Run With It: Arise from The Dead

Ephesians 5:1-2 NASB

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.

Walk in Love

Whenever we see the word “therefore,” we have to look back to see what it is “there for.” So, I went back to the previous chapter to see the content there. And, I learned that it speaks there of how we must walk (in lifestyle) in a manner worthy of the calling to which we have all been called.

Thus, it says that we must no longer walk (live) in the way we did before we trusted in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of our lives. For, we should have been taught that faith in Jesus Christ means we die to (put off) our old self, which is corrupted by its lustful desires, and we are renewed (changed) in mind, and that we put on our new self, “which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth” (see Eph. 4:17-24).

And, then it lists for us some of the types of things that we, who follow Jesus Christ, should put off and put on. Such as, we should put off lying and tell the truth, put off stealing and work, and then give to others, and we should not have unwholesome talk coming out of our mouths but only what is beneficial for building one another up in our walks of faith in Christ Jesus.

Therefore, because this is what it means to believe in Jesus Christ, we should be those who emulate our Lord and God. For, we were created in Christ Jesus to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. So, we should live like we believe that. And, we should love others with the kind of love with which Jesus Christ loved us when he gave his life up for us so that we could be free from slavery to sin and walk in his righteousness.

This means that, in loving others, we do what is best for them, not what is selfish on our part. We are willing even to be hated and rejected by them in order to share Jesus Christ with them. We will speak the truth in love to them, as Jesus did, even if it means they turn against us in return. And, our love for them will be based in righteousness, purity, honesty, faithfulness, morality and integrity. For, we will not take advantage of them or willfully do anything to cause them real harm.

Ephesians 5:3-5 NASB

But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints; and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

Know with Certainty

Why is it that so many people today are teaching that it doesn’t matter how much we sin once we are “saved”? They say, or they imply that we can still live in the flesh and have eternal life with God still guaranteed. Yet, that is NOT what scripture teaches us. Over, and over again in the New Testament we read that if we, who say we believe in Jesus, live according to our flesh, and we make sin our practice, we don’t have an inheritance in the kingdom of God. Do they not believe the scriptures?

I believe it is because they have bought into the lies of Satan which give them a loophole out from under the authority of scripture. So, they take a handful of scriptures out of context and they build their entire doctrine of salvation around those few verses while they ignore the bulk of teaching in scripture on the subject of our salvation, and our eternal life with God.

How else could they possibly miss all the teachings in the NT that say we have to walk according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh if we want to have the hope of eternal life with God in heaven?

This is not saying that we will never sin or that we lose our salvation every time we sin. This is also not works-based salvation. For, we are not saved merely to escape hell, and so we can go to heaven when we die. We are saved that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. Jesus died to deliver us from our slavery to sin, not just to forgive us our sins. His grace to us is not carte blanche to continue in sinful lifestyles. His grace to us is the power of the cross in our lives to put sin to death in our lives so that we can live godly and holy lives pleasing to God.

Ephesians 5:6-14 NASB

Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them; for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light. For this reason it says, “Awake, sleeper,And arise from the dead,And Christ will shine on you.”

Don’t Be Deceived

So, don’t let anyone deceive you with words which sound good, but believe the scriptures, in context. Jesus died to transform us and to conform us to his likeness. Salvation is not a one-time event and then heaven is guaranteed no matter how you live from that moment on. God does not forgive us and then look away and not pay attention to our sins.

We are saved (past), we are being saved (present) and we will be saved (future) when Jesus Christ returns, and our salvation is complete. So, we have to continue in that faith until the very end. And, we have to walk according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh if we want to have eternal life with God. Yet, don’t believe me. Believe God’s Word.

If you are trusting in some decision you made at one time to believe in Jesus but you are still living to the flesh, and Jesus is not really the Lord (owner-master) of your life, then think again. Wake up from your slumber. Don’t put your trust in humans, but in God and in His Word. Jesus died that we might be delivered out of darkness and brought into God’s wonderful Light, not so we could remain in the darkness without guilt and without remorse.

So, come out of that darkness and walk by faith in Jesus Christ in his holiness and righteousness and do what pleases your Lord, not what pleases your flesh, and Christ will shine on you. And, rather than participate in the fruitless deeds of darkness, be ones who expose those evil deeds for what they are and who call people to repentance and to obedience to Christ.

Be willing to lay your lives down for Jesus Christ and for others who need Jesus, and to die for the truth of the gospel rather than compromise with the world of sin. Then, when you die, you can be assured that heaven is your eternal destiny and that you are going to be with your Lord forever. Amen.

Make that decision to say “Yes” to Jesus today, to follow him in obedience, and to leave your lives of sin behind you. You will be so glad that you did!

I Have Decided to Follow Jesus

Song lyrics attr. to S. Sundar Singh

Music: Hindustani melody

I have decided to follow Jesus;