“Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Faith”

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 1:2-10

The concept of imitation is often considered as being synonymous with stealing. Imitation in literature is called “plagiarism”. Imitation in business is known as “patent infringement”. Imitators in life are “copy cats”. Sometimes we say that “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery”, but only the most shallow personalities would tend to believe that. To copy the style, the work, the dress, the mannerisms of another person is never seen as an individualistic form of personal expression. And yet, people do it all the time.
What about faith? Is it permissible to imitate the faith of others? The faith expression of others? The faith walk of others?

1 Thessalonians 1:2-7

The basic tenets of our faith are intended to be taught and followed, and even imitated by those who come after us. But one major caution must be that the one who is being imitated must be accurate in their understanding.
In the very early church, before the invention of the printing press, bibles were painstakingly reproduced by hand. Monks would dedicate their entire life to coping the text, and a concerted and dedicated effort was made to ensure that each and every copy was perfectly accurate. When a monk finished copying a page, presumably exactly, including sentence breaks, line spacing and letter spacing, a “supervisor” would examine both the original and the copy, to verify that it was, indeed, an exact copy. He would choose a random line number, such as the 12th line, then count across a given number of characters, such as to the 20th character, and would then compare the result in both documents. He might do this several times, and if there wasn’t a perfect match, the page was destroyed, and the monk started over again on a fresh page. And it didn’t matter if that page had taken him 6 months to produce – it was no good!
Accuracy in faith is just as important. But what if the accuracy of our imitation is flawed?

Humphrey Bogart was once taken to watch a young comedian who had a reputation for doing a very good Bogart imitation. Bogie sat in the audience and was asked afterwards what he thought of the imitation. His reply was, 'One of us stinks.'
--As quoted in Context, (15 March 1993), 6.

The early church struggled with faith expressions that figuratively “stunk”! As we read through 1 Corinthians and other epistles, we see the struggle that the church was experiencing. Many people were trying to include worldly attitudes and ideals in the faith, and it was causing a great conflict in the congregations. Consider the issue of sexual expression. The Greek and Roman influence in society was very strong, and sexual activity was a varied as the people who lived in a particular community. Anything went! And this attitude found its way into the faith.
In 1 Corinthians 5:1, we read “It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that does not occur even among pagans: A man has his father’s wife.” Leviticus 18:7 & 8 specifically address this, and the law declares that the act is “dishonorable”. And yet, members of the church were actively promoting and engaging in worldly wiles. They were imitating false precepts of faith, and the church was being torn apart from the inside out.
And the erosion that begins within is the most dangerous kind. It’s insidious. It’s infectious. And many times, it’s subtle. And if it is advanced by a respected member of the community, it will almost always be accepted as a valid expression. Sound familiar? The greatest danger in the church today comes from the very people who are charged with preservation and expansion of the faith – the clergy and laity in leadership positions. For the most part, they can offer nearly any thought in the local church, and it will, at least in part, be accepted as “gospel”. They are seen as a spiritual authority, and few will question their teachings.
But it’s about time that we started counting “lines and characters”, and comparing the teachings in the church to the original text. I don’t mean to imply that we have to do things exactly like the early church did, or even teach as the early church apostles did. Every person’s faith walk is unique, and people today will respond to music and styles in different ways than they did in the 1st, or 5th, or 15th centuries. It’s perfectly acceptable to use new methods, new forms, new expressions in faith, new music, but we can never deviate from the original intent and teachings of Jesus, or for that matter, of the prophets and the apostles. And I want each of you to know that I must also be accountable to those same teachings, and if you believe that I have wandered too far afield in my messages, I want you to challenge me. If I can’t defend my position with thoughts from the mind and heart of Christ, then I’m in trouble. If I can, then maybe we can both learn something new.

1 Thessalonians 1:8-10

The church in Thessalonica was following Paul’s teaching as closely as they possibly could. In Paul’s words, they were imitators of both him and the Lord. And the message of good news was beginning to be spread far and wide. They had been persecuted, their faith had been under attack from the outside and even possibly from the inside, they had been ridiculed, and had experienced any number of other humiliations, and still their faith remained firm.

Paul recounts the accuracy of their teaching. They had turned away from false gods and toward Christ. They knew that Jesus would one day return to claim them. They knew for certain that Jesus had died for their sins, and that he had been raised form the dead and into new life. And they knew that it was Christ and Christ alone who would judge their worthiness for a life in eternity with him.

That is the “line and character” verification of their faith. They lived the Lord’s call that is in Matthew 28 – they were making disciples of all “nations”, they were baptizing them in the name of God the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and were teaching the people to know and obey the commandments of Christ, and not those of society.
To imitate Jesus Christ – his life, his teachings, his humility, his obedience, his faithfulness – is the ultimate expression of love for Jesus that any Christian can make. And yet, some still think that the faith needs to be modified and updated to match societal standards of today.

When I was growing up, and most of you are from that same or similar era, we all had our heroes. For some, it was an inspiring teacher; for others it was a person who had overcome some great adversity; for some it was a great sports figure or a highly respected member of the military; and some even saw their parents as their heroes! It was always about the way their “hero” lived their life to the fullest and how they used it to help others.
Today, the heroes seem to have deteriorated a bit. Now it is all about individualism and self expression. It is all about self advancement, and seldom about raising others up. Imitation is no longer the admirable character trait that it once was.

But for those who still have the life goal of imitating Christ, there is still hope. The standards of Jesus are no further away from that of the world today than they were 2,000 years ago, and unfortunately, no closer, either – it’s just that the separation today has become personal. We are living it. We are struggling in it. We are still being tempted to embrace the world, to be accepting of the world, to at least try some “new” way, even though there is nothing new about it. It admittedly has a new packaging, but the attitude has not changed one bit in the last 2 millennium. “Why get stuck in a rut from the past? Strike out in a new direction! Be daring! Be new!”

We need to be careful as to what and who we are imitating. Paul had imitated Jesus to the best of his ability. The church in Thessalonica had imitated Paul and his message to the best of their abilities. And they were carrying that same message to others – the message of Jesus Christ that was in the original thought, and not massaged into a completely new, and politically correct, and unrecognizable form.
We need to be imitators of Christ, and that is the only faith that can be seen as sincere. All of the rest? They just “stink”!