Imitating God in Christ: Recapturing a Biblical Pattern

by Jason B Hood

Should we imitate Jesus? Some Christians answer with a cheerful "Yes," seeing it as the sum of the Christian life. Others believe we should rely on the work of Christ alone, throwing off any hint of the moralism or "works righteousness" they associate with imitating Jesus. Jason Hood takes us on a tour of what the Bible has to say about imitating Jesus. He draws our attention to what Paul told the Corinthians he taught "everywhere in every church." And after following the theme throughout the New Testament, he looks at it from a historical and contemporary perspective. The result is the recovery of a biblical pattern for life—one that challenges the assumptions of those who excessively fear moralism as much as it challenges the assumptions of those who embrace it. Here is a reliable theological foundation for imitating Jesus today, a crucial first step toward the renewal of biblical discipleship.

Genres: Theology, Christian, New Testament

241 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 7, 2013

Reviews

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perhaps closer to a 3.5 reading experience, but 5/5 truth

[Sydni · Rating 1 out of 5]

Theologically, I have no problems with this book. However, this book is basically a draft of disconnected, unorganized, not-elaborated-upon ideas. The author fails to ever make a point, or explain any of his theses. Every chapter is filled with hundreds of scriptural references, but not one is ever expounded. If you were looking for resources to do your own research, this might be helpful for you. Otherwise, good luck finding anything to take away from it.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hood provides a solid critique of the contemporary scene lack of solid imitation exegesis throughout the Bible. I would recommend this book to anyone who is not familiar with the idea of imitation or is outright against it. If you are wondering what the Bible says about imitation this book is for you. This book will give you a solid foundation of imitation that will allow you to pursue more works that delve more deeply in this idea. This book is a helpful launching point for discussions within the church for integrating imitation with discipleship.

See my whole review here http://ntexegesis.com/blog/2013/7/25/...

[Matthew Weston · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good discussion of the theme of imitation (of God, Jesus and other Christians) in Scripture. Would have liked to see his premise/conclusion (reductive summary: that calling Christians to imitate Jesus is unnecessarily viewed with suspicion and needs to make its way back into our discourse) worked out a bit more, as I was left feeling "okay… so what does giving priority to the gospel without neglecting moral instruction via imitation actually look like?" I also lost the flow of the book in the early chapters, and so found it harder going early on. Still, a worthwhile read.

[James Paton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent treatment if the subject. Could be enhanced by greater focus on the incarnation-resurrection tension and Lucan christology-pneumatology. Has a Reformed audience in mind but accessible to a wider group. Read this!

[Joshua Toepper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic treatise on the goal of the God-shaped life.