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Sunday, March 20, 2011, 1:14 p.m. My husband and I were agreeing together to pray about something and to seek God for wisdom and discernment. Just then, the song, Were it Not for Grace, came into my mind, again, so I sat down on the sofa to seek God concerning what he would want to say to me at this time, especially with regard to what I was asking him about. I prayed, Dear Lord, speak to my heart. Rebuke, correct, encourage and train me in righteousness. In Jesus name I pray, amen. I then read Ephesians 5:
My Understanding: This passage begins by asking us to be imitators of God. Often we think of that word imitator in the sense of someone who is a mimic or a copycat, yet there is another meaning of the word, and that is concerning one who is a follower or a disciple of someone, in this case, a follower of Jesus. To imitate means to copy, reproduce, emulate, or replicate, i.e. to try to be like someone. The Bible tells us to be holy as Christ is holy. So, I prayerfully considered this whole idea of what it means to be an imitator of God. I believe it means to imitate his character. We cannot do this in our own strength and willpower, though. This has to come through allowing the Holy Spirit to work change in our hearts in transforming us into the likeness (reproduction) of Christ.
This passage of scripture suggests two specific areas where we can be imitators of God:
· Live a Life of Love
· Live as Children of Light
Live a Life of Love
As I prayerfully considered this idea of living a life of love in relation to being an imitator of God, I first of all looked at some of the ways God/Jesus has demonstrated his love to us. The first one that comes to mind is how God demonstrated his love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. He gave his life for us so that we could go free from the penalty of, the control of and bondage to sin. For us, this would mean for us to give of our time, energies, resources, talents, gifts, and/or even perhaps our reputations to see other people freed from bondage to sin and to live lives controlled, instead, by the Spirit of God.
God edifies us on a regular basis, if we are his children. To edify means to inform, educate, instruct, improve, and or teach in such a way as to prompt one to turn from his sin and to turn to God/Jesus in faith and obedience and to mature in his relationship with Jesus Christ.
He encourages us faithfully, too. To encourage is to give someone hope, confidence, or courage. The hope that we have is in faith in Jesus Christ that is evidenced by changed lives, so to give someone true hope and courage is to teach them what it truly means to be in Christ Jesus and how what Jesus did for us on the cross can be lived out practically in our day-to-day lives. This falls into the other definition of encourage, as well, since this kind of encouragement has to do with motivating someone to take a course of action or to continue doing something, which in this case would be to encourage them to continue in their faith and to persevere in following the Lord Jesus with all their hearts. [Ref: Encarta Dict.]
As well, God/Jesus shows us kindness, mercy, compassion and he is a revealer of truth. We need to, as well, if we are to be imitators of God in living a life of love, show this same kind of love to others as what God/Jesus has shown and continues to show us. One way we show this is by speaking to one another in Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs for the purpose of encouraging and edifying one another. And another is that we are to submit to one another out of reverence for Jesus Christ, which I believe has to do with yielding our rights to the needs of another in order to demonstrate Jesus love to him or to her.
We learn in v. 10 that we are to find out what pleases the Lord. I believe the implication here is not only that we find out what pleases him, but that we do what pleases the Lord. Rom. 8:8 says: Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. So, rule #1 to pleasing God is that we can no longer be controlled by the sinful nature, but we must die to our sinful nature and we must be resurrected to new life in Christ Jesus. In other words, the first step to pleasing God is repentance and faith. Gal. 1:10 teaches us that we cant let the desire to please men be what rules our lives and ministry. We must choose to please God over men if we are to be true servants of Christ. Col. 1:9-14 teaches us that what pleases God is bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might In Hebrews 11 we learn that what pleases God is when we live by faith - faith that is proved right by her actions. And, in I John 3 we learn that God is pleased when we obey him.
Finally, to live a life of love and to do what pleases God, I find these are the most fitting verses I know to describe how to do that, and they are found in Romans 12:1-2:
Live as Children of Light
Another way in which we can be imitators of God is to live as children of light. This passage of scripture suggests several ways in which we can do this:
· There must not even be a hint of sexual immorality, impurity or greed among you
· There should not be obscenity, foolish talk or course joking, but rather thanksgiving
· Do not be deceived by those who mouth empty words that teach easy believism
· Do not be partners with the disobedient and do not take pleasure in their deeds
· The fruit of the light consists of all goodness, righteousness and truth
· Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them
· Wake up from your spiritual slumber and rise from the sting of death sin
· Live as wise, not as unwise
· Make the most of every opportunity to be wise, because the days are evil
· Do not be foolish, but understand what the Lords will is
· Do not let your life be out of control, but rather be filled with the Spirit of God
· Always give thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of the Lord Jesus
This passage takes the whole concept of sexual immorality to another level. Level one is the committing of sexual acts with someone with whom we are not married. Level two is lusting after others in our minds, and thus committing adultery with them in our hearts. Level three is that there should not even be a hint of sexual impurity among us. We have to make certain that our lives are so above board that there is not even a hint of us doing something we should not be doing or thinking about with someone with whom we are not married.
