One of the things I love about the Bible is its earthy realism. It understands the world we live in – the good and the bad, the grief and the joys. It also understands how we feel about life’s injustices especially when we see people who mock the notion of God, enjoying success. Nothing ever seems to go wrong for them. And as well as the unfairness we often feel, there are the realities of droughts and famines, floods and fires, earthquakes and ruthless autocratic rulers. Why doesn’t God step in? It seems so out of character, if he is all-powerful and truly good.

True faith will always have questions. In fact, faith that refuses to ask questions is one that leaves itself open to the contempt of the skeptic. True faith will want to address tough questions and be willing to experience the doubts that arise.

Now it’s important to note that to have doubts is not to lack faith: doubt is not the opposite of faith. Doubt and unbelief are two very different things. Doubt is something that only a believer can experience, for you can only doubt what you believe.

Come with me to Psalm 73. It’s the first of three Psalms that I will be touching on as we move into a new season. The Psalms are God’s ancient hymn book for his people. They provide meditations on questions raised in everyday experiences. Over these three Wednesdays we will consider Psalms 73, 96 and 103 as we explore the themes of doubt, joy, and mercy.

Doubt. Psalm 73 is a reflection written by a man who experienced doubt. He came within a hair’s breadth of abandoning his faith in God: But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; my steps had nearly slipped (73:2). Yet at the end of the psalm he tells us he felt closer to God than ever before: But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge, to tell of all your works (73:28). As the psalm unfolds we learn of his spiritual pilgrimage –  how he progressed from doubt to a surer trust in God.

One of his big questions is framed by what we might say is a theological principle – that God is good to the upright (73:1). ‘Why is it then’, he asks, ‘that many who are godless find life easy while I suffer? Where is God?’

Indeed, a tone of bitterness flows through verses 3 through 11. It’s as though he is saying, ‘Come on, let’s face it, whatever we say when we go to church, it is the self-centered, proud, deceitful and ruthless people who succeed. Healthy and wealthy, nothing seems to bring them down. No-one seems to be able to call them to account. ‘They get rewarded for their crimes with popularity’, the psalmist observes. ‘God is irrelevant’, they say in mocking tones, rejecting any thought of divine retribution. Justice is the issue troubling the poet.

Consider what triggered the writer’s crisis of faith: All in vain I have kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence.  For all day long I have been plagued and am punished every morning (73:13f). For many, injustice only becomes an issue when it touches them. In those times we ask: ‘God, why me?’ It’s here that the first person singular pronouns give us away: ‘Why should I suffer?’ ‘Why me God?’ The psalm-writer articulates it: I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked (73:15).

The solution. In verses 15 following, we discover how the poet worked through his doubts. He went to church: When… I went into the sanctuary of God… I perceived their end.

Good churches not only read the Bible, but believe it to be God’s authentic, self-revelation. And so, they teach it and as they do they put God at the center of the vision of God’s people. This is vitally important. For it is only when God is at the center of our vision that we see life as it really is. We’re like the moon – we live on borrowed light. It’s only when we turn our face towards God through his Word that we see the light. But as long as we put ‘me’ at the center of life, our vision will be distorted.

So it’s only when we learn from God’s Word that we begin to see the true light revealed by God. And when the psalmist reflected on God’s Word he began to see what happens to those who choose not to believe: They are like a dream when one awakes; on awaking you despise their phantoms (73:20). As far as the Bible is concerned, this is dreadfully real.

The idea of a final day of accounting is mocked today. But when we think about it, if there is no ultimate judgement the world is reduced to moral indifference: goodness itself has no value. Furthermore, God’s people realize that just because we can’t see the future doesn’t mean it is imaginary. God sees it, even though we don’t.

There is probably no more terrible judgment on godless men and women than the reality that one day God will ignore them forever. ‘Depart from me, I never knew you,’ Jesus will say.  What chilling words to hear from the Lord of the universe. What a terrifying nightmare to be despised by God. When the psalmist went to church and put God at the center of his vision, he understood how precarious is the prosperity of the godless. It won’t last, he realized.

But the psalm-writer also learned that despite his doubts and foolish talk, he was a child of God: Nevertheless I am continually with you; you hold my right hand.  You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me into glory (73:23). To hear God’s Word in the company of his people is a powerful grace-gift from God. It prompts us to see our doubts for what they are and opens our eyes to the riches of faith. God holds us by the hand, guides us with his counsel, and will bring us to everlasting glory.

