Walk In Newness of Life Pt. 7 Walking Honestly before God and Man

We continue to explore what it means to "Walk In Newness of Life" as a born again believer in Jesus Christ. The word "walk" is a transitive verb, meaning that its action must be transferred to something or someone. In this case, we are talking about spiritual truth. Therefore, the "something" that our walk is connected with is the Word of God and the "someone" that our walk is connected to is the Lord Jesus Christ. 

We have all heard the expression "Talk is cheap. Actions speak louder than words." What the expression means is very simple. We can say lots of things especially with regard to spiritual matters. However, what we do will be compared to what we say. If we tell everyone "Yes, I am born again and I love and serve God" those around us will examine our actions to see if they match what we say we believe.  

I have said many times that what we believe must impact what we do. Our faith in Christ must shape our practice. Our doctrine from scripture must shape our duty toward God. The primary battleground is in our mind, because Satan knows if he can gain a foothold over the way that we think, he will most assuredly impact what we think about and what we ultimately choose to do. 

This is why scripture says we need to constantly have our minds renewed (Romans 12:1-2) so that we can love and serve God, and seek to love and serve our neighbors. This is why the weapons of our warfare are spiritual and able to pull down strongholds and bring our thoughts into the captivity of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).

God's law is fulfilled when we love one another. 

Romans 13:8-10  Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. 9) For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 10) Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. 

After teaching us in Romans 12 about our need to have our minds renewed, Paul turns in Romans 13 to remind all believers that fulfilling the law of God is loving God first and then loving one another. We must love God first because His love will flow into us and fill us in such a way that we can love others instead of being possessed with self love (Romans 5:5). 

What does it look like when we love our neighbor and love one another as believers? We will not commit adultery; we will not kill; we will not steal or covet things that do not belong to us; we will not lie. Then Paul quoted the Lord Jesus Christ who taught us that we are to love our neighbor as ourselves. 

Avoid being a lethargic Christian. 

Romans 13:11  And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. 12) The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. 

Paul spoke again with urgency for each born again believer in Jesus Christ to develop a responsibility to live by the truth and light of the scriptures. Some believers at Rome may have been lethargic or caught up in loving the world instead of loving God first. 

The apostle used the phrase "knowing the time" which means that we understand from God how the future is going to unfold and that judgment will indeed come to all the wicked on earth. It also refers to a fixed, definite time established by God to bring all things to a state of crisis as the world waxes worse and worse. It means having an anticipation of God bringing all things to their prophetically appointed conclusion. 

Knowing that time is running out and that God is going to come in fearful judgment to take vengeance upon all who reject His Son, Jesus Christ, Paul taught that we must wake up from our spiritual indolence. We must be aroused from spiritually sleeping on the job. Christ is coming back to set all things right and we must be about His kingdom business. The phrase "high time" carries a great sense of urgency for the believer.

If our Lord's return is imminent then we must have a heightened concern for the souls of lost people around us. Each person who dies without being born again will be separated from God for eternity, if they do not hear and respond to the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are the privileged people who get to tell others about Christ. 

Paul also gave us a "put off" in this text. The same Greek word translated "put off" is also translated "put away", "laying aside", and "lay apart" in addition to "put off." It involves the believer taking the action of throwing something off, casting something away or putting off something that is spiritually detrimental. 

In this case, we are to "put off" the works of darkness, by warning others about sin and by avoiding committing any works of darkness. 

As he often does, Paul provided a "put on" for us to fill the void of putting off whatever evil thing that had ensnared us. It is the idea of sinking into comfortable, clean clothing after we have been cleansed. 

In this text, Paul instructed us to "put on" the armor of light. We studied this very carefully in our recent lessons on "New Life In Christ" Part 17 through 26. You can study about the armor of God by reading through these specific lessons.

Now, after giving us a "put off" and a "put on" Paul leads us to how all this truth is to affect our "walk." 

Walking honestly before God and Man.

Romans 13:13  Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. 

The apostle tells us to "walk honestly." We know what the verb "walk" means. It transfers the action of walking to the scriptures and to the Lord Jesus Christ, meaning that we walk according to what Christ teaches us and what His Word tells us. The "walk" of a believer is tethered to Christ and the word. How we live must match up with what we say we believe. 

1 Corinthians 14:40  Let all things be done decently and in order. 

What does it mean to "walk honestly?" This word is only used 3 times in the New Testament. In the context of his letter to the Romans, Paul warns against spiritual lethargy, and against pursuing worldly things instead of the things of God. In this context he commanded us to "put off" any works of darkness that we might be caught up in and to "put on" the armor of God. 

When Paul commands us to "walk honestly" it is the idea of wearing the armor of God, being spiritually vigilant and avoiding evil influences or sin. 

The second time that we see it is 1 Corinthians 14:40 where Paul has been working hard to straighten out the abuse of spiritual gifts while addressing sin issues in the church. As he concluded that section of a letter, Paul commanded the Corinthians to "do everything related to ministry within the church "decently" and in order. 

The same word translated "honestly" in Romans is translated "decently" in this text. The idea is serving God in a manner that is consistent with how the scripture tells us to serve God and others. Thus, we can conclude that "walking honestly" also means that our ministry to others and service to God must conform to the guidance He provided us in His word. 

1 Thessalonians 4:1  Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more. 

The last place we find this word is in 1 Thessalonians 4:12 where it is also translated "walk honestly." This final paragraph of 1 Thessalonians 4 begins with Paul exhorting those believers to follow through by living according to the apostolic teaching "to walk and to please God."

1 Thessalonians 4:11-12  And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; 12) That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing. 

In verses 3-5, Paul warned them against committing sexual sins. In verse 6, Paul warned them against using fraud to cheat someone or to steal their assets. 

In contrast to those things, Paul reminded them that God called them to holiness, loving one another and quietly going about their everyday business while providing for their families. Thus, the final meaning of "walking honestly" is walking to please God by making choices that honor Him. 

Romans 13:14  But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof. 

In his last words addressing the issue of "walking honestly" with the church at Rome, Paul gave them (and by extension, gave us) another "put on." We are to "put on" the Lord Jesus Christ and this means making no provision to fulfill the lust of our flesh. 

Thoughts to Ponder...

"Walking In Newness of Life" means "walking honestly." 

Walking honestly means putting off the works of darkness and casting away evil influences. It means putting on the armor of God (Ephesians 6). 

Walking honestly means making sure that our ministry to others and our service to God is shaped by what God says in His word.

Walking honestly means dedicating ourselves to walking in a manner that pleases God and honors Him. It means "putting on" Jesus Christ by learning about Him, growing in understanding Him, cultivating a deeper, dynamic relationship with Him, and experiencing His love and power at work in us and through us. 

I pray that the Spirit of God will convict us if we are not walking honestly before God and others. May He show us our heart so that we might repent of being spiritually slothful and self absorbed. May He strengthen us with the armor of God and by putting the glory of Christ on display in our minds as we are conformed to His image. 

Bob