Be sincere or imitate

In the dictionary, the ancient Greek word ‘mimetes’ means an imitator, copier, follower, impersonator, actor, impostor, counterfeiter.

"It does means follower, so it’s perfectly right to translate it follower, but some of those other words don’t sound exactly like what you’d want it to be," says Jordan.

“In the Greek language the nouns get their meaning from the verbs and mime means to ‘act a part, to mimic gestures and actions, to take or follow as an example.’ Mimic means to be as close to the original as possible. You remember the mime Marcel Marceau. He said for a mime to, ‘Let your actions speak in place of your words.’

“What do you think of when you hear that word imitate? You don’t think about the real thing. Just by hearing it, the obvious immediate implication and meaning carries the direct implication of something that is not real, that’s a sham, bogus, counterfeit, not genuine.

“To follow carries the idea of submission to a leader or to your boss: ‘I’ve got someone whose will and instructions I’m obeying.’

*****

“You know the history of the word sincere? It comes from the Latin and means ‘without wax.’ The origin stems from a time when fine China was sold and if it had a crack in it, you could fill it with wax and paint over it so no one could tell. Now, if you held it up to a bright light you’d see the imperfection in it and so the marketers would stamp it, ‘Without Wax,’ meaning it’s the genuine article, undiminished. That’s who we're to be as Believers.

“Do you really want to be an imitator of God? Come to Genesis 3:5 and see what Satan said as he attacked Eve: [5] For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

“Do you see the underlying fundamental temptation for Adam and Eve? Satan’s saying, ‘Look, you see all those angels out there? You can be as gods. You can be independent of God because you can be in the same status as Him, knowing good and evil.’

“What happens is this plays right in to the very essence of the satanic policy of evil of worshipping the creature more than the Creator. What’s the essence of sin? Isaiah 53:6 is the greatest definition of sin: [6] All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

“The thinking of, ‘I’m going to be independent of God and do it my way,’ is the essence of the middle letter of the word sin and the word pride. That was the issue in Genesis 3 and it’s the issue in Ephesians 5, frankly.

*****

“Listen, a Believer is not to imitate God. We do not imitate Christ; we participate in Christ’s life. We’re not impersonators; we have Him. We have His life. We are containers and conduits for the life of Christ. We are the real thing. You got to get that.

“We’re followers of God as dear children. You follow God as who you really are. You’re not trying to mimic something, or act out something so that you can be that—you already are!

“II Corinthians 4:11 says, [11] For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.

“What does Galatians 2:20 say? [20] I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

“Don’t settle for something that tells you aren’t who you really are. As soon as you put yourself as an imitator, now you’ve got to perform. You’ve got to watch what’s going on and go do it.

“The imitation is, ‘It’s OUT there and I’m trying to be like it.’ Following is, ‘It’s IN here and it’s just coming out.’ That’s the difference between religion and life in Christ Jesus; law and grace. That’s the reality of walking as dear children.

“To use a music analogy, it’s like there’s some song in me playing, and what you see when I’m tapping my feet is just the outward manifestation of all that jazz going on inside. If you can get that you can understand why followers trump imitators. It’s a life inside of me.

*****

“Living out of your identity is critical to your life, especially your Christian life. It won’t operate any other way.

“The most tragic thing about all this transgender stuff is that there’s really no such thing as transgender. You’re either XX or XY. That’s called genetics. God created male and female. That’s physiology, that’s science, that’s reality. The notion that you are something other than your biology is a cultural construct that is really an assault on God. That’s what it’s all about.

“Getting your identity out of something other than reality, other than who God made you, the problem with buying into that is that it’s really a kind of personal suicide. It literally is the end of your existence and the way that God designed you, and you completely cut yourself off from reality and from normal kind of relationships.

“It’s the end of your identity and your ability to connect and be a part of society and have a future and belong. That’s why they want to create a new culture and a new society. It’s a kind of extreme isolation; nothing could be more extreme than to say, ‘I’m not who I am.’

“Ultimately, you become an imperceptible entity; you literally have disconnected from yourself and from existence and you’re not who you are. You’re some fantasy person in your own mind. You are an imitation person.

“When it comes to LGBT issues, I know good and well there’s some of you that struggle with some of that. I’ve been pastoring for five decades; I’ve sat with people over every one of those issues. I know there’s a struggle that takes place deep down inside, but can I tell you the answer is to say, ‘Who I am in Christ is what’s real.’ He’s really always going to be the issue because He’s the one. ‘As Christ loved us and gave himself for us.’ He’s always the answer.

*****

"Paul writes in Ephesians 5:2, [2] And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.

“Preachers use so many different definitions of love that you don’t know what love is, so Paul defines it in that verse.

“Love is the opposite of self-indulgence. That’s what sin is. That’s why Paul says in verse 4, ‘Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.’

“The thing that will stop the motions of sin is not the law, not you trying to perform a certain way to get God’s blessings, but simply giving thanks to God for who He has already made you in His Son. ‘Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift.’

“As you rejoice in who you are in Christ, the other stuff . . . listen, the Christian life is not about stopping sin. Calvary does that. The Christian life is putting on display the new life you have in Christ.”

(new article tomorrow)