Like Christ by Grace: Pursuing the Prize of Christlikeness by God’S Grace

By Carl Becker

What do you want out of life?
What are you pursuing? Happiness? Money? Fame? Fortune? Pleasure? Security?
The ultimate prize is none of these but is actually something much higher and better: Christlikeness.
It sounds formidable, but ask yourself one question: Dont you want to be like Christ?
If you answered YES! then this book is for you!
Have you ever asked yourself, How can I be more like Jesus? How can I stop sinning? How can I live consistently in a way that pleases God? Have you ever wondered what the scripture means, Without holiness no man will see the Lord? Does it distress you that many believers seem to disregard holiness because they think that they are not under the law? Have you ever thought about what it means to be under the law and under grace? Are you concerned that our nation has cast God aside and is pursuing a secularist agenda? How can that be reversed?
Like Christ By Grace: Pursuing the Prize of Christlikeness By Gods Grace will give you the answers you seek.
Jesus Christ supplies everything you need to be like Him.
The book you hold in your hands is a message of encouragement and hope, as well as a challenging call to Christlikeness. No matter how many times you have fallen and no matter how miserably you may have failed, God is on your side. God is for you. Hes not about to give up on you. You can be like Christ by grace!

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: May 31, 2012
• ISBN: 9781449749026

Carl Becker

Carl Becker is a Bible teacher, author, pastor, husband, and father of two children; he has over twenty years of pastoral experience. He graduated from the University of Rochester and from Rhema Bible Training Center. He was awarded a Doctor of Theology degree from Life Christian University.

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Copyright © 2012 by Carl Becker

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Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from THE KING JAMES VERSION.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from The New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked AMP are taken from The Amplified Bible. Old Testament copyright © 1965, 1987 by Zondervan Corporation, Grand Rapids, Michigan. New Testament copyright © 1958, 1987, by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, California. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked MSG are taken from The Message, copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Scripture quotations marked PHILLIPS are taken from The New Testament in Modern English, by J.B. Phillips, copyright © 1958, 1959,1960, 1972, Macmillan Publishing Co. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. all rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture quotations marked NCV are taken from The Holy Bible, New Century Version, copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Word Publishing, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from THE ENGLISH STANDARD VERSION, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked HCSB are taken from the HOLMAN CHRISTIAN STANDARD BIBLE, copyright © 1999, 2000, 20002, 2003 by Holman Bible Publishers, used by permission.

To contact the author: [e-mail]

ISBN: 978-1-4497-4903-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-4904-0 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-4902-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012907255

Printed in the United States of America

WestBow Press rev. date: 05/29/2012

Acknowledgements and Thanks

Tony Cooke, author of Grace, the DNA of God

Dr. Jim Richards, author of Grace: The Power to Change

Dr. Michael Brown, author of Go and Sin No More

John Bevere, author of Extraordinary

These brothers saw the truth about God’s grace long before I did.

Pastor David Harris,

you are a faithful pastor, my treasured friend,

and a shining example of Christlikeness.

Thank you so much.

Thank you, Bevan and Carla Clark, for

believing in me and in this project.

Thank you, Mark Bacas,

for helping me over and over with typesetting.

Thank you, Robin Becker,

for standing by my side year after year.

You are a tender-hearted, gracious, and merciful wife,

a treasure more valuable than many jewels.

I love you!

Dedication and Prayer

To Carla, my daughter, and to Samuel, my son:

you are the salt of the earth and the light of the world;

may the Holy Spirit use this book

to preserve your saltiness, to intensify your light,

and to make you living trophies of His grace!

I pray for you, valued reader,

in the name of my Lord Jesus:

that God would sanctify you completely,

so that your whole spirit, soul, and body

be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Foreword by David Harris

My friend and fellow-laborer in the ministry, Rev. Carl Becker, has a genuine passion to see the Body of Christ become the glorious church spoken of in Ephesians 5. To that end he has written Like Christ By Grace in the hope that we as individual believers will apply the truths of the Word of God to our daily lives, and thus take our place as the Bride without spot or wrinkle. This is a balanced message that covers both the man-ward and God-ward sides of how the character of Christ is produced in us. You will be challenged, blessed, and encouraged as you read Like Christ By Grace.

