Christian Living

Ephesians 5:3-4 states:

³ But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. ⁴ Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. 

It can be easy to misunderstand how we should live with regard to grace and forgiveness. Paul spent the better part of Romans, particularly Romans 6 as Dr. Pratt covered this past Sunday, describing how we should live sin-free lives as a response to Christ's sacrifice on our behalf, but it's one thing to know we shouldn't sin, but quite another to understand what it really means.

A fun exercise we all engage in is to mentally go through the 10 Commandments and see how well we've done in fulfilling them. For example, I haven't worshiped idols today, used God's name in vain (out loud), dishonored the Sabbath, killed anyone, stolen anything, dishonored my parents, etc., but I've still sinned--it's part of our nature. Since we can't escape sin, are we to just give up and wait for God's forgiveness? Of course not, and Paul's words to the Ephesians gives excellent practical advice as to how we should lead our lives. These words are clear, unambiguous and easy to explain, and just as easy to comprehend. 

If we claim to be Christians, we should live lives worthy of that name. Our lives should be our witness, and if we live them according to the principles that Paul sets forth in these verses, we'll be excellent examples to those around us. Perhaps they'll notice and ask us, but no matter what, remember what our primary job is--to make sure that WE live lives worthy of salvation, followed closely by then telling others how they can lead similar lives. Nobody likes a hypocrite, and we should endeavor to model our lives and our behavior on these simple verses. There are many things in the Bible that can be confusing or difficult to understand--this is not one of them. And, as always, it's not the understanding that's difficult, it's the doing. 

Scott