As Christians, we adore the beauty of God and want to become like him—not in order to become a beloved child but because we have been made a beloved child. His nature is deeply beautiful to us, because by it he saved us.
In light of the gospel and our identity in Christ, Paul says in his letter to the Ephesians that there are three ways we should walk: Walk in love, walk in light, and walk in wisdom.
But Paul also gives a warning about a couple of “potholes” that could trip us up as we try to imitate Jesus’ love and character and wisdom.
Pothole 1: False Assurances
“Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience” (Ephesians 5:6 ESV).
One of the oldest lies in the book is that God really doesn’t take sin that seriously and that you can be a Christian and not take it seriously, either.
In the church today you hear it in preaching that offers assurance of salvation without dealing with sin. Just “pray this prayer and accept Jesus” or “get baptized” or “go to confirmation class or confession” and it’s OK to maintain a few sins on the side—as long as they are not that bad.
That is not truth.
You cannot claim Jesus as your Savior until you surrender to him as Lord, and you can’t say you are surrendered to him as Lord while you intentionally pursue those things that put him on the cross.
You may say you’re a Christian, but is he the Lord of your life?
You may confess with your mouth that he is Lord, but does your life confess that he is Lord?
I’m not saying Christians don’t struggle with sin. You can walk toward Jesus and still stumble in sin. In fact, you will. But you will also get up and keep going toward him. Proverbs reminds us that “the righteous falls seven times and rises again” (Proverbs 24:16). It is one thing to be tripped up, and quite another to dive into a ditch.
I struggle with indwelling sin constantly, but there is nothing in my heart about which I say, “No, Jesus. You cannot have your way in this area.” Were I to do that, I’d be refusing his lordship. It’s an old saying but a true one: If Jesus isn’t Lord of all, he’s not Lord at all.
Don’t be deceived by empty words. God takes your surrender to his lordship seriously.
Pothole 2: False Comforts
“And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart” (Ephesians 5:18-19).
Paul compares being drunk with wine and being filled by the Spirit because both are ways to deal with life’s pressures and disappointments, but they do it in entirely different ways.
Alcohol is a depressant that dulls your senses to reality. It makes you less aware of your surroundings. The Holy Spirit, by contrast, is a stimulus that makes you more aware of reality. He helps you cope with difficulty by opening your eyes more widely to the promise of the gospel.
That distinction makes all the difference in the world.
Alcohol gets rid of worry by making you forget, but the Spirit gets rid of worry by helping you remember.
Alcohol gives you courage by making you less aware of the dangers around you. The Holy Spirit gives you courage by showing you how much larger God is than whatever you are afraid of.
Alcohol helps you cope by dimming your eyes and deadening your heart. The Spirit does more than help you cope: He equips you to thrive, and he does it by brightening your eyes and enlivening your heart.
But how, you may ask, are we supposed to “be filled with the Spirit”? Avoiding drunkenness is straightforward enough. How exactly do we get the Holy Spirit into our hearts? Paul gives one example here—singing songs and hymns.
You know how the music behind a movie scene is supposed to help you interpret a situation? Scripture should be the soundtrack that shapes how you see everything. It should always be fresh in your mind and constantly dancing around in your heart, and we should be helping one another with that pursuit.
When tragedy strikes, and your Christians brothers and sisters start to sing the song of despair, you can help them sing the song of hope.
When you begin to sing the song of fear, they can counter it with the tune of “With God all things are possible.”
When they sing a song of hopelessness, sing for them a good chorus of “I will never leave you or forsake you.”
The soundtrack doesn’t automatically change the scene: Tragedy is still tragic, and pain is still painful. But it shapes the scene and points forward to a happier ending.
To change the soundtrack of our hearts to the soundtrack of the gospel, we need two things: First, we’ve got to know the Bible. We’ve got to have it bouncing around in our hearts so that it becomes our soundtrack. It won’t be bouncing around in there if we don’t take time to read it every day and memorize it.
Second, we’ve got to come together to stir each other up in faith in God. We have to be close enough to each other to hear each other’s heart-songs. For the church to “work” in your life, it cannot be an event you attend but a community you belong to.
Don’t let these potholes trip you up in your pursuit of gospel living. In light of what you have received in Christ, this is how you should walk.
For more, be sure to listen to the entire message here.
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