Pastor David Harris, Cumming New Life Church, Cumming, Georgia

Foreword by Tony Cooke

In his book, Like Christ By Grace, Carl Becker shares penetrating and compelling truths with a great sense of urgency. Using Scripture and the wisdom of our spiritual forefathers, Carl pleads with believers to awaken from lethargy and apathy and to embrace God’s plan for the development of godly character in our lives. If you are looking for a book that will challenge, inspire, and instruct you, you have found it in Like Christ By Grace.

Rev. Tony Cooke, Author: Grace, the DNA of God

Foreword by Randall Grier

I heard the Spirit of God say, The power of God will take you places that your character cannot keep you unless it has been developed to that point. Adam and Eve did not have to leave the Garden of Eden because they lacked God’s presence, authority, dominion, or power. They had to leave the Garden because they failed to walk in the character of God. My friend, Dr. Carl Becker, has masterfully prayed together his book Like Christ By Grace. The reader will be propelled in a dimension of understanding on being Christlike by application of the wisdom of God from its pages. I will join you on this journey.

Rev. Randall Grier, Author: Escape from Hell; How to Change Your Life

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction

Part One

Chapter 1  Your Prize: Christlikeness

Chapter 2  Your Destiny: Ruling In Life

Chapter 3  Your Mission: Be an Example

Part Two

Chapter 4  You Can’t Without Christ

Chapter 5  Rediscovering Our Lost Heritage

Chapter 6  Rightly Dividing the Gospel of Grace

Chapter 7  You Can By Grace!

Chapter 8  You Can By the Blood of Jesus!

Chapter 9  You Can Through the Holy Spirit!

Chapter 10  You Can By Abiding In Christ!

Chapter 11  You Can By Faith!

Chapter 12  You Can Through Consecration!

Chapter 13  You Can With the Help of Ministry Gifts!

Chapter 14  You Can If You Repent!

Chapter 15  You Can With God’s Armor!

Part Three

Chapter 16  Choosing the Fear of God

Chapter 17  Choosing To Please God and Do His Will

Chapter 18  Choose Abstinence!

Chapter 19  Consider the End!

Chapter 20  Majoring On Love

Chapter 21  Developing a Tender Conscience

Chapter 22  Triumphing Over Temptation

Chapter 23  Honoring Our Godly Heritage

Chapter 24  Reclaiming Our Nation

Chapter 25  Hastening Jesus’ Return!

Endnotes

Therefore you shall be perfect,

just as your Father in heaven is perfect."

—The Lord Jesus Christ

Matthew 5:48 NKJV

But now you must be holy in everything you do, just

as God who chose you is holy.

—1 Peter 1:15 NLT

Pursue that consecration and holiness without

which no one will ever see the Lord.

—Hebrews 12:14 AMP

I press on toward the goal to win the prize for

which God has called me heavenward

in Christ Jesus.

—Philippians 3:14 NIV

Introduction

My heart’s desire is to see Christians be like Christ. I want America to be one nation under God, treasuring its freedoms and the twin towers of pure religion and morality by which it is upheld. I pray that every nation will hear and receive the gospel of Christ.

Like ten thousand tornadoes, moral relativism and situational ethics have ripped across America, leaving a trail of tears from coast to coast. Innumerable families have been shredded by divorce, drugs, alcohol, abuse, crime, and pornography. Believers’ homes have not been immune; perhaps you and your home have suffered. How can we stop the pain? Socialism is a mirage; humanism is an opiate; the paranormal is a demonic trap. Our only hope is the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The gospel of Christ is not about outward ceremony, but about the power of godliness that restores in you the image of God. The gospel is not head knowledge of doctrine, but heart-felt reception of the love of Jesus. The gospel is neither impersonal nor philosophical; rather, it brings you into an intensely personal relationship with God the Father, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. The gospel is not a lifeless theology born in a classroom. The gospel is a life-giving, love-charged message. The goal of the gospel is the reproduction in you of everything that is in Jesus. The glory of the gospel is that it supplies everything you need to be like Christ.

