-true adoration dwells not in words only-as it comesfrom the heart, so it affects the entire nature and shows itself in the daily behavior. Let us spread our adoration over allthe day till, from the moment when we open our eyes till we close them again at night, we shall be practically worshippingthe Lord by reverencing His law, delighting in His Commandments and imitating His Character! It is clear that the preceptbefore us is eminently practical. You who boast in being such practical men, give heed to this!
Next, this precept treats us as children-it treats us as what we are! And if we are lowly in heart, we shall be thankful thatit is worded as it is. Some men are very high and mighty. Measured by their own rod, they are great men and, therefore, theymust be original and strike out a path for themselves. You are not commanded to do anything of the kind-the path is laid downfor you-"Be you imitators." This is a similar doctrine to that which we teach the children at school. You, my boy, are notto invent a system of writing-yours is a much easier task, keep to your copy, imitate every letter-yes, every turn and twistof your master's hand! Scholars can only learn by imitation and we are all scholars.
It may be something to aspire to be the head of a school of painting, but the first thing for the young artist to do is tocopy. He who cannot copy cannot originate-depend upon that! I have heard great outcries about young preachers imitating, butI would suggest that, in their early efforts, this is not blameworthy. What more natural than that Timothy should, at first,be much influenced by Paul's manner of speech? How could a man become an artist if he did not attach himself to some schoolof painting and sit under a certain master?
He may be of the French school, or the Italian school, or the Flemish school, but he must begin as a follower even if he growsup to be a leader. When he has been well trained and has done much work, he may outgrow his master and become an original,but he must begin as a careful copyist. Here you are invited to become imitators-but the Master is such that you will neverbe able to learn all that He can teach and so strike out a better path. Though you are immortal, yet throughout eternity youwill never advance beyond your Model, for it is written, "Be you imitators of God." Listen to me, you aspiring minds-if youmust be original, the most wonderful originality in this world would be for a man's character to be a precise copy of theCharacter of God! In you there would be novelty, indeed, for you would be like He whose name is s called, "Wonderful!"
When our Lord Jesus exhibited on earth the Character of God, His life was so original that the world knew Him not! They werepuzzled and amazed at the sight of One who was so like unto the Father. His life struck men as being the most singular thingthey had ever seen! And if we are close copyists of God, our characters will also stand out in relief and we shall, each one,be "a wonder unto many." You see it is a humbling exhortation which only men of childlike spirit are likely to regard. Wiselydoes the Scripture address it only to such-"Be you therefore imitators of God, as dear chil-dren"-if you are not His childrenyou cannot imitate Him and you will not even desire to do so!
Observe, next, that while it thus humbles us, this precept ennobles us, for what a grand thing it is to be imitators of God!It is an honor to be the lowliest follower of such a Leader. Time has been when men gloried in studying Homer and their liveswere trained to heroism by his martial verse. Alexander carried a great warrior's head about with him in a casket studdedwith jewels, and his military life greatly sprung out of his imitation of the warriors of Greece and Troy. Ours is a noblerambition, by far, than that which delights in battles. We desire to imitate the God of Peace, whose name is Love. In laterages, when men began to be a less savage race and contests of thought were carried on by the more educated class of minds,thousands of men gloried in being disciples of the mighty Stagyrite, the renowned Aristotle.
He reigned supreme over the thoughts of men for centuries and students slavishly followed him till a greater arose and setfree the human mind by a more true philosophy. To this day, however, our cultured men remain copyists and you can see a fashionin philosophy as well as in clothes. Some of these imitations are so childish as to be deplorable. It is no honor to imitatea poor example! But, oh, Beloved, he who seeks to imitate God has a noble enterprise before him-he shall rise as on eagle'swings! We are copying infinite goodness! We seek after moral perfection. We are to be "blameless and harmless, the sons ofGod without rebuke!"
