Walk This Way

Introduction

Alright, we have covered three big chapters of doctrine. Now, Paul moves us into practicing the faith, or orthopraxy. In chapter 4, Paul begs the believers to respond to God's grace in their daily walk. But how can a person be urged to live a life worthy of his calling if he has not begun to understand what that calling is?

James Montgomery Boice

In these verses you'll see that it is a walk that:

• Is contrasted to the ways of the world

• Is very much like the walk of the most important man in history

• Is often tested in our unity and relationships with other believers (which is sometimes easier said than done!)

Motivation for the worthy walk

The "therefore" that begins our passage is based on everything we discussed the last three weeks. Paul is saying now that it is totally based on everything we have learned thus far. Living a life worthy of our Christian Walk is more than how we begin and how we end. You see, we have a lot of impact after you get saved and before you die.

We learned about the spiritual blessings that we received at the beginning of this series, which is all because of what Christ has done, now it is what we DO with what Christ has DONE for us.

Paul implores (which is a strong word) the believers to walk in a manner worthy of their calling and the position that the Lord has placed them in. Think about what motivates you to live for the Lord and to walk worthily. At a basic level, it could be broken down into law, love, and life.

The concept of law is often accompanied by fear and guilt. Some believe that if they don't improve their behavior, they could lose their salvation. While reverence for God is crucial, being afraid of God or feeling guilty for not meeting the demands of the law is not a healthy basis for the Christian life.

"Love is a powerful motivation, but on its own, it may not be enough to overcome our natural inclinations. We should not underestimate our desire to do things our own way."

Life - Some people find motivation and strength in God's love and life. They have surrendered their own abilities to live the Christian life and rely on God for strength to follow His commands.

So with that in mind what does a walking worthy look like? Paul says to walk this way with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love.

Walking this way looks a lot like Jesus. It is walking in His footsteps, in the path and way He walked. He said this in Matthew 11:28-30 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Paul expressed the same character that should be in the believer, expressing it as 'lowliness,' 'gentleness,' and 'bearing with one another in love.' How opposite this is of the world today!

The Bible refers to "terrible times" or "perilous days" in the last days, which Paul described as being perilous due to what is going on in people's hearts.

2Titus 3:1-4 There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—

So instead of how we are meant to walk, we have the opposite happening. Instead of 'lowly' or 'humility' we have 'boastful' and 'proud'. Instead of 'gentle' we have 'abusive' and 'brutal'. Instead of 'patient' or 'long suffering' we have 'rash' and 'without self-control'. What makes such times 'perilous'? Because when individuals are poisoned by such things, it affects all around them.

So the Christian then is called to 'walk' in an entirely different manner to that of the prevailing culture in the world.

It is only when we have grasped clearly who we are in Christ, that the desire will grow within us to live a life that is worthy of our calling and fitting to our character as God’s new society.

John Robert Walmsley Stott (English Preacher)

Jesus didn't come blowing His own trumpet but in humility, from lowly beginnings. He didn't come acting like a King demanding people do what He says, but as a servant, helping others. And we are to walk as He did.

In contrast to the focus on 'self-esteem', the Bible teaches us to have 'Christ-esteem' and 'others-esteem'. It encourages us to consider others better than ourselves (Philippians 2:3) and to be patient with one another, in contrast to the world's emphasis on asserting our rights and speaking our minds quickly.

Tolerance... within the family of God

Let's look at the last part of our verse which the NASB translates 'showing tolerance for one another in love'. It says we are to be tolerant. If ever there was a word that the world loves to throw around while at the same time being completely intolerant of any others that don't agree with them, this is it! But biblically, tolerance is important.

In context it is speaking here about bearing with one another in the family of God. It isn't talking here about unbelievers. It isn't talking about having to approve of any and every lifestyle that the world adopts as flavor of the month. It is speaking about getting along with your brothers and sisters in Christ... even those that you may not agree 100% with!

Now that sounds easy enough... and yet we've probably all been through Church splits or home group Bible study disagreements or even bust-ups! Or there is that one person that you really struggle with and kind of wish didn't come along!

There is a little saying:

To dwell above with saints we love,

O how that will be glory

But to dwell below with saints we know,

Well, that's another story!

Paul knows all this. It was an issue in his day as it is in ours. And hence, why he wrote the next part to 'preserve the unity of the Spirit'.

Preserving the unity of the Spirit

Differences arose in Paul's day and have ever since. He knows that even within the body we are all different. We have different personalities. Different gifts, attributes and ideas.

This is where the rubber hits the road as dealing with these differences is all part of the 'walk' together. And yet we have this incredibly binding agent of being saved, restored, and placed within the same family!

You will note that in this verse Paul doesn't say to 'make or obtain the unity of Spirit' but to 'preserve, keep or guard' it. That is, as believers we have unity already in the essentials in Christ. But we need to keep it. Especially when you have other believers that, well, grate a little!

A common reaction when differences arise is to divide and start another party. The spiritual reaction is this: "In essentials, unity. In doubtful questions, liberty. In all things, charity." There is enough of the flesh in every one of us to wreck any local church or any other work of God. Therefore, we must submerge our own petty, personal whims and attitudes, and work together in peace for the glory of God and for common blessing.

We must never forget that we have an enemy that loves to stir up trouble. He loves to divide. Satan always hates Christian fellowship; it is his policy to keep Christians apart. Anything which can divide saints from one another he delights in. He attaches far more importance to godly intercourse than we do. Since union is strength, he does his best to promote separation.

So, this is our walk. It is a walk with one another in Christ... a walk in humility and gentleness, bearing with one another's differences. It is where the rubber hits the road. This is the true unity amongst believers that we should strive to keep.