11. Emulate His Ways

The 11th commandment of Mosaic Law is to emulate His ways.  

Where in scripture?

Deuteronomy 28:9

Provided that you keep the commandments of the LORD, your God, and walk in his ways, he will establish you as a people sacred to himself, as he swore to you

New Testament references

Matthew 5:48 

So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.  

Luke 6:36

Be merciful, just as (also) your Father is merciful.

1 Corinthians 11:1

Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.

Ephesians 5:1

So be imitators of God, as beloved children

Catechism of the Catholic Church

918 From the very beginning of the Church there were men and women who set out to follow Christ with greater liberty, and to imitate him more closely, by practicing the evangelical counsels. They led lives dedicated to God, each in his own way. Many of them, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, became hermits or founded religious families. These the Church, by virtue of her authority, gladly accepted and approved.

932 In the Church, which is like the sacrament- the sign and instrument - of God's own life, the consecrated life is seen as a special sign of the mystery of redemption. To follow and imitate Christ more nearly and to manifest more clearly his self- emptying is to be more deeply present to one's contemporaries, in the heart of Christ. For those who are on this "narrower" path encourage their brethren by their example, and bear striking witness "that the world cannot be transfigured and offered to God without the spirit of the beatitudes."

2345 Chastity is a moral virtue. It is also a gift from God, a grace, a fruit of spiritual effort. The Holy Spirit enables one whom the water of Baptism has regenerated to imitate the purity of Christ.

Catholic Encyclopedia

Imitation of Christ

A work of spiritual devotion, also sometimes called the "Following of Christ". Its purpose is to instruct the soul in Christian perfection with Christ as the Divine Model.

Early Church Fathers

St. Clement – First Epistle on Virginity

Paul, also, and Barnabas, and Timothy, with all the others, “whose names are written in the book of life,” — these, I say, all cherished and loved sanctity, and ran in the contest, and finished their course without blemish, as imitators of Christ, and as sons of the living God.

Discussion

Imitatio dei is Latin for "imitating God." It is part of Sacred Tradition. Scripture grew out of Sacred Tradition because much of Sacred Tradition predates Scripture. As I discussed in an earlier post, Sacred Tradition can never conflict with scripture. Instead, the two complement each other.

In regard to the 11th Mosaic Law, we have the following:

·        The Jewish Tradition that Deuteronomy 28:9 means we should emulate His ways;

·        Scripture in the New Testament very clearly specifying that we should imitate Christ;

·        Early Church Fathers, such as St. Clement saying that we should strive to imitate Christ; and

·        Phrases (and concepts) such as “What Would Jesus Do?” gaining popular acceptance in today’s culture.

It would seem that this should be a brief write-up for me concluding that this is binding on Christians - and they I’d be off to work on the next commandment.

However, there is a bit more to be looked at here.

According to Wikipedia, “In Protestantism, however, the picture is different. In the Anglosaxon tradition Imitatio dei is widely accepted, whereas the Lutheran tradition prefers to talk of conformitas, or in German of "Nachfolge" instead of "Nachahmung" (imitation), because Jesus was singular and cannot and need not be imitated, but followed in his spirit, to which the believer is not forced, but enabled.”

The Lutheran concept is similar to the one adhered to by Catholicism, but it is not identical. Words are important. Similar, but different words create subtle nuances in meanings.

Though Martin Luther espoused sola scriptura (scripture alone), the concept of nachfolge was an intentional departure from scripture itself. Nachfolge (like sola scriptura) is a tradition because it is not found in scripture. However it is not Sacred Tradition, because (like sola scriptura) it is a relatively recent man-made invention and it is not found in, or based upon, scripture.

Scripture compels us to imitate Christ.

Conclusion

Binding on Christians