But as God is infinitely more than that, so are we to rise above mere innocence into actual holiness. To refrain from evilis not enough-we must be filled with all goodness by the Spirit of God. Is not this a mark worth aiming at? Judge you whatthat Grace must be which is to raise us to this height! O angels, what happier task could be laid before you? What higherambition can you know? God's only-begotten Son, who is this day Lord of All, wears His Father's s image in His Glory, evenas on earth He was such a copy of God that He could truly say, "He that has seen Me has seen the Father." "I do always," saidHe, "the things that please Him." The perfect Son of God is as His Father in holiness. You see your calling, Brothers andSisters, to a high place in the rank of intelligences. You are bid to ascend, by God Himself! In this respect take your seatsin the highest room. Imitate, but note well that you do not select an imperfect example-"Be you imitators of God, as dearchildren."
While it ennobles us, this precept tests us-tests us in many points. "Be you imitators of God." This tests our knowledge.A man cannot imitate that which he has never seen. He who does not know God cannot possibly imitate Him. Do you know God,my Hearer? Have you turned unto Him with repentance? Have you ever spoken with Him in prayer? Have you had fellowship withHim in Christ? Can you say, "I have set the Lord always before me"? You cannot possibly follow a copy unless you fix youreyes upon that copy and have some intelligent knowledge of what it is. We must have a spiritual idea of God or we cannot imitateHim-and, therefore, the need of the Holy Spirit! How can we know the Lord unless the Spirit reveals Him in us?
What is more, this precept tests our love. If we love God, love will impel us to imitate Him. But we shall not do so fromany other force. We readily grow somewhat like that which we love. In married life, persons who have truly loved, though theymay begin with great dissimilarity, will gradually be conformed to one another in the process of years. Likeness is the naturalproduct of love and so, if we truly love God, we shall by very force of that love through His blessed Spirit grow more andmore like He is. If we do not love the Lord, we shall not follow Him; but if we truly love Him, we shall say with David, "Mysoul follows hard after You; Your right hand upholds me."
Our text does even more than this-it tests our sincerity. If a man is not really a Christian, he will take no care about hislife. But in the matter of close copying, a man must be careful-a watchful care is implied in the idea of imitation. You cannotcopy a document without being intent to read and mark each word. If I sit down to write an article out of my own mind, I havenothing to do but to make my own tracks and there is my work, such as it is. But if I have to copy from a book, them I mustnecessarily look to each line, and I must read it over attentively, for otherwise I may misrepresent the writer whose languageI transcribe.
In copying from Nature, how careful the artist has to be at every touch, or he will fail in his picture. If a sculptor isproducing a replica of an ancient statue, he must keep his eyes open and follow every line and mark. My Friend, you cannotimitate God if you are one of that sort of Christians who are habitually in a condition between sleeping and wak-ing-withone eye a little open and the other closed! Such men live a slovenly life and attempt a sort of happy-go-lucky religion whichmay be right or which may be wrong-but its character they cannot tell-for they run with their neighbors and never examinefor themselves! Such people live at random and never take a day's life at night and examine it to see its faults. Thus singrows upon them like weeds in a sluggard's garden. Such persons, playing at hit or miss with holiness, are sure to come shortof it! But he that is in earnest will give his prayerful thought and anxious desire to it, that he may become, in very deed,a successful imitator of God. He will also call in the aid of the Holy Spirit and thus be led into holiness.
Moreover, the precept tests us as to our spirit whether it is of the Law or of the Gospel. "Be you imitators of God, as dearchildren" not as slaves might imitate their master-unwillingly, dreading the crack of his whip-but loving, willing imitators,such as children are. You do not urge your children to imitate you! They do this even in their games. See how the boy rideshis wooden horse and the girl imitates her nurse. You see the minister's little boy trying to preach like his father-and youall remember the picture of the young girl with a Bible in front of her and an ancient pair of spectacles upon her nose, saying,"Now I'm Grandmamma!" They copy us by force of nature-they cannot help it. Such will be the holiness of the genuine Christian!He is born from above and, therefore, he lives above! His imitation of God springs out of his relationship to God.
Holiness must be spontaneous, or it is spurious. We cannot be driven to holiness like a bullock to his plowing-we must delightin the Law of God after the inward man. "Be you imitators of God, as dear children," because you do not wish for anythingbetter than to be like your Father. You have no ambition in the world that approaches your aspiration to be holy even as Godis holy, according to that Word of God, "Be you perfect even as your Father which is in Heaven is perfect." Have you thatfilial spirit? Have you a burning love to holiness? Or is sin your delight and God's service a weariness? Where your pleasureis-there is your heart. If you love evil you are not the children of God at all and cannot imitate Him nor render to Him anyacceptable service whatever! The Lord make us to be imitators of Him, even as children, from a natural bent, copy their parents.
