The Christian has an added reason to live well - God's grace calls for a response. That includes the fact that he has made his people new - hence the call to 'put off the old man and put on the new'. Those verses in Ephesians 4 cover four areas of life - truth/ falsehood, anger/without sin, work/theft, and speech. Falsehood is more than lying - Jesus said of Satan, 'There is no truth in him' - a matter of character. Christians are called to 'speak truth, and the reason given is that 'we are members of one another'- deceit divides, and our character should reflect that of the God of Truth. Anger is not always sinful. God's wrath is sometimes mentioned, and we are called to 'hate evil' (Psalm 97:10). But anger is difficult to control Love is 'not easily provoked', and godly wisdom is 'pure and peaceable'. Godly anger (like God's) is not for self, is easily entreated, and is always controlled. 'Steal no more' - God is Creator, and we should reflect that in working productively. His goodness is reflected in this command, for our work should be for the needy as well as for ourselves. 'Death and life are in the power of the tongue' (Proverbs 18:21) and we are accountable for how we use it. Evil speech exposes spiritual decay, good speech counteracts it. We should do more than bridle our tongue - we should use it to build others up. At the heart of these instructions is the command, 'Do not grieve the Holy Spirit'. A Christian has this added reason to live well. The Holy Spirit is the seal that we are God's. He shows us Christ, and makes us like Christ and for Christ. Will we hinder his work by indulging the old man? King David made this plea, 'Don't take your Holy Spirit away'. |
