As those who profess faith in Jesus Christ, the way we live
should not be as it was before we believed in Jesus. We should not live like
the ungodly, giving ourselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind
of impurity. That is not how we should have been taught the truth that is in
Christ Jesus. We should have been taught that we are to die with Christ to sin
and to live to him and to his righteousness, in obedience to his commands (New
Covenant), all in his power and wisdom and strength, and for his glory.
Ephesians 4:25-27 ESV
“Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.”
So, lying should never be our practice. Truth telling should
be our practice. We should not even tell what some people call “white lies.”
And we should not give people false impressions, which is still lying, nor
should we withhold from them the truth that is due them (that is owed them).
And we should not mislead them in any way nor tell lies to cover for secret
sins. Now this doesn’t mean we tell everyone everything we know, but it means
we are not being deceptive, but that the words we speak are the truth that we
know.
Some anger can be righteous anger, like the anger God has,
but even there we should not sin in our anger. We should not do what is wrong
just because we are angry, even if we are angry for the right reasons. And some
anger is rooted in sin, because it stems from hearts which are bitter,
unforgiving, hateful, prideful and resentful. So the anger itself is sinful.
But anger can be a natural human emotion given to us by God to move us to some
type of action, and there, again, we must not sin in our anger.
Ephesians 4:28 ESV
“Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.”
We are not to take from other people what is theirs and
which is not ours to have, because they have not offered it to us nor given us
permission to take it. And this isn’t just about stealing things, like material
possessions, but you can take from someone his dignity, or steal from him his
joy by being mean and hateful. And you steal someone’s spouse from him via
extra-marital affairs. And you can steal from him his honor and his reputation
if you slander him and falsely accuse him of wrongdoing.
Instead we are to be people who are generous and who give to
other people’s needs, even sometimes at our own expense, i.e. via
self-sacrifice in giving to them what we may have wanted for ourselves. We
should not be stingy people, for we only have what we have by the grace of God
and it can all go away in an instant. Yet, we need to exercise wisdom in this
for there are many con artists out there ready to cheat us and steal from us. And
they are very skilled at manipulation and appealing to your compassion.
Ephesians 4:29-30 ESV
“Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”
We are not to be people who speak what is foul, immoral,
vulgar, crude, dishonest, crooked, perverted, and the like. We should not be
given over to off-color and inappropriate humor or similar conversations of any
kind. We should not be people who use cuss words, especially not to use the
name of God or the name of Jesus as a swear word, and not to dishonor God/Jesus
Christ. If we use the Lord’s name in conversation, let it be because we are
literally sharing the gospel and speaking of God’s divine character and will.
Instead, we are to be those who speak the truth in love, one
to the other, and who encourage (exhort, holy urge) one another in our walks of
faith in holiness and righteousness. And we should be those who give out godly
counsel to help others to walk faithfully to the Lord and to not go astray. For
when we live or when we speak what is contrary to the will of God, and that
which is evil in God’s sight, yet while we profess faith in Christ, that
grieves the Holy Spirit, like it grieves a person whose spouse is being
unfaithful.
Ephesians 4:31-32 ESV
“Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”
No matter what other people do to us, no matter how badly
they hurt us or damage our reputations or are mean and cruel to us, we must
love them in return, and we must forgive them. For we are to love even our
enemies, and we are to pray for them and do good to them and speak what is
beneficial to them and not evil. Now forgiveness means we refuse to get even
with them and we continue to show them love. But forgiveness is not permission
for them to keep on sinning, for Jesus’ forgiveness is not permission to sin.
And we must guard our hearts against bitterness and wrath
and anger, but we can confront others with their sins against us, and the
Scriptures teach that we are to do so, but first make sure they really did sin
against you, for sometimes we get things wrong. And biblically we can withdraw
from fellowship with those who profess Christ but who are still living in
deliberate and habitual sin without true repentance. But we should not do so
out of bitterness, but with the goal to hopefully move them towards repentance.
Full Release
An Original Work / April 15, 2012
Walking daily with
my Savior
brings me joy.
Loving Father;
precious Jesus;
He’s my Savior and
my Lord.
Gently leads me;
follow Him.
I’ve invited Him
within.
Now abiding in His
presence,
oh, what peace.
From my self-life
He has brought me,
By His mercy, full
release.
Hope and comfort,
peace and safety
Jesus brings
When I daily bow
before Him;
Obey freely; do His
will.
Follow Him where’er
He leads.
Listen to Him; His words
heed.
Now obeying his
words fully,
oh, what love
That He gives me
through salvation,
By His Spirit, from
above.
Loving Father;
precious Jesus,
He’s my friend.
With my Savior, by
His Spirit,
I will endure to the
end.
Share the gospel,
tell what’s true.
Witness daily; His
will do.
Tell the world of
how their Savior
bled and died.
On a cruel cross He
suffered
So that we might be
alive.
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