While it tests us, this precept greatly aids us. It is a fine thing for a man to know what he has to do, for then he is ledin a plain path because of his enemies. What a help it is to have a clear chart and a true compass! We have only to ask- "Whatwould our heavenly Father do in such a case?"-and our course is clear. As far as we are capable of imitating the Lord, ourpathway is plain. We cannot imitate God in His power, or Omnipresence, or Omniscience-certain of His attributes are incommunicable-andof them we may say they are high and we cannot attain to them. But these are not intended in the precept! Creatures cannotimitate their Creator in His Divine attributes, but children may copy their Father in His moral attributes.
By the aid of His Divine Spirit we can copy our God in His justice, righteousness, holiness, purity, truth and faithfulness.We can be tenderhearted, kind, forbearing, merciful, forgiving. In a word, we may walk in love as Christ, also, has lovedus. To know what to do is a great aid to a holy life. This puts us into the light, while the poor heathen gropes in darkness,for his false gods are monsters of vice which he may not dream of imitating. Another blessing is that it backs us up in ourposition, for if we do a thing because we are imitating God. If any raise an objection, it does not trouble us, much lessare we confounded. We did not expect, when we commenced a holy life, that everybody would applaud us, but we reckoned thatthey would criticize us. And so, when their censure comes, we are supported by the consideration that those who blame theimitation find fault with the copy-if, indeed, the imitation is well done. He who follows God minds not what the godless thinkof his way of life. A clear conscience is our portion when we have, in all things, endeavored to please God.
I will leave my first head when I have made one more observation. This precept is greatly for our usefulness-"Be you imitatorsof God, as dear children." I do not know of anything which would make us so useful to our fellow men as this would do. Whatare we sent into the world for? Is it not that we may keep men in mind of God, whom they are most anxious to forget? If weare imitators of God, as dear children, they will be compelled to remember that there is a God, for they will see His Characterreflected in ours. I have heard of an atheist who said he could get over every argument ex-
cept the example of his godly mother-he could never answer that! A genuinely holy Christian is a beam of God's Glory and atestimony to the Being and the goodness of God. Men cannot forget that there is a God so long as they see His servants amongthem, dressed in the livery of holiness.
We ought not only to be reminders for the careless, but teachers of the ignorant by our walk and conversation. When they lookus up and down, and see how we live, they ought to be learning something of God. Holy men are the world's Bibles-the worldreads not the Testament, but they read our testimony. Brothers and Sisters, a close imitation of God would make our religionhonorable. The ungodly might still hate it, but they could not sneer at it! No, the more candid among unbelievers, perceivingour holiness to be the result of our faith, could say nothing against it. The name of Christ would not be so evil spoken ofif our lives were not so faulty. Holiness is true preaching and preaching of the most successful kind.
What a support it is to the preacher when he has a people around him who are daily witnessing for God at home and in business.If the pastor can turn to his Church and say, "See, here, what the doctrines of Grace can do! See in the lives of our Churchmembers what the Spirit of God can produce"-then he will have an unanswerable argument with which to silence gainsayers. Doesnot the Lord say, "You are My witnesses?" Are we not detained in this world on purpose that we may bear testimony to our Lord?How can we bear forcible witness for Him unless our lives are pure? An unclean professor is a fountain of skepticism and ahindrance to the Gospel. To be useful we must be holy! If we would bless men as God blesses them, we must live as God lives!Therefore, "Be you imitators of God, as dear children."
Thus much upon the precept.
II. Secondly, I invite you, dear Friends, as we are helped of God's Spirit, to WEIGH THE ARGUMENT. The argument is this, "Beyou imitators of God, as dear children." First, as children. It is the natural tendency of children to imitate their parents,yet there are exceptions, for some children are the opposite of their fathers, perhaps displaying the vices of a remote ancestor.Absalom did not imitate David, nor was Rehoboam a repetition of Solomon. In the case of God's children, it is a necessitythat they should be like their Father, for it is a rule in spirituals that like begets its like. Those who live wickedly arethe children of the Wicked One-no proof is needed, you may take it for granted-life is the evidence of Nature.