We today have all the greater assurance of this because we live on the other side of the life and death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ. Without him we will not know life in all its fullness and joy. CS Lewis once put it this way: All your life an unattainable ecstasy has hovered just beyond the grasp of your consciousness. The day is coming when you will wake to find, beyond all hope, that you have attained it, or else, that it was within your reach and you have lost it forever.

Prayers. Almighty God, you have conquered death through your dearly beloved Son Jesus Christ and have opened to us the gate of everlasting life: grant us by your grace to set our mind on things above, so that by your continual help our whole life may be transformed; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit in everlasting glory. Amen.

Heavenly Father, the giver of all good things, fill our hearts with thankfulness, and grant that by your holy inspiration we may think those things that are good, and by your grace and guidance do them; through our Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen.

© John G. Mason

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In his Screwtape Letters CS Lewis says that there are two equal and opposite errors that people fall into regarding the dark powers. One mistake is to disbelieve in their existence, the other is to believe in them to excess.

In Ephesians chapter 6, verses 10 through 12, Paul the Apostle writes: Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power… For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places…

Paul takes the reality of conflict in the world to another level: ‘our struggle’, literally, ‘our wrestling’, is not so much against ‘flesh and blood’ but ‘principalities and powers’. In Ephesians chapter 1, verse 10, Paul speaks of the day when all things, ‘in heaven’ and ‘on earth’ will be brought under rule of the Lord Jesus Christ. However, as we read in chapter 6, for the present there’s a war between the two spheres of darkness and light.

Spiritually speaking, God’s people live in enemy occupied territory. The epic that the Gospels reveal is that, without fanfare, the true king has slipped into our world to rescue people enslaved by the dark powers. The Gospel of John records Jesus’s words to Pilate: he could have called on a powerful army to rescue him (John 18:36). However, knowing he was the only one who could defeat the prince of darkness, he came alone to accomplish his mission. He knew that only through his sacrificial death could the powers of evil, and death itself, be conquered (so Colossians, chapter 2, verses 13 through 15). Jesus’s resurrection from the dead validates his victory.

However, for the present the dark powers, although mortally wounded, continue to do their worst, attempting to destroy God’s ultimate and sure plan to glorify his people.

Against this background we learn from Ephesians 6:10 that God’s people are caught up in a spiritual conflict as individuals and together. It is here that all too often we are naïve. We think it is only the smooth-tongued and often deceitful influential and powerful who obstruct spiritual truth in the world. No, Paul warns. There are formidable supernatural forces at work – powers that will not respond to reason. And so we are caught up in a conflict that involves dark powers and human choices.

Put on the whole armor of God, we read in verse 13, so that you may be able to stand your ground. There will be times when the dark forces press us morally, whispering that everybody’s doing it. Sometimes they press us intellectually: you’re too clever to believe that. Sometimes they press us psychologically: your faith is so intolerant. And there are times when we are physically persecuted. The aim is always the same: to silence the voice of God’s people.

Stand firm, Paul says. Be alert. Don’t give in. Put on the inner protection of a godly lifestyle. Our loins need to be girded with God’s truth; we need a breastplate of righteousness; our feet need to be shod with the commitment to spread the gospel of peace, and we need the headpiece of salvation. Our lives are most at risk when our inner defenses are broken through. We need the qualities of integrity, of righteousness, of gospel readiness, and the deep assurance of God’s ultimate victory.

The dark powers will do their worst to discredit our integrity, prevent gospel outreach through lethargy and infighting, and demoralize us by discouraging us.

We need protection: the shield of faith with which we can quench the flaming darts of darkness. We can’t cope on our own. We need to trust Christ, for when we do, the darts of darkness will fall useless. ‘The victory that overcomes the world,’ John tells us, ‘is our faith’ (1 John 5:4).

The sword of the spirit. While Paul hasn’t spelled out the meaning of his metaphors up to this point, he wants us to know that God’s Word is a sword. Unlike communism or any other ‘ism’ or ideology, there is no place in Christianity for a literal holy war. God’s new society is not brought in by act of Congress still less at the end of gun. God works through his Word.

The Word of God is not a message of the freedom fighters, but one that focusses on personal repentance and God’s forgiveness: the building of God’s new society and its compassion and care for a lost world. The victory of God’s Word will have eternal outcomes.

