The journal. (Caldwell, Ohio) 1934-1961, 1958-05-29
Germ 0 nellie
FOLLOWERS OF GOD
EpheSianS SILT


living by exhorting Christians to
be followers or imitators of God.
It is one thing to profess to be
Christian; it is another to show
it daily in our conduct and con-
verSation.
We see in verse two that our
conduct is to be based on love
a love that puts God first, love
that considers others, love that
is willing to deny self for those
who are in need. Love is the
fruit of true relationship with
God (John 1884, 35; l John At,
81. Love is real when we gladly
give our best and our all for the
glory of God.
The one who is a follower of
God will refrain from all forms
of immorality-seXual, greed,
obscene or filthy thoughts, lang
uage or reading. He will also be
careful as to his conversation,
He will not engage in foolish
talking and jesting. That is, his
talk will not be foolish and sin
full, which is more than random
or idle talk. Testing, here, refers
to polished and witty speech as
the instrument of sin" Some
times it is lodged in a sly ques-
ton, in smart answer, in a
quirkish reason, in shrewd
intimation, in cunningly divert
ing or cleverly retorting an
objection: sometimes it is couch
ed in a bold scheme of speech,
in tart irony, in lusty hyber-
bole, in startling metaphor, in
plausible reconciling of con-
tradictionS, or in acute nonsense.
s. Sometimes an affected SIM
plicity, sometimes a presumptu-
Gus bluntness gives it being.
God would impress upon us that
merely belonging to church
or religious organization will
not insure one the privilege of a
place in ''the kingdom of Christ
and Of God" (verse 81. 1t is ones
life that proves the reality OF
his Christian experience, not his
church N m b + S h ip. Many
active" church members are
evil at heart.
Verses 6-l4 would impress
upon the Christian that he must
have good company. He cannot
participate in illicit sex relations
| filthy and obscene talk anC
habits, dishonest dealings with
| others; therefore he should not
seek to find companionshiI
among those who do such things
Psalm l, verse /, and II Corin-
thians 6:14 give the reason fol
this. The Christian is to "WalE
as children of light (verse 81
He is to learn the will of Goo
and live by it (verse 10). The
Christian has a responsibility
toward the ungodly. He mus
rep ove them. He does this tha
they might be brought into The
! light OF God 5 truth, convicted o
sin, and corrected by surrender
ing their will to the will of God
Finally, the one who woult
follow God must walk circum
| spectly-he must be careful il
how he conducts himself; h
should be mindful of details, no
deviating to satisfy his fancy. n
should exercise wisdom il
everything he says or does II
fact, he should redeem the time
that is, buy up the opportunities
make full use Of occasions to dt
| Gods will, making Him known
to others, because the days ar
evil" There are many forces O
influences at work to undermin,
our moral foundations. The.
would seek to destroy us. Thos'
being used to accomplish thi
are motivated by greed or covet
BUSINESS. The liquor industry
peddlers Of dope, publishers o
sensuouS, low grade books AM
magazines, the theatre and tele
vision are the main channel
through which these forces ar
working. There are those VIII,
are ready at any opportunity Il
cause division and strife among
men. The Christian should b
understanding what the will o
the Lord is" and then seek t,
help men to a higher plane, o
living and to promote peac
among men. Men who hav'
yielded to these evil influence
and have been bought unde
their control Gall who yield ar
in danger of being controlled
are not happy, and they are ol
the road to ruin-physicall.
spiritually. morally, not only fo
time but for all eternity Chris
tians should have a concern 70
such, to save (them) with fear
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