Ephesians 4:25-32 The Christian Lifestyle
“Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and slander be put way from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (ESV).
I realize that this is a long Scripture quote, but I have good reason. I have been reading Belief that Behaves by Dr. David Jeremiah, a book based on the book of Ephesians. This particular section, Ephesians 4:25-32, speaks of the Christian lifestyle as described by Paul in his letter of encouragement to the church at Ephesus, a city at the crossroads of Asia Minor. The city boasted of having the largest temple in the world to the Roman goddess, Diana. The temple featured many “priestesses,” actually prostitutes, of Diana. Men were encouraged or even expected to visit the temple regularly to “worship” there. Evidently, Ephesus had many other reasons that helped to make it difficult to maintain a Christian lifestyle in the city. In contrast to the life lived by most in Ephesus was the lifestyle of those professing to be followers of Jesus Christ, and this section of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians was to outline for them the daily choices they needed to make to live as Christians, enjoy the blessings of Christ, and to be a witness to their neighbors.
In this chapter, A New Lifestyle, in Dr. Jeremiah’s book, he breaks down the Christian lifestyle into five topics, our morality, our moods, our money, our mouths, and our manners. I discovered that I have much to learn about how to live Christianly, and I am working on it. These five areas of life that Paul wrote about several thousand years ago are equally relevant to us today if we are to live Christian lives for our own benefit and also as a witness to others who may wonder about our actions and attitudes as we navigate the traffic jam of living in 2024. It has been said that actions speak louder than words. If that is true, then we may have a more effective argument for the Christian life by what we do than be what we say as we learn from Paul how to live as Christ would have us live. Join me in the next few days as we explore each of these challenging topics.
P.S. Picture is from my grandmother’s 1955 King James Bible.