Pray: Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints… (Ephes 6:18).

In any battle, communication is vital. In the histories of World War II there is a picture of a young soldier holding together a broken telephone line. Prayer is our field telegraph. Paul urges us to pray constantly, to persevere in prayer, and to be vigilant in prayer. We are to pray in the Spirit.

Romans 8:26f helps us understand this, for there Paul tells us that the Spirit works with us in our prayer. In the midst of suffering we’re often at a loss to know what we should say. In those times, Paul tells us, the Spirit comes to our aid, putting our inarticulate thoughts into meaningful prayer, speaking to God on our behalf.

Despite the noise of opposing voices, God’s work continues to make inroads on the kingdom of darkness. When Jesus stood on the hills of ancient Israel with a handful of his followers, he said, ‘On this rock – the rock of faith – I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it’ (Matthew 16:18). He was speaking to a small group of humble, un-influential men.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the legitimate ruler of the world. No, much, much more: the universe. Nothing in all creation will prevent the return of the King.

As we conclude the ‘Summer Growth’ season from Ephesians, let’s hold on to the shield of faith, wield the word of God with greater confidence, and most of all, pray – for one another and for others – that we will stand firm, not failing to live under God’s gospel, nor failing to take his gospel to those around us. If you have not already done so, consider TheWord121 as a very accessible ministry to introduce family and friends to the authentic Jesus through the lens of John’s Gospel. You can access it at: www.theword121.com.

A prayer. Almighty God, give us grace so that we may cast away the works of darkness and put on the armor of light now in the time of this mortal life, in which your Son Jesus Christ came amongst us in great humility: so that on the last day, when he comes again in his glorious majesty to judge the living and the dead, we may rise to life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.

© John G. Mason

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Every day we make decisions. It’s part of being human. We can choose. But we know that there are some decisions in life where we have a sense of obligation – a sense of duty. But such obligations need to be awakened. Children obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right, writes the Apostle Paul in Ephesians chapter 6, verse 1.

In chapter 6 of his Letter Paul continues the theme of family relationships. Significantly, he speaks of obedience in the Lord in a child’s relationship with their parents.

Obedience. Many in our progressive society today don’t agree with the notions of obligation or duty. Ethics has become subjective, people doing what they feel is right for them. It’s one of the reasons why there’s so much ambivalence about sexual matters, or about honesty and justice. So, when a young child questions a parental expectation, they are told, ‘Because we say so’. But, in time the growing child will question such authority. They will want to know if there is a better reason.

It’s here that many parents today come unstuck. Developing children need to be instructed in the Lord and, in turn come to understand the nature of the relationships that follow – not simply as rules and regulations, but out of the relationship of love that the Lord has for us and, in turn that parents have for their children. They need to come to know God who, though we were dead through our trespasses, in his mercy has made us alive together with Christ. Without such knowledge children in today’s world may as well do as they like.

“Honor your father and mother” – this is the first commandment with a promise: “so that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth”, Paul continues (6:2-3).

The promise. Paul conflates the two different versions of the fifth commandment: “Honor your father and mother, that your days may be long” (Exodus 20:12) and, “that it may go well with you” (Deuteronomy 5:16). The first four of the Ten Commandments are usually understood to refer to our duty to God, and the second six, our duty to our neighbor. Significantly, the Jewish world understood the first five to refer to our duty to God and the second five to our duty to our neighbor. Thus, to honor parents is tightly connected to honoring God, and speaks of children developing and growing in their understanding of God within a relationship of love.

Furthermore, so important is the injunction of obedience to children that Paul promotes it as the first, or primary commandment for children with a promise. While interpretations abound concerning Paul’s meaning – it’s actually the only commandment with a promise – let me suggest that we understand it as a general promise, with reference to a stable society. As Martin Luther commented, a stable society is dependent on a secure and safe family life, where growing children learn to obey their parents within a loving framework.

Now it’s important to note the caveat that Paul includes here: children are to obey their parents in the Lord. That is, children are not called upon to obey their parents in matters that conflict with the Lord’s instruction.

Parents. Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord, Paul writes (6:4). These words would have shocked the Roman world where the father was the autocratic head of the family, with untold power over his offspring – including killing a newborn or selling them into slavery. Parents, for mothers as well as fathers can translate the word Paul uses, are not to abuse their children in any way, victimizing them and arousing anger and hatred.