Those who live godly and righteously in Christ Jesus, believing in Him, are God's children, and though the godly sin, yetthey do not love sin, nor remain without repenting of it. Holiness of life is the proof of regeneration, neither can we acceptany other. "By their fruits you shall know them," is a rule of universal application. God's children must be like He. Withall their faults and failings, there must be about their lives, as a whole, a likeness to God. The copy may be blurred, butit is a copy. I say to any man here who bears the name of Christian and professes to be a child of God, either be like yourFather or give up your name!
You remember the old classic story of a soldier in Alexander's army whose name was Alexander, but when the battle was raginghe trembled? Then Alexander said to him, "How can you bear the name of Alexander? Drop your cowardice, or drop your name."So I say to those who are unholy, unclean, impure, unkind, ungracious-be like God, or cease to bear the name of a child ofGod! What need is there that you should aggravate your sin by pretending to a character which you do not possess! Be likeChrist, or be not called a Christian! Do not play the Judas unless you have a mind to be a second "son of perdition." Theargument, then, is that if we are children we should imitate our Father.
But it is also said, "as dear children." Read it as, "children beloved." Is not this a tender but mighty argument? How greatlyhas God loved us in that He permits us to be His children! "Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us, thatwe should be called the children of God." A, "behold," is placed there, as if it were a thing of wonder. Do you not wonderat it in your own case, that you should be called a child of God? Behold the love which chose you when you were dead in trespassesand sins and quickened you into the life of God! Do you not remember the text-"As many as received Him, to them gave He powerto become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name"? What love was that which revealed itself in your new birthand your adoption, giving you the nature and the status of a child of God!
Furthermore, since you have been a child, was there ever such kindness received by a child from a father as you have received?Behold, He deals with you as with children! You could not wish for God to improve upon His dealings with you, since He actstowards you as He use to do unto those that love His name. Behold how He has borne with you in manners! How He has put upwith your mistakes and your forgetting! How He has cared for you in all your cares, helped
you in all your difficulties and pardoned you in all your sins! I do not know what you have to say, my Brothers and Sisters,but this I can say-I am filled with admiration at the love of God for me! I have been a child greatly beloved of his Father.His love to me is wonderful! I am a deep debtor to His Grace. Are you not the same? Then imitate your Father, for the morethe love of a child to his Father, the more his admiration of his Father and the stronger his desire to be like He in allthings. Let it be so with you.
However, this word, "as dear children," bears yet another meaning. Children differ. A father loves all his children, but hecannot be said, in all respects, to love them all alike, for some force him to love them beyond the rest. You have one dearson who lies nearest your heart. What a sweet child he is! You have got another boy-he is your child and you love him anddo your best with him-but he is an awkward bit of stuff. He gives you little pleasure and you are not particularly anxiousto have him around you all day long. The first child loves you with all his heart and strives to please you. How obedienthe is! How content and happy! In all things he is a comfort in the house. Your heart binds its tendrils about your Josephmore closely than about the wayward boy-you do not make a favorite of him-and so excite the jealousy of the others.
You must admit to a nearer and dearer love than usual when you think of him. You cannot help your heart clinging to him-hisbehavior is such that he is the son of your right hand and he has a tender place in your soul-in a word, he is one of thosewhom the text calls, "dear children." Just so, the Lord has certain dear children. Master Trapp says, "God has but a few suchchildren." I am afraid that the quaint old commentator is correct and that few imitate the Lord as they should. Yet some ofthe Lord's children give themselves up wholly to Him, are watchful and tenderly obedient, and walk in such closeness withHim that they deserve the title of "dear children." Brothers and Sisters, aim at this! Here happiness lies! Here Heaven liesthis side of Heaven! To be not only children, but dear children, is to antedate eternal bliss!
Our Lord Jesus had disciples, but of some He said, "Then are you My disciples, indeed." Be such! May the Holy Spirit makeyou such! Around us there are troops of third-rate Christians-oh, for more first-class Believers! We have many who appearto come into the Father's House at mealtimes to get a bit of bread, and then they are off, again, into the world. I counselyou in one thing to be like the elder brother, to whom his father said, "Son, you are always with me, and all that I haveis yours." "Blessed are they that dwell in Your house."