We should also not only not partake in deeds of darkness ourselves, but we should not partner with those who do, i.e. we should choose our close companions carefully so that we do not, by association, allow ourselves to be put into situations where we might be vulnerable to giving into or are dangerously exposed to deeds of darkness. Also, we should not take pleasure in those who do these things. I think the biggest danger here is when we watch TV shows, movies, play video games, surf the internet, etc. carelessly and without forethought to see whether or not what we are being entertained by might involve us being partners with the disobedient and with those who are involved in fruitless deeds of darkness. Instead of allowing these into our homes or making our close companions those who do these things, we should be ones who are exposing the fruitless deeds of darkness.
This passage says that those who live lifestyles of sexual immorality, impurity, greed, idolatry, etc. have no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. That is why it is so important that we are not deceived by those who mouth empty words when they give us a message of false hope which is a false gospel that says that repentance and obedience to God are not required for salvation. The scriptures clearly teach otherwise. If we, after we have received the knowledge of the truth, continue living sinful lifestyles with no regard for what Jesus did for us in dying on the cross for our sins so that we could go free from the control of and bondage to sin on a daily basis in our lives and free from the ultimate penalty of sin, thinking that we have our ticket to heaven, then we have believed a lie and we have been given a false hope and have been taught a false gospel, which is no gospel at all. Instead, we must believe the true gospel that brings us to the cross of Christ where we die to our sinful lifestyles, where we are cleansed from sin, and then we are raised with Christ to newness of life, gaining victory with Christ over the power of sin over our lives.
Were It Not for Grace / Larnelle Harris
Were it not for grace
I can tell you where Id be
Wandering down some pointless road to nowhere
With my salvation up to me
I know how that would go
The battles I would face
Forever running but losing this race
Were it not for grace
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkASXisY9hQ
My Understanding: This passage begins by asking us to be imitators of God. Often we think of that word imitator in the sense of someone who is a mimic or a copycat, yet there is another meaning of the word, and that is concerning one who is a follower or a disciple of someone, in this case, a follower of Jesus. To imitate means to copy, reproduce, emulate, or replicate, i.e. to try to be like someone. The Bible tells us to be holy as Christ is holy. So, I prayerfully considered this whole idea of what it means to be an imitator of God. I believe it means to imitate his character. We cannot do this in our own strength and willpower, though. This has to come through allowing the Holy Spirit to work change in our hearts in transforming us into the likeness (reproduction) of Christ.
This passage of scripture suggests two specific areas where we can be imitators of God:
· Live a Life of Love
· Live as Children of Light
Live a Life of Love
As I prayerfully considered this idea of living a life of love in relation to being an imitator of God, I first of all looked at some of the ways God/Jesus has demonstrated his love to us. The first one that comes to mind is how God demonstrated his love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. He gave his life for us so that we could go free from the penalty of, the control of and bondage to sin. For us, this would mean for us to give of our time, energies, resources, talents, gifts, and/or even perhaps our reputations to see other people freed from bondage to sin and to live lives controlled, instead, by the Spirit of God.
God edifies us on a regular basis, if we are his children. To edify means to inform, educate, instruct, improve, and or teach in such a way as to prompt one to turn from his sin and to turn to God/Jesus in faith and obedience and to mature in his relationship with Jesus Christ.
He encourages us faithfully, too. To encourage is to give someone hope, confidence, or courage. The hope that we have is in faith in Jesus Christ that is evidenced by changed lives, so to give someone true hope and courage is to teach them what it truly means to be in Christ Jesus and how what Jesus did for us on the cross can be lived out practically in our day-to-day lives. This falls into the other definition of encourage, as well, since this kind of encouragement has to do with motivating someone to take a course of action or to continue doing something, which in this case would be to encourage them to continue in their faith and to persevere in following the Lord Jesus with all their hearts. [Ref: Encarta Dict.]
