JFC “Imitate God”

1. (V30) Do not bring sorrow to the Holy Spirit by the way you live

a) Put off (V31) Stop being bitter, rageful, angry, using harsh words, slander, etc

b) Put on (V32) Be kind, tenderhearted, forgiving, just as Christ has forgiven you

Lack of forgiveness can cause bitterness, rage, anger, and slander

Remember you have been forgiven

Colossians 4:6 “Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone.”

2. (V1) Imitate God Not Man

a) In everything you do

Matthew 5:48 “But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.”

The more we know Him, the more we become like Him

1 Peter 1:16 “For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”

Luke 6:36 “You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate.”

Ephesians 4:32 “Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.”

b) Children naturally imitate their parents

a) Our children watch my wife and I workout, next thing we know they are trying to do push ups

b) They copy our prayers

**We should have a natural desire to become just like our Heavenly Father

3. (V2) Follow the example of Christ

a) Live a filled with love (Loving others)

In the Gospels, we find the phrase “and Jesus had compassion or he was moved with compassion

Compassion is an emotion that is concerned with the suffering of others

Jesus healed the sick and demon possessed, even raised a few from the dead

He provided food for the hungry

He taught about the Kingdom because He was concerned for their eternity

Are we compassionate to others?

b) He sacrificed Himself for us, that we must sacrifice for Him

1 John 3:16 “We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters.”

Galatians 1:4 “Jesus gave his life for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live.”

1 Peter 2:21 “For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps.”

***Often times sacrifice requires suffering

c) How do we sacrifice for Him?

Give our time to share our hope

Give money

We don’t give into our fleshly desires

4. (V3) Let there be no sexual immorality among you

· Fornication (porneia), a broad word describing sexual sin.

· Uncleanness, another broad word for “dirty” moral behavior, especially in a sexual sense.

· Filthiness, which has much the same idea as uncleanness.

Colossians 3:5–7 “So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. Because of these sins, the anger of God is coming. You used to do these things when your life was still part of this world.”