The true gospel is that Jesus writes the moral law on your heart and gives you power to obey that holy law, not that He abolishes the moral law and gives you freedom to live however you please and to sin with neither condemnation nor consequences. The true gospel is that Jesus comes to live in you with all His might, not that Jesus forgives you and leaves you a poor, miserable sinner, incapable of doing anything but sinning. The true gospel reveals Jesus as He is: an all-sufficient Savior who gives you victory over sin and a reason to live. Jesus Christ saves you from the penalty of sin by His mercy, from the pollution of sin by His blood, from the plagues of sin by His faith, and from the power of sin by His grace; and He saves you for an abundant life that brings glory to God and good to others!

The full gospel reveals justification by faith and sanctification by grace; right standing with God by the blood of Jesus and right living in this life by the power of the Holy Spirit; the joys of heaven and the joys of holiness. If we embrace this glorious gospel we can salvage our homes, save our nation, and spread the good news to the ends of the earth.

This book is about being like Christ. Christlikeness means being as holy as Jesus is, as devoted to God and His glory, and as dedicated to carrying out the will of God for the good of others. Holiness is the best thing in the world. Holiness is the fountain of happiness and the way to eternal life. Lack of holiness is the cause of mankind’s miseries. Despite what today’s entertainers and elites may tell us, the more unholy we are the unhappier we will be. Holiness, or Christlike character, can be defined as thinking, saying, and doing what is right in the sight of God. Holiness is not just for monks, missionaries, and ministers. Christlike character is the business of every believer, including you. Christlike character is for athletes and accountants, bankers and broadcasters, coaches and cashiers, Dads and designers, Moms and mechanics, students and secretaries, teenagers and truckers. You should develop Christlike character. It is right! You must develop Christlike character. It is imperative! You can develop Christlike character. It is possible! We believers ought to have, must have, and by God’s grace can have the highest moral character of any people on earth. We are well able to be like Christ! Not in our own power, of course. Our strength is useless. Our inadequacy is legendary. But our frailty is not an excuse to keep on sinning.

Certainly, Christlike character is not possible without Christ. Ego is excluded. Take most everything starting with self’ and throw it out as if it were garbage: self-assertion, self-will, self-rule, self-reliance, self-confidence, self-sufficiency, self-righteousness, self-salvation, and being a self-made person. Christianity does not start with self." Christianity is not about what you have to do in your own power to please God.

Christianity is about who Jesus is; it is about what Jesus has done for you in His death, burial, and resurrection; it is about what Jesus does in you today through the Person of Holy Spirit. Christianity is actual union with Jesus Christ through the Person of the Holy Spirit that empowers you to live just as Jesus did. Christianity is a miraculous life that produces a moral life. What makes Christianity distinct from all other religions is that Jesus not only gives you commandments but power to keep them. Jesus not only tells you how to live; He comes to live in you, giving you Himself and all He has, supplying everything you need to be like Him. Jesus not only gives you ethics but grace. Grace is two-fold. Grace is the smile of Jesus upon you and the strength of Jesus within you. By grace, by His smile and His strength, you can be like Christ. By amazing grace you are justified. By almighty grace you are sanctified. Amazing grace speaks of what Jesus has done at the cross. Almighty grace speaks of what you do by the power of the Holy Spirit in your every day life. Nothing here glorifies "self but everything glorifies God.

