With the advent of a new year, resolutions remain widespread throughout today’s culture as we all desire our years, months, and days to matter. Ultimately, there exists no higher calling than to imitate God. In this week’s passage, Paul reveals how God’s adopted children are to not only receive His great love, but to imitate His love.

Josh’s Main Points

• Our imitation of God is made possible through Christ.
• Our imitation of God is revealed in our conduct.
• Our imitation of God is reinforced through community.
  

Key Takeaways

• The world calls us to self-improvement and self-indulgence. The Word calls us to become wholly new people through Jesus Christ.
  
  
• Because God has forgiven you and by His forgiveness made possible by Jesus you are now beloved children, therefore be imitators of God.
  
  
• Imitating God is our greatest calling, joy, and witness to a dying world.
  
  
• As imitators of God, Paul emphasizes replicating God’s forgiving love and the self-sacrificing love of Christ. Christ willingly laid down His life, gave Himself to great suffering and death, and gave Himself for us.

• Through Christ, we have been adopted into God’s family. In Christ, we have the ultimate example.

• As preached by Josh, “May we see others’ needs as opportunities to love rather than burdens to avoid.”

• Sexual perversion, love of possessions, and unwholesome communication are all out of place for the adopted children of God. We are to conduct ourselves in all areas according to God’s Word and design.

• As advocated by Paul, thanksgiving is the antidote to self-indulgence. Gratitude leads to appreciation of the Gift Giver and the proper handling of the gifts.

• Our conduct reveals if we have been truly adopted and sealed with the Holy Spirit. A lack of imitating God should be a cause for great concern.

• Sin is a big deal. We must not trivialize it. We must not make peace with sin. We must call it what it is and realize what it cost Jesus and would have cost us—apart from God’s grace.
  
  
• As suggested by Josh, “There is no greater disservice to your brother or sister in Christ than to allow them to make peace with sin.”
  
  

Discussion Questions/Application

Personal application:

• As you consider where you are prone to fall short when it comes to the areas of sex, money/possessions, and communication, what do you have to be thankful for in Christ Jesus as a beloved child of God?
  
  
• Consider the three questions Josh posed to assess how you are doing in the area of admonishment:
  
  1) Do you welcome admonishment?
  2) How do you respond when someone points out your sin?
  3) Do you with humility and truth speak into others’ sin?
  
  

Discuss with your community group:

• In what ways do you aspire to grow in 2022 in imitating God?
  
  
• This week, how can you remind one another of the forgiving, willing, costly, and self-sacrificial love of Christ?
  
  

Passages Referenced for Further Study
Ephesians 5:1-7; Ephesians 4:32; John 17:3; Proverbs 18:4; Proverbs 27:6; Matthew 10:39.