Practicing Justice

August 26, 2018 Background Scripture: Ephesians 4:25 – 5:2; Colossians 3:1 – 17 Lesson Passage: Colossians 3:5 – 17 “Dead man walking!” is an expression that was made popular by the movie of the same name. The expression is a description of a prisoner on “death row” who knows that there is an imminent date/time when the state will execute him for the crimes for which he has been convicted. The expression describes what is to soon be the actual state of the person. They are alive at the time of the expression, but there is an imminent execution. Christians, on the other hand, have already died “in Christ” on Calvary. We truly fit the description “Dead man walking!” By faith, we reckon that Christ’s death for sin on Calvary was in our stead. Therefore, we died with him. Just as Christ was raised to life on the third day, we are to walk in the newness of life in him. It is this “new” life that we are to understand and endeavor to live out according to the will of God. It may seem strange that a letter was written to a church admonishing Christians to stop lying, live honestly, keep their tempers in check, stop stealing, and start working to earn an honest living, watch how they talk to people, and start forgiving people. This is by no means an exhaustive list but there should be enough on the list to get the point across. The point is to not allow the lifestyle they lived before they accepted Jesus as their Savior to contaminate the new life they received in him. The list answers the question “How should the new life be lived qualitatively to please God?” This is not the same as a “thou shall” and “thou shall not” list of commandments. Rather, this is an explanation of the difference between the life the person lived before being saved and the expectation of the new life the person has received in Christ. This is akin to preparing a person to spend some time in a foreign country. There is usually a briefing that covers some everyday customs of the foreign society—including what is considered acts of courtesy versus what may be perceived as rude behavior. It is important for the person to understand that what they are accustomed to at home is not the same as what they are about to experience in another society. This is not to just “fit in” with that society, such as, “When in Rome, do as the Romans.” But it is to allow persons to present themselves as model citizens in a foreign society as an expression of goodwill on behalf of their society. Christians are citizens of Heaven. We should represent Heaven while we are here in this world. We should be model citizens in this world because of the society we represent. This behavior displays the characteristics of our calling in everyday living. That brings us back to forgiveness. Christians should be examples of compassion and peace. There is perhaps no better display of that than in acts of forgiveness. Our forgiveness should be a natural outgrowth from the forgiveness we have received from God in Christ. Christian forgiveness is a way of passing on the blessing we have received from God. We can only be saved because God forgives us for our sin as we put our trust in Jesus’ sacrifice in our stead. We cannot earn the forgiveness of God, and neither can we repay God for forgiving us. We cannot thank Christ enough to make up for his sacrifice. We can, however, pass the blessing of forgiveness on to others. Robert C. Hudson August 8, 2018