Isaiah the prophet saw our day, its havoc and its hurt, but then he saw a brighter day in which sinners would be converted, the sick would be healed, and there would be great rejoicing. This prophecy, in the 35th chapter of Isaiah, foresees the flourishing of the gospel. All this we have had to some degree, except for one thing. We have missed the highway of holiness. Isaiah prophesied,

A highway shall be there, and a road, and it shall be called the Highway of Holiness. The redeemed shall walk there … with singing, with everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.¹

There is a highway of holiness; it is the royal road that God Himself travels. When you see crosses by the side of a road you know that a tragedy has happened, that someone somehow got off the road. On either side of the highway of holiness there is a ditch. On one side is the ditch of antinomianism, that is, the false teaching that grace eliminates the need for repentance and holiness. On the other side is the ditch of legalism, that is, self-imposed rules in order to merit or deserve God’s gifts. You want to stay in the middle of the road and not fall in either the ditch of illusory freedom or in the ditch of bondage. Those who walk with God on the King’s holy highway overflow with joy because Christian joy is joy in obedience. They see both the finished work of Christ at the cross as their Savior and the ongoing work of Christ at the right hand of God as their Intercessor, Advocate, and Great High Priest. They are abiding in Christ and are relying on grace as His empowering ability to stay on the highway of holiness; as a result they are making a difference in their world.

The cry of the Holy Spirit to the church today is: AWAKE! Awake to your heavenly calling to be holy even as your Father in heaven is holy! Awake to the power of His grace so that you can be delivered from the power of sin! Awake and listen to the speaking blood! Awake to the presence of the Holy Spirit, to the necessity of fellowship with Him, to His righteous feelings and holy desires! Awake and listen to His voice! Awake to the moral image of God, to holiness of heart and life! Awake to conformity to the will of God in all aspects! Awake to willing obedience to all the commandments of God! Awake to the only proper aim of life: to know, love, trust, serve, please, and glorify God! Awake to the reality of heaven and hell, to the perverseness of your culture, to your responsibility to be salt and light in this world! Awake to the lateness of the hour, to the suddenness of Judgment Day, to every opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others! Awake to your high calling to be like Christ!

Do you hear the Holy Spirit saying this to you? Do you wish for, yearn for, and dream of a move of God so deep and so far-reaching that it will change your life, the life of your family, the course of America, and the lives of billions world-wide? Wouldn’t you like to be part of such a revival? Can’t you see that holiness is a necessary ingredient to that revival and that without holiness, any revival amounts to a fireworks display?

Holiness matters because without holiness, you will not see God. Holiness matters because without holiness, you will have lost your savor and the power to convert sinners who are gasping for the gospel. Holiness matters because without holiness, you will be conformed to the world and corrupted by the world. Holiness matters because without holiness, you can’t be Jesus’ friend or have communion with the Holy Spirit. Holiness matters because without holiness, you will be disqualified for the work of God. Holiness matters because without holiness, you will wear the badge of a hypocrite: one who does not practice what he preaches. Holiness matters because without holiness, you will miss out on peace with God and joy in the Holy Spirit. Holiness matters because without holiness, the future of your family and your nation is in jeopardy. Holiness matters because without holiness, you will not be ready for Judgment Day.

The next Great Awakening will begin with holiness of heart and life; it will also feature Holy Spirit-inspired praying for our nation and all nations, a huge harvest of souls, the power of Jesus manifest in healing, and joy in the Holy Spirit. You can be a catalyst for this Great Awakening! God wants to do a great work in you by His grace so that He can do a great work through you by His Spirit. You were not put on this planet to plod along. God has more for you. Perhaps you object, You don’t know me and my past, or you wouldn’t say such things. But I do know my God.

God’s love for you is God’s answer for your pain. The blood of Jesus is God’s answer for your sin. The robe of righteousness is God’s answer for your shame. The Holy Spirit is God’s answer for your weakness. God’s Word is God’s answer for your ignorance and His armor is His answer for your defenselessness. The local church is God’s answer for your aloneness and the ministry gifts are His answer for your immaturity. Mercy is God’s answer for your failures. Grace is God’s answer for your inability. The gospel of Jesus Christ is God’s answer for your every need.

God your heavenly Father is not satisfied that you have come to Christ; He wants you to be conformed to Christ. He wants to be able to pile rewards on you at Judgment Day because you have attained the prize of Christlikeness. Let’s pursue that prize, starting now!

Part One

Ready!

Finding the Prize

I delight to do Your will, O my God,

and Your law is within my heart.

—Psalm 40:8 NKJV

I always do those things that please Him.

