How A Christian Should Live

Read Ephesians 4:17-32

If you have followed along with me in Ephesians, you will have begun to notice a theme Paul had with this letter - one of unity within the body of Christ. In my last post, we learned how each Christian's spiritual gifts are to be used - to equip us for ministry and to edify each other in the Lord. With the theme of unity and spiritual gifts in mind, Paul now tells the Ephesians (and us) how we should be "walking the walk" as followers of Jesus Christ.

How a Christian Should Behave​

Keep in mind that Paul is very concerned about the Gentile converts in Ephesians who were coming out of paganism. They had indulged in idol worship, which consisted of bizarre practices, from sexual immorality (which involved orgies and temple prostitutes) to drinking blood. But now they were coming out of that lifestyle, so Paul wanted to clarify how they were now expected to live, and it was quite a contrast. Even though Paul's mindset was focused on this problem with the Gentile converts, his examples of how Christians should live and behave still apply to us today. 

• We should no longer live or walk as we used to. Paul immediately makes it clear to the Ephesians: don't do what you did before! (Ephesians 4:17). That way of life, Paul explains, leads to futile thinking. Why? Because a life lived in continual sin will lead to our thoughts darkening. This leads to being alienated from a relationship with God and to ignorance because our hearts are blinded. Continuing to live as we did before we came to the Lord will keep us where we were - in perpetual sin and darkness. For the Gentile converts, it meant reverting to giving themselves over to lewdness, uncleanness and greediness. It is one thing to say, "I accept Jesus as my Saviour" it is quite another to make Him Lord of your life. That requires abiding in Him and turning from sin daily.

• Be renewed in the spirit of your mind. The "renewal" mentioned in Ephesians 4:23 isn't about improving our memory skills. Nor is it about our judgment or perception regarding our thinking. It is not about attaining awareness and centring ourselves either, as some New Age T.V. preachers keep telling us to do. But, "the spirit of the mind," which, under the controlling power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, directs its bent and energies Godward so that we may enjoy fellowship with God and His Son, Jesus Christ. We do that through Bible study and prayer. In other words, we direct our lives away from our former way of doing things and instead find our fulfillment in the will of God. We become "God-focused" rather than "self-focused." And our thought processes (our minds) become renewed or changed so that we find ourselves looking to God for approval rather than the world in everything we do. And so we "put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness" (Ephesians 4:24).

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• Do not lie. Paul says we need to speak the truth with each other. Why? Because we are members of one another. I know that sometimes the truth can hurt, so we are tempted to "couch" it to make it seem less hurtful. But truth spoken in love is better than letting your friends or family believe in a lie. 

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• Do not sin in your anger. Ephesians 4:26 says, "Be angry, but do not sin." Implying that it is okay to get angry, just don't cross over into sinning while angry. When Jesus went into the Temple and drove out the moneychangers, He was angry. He had every right to be, for as He stated, they had made His house (Temple) into a den of thieves (Matthew 21:12). Jesus had righteous anger. But there are other kinds of anger. Anger caused by a cheating spouse or a disobedient child, or a politician whose every move seems to make our blood boil. Anger from injustice or anger from road rage. These types of anger can lead us to sin, which happens when we allow it to fester and grow. As we are reminded in 2 Corinthians 10:5, we need to take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ. 

• Do not let the sun go down on your wrath. In other words, if you are angry - GET OVER IT and do it quickly. Otherwise, you will give the devil a foothold, and your anger will lead to sin. That guy on the highway may have cut you off and made you angry, but when you begin to plot how you will "make him pay," that is revenge and sin. A simple way to get over this type of anger is to remember that not everyone intentionally means to be a jerk. That guy might be trying to get to the hospital to visit his dying mother. That gal might have just received horrible news, and she isn't thinking straight. Forgive, forget, and move on.

• Don't steal. Now, this seems a rather odd statement to make to a Christian who has given their life to Christ. But again, we are reading a letter Paul wrote to Gentile Christians who were coming out of paganism. Stealing was second nature to them. So let's look at the rest of that verse which says, "but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need" (Ephesians 4:28). In other words, use your hands for the good of others. If you used to be involved in illegal practices, stop doing them now and start thinking about how you can make the lives of others better.

• Watch your language! Ephesians 4:29 says, "Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers." A potty mouth is not becoming of anyone. It shows a lack of self-control, underlying anger issues and disrespect for others. But when a Christian swears or takes God's name in vain, it shows they have not allowed the Holy Spirit to abide within them. It also shows they do not respect God's holiness and authority.

• Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God. What would grieve the Holy Spirit? Ignoring Him and living as you did before you accepted Jesus as your Saviour. Ephesians 4:31 says, "Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice." All these behaviours grieve the Holy Spirit, so do away with them.

• Be kind, tenderhearted and forgiving toward one another. Why? Because Jesus forgave you and, more importantly, because we are one body in Christ. We are knit together in bonds of unity, and from our shared bond, we desire to grow in the Lord and honour Him with our lives.

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Living the Christian life is never easy because our sin-nature is still there. Yes, we've been forgiven, but that basic instinct to sin is always present. So it is all about the choices you make. Will you choose to live for Christ in a way that honours and pleases Him, or will you choose to live as you did before? The choice is yours.