Living Strategically for Christ

 

See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. (Ephesians 5:15-16)

 

 

          Chess is, in many regards, a mathematician’s game.

          Chess is not a game for people who don’t like to think through the possible consequences of a choice. It is instead a game that demands precision and carefulness in order to make the most of every move. Given that you and I live in an “un-thinking” culture, it’s no wonder chess is not a popular pastime!

 

          We as believers in Jesus live not only in an un-thinking culture – we also live in an un-thinking church. You and I are tempted to plow our way through daily life, not considering how Christ relates to our moment-by-moment choices, not considering how we might advance – or soil – the Name of our Redeemer with the decisions we make.

          So Paul challenges you today in Ephesians 5:15-20 to choose wisely. He first says you must live wisely so as to make the most of every moment for Christ. Secondly, the apostle describes by way of contrasts what it means to live wisely.

          Let’s give him our attention, because your choices and mine – all of them – are strategic in the service of Christ.

 

          Paul first says you are to live wisely so that you make the most of every moment for Christ.

          Here in the hortatory section of Ephesians, in which St. Paul has explored the ramifications of your new life in Christ for your daily living in Christ, his favorite verb for the Christian life has been “walk.” Your “walk” in the Lord consists of your moment-by-moment, conscious choices either to obey Christ or to rebel against him. In verse 15, the apostle says you are to pay careful attention to your daily walk with Jesus. In fact, you are to be accurate and precise in those choices – not thoughtless but thoughtful.

          Thoughtful living, though, has fallen out of favor in the world and even in the church. Have you ever taken part in “mindless eating?” Mindless eating occurs when you simply shove food into your mouth without considering the consequences of what you’re consuming (or for that matter if you’re even hungry!). So we have allowed mindless eating to fuel mindless living as Christians, where we really don’t stop to consider how our words or our choices (to listen to a certain radio program that angers us, for instance) help or hinder our walk with Jesus.

          You and I always must be careful and thoughtful in our choices as those who bear Christ’s Name, and we do this by being wise and not foolish. In this epistle, Paul already has said that Christ is the Wisdom of God, and to be truly wise means that you embrace Jesus from your heart as your Savior. If you have not come to terms with God’s existence, with His right to judge you, with your sinfulness before Him and with the atoning work of Christ for you, you are not wise – regardless of your academic pedigree. To walk in wisdom, as we’ll see later, requires you to make moment-by-moment decisions in the light of Jesus and of God’s Truth in Scripture.

          You are to live wisely and carefully, St. Paul writes, because such choices make the most of every opportunity with which you are presented. Holy choices not only shed the light of Christ to the unbelievers around you (evangelism), they also edify you and your fellow believers.

          The days are evil. Satan, the “prince of the power of the air,” never relents in his efforts to destroy Christ’s work on earth. You and I see evil active all around us, from labeling the murder of babies as a “choice” to encouraging our young people to dress provocatively so they may behave lewdly to – here in “Christian” Greene County – denying the power of the Gospel of Christ by emphasizing man’s ability to “save himself.” So when you hear a discussion about abortion, or when you buy clothes for your girls, or when you’re talking “church talk” with friends, you have precious opportunities to shed the light of Christ by what you think, say and do.

          Don’t just plow your way through life as though your existence were nothing more than a rush to die. You are a redeemed child of God with the honor of bearing His Name and of making it great.

          Live with Christian awareness – and choose wisely.

 

          In verses 17-20, through a series of strong contrasts, the apostle reveals what “living wisely” more particularly involves.

          For one, Paul writes that you are not to live senselessly but thoughtfully, examining situations in light of Scripture and discovering Christ’s will for every given occasion. “Senseless” living involves making choices based on what feels good, what is popular, what you’ve always done – or for no good reason at all! The Greek word for “understanding” stresses the opposite: it literally means “to bring two things together,” namely the revealed will of God in Scripture and the particular situation with which you’re faced. In the past, for example, you might have listened to country music in your vehicle with no regard to others’ opinions of it. But suppose you, a mature Christian, were giving a ride to a new Christian, who in his conscience believes it’s sinful to listen to country music. Senseless living shows no regard for the other person’s growth in Christ and blares the music, thus hindering his growth in Jesus; “understanding” living takes his scruples into account and turns off the tunes until he exits your car.

          Living wisely, Paul writes, also means that you are not controlled by wine but by the Holy Spirit. The Scripture does not forbid the moderate and seasonable consumption of alcoholic beverages; the Scripture emphatically condemns drunkenness.

Perhaps Paul interjected this prohibition against drunkenness because the cult of Dionysius had threatened the Christian church in Ephesus. This cult taught that once its adherents were intoxicated, they could be controlled by the “god” Dionysius and led to engage in immorality. We’re not certain about the effect of this cult on the Christian community in Ephesus – but you and I can be certain that drunkenness leads to lawless, debauched living that is characteristic of darkness, not light.

          Instead, you and I are to be controlled by the Holy Spirit. Certainly you have the Spirit if you’re a Christian: without His work of regeneration and conviction, you couldn’t even have saving faith in Jesus. But you also are to seek His filling more and more everyday, because the wisdom and joy He produces in you are incomparably more wonderful and noble than intoxication by wine.

          Note what effects the Spirit produces in you and me when He fills us: He causes us to speak and to sing in an edifying way to one another and in a doxological way toward God, and He causes us to give thanks to the Father at all times and in all circumstances. Greene Countians often and incorrectly assume that the Spirit causes people to babble in foreign “tongues.” Quite the opposite! He instead causes you to utter spiritually edifying speech to others as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs from your heart to the Lord. (Now, there isn’t much difference between “psalms” [inspired hymns of the Bible sung to musical instruments], “hymns” [songs of praise to God] and “spiritual songs” [Spirit-inspired songs of praise] – yet we do maintain some distinction between the three types of songs in church and are not, therefore, exclusively Psalm-singers).

          Have you ever read your hymnal in a devotional manner? Have you ever quoted an especially appropriate psalm or hymn to a friend? Walk in the Spirit, and you will sing to the Lord as you speak the praises of God to others.

          The filling of the Spirit also causes you to thank the Father for all things at all times – through Jesus, our Great High Priest, who is our means of access to the Holy God of Israel. Thanksgiving is easy when your family is well and gathered around you, when the table is full, the bills are paid and the weather is agreeable. But only a Spirit-filled believer walking closely with the Lord can give thanks for His unfailing mercies even in the storms of life. Such thanksgiving exalts the Lord – and has a mighty effect on the thankless pagans around you.

 

          In this mindless age, you are not trained or expected to think through very much. “Mindless eating” really is the least of our problems, whether in the world or especially in the church. You and I have become “mindless livers.”

          But your choices matter – eternally. Either you are advancing Jesus’ Name, or you are soiling it. Either you are shedding the light of Christ or promoting darkness.

          Living wisely means living consciously of every decision, being guided by the Word and by the Spirit of God. Turn, then, from distractions and from deadening influences, Christian, and do something rare in this day and age: for the glory of God, stop. And think.