In Ephesians 5:3, we have an interesting thought written by St. Paul at the inspiration of the Spirit. "But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among the saints." The thing I find so interesting here is that Paul basically says that the Ephesian Christians are to be so far removed from things like sexual immorality and impurity and covetousness that they don't even know what such things are. It's almost as though they don't know what to call it, since they haven't ever experienced it before.
Of course, you and I sit back and laugh at Paul here. How can they not know these things? The world seems to throw such things our way. And doesn't our sinful nature want these kind of things by nature? How can they not be present, much less have no name? All good questions, and really, ones that I think we ignore at our peril.
One reality for us Christians is that we cannot escape the fact that we have these desires within us. We covet. We have sexual sin. We aren't pure, but filled with imperfections. So if that's the case, then is Paul's point here negated? Does Paul simply not know what he's talking about? Is this one more of those condeming "contradictions" that the Bible is supposedly so filled with?
Or, is it that, as God re-creates us in the image of His Son, our Lord Jesus, we are to actively be working so that such things aren't a part of our life anymore? Let me be the first to admit that it's difficult for me to imagine that we would be rescued at such a high cost by God, given the greatest inheritance of all, and then basically be told that it's okay to be unchanged. Go back to what you were doing before as if it didn't matter, since you are saved by God's grace, not by being good. Let's just say that I have a really tough time with that kind of thinking.
Instead, since we have been redeemed and lifted up to such a place of high standing, isn't our life worth more than clinging to that which brought us death in the first place? If we are worth so much to our God, then why would we want to be immoral, or impure, or covetousness, as much as it lies within us to control such things? What does it say about us if we really don't make any effort to change such things within us? While our reality may be that they will never leave us, our reality is also such that we don't stop trying, just because we can't. And sometimes, that means that we work to live as though such things didn't even have a name among us.
Of course, you and I sit back and laugh at Paul here. How can they not know these things? The world seems to throw such things our way. And doesn't our sinful nature want these kind of things by nature? How can they not be present, much less have no name? All good questions, and really, ones that I think we ignore at our peril.
One reality for us Christians is that we cannot escape the fact that we have these desires within us. We covet. We have sexual sin. We aren't pure, but filled with imperfections. So if that's the case, then is Paul's point here negated? Does Paul simply not know what he's talking about? Is this one more of those condeming "contradictions" that the Bible is supposedly so filled with?
Or, is it that, as God re-creates us in the image of His Son, our Lord Jesus, we are to actively be working so that such things aren't a part of our life anymore? Let me be the first to admit that it's difficult for me to imagine that we would be rescued at such a high cost by God, given the greatest inheritance of all, and then basically be told that it's okay to be unchanged. Go back to what you were doing before as if it didn't matter, since you are saved by God's grace, not by being good. Let's just say that I have a really tough time with that kind of thinking.
Instead, since we have been redeemed and lifted up to such a place of high standing, isn't our life worth more than clinging to that which brought us death in the first place? If we are worth so much to our God, then why would we want to be immoral, or impure, or covetousness, as much as it lies within us to control such things? What does it say about us if we really don't make any effort to change such things within us? While our reality may be that they will never leave us, our reality is also such that we don't stop trying, just because we can't. And sometimes, that means that we work to live as though such things didn't even have a name among us.
Well, Scott, the born again believer in Christ must expect spiritual warfare to continue in our lives, until our eyes are closed in death and we go immediately into the presence of Our Savior. During our lives, the process of sanctification is taking place as the Holy Spirit works within us, and we will face victory and defeat, engage in skirmishes and battles against our sinful nature, always at war with the world, the flesh, and the devil, just as all the saints past and present. Some sins will be no longer a problem, as our self control is increased, while others will ever be the thorn in our side. We can all pray that God will restrain us, warn us, admonish us, prick our conscience to avoid continuing in sinful thoughts and actions, but still we will often fail along the way. In my experience, whenever I feel closest to God, sin attacks me even more steadily, and I suppose it is Satan's desire to make us bitter and doubt both God's grace and our very salvation. But we must first say this: "I identify myself as a follower of Jesus, a sinner saved by grace alone. I will sometimes fall, but I will keep my focus on Christ, and I have His assurance that I am a child of God, and neither sin nor tribulation will defeat me, and at the appointed time, I shall see my Savior face to face, and I will spend eternal life with my God and the saints in glory."
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