Rather, parents are to equip their children in the knowledge and love of the Lord. The words of Deuteronomy chapter 6, verses 4 through 7 come to mind: Hear, O Israel: the Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise.

The single most important educational influence on our children is their parents. It’s built into the very nature of the parent’s relationship in the child’s experience. Children don’t stop learning when they get home from school: they are learning every waking hour of the day. It’s one of the strong reasons children need to be guided in their use of their phones and social media as well as tv viewing. The best people to instil fundamental attitudes and form children’s self-identity and moral lives are parents. Yes, it’s hard work and requires sacrifice. But it is our duty and the rewards are great.

So, we should never give up talking about our convictions. Create an atmosphere of learning in a relationship framed by genuine love, care and fun – when you’re at home or going out, when you put them to bed and when they wake up. There’s no point in sending your child to church if you don’t go yourself; there’s no point in telling your child to pray and read the Bible, if you never do yourself; there’s no point in telling your child not to lie or swear, if you do yourself.

The home. Think about the time you spend on your phone or in front of the big screen. Use the precious conversations at bed-time and around the dinner table. Answer their questions about life – about right and wrong, life and death, about drugs and alcohol, about climate anxiety, about God. Speak as plainly as you can about what Jesus means to you. These are crucial times. Their educational experiences at home will live in the memories of our children for a life-time.

It’s in the home, as we instruct our children about God and Jesus Christ, that they learn their own value and self-esteem as a boy or girl, made in the image of God. It’s in the home they are socialised: they learn how to get on with other people. It’s in the home, they learn to respect authority and discipline. It’s in the home, they develop as individuals and find their individuality accepted, appreciated and affirmed.

Parents (as well as grandparents and uncles and aunts) are well placed to blend the demands of society and the needs of the child in a way that fully affirms the dignity of the child and yet also makes that child ready for society, to mix with other people and not just to be a self-centered little island.

The big picture. In Ephesians chapter 5, verse 21 through chapter 6, verse 5, Paul sets out the balance of selfless and responsible attitudes that are vital in marriage and family life.

So much more could be said about this important and complex section of Paul’s Letter. You may want to follow up with your local church ministry team.

As Jesus said, “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).

A prayer. Almighty God, our heavenly Father, whose Son Jesus Christ shared at Nazareth the life of an earthly home: bless our homes, we pray. Help parents to impart the knowledge of you and your love; and children to respond with love and obedience. May our homes be blessed with peace and joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

© John G. Mason

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In ‘What Are People For’, an essay in his 2002 The Art of the Commonplace, Wendell Berry writes, “Marriage, in what is evidently its most popular version, is now on the one hand an intimate ‘relationship’ involving (ideally) two successful careerists in the same bed, and on the other hand a sort of private political system in which rights and interests must be asserted and defended”.

In today’s climate of cultural change what is the future for marriage? Today’s views contrast sharply with the joys of marriage found in the Bible – a relationship that is framed by a husband’s and wife’s experience of God’s love and forgiveness.

In his Letter to the Ephesians chapter 5, verses 21 through 33 Paul the Apostle takes up the theme of marriage which he frames in a most unexpected way – Christ’s love for the church. The complex and costly relationship between Christ and his people provides the ultimate picture of marriage – something that is a great mystery (5:32).

Consider Paul’s surprising words to husbands – lengthier than his words to wives. Husbands, love your wives, he writes, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,…

This radical injunction would have shocked the ancient world. And, to stress the point, Paul says three times that husbands are to love their wives as Christ loved his people (verses 25, 28 and 33).

Significantly, the New Testament never uses eros, especially about marriage. Rather than eros, which is about self-gratification, the New Testament uses agape, a word without rapturous, mystical experiences. It’s the word used to express God’s love for us – as in John 3:16. Rather than wanting to take, agape speaks of a selfless, self-giving love, committed to making sacrifices in the best interests of others – and, in God’s case, bearing the pain of the sins of the unlovely.

So, when Paul says husbands are to love their wives as Christ loved the church, he isn’t speaking of some passing infatuation, let alone a domineering, controlling attitude. He’s talking about a faithful, trustworthy and lifelong love that is committed to serving his wife’s best interests – not her selfish whims.

Consider what Paul further says, In the same way, husbands should love their wives as they do their own bodies.  He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hates his own body, but he nourishes and tenderly cares for it, just as Christ does for the church, because we are members of his body. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”  This is a great mystery, and I am applying it to Christ and the church. Each of you, however, should love his wife as himself, and a wife should respect her husband (5:28-33).