As well, God/Jesus shows us kindness, mercy, compassion and he is a revealer of truth. We need to, as well, if we are to be imitators of God in living a life of love, show this same kind of love to others as what God/Jesus has shown and continues to show us. One way we show this is by speaking to one another in Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs for the purpose of encouraging and edifying one another. And another is that we are to submit to one another out of reverence for Jesus Christ, which I believe has to do with yielding our rights to the needs of another in order to demonstrate Jesus love to him or to her.
We learn in v. 10 that we are to find out what pleases the Lord. I believe the implication here is not only that we find out what pleases him, but that we do what pleases the Lord. Rom. 8:8 says: Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. So, rule #1 to pleasing God is that we can no longer be controlled by the sinful nature, but we must die to our sinful nature and we must be resurrected to new life in Christ Jesus. In other words, the first step to pleasing God is repentance and faith. Gal. 1:10 teaches us that we cant let the desire to please men be what rules our lives and ministry. We must choose to please God over men if we are to be true servants of Christ. Col. 1:9-14 teaches us that what pleases God is bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might In Hebrews 11 we learn that what pleases God is when we live by faith - faith that is proved right by her actions. And, in I John 3 we learn that God is pleased when we obey him.
Finally, to live a life of love and to do what pleases God, I find these are the most fitting verses I know to describe how to do that, and they are found in Romans 12:1-2:
Live as Children of Light
Another way in which we can be imitators of God is to live as children of light. This passage of scripture suggests several ways in which we can do this:
· There must not even be a hint of sexual immorality, impurity or greed among you
· There should not be obscenity, foolish talk or course joking, but rather thanksgiving
· Do not be deceived by those who mouth empty words that teach easy believism
· Do not be partners with the disobedient and do not take pleasure in their deeds
· The fruit of the light consists of all goodness, righteousness and truth
· Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them
· Wake up from your spiritual slumber and rise from the sting of death sin
· Live as wise, not as unwise
· Make the most of every opportunity to be wise, because the days are evil
· Do not be foolish, but understand what the Lords will is
· Do not let your life be out of control, but rather be filled with the Spirit of God
· Always give thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of the Lord Jesus
This passage takes the whole concept of sexual immorality to another level. Level one is the committing of sexual acts with someone with whom we are not married. Level two is lusting after others in our minds, and thus committing adultery with them in our hearts. Level three is that there should not even be a hint of sexual impurity among us. We have to make certain that our lives are so above board that there is not even a hint of us doing something we should not be doing or thinking about with someone with whom we are not married.
We should also not only not partake in deeds of darkness ourselves, but we should not partner with those who do, i.e. we should choose our close companions carefully so that we do not, by association, allow ourselves to be put into situations where we might be vulnerable to giving into or are dangerously exposed to deeds of darkness. Also, we should not take pleasure in those who do these things. I think the biggest danger here is when we watch TV shows, movies, play video games, surf the internet, etc. carelessly and without forethought to see whether or not what we are being entertained by might involve us being partners with the disobedient and with those who are involved in fruitless deeds of darkness. Instead of allowing these into our homes or making our close companions those who do these things, we should be ones who are exposing the fruitless deeds of darkness.
This passage says that those who live lifestyles of sexual immorality, impurity, greed, idolatry, etc. have no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. That is why it is so important that we are not deceived by those who mouth empty words when they give us a message of false hope which is a false gospel that says that repentance and obedience to God are not required for salvation. The scriptures clearly teach otherwise. If we, after we have received the knowledge of the truth, continue living sinful lifestyles with no regard for what Jesus did for us in dying on the cross for our sins so that we could go free from the control of and bondage to sin on a daily basis in our lives and free from the ultimate penalty of sin, thinking that we have our ticket to heaven, then we have believed a lie and we have been given a false hope and have been taught a false gospel, which is no gospel at all. Instead, we must believe the true gospel that brings us to the cross of Christ where we die to our sinful lifestyles, where we are cleansed from sin, and then we are raised with Christ to newness of life, gaining victory with Christ over the power of sin over our lives.
Were It Not for Grace / Larnelle Harris
Were it not for grace
I can tell you where Id be
Wandering down some pointless road to nowhere
With my salvation up to me
I know how that would go
The battles I would face
Forever running but losing this race
Were it not for grace
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkASXisY9hQ
