Just as.
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. // Ephesians 4:29-32
Read that passage carefully. Is there anything that strikes you? Do you see any gospel motivation? Where is it? Or do you see a staunch list of do’s and don’t’s? Do you walk away from this list with a slight groan in the pit of your stomach? You should do these things, but this is a tall order requiring lots of emotional energy and true grit. This is not only difficult, it is almost impossible if you approach it from a humanistic angle. If you think this is in you to express excessive human goodness or maintain a perfect record in light of these divine fiats, then you have missed the reality of your parched soul. You can’t be what God is asking you to be UNLESS you turn this passage on its head.
The writer of Ephesians intends for us to do this as he writes, in verse 32, these beautiful stunning words, “just as.” In those words, “just as,” the apostle Paul is supplying our want; he is expressing how we can ever approach such a staunch list and even hope to begin tackling it. See these decrees as something that we can only attain AFTER we have drunk fully the nectar of God’s grace, which follows these two English words, “just as.”
“In Christ, God forgave you.” That phrase demands radical humility and constructs, in our weary hearts, a radical confidence. God forgave you through the cross. Radical humility comes as you realize how God settled the score. A horror as great as the cross was the only thing capable of relieving your self-righteous soul from its eternal debt to God. The horrific savagery of the cross was the only penalty dark enough and painful enough to remove your sin.
But, Jesus’ willingness to make the sacrifice of the cross also evokes a dynamic confidence. He went to that extreme for you. He consumed the anger of God for you. He let hell tear him apart so that you could be set free—that is his commitment to you. Do you see that and know that to the depth of your being? Do you trust the extremities of that kind of gift?
To sum this up:
You are so bad he had to die for you.
But you are so valuable to him he wanted to die for you.
Let that divine truth fill your mind and also your heart so that you have the capacity to live God’s commands with a spirit of thankfulness. Be blessed in Christ.
Pastor Al