Being Christ-Like?
Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. (1 John 2:6)
Every church and denomination within the christian faith utters a certain variation of the following sentence “You need to be Christ-like”. It’s a good sentiment and a good catch phrase. It gives people hope and something to aspire to everyday. However, when one analyzes that sentence closely, it creates more questions than it answers. Where do we find this concept of being Christ-like? What did Christ do that I have to imitate? How do I attain the level of Christ and be righteous?
The search for what is Christ like is something that begins with a search of where Christ is. The accounts of the life of Yeshua can simply be found in the Gospels of Matthew, Marc, Luke and John. It’s a seemingly easy and simple answer to a difficult question. It’s that way because it’s not complete. We must account for every prophetic book and book of wisdom to gather information of Christ through the more than 300 hundred prophecies written about his life. The historical books are also important, noting the story of the people of Israel - Yeshua’s people - and explaining the socio political climate in which he finds himself in His lifetime. Finally, we must read the Law within the first five books of the Bible, as Moses wrote about Him in them (John 5:46, Revelations 19:13). In truth, the word of Yahweh is where we must find everything about His life.
To understand what He did during His lifetime in detail, a thorough reading of the Gospel has to be done. When that is done, there are certain things that come about that many don’t realize. Firstly, Yeshua celebrated Sabbath (Luke 14:6), a thing that many people don’t do today. Yeshua abstained from unholy foods such as pork, preferring to eat fish and lamb (Mattew 14:19, Luke 22:15), while many people consider these foods to be delicasses today. Finally, Yeshua was sinless (1 Peter 2:22) and sin is transgressing the law as written in 1 John 3:4. Yet, many churches claim that the law is abolished. Eating pork is right. Celebrating Sabbath is wrong. How would they therefore be like Christ, if they refuse many of the things that He did in His lifetime?
To be able to Christlike is to be able to live the law in its entirety, just like Christ did. Yeshua lived them all and accomplished them all, from the feasts to the smallest iota. Modern believers, who follow the ways of Christ, are accompanied by the Holy Spirit who will be with us if we love His commandments and live by them (John 14:15 - 18). It’s an attainable thing for all of us, as the Bible presents many who are considered as being righteous. That list is extensive, and it includes Noah (Genesis 7:1), Abraham (Genesis 15:6) and Job (Job 1:8) to name but a few. All of them lived in a way that we would consider today to be Christlike, for they followed the law and understood that the Father would send them a savior who would save them.
In finality, is being Christlike an attainable goal? Yes. However, to attain that goal, the modern believer needs to examine to follow the torah and what Christ did in His lifetime. All the while, they must be vigilant, as there are many churches that will claim they want to be Christlike, but not the one of the Word of Yahweh (2 Corinthians 11:4). Examine your doctrine and examine your salvation: is it in Christ or is it not?