Is it possible that Jesus Christ can function as moral example for Christians? In what sense is Jesus Christ normative for Christian ethics? The imitation of Christ is discussed against its Enlightenment background.
Many Christians suppose that their freedom in Christ means permission to live freely and ignore the call to obedience. This article describes three ways in which Christians misunderstand what obedience means.
How do believers understand and carry out their role in the church? This article discusses a proper perspective on individual ministry, and what ministry involves.
The picture of the Christian life painted by the New Testament is rooted in union with Christ. This article shows how such union and conformity to Christ is reflected in individuals' vocation, serving as a paradigm to thinking about Christian ethics in the workplace.
The picture of the Christian life painted by the New Testament is rooted in union with Christ. The believer is united to Christ by sharing in His death and resurrection. Christian ethics should be shaped by this understanding of the Christian life.
The Christian life is a cruciform life. Christians are called to sacrifice themselves. This article offers two reasons why Christians can be joyful even in trials and suffering.
Have you ever heard of the phrase, "What would Jesus do?" Have you said it yourself? This article shows the origins of this slogan, its contemporary usage, and evaluates its usefulness. The author finds the saying unhelpful at best, and downright dangerous at worst, and proposes a different set of words to go with the acronym WWJD.
This article considers Herman Bavinck and his understanding of the Christian life. What lay at the heart of his understanding was the imitation of Christ. His life and writings reveal this, as the article demonstrates.
This article examines the intended purpose of 'WWJD?', or 'what would Jesus do?', ethics. Looking at Jesus as our example is biblical, since we are being transformed to His image. However, there are limits to our ability to live this out.
This article shows that living a "cross-shaped life" is living with an understanding that following Jesus means death and self-denial, as well as joy. A Christian is someone who lives with the experience of all three of these things.
The picture of the Christian life painted by the New Testament is rooted in union with Christ. This article shows that this understanding must serve as a paradigm for Christian ethics. The call to imitate Christ is the foundation of a biblical understanding of the Christian life.
This article discusses the cost to follow Christ, and the significance this has for our finances.
This article discusses the suffering of John Calvin, and what Calvin himself had to say about suffering.
What is the relationship between Christ and Christian ethics? The article asks the question: If Christians are what they are by virtue of their participation in Christ, then what room is left for human ethical activity? What is the relationship between grace and morality? Webster wants to explore this relationship by giving close attention to the New Testament material on the imitation of Christ.
The most important models Paul urges his readers to imitate are those of himself, Christ, and God. He also directs his readers to the behavior of other individuals and occasionally reminds them of the example of other churches. There are also exhortations that his readers become "models" for others to imitate. Questions have been asked regarding the motivation behind Paul’s instruction.
The thesis of this article is that a neglected area of the New Testament’s teaching on the cross is the imitation of Jesus and his cross. The author illustrates the negative effects of overlooking the imitation of the cross. He uses the work of Peter Bolt as his conversation partner and in particular the way that the call to take up the cross functions in Mark 13 and its literary context.
This a review article of an important book of Richard A Burridge on the imitation of Christ as an approach to New Testament Christian living. Burridge thinks that people who wrote on imitation before him in their analysis of the ethical teaching in the Gospels tends to be abstracted from what Jesus did. Jesus’ actions throw light on his words and vice-versa.