Let’s think about it. When we become a Christian, we become part of Christ’s body. When a man and a woman marry, they become united: one new flesh. For his part, Christ loves his body, feeds it, cares for it, promoting its maturity. In the same way a husband is to love his wife, nourishing her, and promoting her maturity.

As Paul says, this is a profound mystery, because the parallel is itself profound. It means that the very best model we have for the relationship between Christ and his people, is marriage. Or to put it another way, the very best things we enjoy about marriage – intimacy, trust, confidence, understanding – give us just a tiny glimpse of the intimacy, understanding and love that Christ has for his people, stretching into eternity.

What might this look like in practice? When disagreements occur, a husband needs to take the initiative in resolving them. It also means husbands taking responsibility in the spiritual realm – encouraging Bible reading and prayer in the home and attendance at church. The spiritual health of a family is important. Like Christ, a husband wants his wife to be spiritually radiant (5:27).

Which brings us back to verses 21 and 22 and God’s words to wives through Paul. How important it is that we read these words in context, for the word to wives flows in a tight construction out of the words to all God’s people: submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ, wives to your husbands as you are to the Lord.

Now today, the very mention of submission arouses anger and hostility. And we need to be honest here. In too many cultures women have been, and are exploited and treated as chattels by their husbands. We need to remember that a radical feature about Jesus of Nazareth was the fact that he treated women with courtesy and respect in an era when women were treated as second-class citizens. And, it was Paul the Apostle who wrote that there is no inequality between men and women: There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28).

So, to return to the words, wives to your husbands, let me say what they don’t mean. With the qualifier, as you are to the Lord can’t mean submitting to anything that God forbids, such as abuse, or moral, physical or emotional control.

We can now begin to see how Paul’s words to wives and to husbands go together. He is setting out a relationship where the wife delights in honoring and respecting her husband, and where a husband makes loving his wife his life’s work so that she can become the person God intended her to be.

Anne Atkins in Split Image (1987) observed: “The husband gives up everything, not only to please his wife but to make her beautiful, holy, happy, fulfilled, and reaching her maximum potential. They are like an actress and her agent; if she has a good agent she will put herself completely in his hands; if he is a good agent he will spend his time developing her talents and furthering her work. He exists to serve her”.

Last Wednesday we touched on the previous section in Ephesians chapter 5 where we read that God’s people are light in the Lord not because they now follow a new set of rules, but because of their new relationship with Jesus Christ. No marriage is perfect. In the same way that God has forgiven us we need to be able to forgive one another. We are to shine the light in the Lord that we are. Our lifestyle is a vital part of our witness in a world of darkness. How important it is that, if we are married, we display the light of God in our relationship.

Prayers. Lord God, you have consecrated marriage to be a sign of the spiritual unity between Christ and his Church; bless all your people who are married that they may love, honor, and cherish each other in faithfulness, patience, wisdom, and true godliness; may their home be a place of love and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Almighty God, we thank you for the gift of your holy word. May it be a lantern to our feet, a light to our paths, and strength to our lives. Take us and use us to love and serve all people in the power of the Holy Spirit and in the name of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

© John G. Mason

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How are we to reach a world where voices in the media and social media criticizing Christianity have morphed from constructive conversation into emotive smearing?

Paul’s words in Ephesians chapter 5, verses 1and 2 are key to the life God calls us to: Be imitators of God… and live a life of love just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us…

Love is the model and framework for our lives. Paul illustrates this by pointing us to the way Christ loved us and gave himself up for us. When he was nailed to the cross, the most unjust act in history, we don’t find him cursing. Rather, we hear him pray, ‘Father, forgive them for they don’t know what they’re doing’.

In illustrating what love is in practice Paul, like any good teacher, tells us what love is not: But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people… (5:3).

People often confuse sex and love. Here Paul says that sexual immorality outside the marriage commitment is greedy and improper for God’s holy people. He observes that obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking … are out of place. We need to reveal who we are by daring to be holy, modelling the beauty of God’s character in this self-centered, vain-glorious world.

Once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord, Paul continues. Live as children of light … Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, … (5:8).

Light. God’s people are light in the Lord not because they now follow a new set of rules, but because of their new relationship with Jesus Christ. We are to shine out the light we are.

