Articles
The Christian's Walk
The apostle Paul reminded the brethren of Ephesus that, as disciples of Jesus Christ, we are to live in a particular way — that we should “no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness” (Eph. 4:17). Christians cannot live like the world for we have “put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts” (Eph. 4:22).
It is a shame that so many who profess to be followers of Christ do, in fact, continue to live like the world and as if nothing has changed in their lives. Those who wear the name of Christ, yet who live as if they are children of the devil, are a cause for many turning away from Christ and Christianity, and will have to answer for their actions someday as they stand before Christ Himself.
Worse still, there is a popular doctrine among many who profess to be believers in Christ that teaches it doesn't matter how one lives after he is saved, because God has guaranteed eternal salvation and nothing one does can change that. The consequence of being told that your salvation cannot be lost is generations of people who have taken that to heart and live like the world while claiming to be followers of Christ. While those still in the world may have no interest in living for Christ, they do know that those who claim to be living for Christ should not be pursuing the fleshly desires, and they are repulsed by such hypocrisy.
Paul gave further instruction to those in Ephesus as to how it was they were to live or, as he wrote, how they are to "walk.” Let's consider his divinely-inspired words that we might know how we are to live, too.
Worthy of the Calling. (Eph. 4:1) First, let us make note that to “walk worthy” of anything means we must live up to the standards or expectations that come with being a part of it. “The calling” Paul writes of, not surprisingly, is the call to follow Jesus Christ! Paul noted in the second letter to those in Thessalonica that God “from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thess. 2:13, 14). God had foreordained that His children would obtain the glory of His Son, and He called all men (cf. Titus 2:11, 12) by the gospel to follow His ways that they might obtain that glory.
To those brethren in Ephesus who had received that word (cf. Eph. 1:13), they were to not waste their opportunity to obtain that glory by continuing to live like the world around them — and neither can we, if we want to obtain that glory! We must live in a way that brings glory to God (Matt. 5:16), and gives no reason for others to blaspheme His name (1 Pet. 2:11, 12).
In Love. (Eph. 5:2) What a standard! Paul urged the brethren to “walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us,” and this high standard for how we should live must not be overlooked, nor its importance diminished. Our Lord specifically commanded, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34, 35). Plainly stated, the world will know we are His disciples [or not] based on this factor!
Jesus also said, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends” (John 15:13), and then He went out and died for His enemies! This is our standard! We do not simply love those we choose to love, love those whom we determine are 'worthy' of our love, or love others when we find the time to love them. Jesus loved us enough to give Himself for us, and that is the love we must have for others.
As Children of Light. (Eph. 5:8) Paul also wrote, “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.” This is a logical expectation of those who are supposed to “walk in the light as He is in the light” (1 John 1:7), and Paul further added to his admonition, urging the brethren to “have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them” (Eph. 5:11).
As “children of light,” we should be striving to walk as close to Christ as we can, and not straying out to the edge of the light [righteous living] just so we can see how close we can get to the darkness without being in it. Safety is in the light, and it is when one walks in darkness that he stumbles (Prov. 4:19); trying to walk on the edge between light and darkness will not lead anyone into the light, and it will likely cause the one trying to do so to eventually stumble and fall. If we are Christians, wouldn't it make more sense to walk as close to Jesus as we can, instead of seeing how close to the world we can walk and still claim to be following Jesus?
Carefully and Wisely. (Eph. 5:15) Paul's admonition was to the point: “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise.” The Greek word translated as “circumspectly,” literally translated, means 'exactly, perfectly' and, as it applies, Paul is advising them to walk 'carefully' and alert to the spiritual dangers of this earthly life. This is an admonition we must not take lightly!
Peter warned the early disciples, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world” (1 Pet. 5:8, 9), and knowing we have such an adversary should cause us to not take our spiritual well-being for granted, living cautiously and alert to any and all spiritual dangers.
When we begin to think "that will never happen to me' or "just this once won't hurt" is when we are in danger of falling to temptations — and your adversary will use your weakness against you (Jas. 1:14) every chance he gets. Especially when you are not walking cautiously.
The second part of Paul's admonition was to walk “not as fools, but as wise”; here is where we finish the sentence and see what Paul meant. The entire sentence is as follows: “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil” (Eph. 5:15, 16). The phrase “redeeming the time” literally translates to 'improving opportunity.' But 'improving opportunity' for what? Doesn't it just make sense that Paul was admonishing these followers of Christ to make the best use of their time on earth to serve the Lord and do His work? To walk wisely means we must not waste the time allotted to us, living every day for Christ and striving to 'improve opportunity' to lead others to Him!
To do that, we must put ourselves in situations where we will have opportunities, and be always alert so we don't miss opportunities that come our way. If we never get out into the world, we probably will never have opportunity to lead others to Christ, and if we get out into the world, but close our eyes to the lost souls that surround us, we probably won't lead anyone to Christ, either.
Let us walk the walk! —— Steven Harper
