12/19/2016 THREE WALKS

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Christian Hamilton
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1 THREE WALKS Many times when the Bible talks about the way we walk it is talking about how we live our lives. Ephesians 5 mentions three ways we should be walking as Christians. We have already discussed walking in love and walking as children of light in previous lessons Today we will discuss walking circumspectly. First let s read Ephesians 5:1-20 1

2 THREE WALKS Eph 5:1 Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. 3 But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; THREE WALKS 4 neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. 5 For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 2

3 THREE WALKS 7 Therefore do not be partakers with them. 8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), 10 finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. THREE WALKS 11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. 13 But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. 14 Therefore He says: "Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light." 3

4 THREE WALKS 15 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, 16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, THREE WALKS 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Paul tells these Ephesian Christians to: Walk in Love Walk as Children of Light Walk Circumspectly 4

5 We walk in love towards God and our fellow man by following Christ s example of love and sacrifice. We walk as children of light by: Bearing the fruit of the Spirit Studying to find out what God s will is Having no partnership with works of darkness Exposing sin by the Word of God. How do we walk circumspectly? Webster s defines circumspect: careful to consider all circumstances and possible consequences If we are going to walk circumspectly then we are going to carefully consider the consequences of each step. Several translations use the word care or careful instead of circumspectly. Many people live their lives with no consideration of the eternal consequences of their actions. 5

6 They don t walk circumspectly They give no thought to how the way they live their lives will affect their eternal destination. The idea of walking circumspectly reminds me of a chess player considering his next move. 6

7 They don t walk circumspectly They give no thought to how the way they live their lives will affect their eternal destination. The idea of walking circumspectly reminds me of a chess player considering his next move. Each move is carefully thought out in order to determine if it will help the player achieve their goal. Do we give this same careful consideration to obtaining our spiritual goal? If we don t then Paul says we are being a fool! Eph 5:15 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, The fool doesn t consider the spiritual consequences of his actions. He does whatever he feels is right and you can t tell him any different. Proverbs 12:15 The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, But he who heeds counsel is wise. 7

8 The fool rather than walking circumspectly will refuse instruction about how to do so. Proverbs 15:5 A fool despises his father's instruction, But he who receives correction is prudent. Contrary to the fool the wise man wants instruction so he can walk circumspectly. Eph 5:15 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, Pr 18:15 The heart of the prudent acquires knowledge, And the ear of the wise seeks knowledge. If we are going to be wise then we need to be seeking the knowledge necessary to walk circumspectly Thru the next few verses in Ephesians 5 Paul tells us some things the wise man who walks circumspectly will do. 8

9 He will redeem the time. Eph 5:16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil. We need to be taking every opportunity we have in order to obey God. We live in an evil time. There are many evil things that will try to occupy the time we should be using to obey God Albert Barnes has some very good comments about this verse. Here it means, to rescue or recover our time from waste; to improve it for great and important purposes There are many allurements and temptations that would lead you away from the proper improvement of time, and that would draw you into sin 9

10 Such were those that would tempt them to go to places of sinful indulgence and revelry, where their time would be wasted, and worse than wasted. As these temptations abounded, they ought therefore to be more especially on their guard against a sinful and unprofitable waste of time. This exhortation may be addressed to all, and is applicable to all periods. The sentiment is, that we ought to be solicitous to improve our time to some useful purpose, because there are, in an evil world, so many temptations to waste it He that has a soul to be saved from eternal death need not have one idle moment. He that has a heaven to win has enough to do to occupy all his time. Albert Barnes New Testament Commentary 10

11 If we are going to be wise and walk circumspectly then we will need to understand God s will. Eph 5:17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. We spent time in our last lesson in this series discussing the necessity of studying God s Word. If we don t put forth the time and effort necessary to study God s Word then we will not be able to understand what the will of the Lord is. The man who will walk circumspectly will not be drunk with wine or anything like it. Eph 5:18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, Becoming drunk with wine leads to all kinds of sinful excesses and wicked deeds Instead of filling our body with such abominable things we will fill our minds with the Spirit of God. 11

12 We fill our minds with the Spirit thru a study of the Word revealed by the Spirit. Drunkenness will prevent us from understanding what the will of the Lord is. Filling our mind with the Spirit will help us understand the will of the Lord and therefore make it easier for us to walk circumspectly. Drunkenness, wild parties and sinful excesses were many times part of idolatrous worship, especially the worship of Bacchus the god of wine. Paul draws a contrast between this and how the man who walks circumspectly should conduct himself. Those who are filled with the Spirit will conduct themselves much differently than those who are drunk with wine. 12

13 Instead of the sinfulness of drunkenness and the sins that go along with their worship, the man who walks circumspectly will: Eph 5:19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, What a contrast between the worship of the Heathen and Christian worship. Instead of wild debauchery, Christians are to speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs and give thanks to God thru prayer. Instead of the excitement of an anything goes type atmosphere, Christian worship is a solemn event focused on things of a spiritual nature. 1Co 14:40 Let all things be done decently and in order. 13

14 CONCLUSION The person who walks circumspectly will: Take great care to live a life pleasing to God. Learn God s will. Make the most of the time they have in order to obey God Will fill their mind with the Spirit instead of their bodies with wine. Will worship God in the way the scriptures teach 14

Ephesians 5: 1 21 (NAS)

Ephesians 5: 1 21 (NAS) Walk in Love... Walk in Purity... Walk in Light... Walk in Wisdom... Walk in Submission... By: Sam Caloroso 1 2 3 4 5 Ephesians 5: 1 21 (NAS) Walk in Love... Walk in Purity... Walk