This week we discussed our relationships with the world around us by studying Ephesians 5:3-21. Throughout this passage we see Paul speaking to believers in Jesus in terms of behavior and identity. I believe that understanding our identity, who we are in Jesus and what He has done for us is supposed to be the driving force of how we live our lives. This is important because how we live our lives has a direct affect upon the world in which we live. Through this study we see three active points in which we, the Body of Christ are called to influence the world we live in:
1. We must live in an identity of righteousness. This is living out of gratitude for what God has done rather than fear of what might happen if we stray.
2. We must prove what is acceptable to God. This is understanding that our behavior is to reflect the Holy Spirit the Holy Spirit that lives within us. Our lives prove that God is good and what God calls good.
3. We must expose the unfruitful works of darkness. This is realizing that fellowship with sin is an acceptance of the bondage that it causes. Our behavior, not merely our words, are to shine a light on the lies of the enemy and the snares of sin.
When we live in a firm belief that Jesus has made us righteous it affects every moment and every thought and every action. Living in this place of a righteous identity creates a gratitude of grace that pours out in our desire to show this same grace to the world that lives around us. For much too long righteousness has been associated with pride and judgment. The reality is that righteousness is the character of God and it is displayed through truth, love and salvation. My prayer is that the sin that Jesus bore for us and the righteousness that Jesus imputed to us would drive us to living lives of intercession and evangelism, giving us the same longing that God has, that none would perish but that all would come to repentance.