This week’s devotions are based on Week 7 of the Series Ephesians: Becoming Who You Are (CLICK HERE)
Christianity can often become a set of rules.
This past weekend it was nice to attend a Bible class and worship that I didn’t have to prepare for or lead. Not that I don’t enjoy leading God’s people in worship or digging deeper into the truths of Scripture, but it’s nice to be on the other end of that as well. In the discussion we were talking about some of Jesus’ teachings from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew’s Gospel (Chapters 5-7). A face value, many of the teachings of Jesus’ sermon deal with the life of the Christian. As we will see…we need that. However, an observation that I had (not the first time) is that often the greatest curiosity of the Christian is how to do Christianity right. Again, not necessarily a bad thing, but it often feels like, “If I just had the right rule for every situation in life, I would be good.” Yet the Bible is lacking in giving us every situation that could occur in life and every answer for every situation…as far as specifics.
This coupled with a devotion that my wife read yesterday morning as we were driving home from our vacation made me realize once again the importance, wisdom, and solidly Gospel teaching that the Apostle Paul has been giving us in his letter to the Ephesians. The Christian life is nothing but legalism without the impact of the Gospel in our hearts. If our lives as Christians is motivated by anything other than the amazing Gospel message, it will be a resounding gong and clanging cymbal (See 1 Corinthians 13).
So, the Apostle Paul spent the first half (chapters 1-3) of Ephesians to clearly lay out for us the tremendous and gracious love of God that chose us, empowered us, made us alive, called us and made us part of his family. These realities form our identity.
Who we are in Christ leads us to live our lives for Christ. We can never detach the love of Christ for us from our life of living for Christ. Paul puts it this way:
Ephesians 4:1 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.
Simply put, live the life God has called you to live. He chose you, called you and saved you for a purpose…to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.
For the rest of the letter, Paul outlines what it looks like as the love of Christ works in us and empowers us to live for Christ.
What a gift that God gives…not only does he calls us to faith, but he clearly guides us to live that faith…not as simply a set of rules, but as direction to what a life looks like that reflects the love of Christ.
The rest of this week we will look at the guidance the Spirit gives through Paul. As we do, always remember this:
2 Corinthians 5:14 For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
Apply: Do you often desire the “Christian rule book for life” without taking time to reflect on and fill yourself with the love Christ has for you? You can’t pour out what is not being poured in!
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for making me your child. As I live for you, let me always remember that to live a life worthy of the calling you have given to me, I must always be filled with the love you have shown to me! AMEN.