Everett Henes: Walking the walk

Some people don’t like the idea of Christianity being a religion. Some want to claim it’s more of a relationship because this removes the formality. The problem with this is that it misunderstands what a relationship is. Relationships define connections and lay out expectations for how two or more people will behave toward one another. Marriage is a relationship, but it most certainly comes with guidelines for responsibilities and privileges. Christianity might be a relationship, but it is one that is grounded in responsibilities and privileges.

The Apostle Paul, in Ephesians 4, is clear about this reality. Paul, in his letter, isn't just handing out a list of do's and don'ts though; he's delving into the heart of the matter. It's not just about talking the talk but truly walking the walk. Paul weaves together the strands of doctrine and practicality. Paul details the steps of a walk worth taking, one marked by humility, gentleness, and patience. These are traits that will play themselves out in real-life situations. It’s good to talk about humility and gentleness — but do we exhibit these traits when someone is being harsh or rude toward us? How are we to walk now that we have been saved and in what ways is that different from how the world walks? These are questions that Paul continues to answer for us.

“Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds.” (Ephesians 4:17)

Paul’s reason for calling believers to live a certain way is very simple: because they have been made new. In Colossians, he addresses them this way, Colossians 3:1-2, “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” We are to act a new way because we are new in Christ. The Gentile connection isn’t ethnic, but symbolizes those apart from Christ, those whose thinking is only on earthly things.

This is something that needs to permeate Christian thinking. Oftentimes, the sin that continues to entangle us does so at moments when we are not reflecting on our status. We can study the 10 Commandments all we want, and it would be a profitable study. But why were the Israelites called to walk a certain way? Why did God hold them responsible? Before the listing of the commandments, God says, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.”

Many of the laws that God gave to Israel would have made little sense to the nations around them. But Israel was to walk differently than the nations around them. The same applies to us as Christians. We cannot simply make a list of rules to follow apart from recognizing why we are called to follow God’s commands, how we have been made able to follow his commands.

All our Christian commandments must begin the same way that Israel’s commandments began, “I am the Lord your God, who raised you from death to new life, who has broken the curse of sin…you are no longer slaves to sin but servants of God.” This is what grounds our moral imperatives. Apart from this it can too easily become a guilt game where we are constantly realizing our failures and wondering if we will ever get it right.

The point is that Christ is the one who has perfectly obeyed in our place and since we are new, redeemed in him, we can follow God’s word. We must not walk as unbelievers because we have been redeemed by Christ.

The passage is once again laid out in logical fashion. Paul begins by looking at ‘how’ we should no longer walk then he answers the question, ‘why’ should we no longer walk this way, and he follows up with some practical teachings of ‘how’ we should walk. We want to understand the text, but we don’t want to think this is an exhaustive list. We can’t look at this and simply say, “Well, Paul doesn’t say that we can’t dishonor our parents so that must be alright!” He is giving practical examples of just how radically different our lives are to be now that we are new creation in Christ. The point is a total transformation for those who are in Christ.

— Pastor Everett Henes, the pastor of the Hillsdale Orthodox Presbyterian Church, can be reached at pastorhenes@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Everett Henes: Walking the walk