Ephesians 4:32–5:8
Brothers and sisters:
Be kind to one another, compassionate,
forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ.
Be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love,
as Christ loved us and handed himself over for us
as a sacrificial offering to God for a fragrant aroma.
Immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be mentioned among you,
as is fitting among holy ones,
no obscenity or silly or suggestive talk, which is out of place,
but instead, thanksgiving.
Be sure of this, that no immoral or impure or greedy person,
that is, an idolater,
has any inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ and of God.
Let no one deceive you with empty arguments,
for because of these things
the wrath of God is coming upon the disobedient.
So do not be associated with them.
For you were once darkness,
but now you are light in the Lord.
Live as children of light.
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"Rubber meets the road" stuff today!
St. Paul defines several elements of disobedience: impurity (yes, that's sexual), immorality, and greed. He defines those things as idolatry, because they are all the results of fleshly desires being more important to us than God is. As we read this, we need to look at our own lives and make a TRUTHFUL assessment of where we stand. The easiest way to do this is look at how we spend our time: who do we spend it with, and what do we do. How much of that time is spent on God? What other things have we placed in front of Him?
The consequences of not taking this step in our lives are dire. Paul tells us to BE SURE that no immoral/impure/greedy person has an inheritance with God, and that the wrath of God is coming on the disobedient. Note that he doesn't say the wrath is coming on non-believers -- he says the wrath is coming on the disobedient. Those of us who know His commands, yet still refuse to live by them.
We can talk all we want about loving Jesus and having a personal relationship with him and believing in Him (or in my case, write a bunch of emails about the subject), but unless we commit to living our lives as St. Paul describes, it's just talk. The final proof is in how we live our daily lives.
PS - I understand that this may seem self-righteous to anyone reading. Please know that on subjects like this, I'm writing for myself as much as anyone who might read this. I NEED to stay fully aware that living a life in the spirit is more than just talk.
