The Lord Jesus led me to read
Ephesians 5 (Select vv. ESV).
Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.
And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant
offering and sacrifice to God. vv. 1-2
The goal of our salvation
from sin is that we might be Christ-like, free from the control of sin over our
lives, and free to walk in His holiness and righteousness, no longer to please
ourselves, but to live to please God.
This should result, in our
lives, in us walking in love – with love for God and love for our fellow
humans. For, we are now servants of righteousness, under the ownership of Almighty
God, in order that we might be his representatives on this earth, to the people
of this earth, in demonstrating God’s love, his grace, and his mercy to all
people.
But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness
must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no
filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but
instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that everyone
who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater),
has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you
with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the
sons of disobedience. Vv. 3-6
As the church, the body of
Christ, sexual immorality or any of these other sins should not exist among us.
It isn’t that we will never sin again, once we trust in Jesus Christ to be Lord
and Savior of our lives, but that we should no longer make sin our practice. We
must no longer be engaged in what we did before we met Christ, for Jesus set us
free from the power of sin.
I am not saying, nonetheless,
that we will be perfect overnight, otherwise the Bible would not teach that we
are to daily be putting sin to death and daily taking up our cross and
following Christ. The Christian life is a process, by the Spirit of God, of
putting off sin and putting on his righteousness.
I am also not saying that it
is not possible for a believer in Jesus Christ to fall back into sin at any
point in his Christian walk, otherwise we would not have all these instructions
in scripture to the church, warning against such things as this, and we would
not have the letters to the seven churches in the book of Revelation, five of
which was to tell them how they were not walking fully in the light they had
been given, and how they needed to repent of their sins or else face divine
discipline and chastisement.
So, why such a strong warning
to Christians? Because God hates sin, which is why Jesus died for us, because
sin destroys us, as humans. Jesus died on a cross to deliver us out of such
slavery to sin, so that we would no longer walk in it, but so we would walk in
freedom, in the Spirit, and no longer live to gratify the sinful cravings of
our flesh. So, this warning is for our good!
Also, we are being warned
here, lest we get this idea that, now that we are “in Christ,” by faith in him,
that it doesn’t matter if we continue in sinful practices because our sins are
forgiven and heaven is guaranteed us. This dispels this notion, as do many
other scriptures. If we claim faith in Jesus Christ, but we continue to walk (in
lifestyle) in sin, willfully and defiantly, without conscience or true
repentance, we will die in our sins, not have the hope of eternal life with
God, so we need to take this seriously!
Therefore do not become partners with them; for at one
time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of
light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true),
and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful
works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of
the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light,
it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Vv. 7-14a
Not only must we make
certain, by God’s grace, and in his strength and power, that we are no longer
walking in sin, but we must be very careful who we choose for our closest
friends, companions and spouses. We must also be careful concerning what we
watch and listen to on a daily basis. For, we can be influenced by others to do
what we know is wrong, and to reject what we know is right, if we are in close
relationship or communion with those who are walking in sin’s dark ways.
And, this includes being
careful with regards to entertainment choices or even with regard to the desire
to be entertained on a somewhat consistent basis. For what reason did Jesus
save us? We are to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world and to
be proclaiming the excellencies of him who called us out of darkness into his
wonderful light. We, as followers of Christ, should not be self-absorbed, but
we should be sold out to Jesus Christ.
We should, by God’s grace, no
longer walk in the ways in which we did before we met Jesus Christ as Savior of
our lives. For, he died that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. He
died to set us free from slavery to sin. Now we should walk, in lifestyle, in
his light, in his truth, and in his ways of holiness and righteousness. And, we
do this by daily putting sin to death and daily putting on Christ and his
righteousness; by saying “NO” to sin and by walking in the light which he gives
us, in his power and strength.
Instead of partaking in
sinful practices, or even allowing ourselves to be entertained by others’
sinful practices, we should be in the habit of exposing them, but not for the
purposes of gossip, and not to “out” someone out of spite or unforgiveness. We
should be honest concerning our own failures, and share our testimonies of how
Jesus set us free, and of how he is giving us all that we need to now live and
walk in freedom and no longer in bondage.
But, we should also be
teaching what is in accord with God’s word, exposing the lies of Satan and
false doctrines and false grace gospels. We should be telling people about the
lies which are being taught, and then be telling them what the truth is so that
they can put off the lies and put on the truth.
Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as
wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do
not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get
drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,
addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and
making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for
everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting
to one another out of reverence for Christ. Vv. 15-21
Not only must we be careful
about how we are living, that we would walk in the light and not in the
darkness, but we must be about encouraging and urging our brothers and sisters
in Christ to also walk in the light and to reject what is of the darkness. For,
we are all in a spiritual battle, and Satan is convincing so many Christians
that they are free in Christ to live however they want and to still have heaven
guaranteed them. But, the truth is that Jesus died to deliver us out of
darkness and to bring us into his wonderful light, so we should walk in the
light, and lead others to do the same.
He Reached Down
An Original Work / February
3, 2014
Based off Psalm 18
How I love You, Lord, my Rock
and my strength.
My God is my fortress; I hide
in Him.
He is my shield and the horn
of
My salvation, whom I praise.
I have found my refuge in
Him.
He reached down from heaven and
rescued me;
Drew me out of waters so
deep, I’d sink.
He delivered me from Satan
And my slavery to sin;
Gave me hope of heaven with
Him.
My God turned my darkness into
His light;
Opened up my blinded eyes; gave
me sight.
As for God, his way is
perfect.
He gives strength to stand
secure.
I have found my vict’ry in
Him.
My Lord lives! Praise be to
my Savior God,
Jesus Christ, who died on a
cruel cross.
He is my Rock and the source
Of my salvation, whom I
trust.
I will give praise always to
Him.
Sunday, December 17, 2017,
6:11 a.m. – Thank you, Jesus, that you died to set us free from slavery to sin,
and you live that we might live in you and walk in your righteousness and
holiness all our days. Amen!
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