Obstacles to Living Out Christ's Character and Example

The New Testament presents Christ as both Savior and pattern, calling believers to conform their lives to his character. Yet Scripture and Christian tradition consistently acknowledge that this conformity encounters substantial resistance, both from within the believer and from the surrounding world. Understanding these obstacles clarifies why the Christian life requires sustained effort and divine grace rather than mere moral resolve.

The Primacy of Self-Interest and Pride

The most fundamental obstacle to Christlikeness is the human tendency toward self-exaltation rather than self-denial. Christ's own example demonstrates a pattern of renunciation: he refused earthly kingdoms, lived without permanent shelter, subordinated his will to the Father's, and emptied himself of divine prerogatives ^[1]. This trajectory contradicts the natural human impulse toward comfort, recognition, and autonomy. The Gospels record that following Jesus "involves more than intellectual mastery" and "entails being willing to forgo life's normal comforts" ^[4], a requirement that immediately separates casual interest from genuine discipleship.

Pride operates as a particularly insidious barrier because it masquerades as virtue. The religious leaders of Jesus' day illustrate this dynamic: they could not believe because they "lived on each other's praise" and "chose rather to lose their souls than to forfeit their reputation among men" ^[6]. Their attachment to human honor created an impenetrable obstacle to faith. This pattern persists wherever Christians measure themselves by social standing rather than by conformity to Christ. The only legitimate standard for Christian conduct is "the word of Christ" and "the example of Christ," not comparison with others who may be "weaker, or less instructed" ^[2]. When believers derive consolation from relative superiority rather than from actual resemblance to their Master, they have abandoned the path of discipleship.

The Weight of Worldly Attachment

Scripture identifies "worldly lusts" and "fleshly lusts" as weights that must be stripped away if believers are to run the race set before them ^[3]. The metaphor of athletic competition captures the incompatibility between spiritual progress and accumulated encumbrances. Just as excess weight hinders a runner, attachment to the world's values and pleasures trips up those attempting to follow Christ ^[3]. This is not merely about gross immorality but about the subtler entanglements of appetite, ambition, and affection that compete with single-minded devotion.

The cross itself functions as the dividing line. Paul's declaration that he glories only in the cross of Christ reflects a radical reorientation: "Jewish rites and Gentile vanities are equally insipid to me" ^[8]. The crucifixion represents not only atonement but also the death of worldly systems of value. Yet this remains "the great stumbling block" even among professed Christians, for "multitudes expect Jesus and his kingdom who cannot be persuaded to take up their cross" ^[9]. The difficulty lies not in intellectual assent to Christ's messiahship but in accepting "the spiritual nature of his kingdom" ^[9], which operates by principles antithetical to worldly power and success.

The Necessity of Self-Denial

Christian tradition consistently identifies self-denial as both a test of devotion and a necessary condition for following Christ ^[1]. This extends beyond occasional sacrifice to a comprehensive posture: denying ungodliness, controlling appetite, abstaining from fleshly lusts, mortifying sinful desires ^[1]. The scope is total because the obstacle is comprehensive—the entire orientation of the unregenerate self resists conformity to Christ's pattern.

The call to self-denial appears most starkly in Jesus' requirement that disciples take up their cross daily ^[1]. This is not metaphorical suffering but the deliberate choice to die to self-interest. Ministers face this demand with particular intensity, called to exercise self-denial in ways that model it for others ^[1]. The warfare imagery surrounding Christian life assumes that triumph requires self-denial ^[1], suggesting that victory is impossible without it. The athlete who competes for a perishable crown exercises strict self-control; how much more must those pursuing an imperishable prize ^[1].

The Challenge of Undeserved Suffering

Christ's example extends beyond moral perfection to patient endurance under unjust treatment. Believers are called to this pattern specifically: "Christ's example a proof that patient endurance under undeserved sufferings is acceptable with God" ^[5]. The difficulty here is acute because it contradicts the natural demand for justice and vindication. Christ "suffered for sins" though he had "no guilt of his own and could have declined all suffering if he had pleased" ^[7]. His voluntary acceptance of punishment for others' transgressions establishes the pattern for Christian response to injustice.

This proves especially challenging for those in subordinate positions. The text addresses servants directly, reminding them that Christ himself took "the form of a servant" ^[5]. The heavenly calling does not exempt believers from earthly indignities but rather provides the framework for enduring them redemptively. The obstacle is not merely the suffering itself but the requirement to suffer patiently, without retaliation or bitterness, trusting God's vindication rather than securing one's own.

The Discipline of Endurance

The author of Hebrews frames the Christian life as a race requiring endurance, with Jesus as "the supreme example of faithfulness" through his suffering ^[3]. The challenge is temporal: maintaining fidelity over time, through repeated trials, without the immediate reward that would make perseverance easier. God's discipline itself becomes an obstacle when believers misinterpret hardship as abandonment rather than as the Father's training of his children ^[3]. The call to "live in peace with others" ^[3] adds a communal dimension, requiring believers to maintain both vertical faithfulness and horizontal charity even when circumstances tempt them toward isolation or conflict.

The cumulative testimony of Scripture and tradition is that obstacles to Christlikeness are neither incidental nor easily overcome. They require the stripping away of deeply rooted attachments, the reversal of natural instincts, and sustained reliance on divine grace to accomplish what human effort cannot achieve alone.