—John 8:29 NKJV

Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

—1 Corinthians 10:31 NKJV

I therefore, the prisoner for the Lord,

appeal to and beg you to walk (lead a life) worthy

of the [divine] calling to which you have been called—

with behavior that is a credit to

the summons to God’s service.

—Ephesians 4:1 AMP

Chapter 1

Your Prize: Christlikeness

For whom He foreknew, He also predestined

to be conformed to the image of His Son,

that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.

—Romans 8:29 NKJV

Do you want to be like Christ or like everyone else?

Your life ought to come up to a certain standard. What is that standard? If you call Jesus your Lord, socially acceptable standards (Do whatever you want as long as you don’t hurt somebody) are irrelevant. You are held to a much higher standard.

Perhaps you pipe up, I suggest the Ten Commandments. Obey each one, but the Ten Commandments are God’s moral minimum. You must go far beyond the Ten Commandments and obey, not just the letter, but the spirit of God’s moral law.

Perhaps you respond, Well, then, I suggest the Golden Rule, ‘treat people the same way you want them to treat you.’¹ Live by the Golden Rule, but notice carefully how Jesus, who gave the Golden Rule, lifted it to a higher level for you; Jesus said, "So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other."² The words just as reveal how high God’s standard for you is. Just as means exactly as, in the same way, in the identical manner. Just as means no divergence, no difference, no distortion, and no dissimilarity. When Jesus said, Just as I have loved you He raised the standard far above your personal preferences. There is not one standard for Jesus and a lesser one for you. You are to live just as Jesus lived. The Bible says, "He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked."³

God fully expects you to pattern your life after Jesus Christ. God wants you to think, talk, act, and love like Christ, making His motives your own, adopting His values, owning His passion, partaking of His purpose, seeing from His perspective, resisting temptation just as He did, and sacrificing for the good of others just as He did. God wants you to be as holy as Jesus is; as humble and as harmless, as devoted and as disciplined, as pure and as powerful in prayer, as forgiving and as fruitful, and as visionary.

In Jesus’ life you have a perfect picture of what your life should be. Just as Jesus manifested the character of God while He lived on this earth, so now you must manifest the character of Christ.

Jesus’ desire to please His heavenly Father is your standard. Just as the ruling principle of Jesus’ heart was to please and glorify His Father, and just as the focus of His life was to do God’s will, so now you must aim at doing the will of God for the glory of God.

Jesus’ humility, submission, and obedience are your standard. Just as Jesus humbled Himself, submitted to His parents, and obeyed all God’s laws, so now you must humble yourself, submit to God, and fully obey all Jesus’ commandments.

Jesus’ prayer life is your standard. Just as Jesus fasted and prayed, so now you must discipline yourself to fast and give yourself to prayer so that you can receive grace from God, join forces with God, and do exploits for God.

Jesus’ selflessness and passion to win souls are your standard. Just as Jesus went out of His way so that He could help others and save the lost, so now you must rise up and move with selfless faith for the good of others so you can bless them and win them to Christ.

Jesus’ good works are your standard. Just as Jesus went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed of the devil, so now you must receive His same anointing and get busy doing good, healing the sick, setting captives free, and reaching a new generation with the love of God.

Jesus’ world-wide vision is your standard. Just as He died for the sin of the whole world, so now you must go into your world and preach the good news of His sacrificial death, burial, and triumphant resurrection with all compassion and boldness.

Jesus’ complete consecration to God is your standard. Just as Jesus did not run away from the cross, so now you must deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Jesus wherever He leads.

Jesus’ forgiveness is your standard. Just as Jesus forgave those who mocked, tortured, and crucified Him, so now you must freely and fully forgive those who have hurt you and pray for them.

Jesus’ limitless love is your standard. Just as His mercy and compassion extended to His enemies, so now your circle of love must expand until it includes those who hate you.

Jesus’ purity and holiness are your standard. Just as Jesus was pure in thought and deed, so now you must have the same holiness of heart and life that honors God.

The sinless life of Jesus is your standard. Just as Jesus resisted every temptation, now you must do the same.

All these things put together constitute Christlikeness.