Christians are supposed to be walking in the footsteps of Christ. Have you stopped recently to consider if you need a spiritual makeover? Journalist A.J. Jacobs took it to the extreme. Newsweek recently published an interview in which Jacobs expounds on his year-long commitment to following all biblical rules and statues. Interestingly, Jacobs reports that he enjoyed his experience and even misses it:
I miss my sin-free life, but I guess I was never sin free. I was able to cut down on my coveting maybe 40 percent, but I was still a coveter. Flat-screen TVs, the front yard of my friend in the suburbs, a better cell phone, higher Amazon rankings. And that’s not to mention coveting my neighbor’s wife. I live in New York, I work in publishing, so there’s a lot of coveting, lying and gossiping.
Isn’t it interesting that Jacobs admits despite the best of his abilities (obviously he was dedicated) he could not cut sin out of his life? To live as Christ, to live a sin free life is impossible. A spiritual make-over is more than just “being good” as Jacobs puts it.
So what does a real spiritual make-over entail? In Ephesians 5, Paul provides a great heart-check section for believers. Among which he exhorts Christians to:
- And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. (Eph. 5:2)
- Find out what is acceptable to the Lord. (Eph. 5: 10)
- Walk circumspectly, wisely, and redeem the time. (Eph 5:15-16)
- Understand the will of the Lord (Eph 5: 17)
- Speak to one another is psalms, spiritual hymns and songs (Eph 5: 19)
- Give thanks in Christ to God always for all things (Ephs 5: 20)
- Submit to one another in fear of God (Eph 5: 21)
- Wives submit to your husbands as to the Lord (Eph 5: 22)
- Husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church (Eph 5:25)
This spiritual list shows the biblical way to be imitators of Christ, and is built upon the premise that one must first accept God’s sacrifice on their behalf. The Christian spiritual makeover, the truly biblical life, begins with a radical world view change that no matter how hard you try, you cannot be good according to God’s standards.
I skimmed over the article in question. From a Christian perspective, it is fundamentally flawed because its really an attempt to follow the Law of Moses. Of course, Christians generally see Christ as being the fulfillment of the Law, and therefore it is wrong to follow the Law with any religious intention of justification. That is the New Testament perspective.
The Ephesians 5 exhortation is obviously more pertinent to Christian living. But it should be prefaced with the understanding that obedience to what Paul is saying is the result of bearing spiritual fruit, the result of which is only possible by way of the New Birth. For example, “walking in love” is only possible because the “love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us” (Romans 5:5). So one who is not “born of the Spirit” or “born again” would not be able to follow this command. I only make the distinction to point out how one could even begin to compare what Jacobs attempted to do, and what Christians are admonished to do. Consider Colossians 1:29:
“Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.”
The Law required one to carry out the commandments solely by way of the flesh, but grace involves God empowering us in our “inner man” to accomplish His will.
Chris, one thing this does serve to confirm is just how amazing it is that Christ was sinless.
That article is great.
Amazing indeed.
In the words of Monty Python… “really small rocks”
Wow, Jacobs’ experiment makes for a really interesting and funny, if irreverent, story. Kind of renews one’s appreciation for Christ’s incarnation.
I found this paragraph particularly telling:
He starts with the assumption that he is free to throw out what is “outdated,” and just smile at the rest of it. He misses the whole point of Christ’s death and resurrection because he pays attention only to the jots and tittles and not the bigger picture.
As for him actually learning what it takes to live a “good” life, I’d say he still doesn’t have a clue.
A.J. Jacobs, editor at large for Esquire magazine, talks about his new book, “The Year of Living Biblically,” in this audio interview (with transcription): http://www.mrmedia.com/2007/10/aj-jacobs-year-of-living-biblically.html
An excerpt from Christianity Today - A. J. Jacobs Obeys the Commandment Not to Lie