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Lesson Five:
1. "Walk in Love" (Ephesians 5:1,2): "Be ye therefore of God, as dear children; And in, as Christ also hath us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savour."
2. Fill in the blanks from the chart.
3. This lesson is about our responsibilities toward all people—including self. The principle that will guide us is stated in Ephesians 5:1,2:
"Walk in "
Every step we take is to be taken carefully in light of what the Bible teaches (Ephesians 5:15-17). Let us use the Bible to learn how to think, speak, and act properly in every circumstance and toward every person in the world.
SELF
4. Match the reference with the proper phrase.
5. Philippians 3:13,14: "Brethren, I count not to have apprehended: but this one thing do, forgetting those things which are behind, and _ unto those things which are before, I toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."
FAMILY
6. Match the phrase with the proper reference.
7. Joshua 24:15: "And if it seem evil unto you to the Lord, you this whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but us for and my , we the Lord."
CHURCH
8. Match the reference with the quote from it.
9. I John 3:16-18: "Hereby perceive we the of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our for the . But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have , and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how the of God in him? My , let us love in word, neither in tongue, but in and in ."
NEIGHBOR
10. Match the Scripture with the point we should learn from it.
11. Match the person with that which he said or did (see Luke 10:30-37).
ENEMY
12. True or False (place a "T" or an "F" in the blank).
Jesus taught that we must hate our enemies (Matthew 5:43-48).
Jesus said that we should "bless them that bless you" in Matthew 5:44.
Jesus said, "Father, forgive them" when He was on the way to Calvary (Luke 23:34).
Stephen said, "Lord, lay not this sin to their charge" in Acts 7:59,60.
Paul wrote, "Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?" in Galatians 4:16.
13. Romans 5:8-10: "But God his toward us, in that, while we were yet , Christ died for us. then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were , we were to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life."
Have you ever made a decision that you later regretted because you did not have enough facts to make your decision wisely? So have I!
Let me say at the outset of this conclusion that I am more convinced now than ever that THE
CHRISTIAN LIFE IS THE ONLY LIFE WORTH LIVING! And the only way to live the Christian life is to love Jesus enough to obey Him (John 14:15,21,23; 15:14; I John 5:3).
WHAT IS MY ATTITUDE?
What is my attitude toward my sin, my eternity, my God, my self, and the truth of God’s word?
Am I being honest about all of this? Do I really want to see things as they are and then deal with them according to God’s perfect plan?
Honesty means that every time I learn a truth that exposes my errors and sins, I change myself so as to be right. God’s word is truth, and every time I differ with it in word or deed, I am the one who is wrong!
In other words, do I have the attitude of David as expressed in Psalm 19:14: "Let the of my mouth, and the of my heart, be in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my "?
Can I repeat the words of Psalm 139:23,24 as my own heart’s desire? " me, O God, and know my : try me, and know my : And see if there be any wicked way in me, and me in the way everlasting."
Since it is true that God is, that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him, and that He knows all there is to know about me, why shouldn't I be honest with Him and learn His ways?
"Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with " (Hebrews 4:13).
WHAT WILL I BE?
If I obey the plan of salvation (see Lesson 3: Five Steps from Man to God), I will be a Christian (Acts 11:26). But I will also be —
— a member of the one body (Ephesians 4:4)
— a member of the one (Acts 20:28)
— a member of the one (Matthew 6:33; Colossians 1:13)
— a member of the one Ephesians 3:15)
— a member of the one [over which Christ serves as High Priest] (Ephesians 2:20-22)
— a member of the one vineyard [Christ is the vine and we are the ] (John 15:1-8)
— a member of the one army [and we are to put on the whole ] (Ephesians 6:10-20)
HOW DO I DECIDE?
The simplest way to answer this question is to say that I must "count the cost." To assist in this,
Jesus taught a lesson in Luke 14:25-33. He makes it clear that following Him calls for a great commitment—a commitment to renounce any and all who would keep me from following Him. He taught that "cross-bearing" is a key term to describe the idea of being His disciple (learner). He said those things to emphasize that He does not want me to follow Him before I do count the cost.
Am I willing to renounce immorality, false doctrine, false religions, and all other sin? Do I realize that Jesus never taught that His way was an easy way? That Satan will be "after" me more than ever before if I love and obey Jesus?
On the other hand, what is the cost to be paid if I do not follow Him? At stake is my own soul, those who will be affected by my life, and the very truth of God!
Yes, I must count the cost!
WHAT AM I WAITING FOR?
Now that I know the way into the body-church-kingdom-family-temple-vineyard-army of God, and now that I have seen the necessity of counting the cost, I must make a decision.
In the sermon on the mount, the Lord taught the sad truth that many are headed toward the destination of eternal destruction, while few are headed toward life. "Enter ye in at the : for wide is the gate, and is the way, that leadeth to , and many there be which go in there at: Because strait is the gate, and is the way, which leadeth unto life, and there be that it" (Matthew 7:13,14).
Wouldn't’t it be wise for me to gladly receive His word and be baptized for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38,41)? Wouldn't’t it be wonderful to know that I have obeyed Jesus (not man) and have been added to His church (John 14:15; Acts 2:47)?
ISN’T IT URGENT FOR ME TO NOW COUNT THE COST, AND AFTER COUNTING THE COST, TO OBEY THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST AT ALL COSTS??!!
CONCLUSION
Dear Student, my final word to you is to weigh all of the things you have studied in these five lessons and then to delay no longer.
Do not be grieved by God’s commands—be grieved by your sin, and then obey God’s commands so you can have all of those sins blotted out forevermore (I John 5:3).
After Paul had grieved over his own condition outside of Christ, Ananias was sent to him with this message:
"And now why tarriest thou?, and , and , calling on the name of the Lord" (Acts 22:16).
I ask you the same—why are you delaying? Delay no more—obey Jesus now. Accept the way of truth and follow it all of your days.
You will never regret it.
Skip Andrews 3249 Highway 120 Duluth, GA 30096 Phone: 770 497-0240 e-mail: skipandrews@juno.com
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