1)
Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear
children;
2)
And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved
us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a
sweet smelling savour.
3)
But fornication, and all uncleanness, or
covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh
saints;
4)
Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor
jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.
5)
For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor
unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in
the
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nce
we understand that we are saved for a greater purpose than ourselves, we can
“give thanks unto the Lord.” The reason it is so important for us to get beyond
ourselves is so that others might see the difference between one belonging to
the Lord and the average “Joe” on the street. The redeemed are not “average”
and so should not conduct themselves as such. Only
then will a difference be seen and others won. Living our lives with God-given
dignity and purpose fosters in us thankfulness—which will lead to the salvation
of others. We are saved so that He might receive the glory out of our lives!!!
It
should not be a great task to offer thanks unto the Lord. After all, if we are
saved, we have been delivered; and because of this, we ought to give thanks.
Sometimes we have a problem being thankful to the Lord because we are largely
self-sufficient. You know, as long as we feel that we are doing things all right,
we do not feel that anyone ought to correct us about anything! You see, one has
to be able to entrust things to the Lord and believe Him for them in order to
know why it is that one should be thankful. None of these things is a problem
when we are following God in all that we do.
How
does “...be ye followers of God as dear children...”
to apply to us? In the same manner as children like to dress as their parents
(that is, put on their shoes, clothes and adopt their mannerisms) so are we to
“mimic” the Lord.
Now,
more than ever, we need to recognize that is possible to “get beneath the
surface” of those who “think” or “feel” they are saved, whether these people
are without salvation or not living saved. When pressed, most will acknowledge
that they know they are not doing all that they must do.
There
are too many amongst us who are lazy, negligent, and ill-prepared to deal with
and be and unconcerned about their relationship with and responsibility to
others. In this day of “half-stepping” and “side-winding” we must be careful
not to be charged with confusing others about salvation. Our behavior must
speak nothing but righteousness, holiness, commitment and obedience.
The
Lord has gone to great lengths and taken great pains to show us that the insincere
life wins no one. It is the life lived for God which offers the greatest
testimony. Too many words which have come from our mouths in “witnessing” have
proven to be useless because of impure motives. Yes, many people will help
others, but not from a burden for seeing them saved.
Every soul with whom we come in contact, who is without the Ark of Safety,
should be a persistent motivation in our walk with Christ.
It
is time for us to take control of the affairs of the Lord. This we can and will
do when we finally acknowledge and accept the power we have been granted by
God. Possessing that knowledge is what allows us to decide that whatever comes,
we will first think about how it is best to bless God in the situation.
What
should never be spoken of any saint of God is what he is “supposed” to be. That
is, you should not be one who is supposed
to be saved, supposed to be holy, or supposed to be Christian. Your reality
must be that you are saved, you are holy, you are Christ-like.
Our
greatest thanks can now be given to the Lord in that we are now free from the
guilt of sin. The Lord died so that we might be free from the stain and power
of sin, but when a life is “re-defiled,” sin not confessed, and therefore
repentance and forgiveness not gained, we are subject to a different bondage.
Most lives are unfulfilled and unprosperous because
of this.
The
life of one belonging to the Lord simply cannot be stained by sin. Certainly
one cannot claim heaven and neither can he claim victories nor souls for
Christ. In a world consumed with appearances, it is “uncool”
to be committed to anything. But anyone who really intends to be “somebody”
must know that anyone can live in sin, but only the committed can live saved.
So,
you say you want victory in your life and freedom from worry, pain, and
oppression? Then, live saved! If there is currently any active or unconfessed sin in your life, that yoke must be broken. You
see, victory lies within your praise, and praise in all situations is possible
only when there is no yoke of bondage in your life. Praise is so difficult as
to be impossible outside this because the devil always has something to dangle
over your head.
God must be glorified and He can get none from the life of one who can be accused of sin by sinners. The solution? Come clean before Him and go your way giving thanks unto the Lord!