“The Just Shall Live By Faith”
New King James Version Written by: David Hicks
Romans 1:17 “ For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith."
Galatians 3:11 “But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for "the just shall live by faith."
Hebrews 10:38 “Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him."
“Articles of Faith”
The Church of Christ
(A Study in Ephesians)
Lesson 19 - Walk in Love:
We have just concluded an exhortation by the Apostle Paul to practice what we have learned from Christ (this is the instruction given by the Spirit through the word). This practice is summarized by Paul's statement, “ put on the new man ”, which is described as departing from that which we were prior to being ‘ In ' Christ ( Vs. 17-24 ). As members of the body of Christ (His church), a transformation occurs as the Spirit directs, trains, and exhorts our minds through the truth of God's word in Christ.
To ignore the need for this transformation is to grieve the Spirit, as we waste His efforts on our behalf. However, to live as the Spirit directs us is to live in righteousness and holiness; in addition to producing fruit ( Vs. 25-32 ; Galatians 5:22 -25 ).
Our text once again begins with the word, “ therefore ”. This denotes that this new direction is spawned from that which we have just covered. I like to call this portion of Paul's letter the, “ Walk Ins ”. You could just as easily replace the word walk in each of the up-coming passages with the word live, and be correct in describing what Paul is talking about. There are three specific walks that Paul will deal with (love, light, and wisdom), and at the conclusion of this he will begin a class on the concept of submission. In this lesson we will focus on the first of the walk ins , Love.
Text:
Ephesians 5:1-7
“Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. 3 But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; 4 neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. 5 For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not be partakers with them.”
If your father was a tyrant, it would be difficult to find motive (other than fear) to obey him. However, as God is our Father in Christ and has acted in pure love on behalf of His children, it is and always should be this understanding of His love that motivates us to obey and walk after Him!
1 John 5:3 “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.”
In addition, Christ gave us a pattern to follow in this walk of love, note:
Hebrews 5:8-9 “though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. 9 And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him,”
We too can be a sweet smelling aroma before God, when we walk in the foot steps of the Savior (Read: Romans 12:1-2 ).
We have a Father that has acted in our best interest (the Bible's description of love) and a Savior that has shown us by His own example that a true walk of love is in the righteousness of God. Thus to imitate God is to walk after His word and to walk in love is to pattern yourself after the Savior and be about your Fathers business.
Vs. 3-5. So, if walking in love is walking in righteousness, proving what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God ( Romans 12:2 ), then a walk of love cannot bear, immorality, filthy speech, and the works of darkness that are mentioned in these verses.
Rather than cover each of these works of darkness as mentioned, I ask that you note the specific nature of each as listed. As you note the terms, “ course jesting ”, “ un-clean person ”, or “ covetous ”; please note that these deal with what many term as small sins or gray areas. We must really examine our lives (walks) to determine if we are truly renewing our minds by living the perfect will of God. If we are telling ourselves or others that a behavior we practice among brethren or those in the world, ‘ isn't that bad '; I believe that we have walked away from the path that the Lord has shown us. The word of God reveals that there is righteousness and un-righteousness (no gray areas).
Let no one deceive you.
Paul urges the brethren in Ephesus to guard against vain, useless, or empty words. These are words that sound reasonable on the surface, but are deceptive in reality. A man might be able to persuade these brethren that the things that Paul has mentioned in Vs. 3-5 might actually be ok!
Two things come to mind right away! First , is that there are always men who try to dismiss the instruction of God and attempt to replace it with that of human wisdom. Second , is that Paul is placing the burden of knowing what is deceit and what is true squarely on the shoulders of each of these Christians. If you cannot recognize the enemy, you cannot defend against him!
Therefore. Since these kinds of individuals exist, who do not walk in love and purposely attempt to teach that which is false, and that you must be able to recognize them, do not partake in their deeds.
The idea of partaking is best illustrated by the concept of sharing a meal. A group may share in preparing a meal, they then sit down and eat of that meal together. They premeditated that which they would eat, they followed through by consuming the food together, and now, they are all full of the same thing !
We are commanded to go into the world and preach the Gospel; in addition the Apostles and prophets have given an astounding amount of instruction from the Lord concerning our interaction with men of the world. So, this is not an imploring to become hermits or withdraw from association with everyone who falls into these categories. This is teaching us simply that we must never be like them in our presentation of our faith in the world! A good passage of scripture to coincide with this is Paul's instructions to the church at Corinth , concerning their participation with false teachers (Read: II Corinthians 6:11-18 ).
A walk of love is a walk of righteousness, obedience, and knowledge. This is motivated by a loving Father who has acted in our best interest and has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness.
A son of disobedience is a figurative term that means a group of persons who do not have enough faith in their professed Father to obey Him!
Next: “ Walk in Light ”