“THE CHRISTIAN WALK”

Bob Myhan

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alking is the most basic form of transportation. It is also good exercise, although some of us only walk as far as the car. In the Scriptures, however, the word “walk” is most often used “figuratively, ‘signifying the whole round of the activities of the individual life’” (Vine, p. 1218). The Bible refers to the “Christian walk” in a variety of ways.

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hristians are to “walk worthy of the vocation wherewith [they] are called” (Eph. 4:1). The words, “vocation” and “called,” are from the same root in the original; therefore one’s vocation is his calling. Christians are “called the sons of God” (1 John 3:1) and their conduct should be deserving of this calling. This means they are to do what God expects of them, no matter how difficult it may be, no matter what the result may be. “If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name” (1 Peter 4:14-16, ESV).

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hristians are to “walk in love” (Eph. 5:2). If we are not motivated by love we are nothing—no matter how many good deeds we do (1 Cor. 13:1-3). We are, therefore, to “owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ ‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ “You shall not bear false witness,’ ‘You shall not covet,’ and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law” (Rom. 13:8-10).

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hristians are to “walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise” (Eph. 5:15). The prefix “circum” means, “around.” The suffix “-spect” means, “to look.” Obviously, it is a sign of wisdom to watch where one is walking. Yet many seem not to watch where they are going. “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Cor. 10:12).

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hristians are to “walk in the light as He is in the light” (1 John 1:5-7). It is impossible to watch where one is going if one cannot see, and one cannot see if one has no light. The attitude of the Christian should be that of David, who said to God: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105).

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hristians are to “walk in the Spirit” (Gal. 5:16), by manifesting “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Gal. 5:22,23). They do this by allowing themselves to be “led by the Spirit of God” (Rom. 8:14).

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ven in the spiritual realm, there are prerequisites to walking: a goal (Phil. 3:13,14) a beginning (Rom. 6:3-5) and the putting forth of effort (Phil. 2:12). There must also be the realization that we do not intuitively know “how” to walk (Jer. 10:23),

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hen an individual makes up his mind that his goal is heaven, experiences a “new birth,” and gives “all diligence” to walk as the Lord directs, he will inevitably enter the eternal kingdom (John 3:3-5; 2 Pet. 1:5-11).

[Next Week: “Christian Service #1”]

JUST SAY “NO”

Bob Myhan

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uring the 1980’s, First Lady, Nancy Reagan, unofficially led an anti-drug abuse campaign by urging young people to just say “No” when enticed by others to use controlled substances. This is basically what Solomon told his son, and would tell all the sons of every generation, by writing,
Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and forsake not your mother’s teaching, for they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck.
My son, if sinners entice you,
do not consent.
If they say, “Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood;
let us ambush the innocent
without reason; like Sheol let us swallow them alive, and whole, like those who go down to the pit; we shall find all precious goods, we shall fill our houses with plunder; throw in your lot among us, we will all have one purse” –
my son, do not walk in the way with them; hold back your foot from their paths, for their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed blood.
(Proverbs 1:8-19)
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o one can make you do something you do not want to do. They can pressure you into going along with them by the threat of bodily harm or ridicule. But the wrong you will suffer by refusing to go along will pale in comparison to the reward you will receive for doing right (2 Cor. 4:17; 1 Peter 4:15,16).
“HAVING GIRDED YOUR WAIST WITH TRUTH”
Bob Myhan
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he first thing the inspired apostle says to do, as far as putting on the whole armor of God is concerned, is gird “your waist with truth” (Eph. 6:14). The word “waist” [“loins,” KJV], when used literal­ly, refers to the hips and the lower ab­domen regarded as part of the body to be clothed and as the region of strength or procreative power. In physical warfare this portion of the body must be protected. The “girdle” [“belt,” ESV] provided this protection, but also “secured the body armor at the waist and sometimes served as a sword belt” (Wilbur Fields, The Glorious Church, p. 190).
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ut is it the physical waist that is to be “girded…with truth” or its spiritual counterpart? Peter says, “gird up the loins of your mind” (1 Peter 1:13). Thus, the mind—the intellectual aspect of the heart—is to be encircled with and protected by truth; after all it is the “seed bed” for truth and error (Luke 8:11,12; Matt. 13:18,19,37-39).
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ome ask, with Pilate (John 18:38), “What is truth?” This question was in response to Jesus’ statement, “For this cause was I born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice” (John 18:37). Some think truth is truth only if one perceives it to be truth. But did Jesus come to bear witness to something that is purely relative? It is it absolutely true that nothing is absolutely true? On behalf of His apostles Jesus prayed to the Father, “Sanctify them by your truth. Your word is truth” (John 17:17). So truth is the word of God!
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ut how does one “gird up the loins of [his] mind” with truth? First, he must love the truth (2 Thess. 2:10-12). Second, he must seek to know the truth (John 8:32; Acts 17:11). Third, he must have a desire to obey the truth (John 7:17). Fourth, he must handle “accurately” [NASB], or “rightly” [ESV] “the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15).
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s long as one has this fourfold attitude toward truth, his mind will be protected—to a great degree—from the devil’s devices. Satan cannot easily corrupt minds, nor can he easily take the word out of hearts that are “girded...with truth.” Of course, he has other avenues of attack, and thus the other components of the “whole armor of God” are also vitally important.
[Next Week: “Having…The Breastplate”]