Habakkuk 2

Then the Lord replied: "Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay."

Thursday, April 29, 2021

I Urge You to Walk

Ephesians 4:1-3 ESV

 

“I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

 

A Manner Worthy of the Calling

 

All throughout the New Testament, we, who are in Christ Jesus by God-ordained and God-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ, are being encouraged strongly to walk (in conduct, in practice) in a manner worthy (suitable, fitting) of the calling to which we have been called in Christ Jesus.

 

And we are called to holiness, righteousness, purity, uprightness, truth, freedom from slavery to sin, fellowship with Christ, according to his purpose, for his service, and to obedience to Jesus Christ our Lord and our Savior.

 

And we are to do this with all humility (self-denial) and gentleness (gentle strength) which expresses power with reserve (meekness). But meekness is not weakness. Jesus was meek but he was not weak. So, this involves actions and speaking which are under the power of God’s Holy Spirit.

 

And we are to do this with patience (self-control, steadfastness), bearing (suffering, enduring) with one another in love. And this love centers in moral preference. It prefers what God prefers, which is what is holy, righteous, pure, honest, and upright. So, love does no willful harm to its neighbor.

 

And in all of this we are to be eager to maintain the unity of the SPIRIT in the bond of peace. So, this is not unity with humanism or with man’s plans and reasonings. This is unity with God and with his will and purpose for our lives. So, we never make compromises with truth to have unity with others.

 

Ephesians 4:17-19 ESV

 

“Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.”

 

No Longer Walk As

 

When Jesus Christ died on that cross for us it was so that we could die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness. So, when we believe in Jesus Christ with God-persuaded faith, we are crucified with Christ in death to sin and we are resurrected with Christ to newness of life in him.

 

We are delivered from our slavery to sin so that we can now become slaves of God and of his righteousness. For, Jesus gave his blood for us to buy us back for God (to redeem us) so that we will now honor God with our lives, and so we will live for him and no longer for ourselves.

 

So, if we died with Christ to sin, and if we were raised with Christ to newness of life in him, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness, how can we live in sin any longer? We are not! For, if we continue to live in sin, making sin our practice, we will die in our sins.

 

So, daily we are to be dying to sin and self and putting on Christ and his righteousness. We are to be walking according to the Spirit and no longer living according to the flesh. We are not to live like we did before we believed in Jesus because Jesus set us free from our lives of sin.

 

So, we are to no longer give ourselves over to sensuality, sexual immorality, lying, cheating, stealing, slander/gossip, greed, impurity, and idolatry. These sins (and more) are no longer to be a part of our lives. Now we are to say “No!” to ungodliness and fleshly lusts and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for our Lord’s soon return.

 

[Lu 9:23-26; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; 1 Co 6:19-20; 2 Co 5:15; Tit 2:11-14; Gal 5:16-21; 1 Co 6:9-10; 2 Co 5:10; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8]

 

Ephesians 4:20-24 ESV

 

“But that is not the way you learned Christ! — assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”

 

The Truth in Jesus Christ

 

This (referring to the previous verses) is not the way you should have learned Christ. But it is the way many people today are learning Christ. For, they are being taught that a mere profession of faith in Jesus Christ is enough to save them from their sins and to guarantee them heaven as their eternal destiny, regardless of how they live their lives.

 

But the truth that is in Christ Jesus is that we are to put off our old self. We are to die with Christ to sin. And this involves repentance, which is a turning away from our former way of living for sin and self to now following Jesus Christ with our lives. Repentance is a spiritual U-Turn in our life path.

 

We are to put off our old self, which belongs to our FORMER way of life, because it is corrupt through deceitful desires. And this is the whole purpose for why Jesus died on that cross. It was to deliver us out of our former lives of living in sin to now living to Christ and to his righteousness.

 

And it is our Lord Jesus and his Spirit who renew us in the spirit of our minds, but we have a part in that, too. We can’t be renewed if we don’t want to be renewed, or if we choose to hold on to the corruption that is in our minds. We must put off that corruption and put on righteous living.

 

And this isn’t just about putting off our old lives, but we have to put on our new lives in Jesus, too, which are created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Jesus frees us from the old lives of sin, and he renews us in our minds, and he gives us the new lives in Christ Jesus, but we must apply to our lives what he has provided for us.

 

Mighty in Power

 

An Original Work / June 17, 2019

 

Jesus, our Savior, reigneth forever;

Mighty in power, His name we honor.

 

He’s our refuge from all evil.

God our righteous, He’s our fill.

 

He satisfies us with all His blessings.

We magnify Him. Our praise to Him sing.

 

Glory and honor, praise to the Father,

Perfect in wisdom, He is our vision.

 

He delivered us from all sin

So, in Christ, we’d be forgiven.

 

He purifies us. His love will guide us.

He is beside us, holy and righteous.

 

Our Holy Spirit, comfort in sorrow,

Strength in our weakness, hope for tomorrow.

 

He gives courage to be bold in

Witnessing for Jesus Christ.

 

He teaches all things about our Savior.

New life in Jesus, we found His favor.

 

https://vimeo.com/343126112

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