Our lifestyle is a vital part of our witness. If we aren’t progressing in God’s Word, we can hardly expect that anyone will want to find out what we believe. People who say there are no absolutes won’t be persuaded by logic, but they possibly will be if they see our lives being truly changed.

Be careful how you live, not as unwise but as wise, Paul exhorts. FF Bruce notes that Paul’s readers are ‘a small minority, and because of their distinctive ways, their lives will be scrutinized by others: the reputation of the gospel is bound up with their public behavior. Hence the need for care and wisdom, lest the Christian cause should be inadvertently jeopardized by thoughtless speech or action on the part of Christians’ (The Epistles to the Colossians, Philemon and Ephesians, p.378).

And Paul continues, …making the most of every opportunity because the days are evil. Don’t be foolish. Understand what the Lord’s will is.

We all know how time flies. Paul knew this too: ‘Learn to use it well,’ he is saying. Seize the day – carpe diem!

We need to understand that although God has opened a door for men and women to enter the new era of his kingdom of light, the present age continues to be shrouded in darkness. There is so much evidence of this around us – the Russian aggressive war with Ukraine, the drugs and sex trafficking by racketeers, and injustices perpetrated even within courts of law, as a recent inquiry report in Australia has revealed.

Understand what the Lord’s will is, Paul writes. Our awareness of the suffering world surely stirs us to dig deep into the Bible so we can better understand God and his purposes. The Scriptures reveal that God hasn’t simply wound up the spring of his creation but is working all things towards the day when he will bring all injustice and suffering to account. For us to seize the day involves not only our living a new life as God’s people but also our ever-growing delight in knowing the Lord.

Now, if you are thinking that all this is heavy and burdensome and rather joyless, we need to meditate on Paul’s further words: Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit,… (5:18-20).

The Spirit of God is not a fluid with which we may be filled up. Instead of being under the influence of alcohol we are to be under the influence of God’s Spirit, the Spirit of Christ within us (see also Romans 8:9).

Alcohol can lead to drunkenness and debauchery, which dehumanizes us. We become the reverse of what we were meant to be; no longer the glory of God’s creation, made in his image, we become as the beasts. However, when the Spirit of God fills our lives, he awakens us to be as we were meant to be – evoking song and thanksgiving.

Singing. Addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,… singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts… (5:19).

We may not realize that the earliest churches expressed their joy in music and singing. The Psalms were their hymn book. And, from the New Testament era, praise has not only been offered to God but also to Christ as God. One of the ways we worship God and build relationships is by singing to one another as well as to the Lord what we learn from the Scriptures.

Emotions are an important part of our makeup. When the Spirit of God is at work in us our singing will have the rich sound that comes from people who have a deep joy that comes from knowing the Lord.

Thanksgiving: Always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ  (5:20).

Nothing brings about tension and division more than ingratitude. A thankful heart trusts God, not just in good times but also in tough times. This stands in sharp contrast to fatalism that results in a resigned acceptance of a situation. Thankful people know that in every situation the all-good sovereign Lord is working out his wonderful purposes for us – as we also read in Romans 8:28-30. God’s spirit-filled people who display their indebtedness to God’s grace are people who know peace, harmony and joy.

Here we have a response to the cacophony of voices of our day – voices of people who know not love and joy and peace and who experience the suffering and injustices of life without hope. They have yet to find the God who loves them with a greater love than they ever dreamed.

Carpe diem! Don’t be drunk with wine; don’t be afraid. Rather, seize the day and live wisely in a world dominated by self-interest. And be filled with the Spirit – singing songs and hymns with gratitude to the Lord in your heart.

A prayer. Almighty God, we thank you for the gift of your holy word. May it be a lantern to our feet, a light to our paths, and strength to our lives. Take us and use us to love and serve all people in the power of the Holy Spirit and in the name of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

© John G. Mason

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You might like to listen to The Perfect Wisdom of Our God from Keith and Krysten Getty.

In Christians: The Urgent Case for Jesus in Our World (2021), Dr Greg Sheridan, Australian foreign affairs journalist and writer, comments: ‘In the West… religious belief has been in serious decline in recent years. The loss of faith is part of a broad movement in the culture. It is also partly, … related to a shocking loss of knowledge’.