Oh, to be of David's mind-"I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." Be you imitators of God, then, in so high a sensethat you become dear children, whose one thought is how to please their father, whose sorrow it is to grieve Him, whose beautyit is to be like He!
III. In the third place, I desire, dear Friends, to SUGGEST ENCOURAGEMENTS. Did I hear one cry, "Oh, Sir,
this imitation of God is beyond us! How are we to be copyists of God?" I will encourage you by giving hints which you canwork out for yourselves. First, God has already made you His children! I speak to you that are Believers-you are God's sonsand daughters! The greater work is done! If you are to be imitators of God, as dear children, you must first be His children-thatis already accomplished! You could not have made yourselves children of God, but He has done that for you. "Beloved, now arewe the sons of God." It must be a much easier thing to imitate the Father than to become a
child.
You might adopt a child and call it your own, but you could not really make it your offspring, do what you might. But theLord has "begotten us, again, unto a lively hope." We are "born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the willof man, but of God." And by this new birth we are renewed in His image! Hence the greater part of the task, the insurmountablehill of difficulty, is over and that which remains is but our reasonable service. Should not the child imitate his father?Will he not do so naturally?
Next, remember that God has given you His Nature already. Does not Peter speak of our being "partakers of the Divine Nature,having escaped the corruption which is in the world through lust"? It remains for you to let the new nature act after itsown manner. A well of living water is within you, sing you unto it, "Spring up, O well." Let the holy thing that has beenborn in you now occupy the throne and subdue the body of this death! Pray God it may. It seems to me a small thing to letthe new nature have scope and freedom compared with the giving of that nature! A clean heart and a right spirit have beenbestowed-let these show themselves in clean lives and right feelings. The living and incorruptible seed will produce a harvestof good works-water it with your prayer and watchfulness. If anything hinders it, repent and do your first works.
Next, the Lord has given you His blessed Spirit to help you. "Likewise, also, the Spirit helps our infirmity." Never forgetthat! Things impossible with men are possible enough to the Spirit of God. We have the Spirit abiding in us, vitalizing ourwhole nature! The most beautiful harp you ever saw has no music in itself, but must be struck by the fingers of a musician-butthe Holy Spirit makes us into living harps, which, from themselves, pour forth a natural and spontaneous melody. Is not thismarvelous? We have not to look abroad for power to be holy, for the Spirit of God abides in us and works in us, creating inus "the spirit of power and of love and of a sound mind." Oh, to be filled with the Spirit of God! Meanwhile, it is no smallhelp in the imitation of God to have the anointing of the Holy One and to be instructed by Him. The Holy Spirit is the Spiritof God and, therefore, He can teach us to imitate God. He is also the Spirit of Holiness and none can better promote our holiness.Be of good cheer! With such a Helper you cannot be defeated!
Again, remember, dear Friend, that the Lord allows you to commune with Himself. If we had to imitate a man and yet could notsee him, we should find it hard work. But in this case we can draw near to God-some of us can shut the closet door and bealone with God when we will-we can even walk with God all day. What better conditions could we be under for imitating ourGod? Nearness to God brings likeness to God. The more you see God, the more of God will be seen in you. You remember the Persianstory of the scented clay? One said to it, "Clay, where did you get your delicious perfume?" It answered, "I was nothing buta piece of common clay, but I lay long in the sweet society of a rose till I drank in its fragrance and became perfumed, myself."
Oh, if you dwell much with God in seasons of retirement and abide with Him in all the affairs of life, you will be changedinto His image! As surely as the type will make its impression upon the paper and the seal will stamp itself upon the wax,so will the Lord impress Himself upon you and stamp His image upon you if you dwell in Him! This ought, also, to inspire youwith ardor to remember that you have to imitate God or you cannot go to Heaven, for this is one of the main delights of Heaven-tobe like Christ because we shall see Him as He is. "They are without fault before the Throne of God." His name shall be ontheir foreheads-that is to say, the Character of God shall be most conspicuous in them. Surely that which is to be our eternaldestiny should be our desire today! We should strive after holiness according to His working who works in us mightily. Wemust become close copyists of God that we may enjoy everlasting communion with Him. May His Spirit work us to that end.
