From the Pen of Paul. . .

Walking With God (3)

Note: We are continuing to look at the requirements of the Christian life through the word-picture of a "walk." How do we walk with God as did Noah and Enoch?

The Christian is to walk in love. Paul wrote to the Ephesians, "Be ye therefore followers of God as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also loved us, and hath given Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savour" (Eph. 5:1-2). Obviously, we are to love God and His Son, and this love is defined in passages like John 14:15, 21, 23, and I John 5:3. It is clear from these Scriptures that we cannot love God or Christ without keeping their commandments or without following their instructions. However, that is not exactly what Paul means when he tells us to "walk in love" in this passage in Ephesians. He had just given us the example of God forgiving us and had urged us to forgive one another in like manner (Eph. 4:31-32). The word "therefore" seems to imply that this following of God is to be done chiefly in imitating His attribute of love. This is just as Jesus' statement in Luke 6:36, "Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful," shows that we are to imitate Him by showing showing mercy in our dealings with others.

When we walk in love, we are prompted by love to do good, to do things that benefit, even if it means self-denial. This is seen from the statement that our walking in love is to be "as" Christ also loved us; our walk is to be patterned after His walk, which was demonstrated by what He did for us when He gave Himself as an offering and a sacrifice to God in our place. Love will not cause a brother to offend even if it means sacrifices must be made of "rights" (Rom. 14:13-23); one who walks in love will "Do good unto all men, especially, unto them who are of the household of faith" (Gal. 6:10); he will assist his brother by following Paul's instruction to "bear ye one another's burdens" (Gal. 6:2); and, he will seek to "restore in the spirit of meekness" his brother who has been "overtaken in a fault" (Gal. 6:1). One who walks in love will love "in deed and in truth" not just "in word, neither in tongue" only; and, when he sees that his brother has need, he will not "shut up his bowels of compassion from him" (I John 3:17-18). One who walks in love will follow the "golden rule" (Matt. 7:12), because he "loves his neighbor as himself" (Matt. 22:39).

The Christian is also to walk circumspectly. Paul wrote, "See that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil" (Eph. 5:15-16). Robert Young in his Analytical Concordance to the Bible defines the word "circumspectly" to mean "accurately, pointedly." This is the only time this word is used in the New Testament. Thayer defines it as "exactly, accurately, diligently." To walk in this manner, one must follow the divine law that is given to direct his steps. Jeremiah wrote, "It is not in man that walketh to direct his own steps" (Jer. 10:23). Since this is true it is necessary for God to give His direction; this He has done in His Word. This statement may well be expressed by the familiar expression of "watch your step." Notice also that this walking circumspectly is put in contrast with the walk of "fools." The word "fool" does not mean one without intelligence, but rather refers to one who does not act in a wise fashion. He is without the "wisdom from above" of which James speaks, and is following the wisdom which is described as "earthly, sensual, devilish" (James 3:15-18). When one walks in this manner, he will be "redeeming the time," says Paul. This means that the Christian is to make a wise and proper use of every opportunity for doing good. We should make use of every opportunity that comes before us for doing good. These "good works" observed by others will lead them to "glorify your Father which is in heaven" (Matt. 5:16). Paul explained to Titus that Christ "gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works" (Titus 2:14). When we walk circumspectly we will "be careful to maintain good works for necessary uses" (Titus 3:8, 14).

One who walks with God will walk in love and he will walk circumspectly. Let each of us strive to so walk daily!
—Paul M. Wilmoth

From the Preacher's Viewpoint. . .

Will This War Ever End?

"Behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt" (I Kings 12:28). These words of Jeroboam still ring in infamy. This rebellious king led the people into great evil with his proclamation. Idols filled the land and sodomites grew in number and in boldness (I Kings 14:22-24). Jeroboam succeeded in taking a great and prosperous nation and leading it to ruin.

The President has stepped up his efforts in the war he is waging. I am not talking about the war in Iraq or Afghanistan. I am talking about the war he has declared on marriage and the family. Under the guise of fairness and diversity, our President is doing everything he can to destroy the home as God would have it. In his Father's Day statement to the nation, he said, "Nurturing families come in many forms, and children may be raised by a father and a mother, a single father, two fathers, a step-father, a grandfather, or caring guardian." On Tuesday, June 22, he met with gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender leaders from across the nation to show his support for Gay Pride month. It is as if the President is saying to the nation, "Behold, America, the abominations which make your country great"! The war on terror is costing us billions of dollars, but the war against the home is costing us more than money. It is destroying the nation itself.

There are few things more disgusting to righteous people than the abominations of this agenda. The Bible says they are against nature and those who commit them will be punished in hell forever (Rom. 1:26-27; Jude 7). Instead of demanding gay rights, our society ought to be preaching gay repentance. Instead of celebrating gay pride, these people ought to be showing gay shame in sackcloth and ashes. But many in this generation hate the law of God and defy it with all of their being. They are determined to sin even if it means devastating our civilization and damning their souls.

Decency, common sense, and respect for the will of the Creator once dwelt in the hearts of leaders. Rulers recognized that homes were the backbone of the nation, and they understood marriage as God defined it. In the United States Supreme Court case Reynolds versus United States in 1878, Chief Justice Waite observed that marriage is "from its very nature a sacred obligation" and "upon it society may be said to be built." Our country had been through a terrible war just a few years earlier, and these officials knew that the survival of the nation depended on godly homes. It would be great if officials today would make the same defense of the home instead of declaring war on it.
—Kerry Duke