SPIRITUAL FORMATION QUESTION #1:
HOW CAN SOMEONE BECOME LIKE JESUS??

Reading and/or Studying the Bible is NOT Enough…

As we get started in this study about a very important portion of God's Word it is important to talk about what it really means to be formed to be like Jesus. Some refer to this process as Spiritual Formation. All that really means is that we are being shaped, molded, and conditioned to be like Jesus.

The Bible is filled with metaphors for this process of Spiritual Formation. There are athletic images like running a race, agricultural images about seeds and harvests, architectural images about buildings and their foundations (or lack thereof). The point is this: the Bible is very clear that simply knowing about God and about the Bible and about theology or other truly important things is in itself completely insufficient.

Why Reading the Bible is NOT Enough…

Reading the Bible ≠ Being Like Jesus

Some might object that this is an overstatement or oversimplification. Let me be the first to say that knowledge of God's Word is important (if it weren't why am I even teaching!?!). However, the people that we find Jesus most often rebuking in the pages of Luke are the Teachers of the Law and the Pharisees. Now, let's put this in perspective.

The Pharisees were a religious group within Judaism that followed certain customs, traditions, and interpretations of the Law (known to us as the Old Testament). The Teachers of the Law were the religious scholars of the day who may or may not belong to specific groups like the Pharisees (although historians tell us that most of the Teachers of the Law were at least connected to the Pharisees in Jesus' day). These were the best and brightest of their day. They were scholars that we at the same level or possibly even greater than many biblical scholars of today. Each of these men more than likely had MEMORIZED the entire Old Testament. One tradition around the time of Jesus was for a Rabbi (a Jewish teacher) to quote an Old Testament passage to a promising student who in turn had to recite from memory the verse before and after it.

These were people who knew the Word of God better than anyone else in all of Israel and yet Jesus was unhappy with their lives.

So what was missing?

Why Studying the Bible is NOT Enough…

Studying the Bible ≠ Being Like Jesus.

Reading and even memorizing Scripture are not enough to be like Jesus but what about deep, in-depth study? I'm talking about the study with maps, dictionaries, commentaries, books about Greek words and ancient history. Would that kind of study make us more like Jesus. Perhaps. But study alone (even when paired with Bible reading) is not enough to make us like Jesus.

SO WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE LIKE JESUS???

Reading + Studying + LIVING the Bible = Being Like Jesus
(Disclaimer: This "formula" assumes that you are a Christian who has committed your life to Christ)

Before we talk about this let me make something 100% clear…doing any of this in a legalistic way or with the idea that you can earn God's grace or favor is not only wrong but is actually harmful to your spiritual formation.

Why are all three of these elements required to become like Jesus?

(1) Reading and study lead to comprehension which makes it possible for us to LIVE out what we learn.
(2) Living out the Bible enables us to determine whether or not our study and reading of Scripture were correct or need more attention.
(3) Being like Jesus means that we are communicating with God and living it out in the world in which we live.

SPIRITUAL FORMATION QUESTION #1:
HOW CAN SOMEONE BECOME LIKE JESUS??

(1) Read, Study, and Live out the Word of God
(2) Do it in a community of believers (a.k.a. a church) that honors God and is primarily concerned about God's Word
(3) Keep doing it!! You will always be learning.
(4) Ask for God's help!