He continues, ‘The West is a culture willing itself into amnesia and ignorance, like a patient carefully requesting their medical records and then burning them, so they and their physicians will have no knowledge of what made them sick in the past, and what made them well. … If you believe, as I do, that the Bible is true, this is our society willfully depriving itself of truth’ (p.40).

In his Letter to the Ephesians, chapter 4, verse 17 Paul the Apostle writes: Now this I affirm and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles live, in the futility of their minds, darkened in their understanding, separated from the love of God, because of the ignorance within them…

A world without God. Paul is not saying that people who seek to live without God can’t be academically smart. Rather, he is saying that no matter how clever people might be, they need to be taught about God. For no matter how sharp or developed their reasoning, they won’t find answers to the true meaning of life without God.

Furthermore, he comments, minds without Christ produce various moral symptoms: They have lost all sensitivity and have abandoned themselves to licentiousness, greedy to practice every kind of impurity (4:19).

Paul isn’t saying that every unbeliever is a libertine. Rather, he is speaking about the lifestyle humanity tends to adopt when it chooses to live without God. Yes, there are social inhibitions that check our desires – good families, schools, and social conventions. But, as we’re seeing around us, values are changing. Minds without God invariably slide towards self-indulgence and sensuality. And, if we’re honest, when we look into our own heart we will surely agree.

New life – new lifestyle. Having laid out what happens in a world without God, Paul turns to the new life God expects of his people. Put off the old self, he exhorts; be renewed in the spirit of your minds and put on the new self (4:23f). With these active and passive verbs — put off, be renewed, and put on, Paul reveals that we are to play our part in adopting a new lifestyle. God will be working in our lives, but we are to own our responsibility in this new relationship.

And this awakens us to the way God works with his people. We are dependent upon God for our daily food, but that doesn’t mean that we expect him to provide house or room service. We need to work for a living and shop for food. In the same way there is a balance of this process of becoming more like God.

On the one hand, God in Christ puts a new mind in his people – an act in which we are completely passive. On the other hand, there is the part that we must play. This is why the New Testament is full of exhortations: to struggle against sin, to fight the good fight and to run the race. Christianity is not a spectator sport where we are up in the grandstand, watching the Holy Spirit win all these battles for us.

The new life requires effort. The Holy Spirit’s work is not to save us the effort, but rather to awaken us to Jesus and to enable us to run. When we become God’s people we have a new nature within us, counteracting the sin virus. God is now working within us, yes, but we have a part to play in developing qualities of holiness and righteousness. We won’t experience this perfection until the coming of the Lord. For the present we are works in progress.

What then does this new life look like? Be imitators of God… and walk in love… Paul exhorts (5:1f). Love sums up the sort of life we ought to live. However, as love is an abstract noun, it needs definition, which we find in chapter 4, verses 25 through 32.

Love means telling the truth and putting off falsehood, for we are members of one body 4:25). It means controlling our temper: In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold… (4:26). There are times when we are justly angry but we mustn’t let it overwhelm or dominate our lives. God will judge all injustice.

Our useful and honest work is to provide benefit for others (as well as addressing our own needs – 4:28). In our conversations we are not to let any unwholesome talk come out of our mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up… (4:29).

We are to honor God, not grieving the Holy Spirit of God (4:30). Furthermore, there is no place for bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, as well as every form of malice in our relationships. But most of all, Paul says, be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other,… Why? Just as in Christ God forgave you.

With these exhortations Paul is not setting out an exhaustive list of rules to follow. He couldn’t do this in a way that would address every situation in life. Rather he sets out illustrations for the underlying principles of honoring God and loving one another.

So, when we find ourselves in situations of moral uncertainty, inventing more rules is not the solution. Rather, we need to reflect on the perfect model – the Lord Jesus. In turn we need to pray for wisdom and strength to exemplify the kind of self-denying love that Christ showed – in his attitudes to those around him and, supremely, when he gave himself up on the cross. We will not go far wrong if we try to live a life like Christ. Be imitators of God… Paul writes. Live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God (5:1-2).

Here then is a response to the spiritual amnesia around us – our growing Christlike lives. Let’s then pray that God will so work with his Spirit and his Word within us that we will grow in the riches of his love and bear the fruit of his Spirit in our lives.

A prayer. Teach us, gracious Lord, to begin our works with reverence, to go on in obedience, and finish them with love; and then to wait patiently in hope, and with cheerful countenance to look up to you, whose promises are faithful and rewards infinite; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

© John G. Mason

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