IV. Now, by turning our subject a little, we shall close WITH CERTAIN INFERENCES. I have, up to now, spoken only to saints,but here is an inference for seekers. "Be you imitators of God, as dear children." What do I infer from this? I infer thatGod is ready to forgive those who you offended Him! O you that have never been pardoned, listen to this- the Lord must beready to forgive! We are to make God our pattern, but if God were unwilling to forgive, He could not be a pattern to us! Weare to be ready to pass by the offenses of others and, therefore, if God is set forth as our example, He must certainly bemore ready to forgive than any of us can be!
O you that are covered with sin, I would urge you to catch at this fact! Suppose I were to bid you imitate your earthly fatherin frankly and freely forgiving all who vexed him? Then you might reply, "Do you know my father?" If I answered, "Yes," youwould say, "Is he really a good example of patience and forgiveness? I offended him some time ago and I have always been afraidto go to him, lest he should refuse to receive me." If I could answer, "Yes, your father is an example that you may safelyfollow in that respect," then you would reply, "I will go home to him and tell him that I desire his forgiveness and am sorryto have caused him pain."
O poor Sinners, you do not know what a forgiving spirit the heavenly Father has! He gave His Son, Jesus, that He might beable to pass by our sins and yet be the righteous Judge of men. There have been good men in the world who have delighted topass by offenses. Some here present have been taught of the Lord till it has become easy and pleasurable to overlook injuriesand forget wrongs. But our heavenly Father is much more kind-and with far more delight blots out the sinner's iniquities!They said of Cramer that he was more than ready to forgive, for he always returned good for evil. It was a common saying,"Do my lord of Canterbury an ill turn and he will be your friend as long as you live." That was fine, but my lord of Canterburywas nothing in gentleness compared with the Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
The holy Leighton, also, was of such a gentle spirit that one day when he went out for a walk and came back, he could notget into his own house, for it was locked up and his servant had gone away for a day's fishing without leave or notice. Allthe good man said was, "John, next time you go fishing, please to let me know, or at least leave me the key, so that I mayopen the door." That was all. If even men have come up to such a degree of patience, much more will you find
long-suffering in God! Oh, Trembler, believe that our Father in Heaven is willing to forgive you! You backsliders, you greatsinners, have right thoughts of God and come to Him at once for reconciliation! There is forgiveness with Him! "He delightsin mercy." "The Lord is good and ready to forgive."
Christian Friends, is there one among you who thinks God will not keep His promise to you? Now listen. God is an example tous, therefore He will surely keep His Word. He must be faithful and true, for you are bid to copy Him. If God could be falseto His Word, we could not be exhorted to imitate Him and, therefore, we are sure that He is faithful and true because we arebid to imitate Him closely. You may be sure that every Word of His will stand fast, for He would have us righteous and uprightin all our ways. "God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love which you have showed towards His name."
Another inference-only a hint at it-is, if you are told to be "imitators of God, as dear children," then you may depend uponit, the Lord is a dear Father! The dear children of God have a dear Father! We may rest assured that He will be kind and tenderto us, since He would have us loving towards Himself. I know you are heavy in spirit at this time. I know you are depressedand troubled, but your Father is kind and good. Believe it if you cannot see it. If reason says that He deals somewhat harshlywith you, for He chastens you, remember that this is His way with His beloved. Has He not said, "As many as I love I rebukeand chasten"? Those stripes are seals of love! Chastisement is a high proof of wise affection! Your heavenly Father is muchbetter to you than you are to Him. He is dearer, kinder and more loving as a Father than you have been as a child to Him.Rejoice in your Father though you cannot rejoice in yourself!
Lastly, when the text says, "Be you imitators of God," it bids us keep on imitating Him as long as we live! Therefore I concludethat God will always be to us what He is. He will continue in His love since He makes that love the example of ours! God willpersevere in bringing us home to Heaven, for He teaches us to persevere and make this a part of our likeness to Himself. TheLord will not turn His heart away from us. He will not fail nor be discouraged-having begun to make us meet for Heaven, Hewill never stay His hand till that work is done! Rest upon the immutable goodness of your Father and pray for Grace to alwaysimitate Him until you come to see His face. May His Presence be with you and may He give you rest. Amen.