Paul's Practicality
By David Block
No one ever said that living the Christian life would be easy. In fact, the Bible
suggests the opposite to be true. The life of a Christian is marked by trials and
tribulations. Suffering and, in Paul's case, torture are to be expected. Paul's letters
to the churches are a great gift from God to us because not only does Paul illuminate
our hearts with the reality of who God is and what he has done but he also gave us
several principles to guide us on our path of Christian living. Through Paul, God
has not left us to wonder what it means to strive for a Christ-like life, but has
gifted us with the practical sections found in the books of Galatians, Ephesians,
Philippians, Colossians and Philemon.
Grouping the principles found in these letters will help us better understand Paul's
thoughts on each subject that he is instructing on. These instructions can be broken
down into four main categories.
1.The Christian life is a life of action characterized by the imperative “to walk”.
2.The Christian life is a call to relate to others as God relates to us.
3.The Christian life is a command to stand against the enemy.
4.The Christian life is a call to be holy in all that we do.
Looking at the first group of principles we see the reoccurring theme of walking.
Paul warns us that there are a couple ways that are not characteristic of the Christian
walk. We are not to walk as the Gentiles (Ephesians 4:17-19) and we are not to walk
as the unwise (Ephesians 5:15-21). These two phrases are basically saying the same
thing: you are no longer what you once were, namely Gentiles and fools that were
ignorant of God, living a life in rebellion against him, you are Christians so live
like it. The comparison between the old and new life is a favorite for Paul and here
we see the command not to be like the old self. If you are a Christian you can't
walk the same path you used to. Paul also gives several commands on how to walk toward
Christ-likeness. First, we are to imitate the apostles, like Paul (Philippians 3:17).
By following their example we know that we are in the right. What is this walk that
Paul walked? He walked in a manner worthy of the calling to which he was called (Ephesians
4:1-6). We have been called by grace through the perfect life and sacrifice of Christ.
We must walk in a way that gives honor and glory to this awesome calling. The way
we do this is by walking in Him (Colossians 2:6,7). This means that the totality
of our lives must be rooted firmly in Christ. We must make sure that our thoughts
and deeds are all done within the confines of Christ. If we walk in Him then surely
we will walk by the Spirit (Galatians 5:16-26). To walk in the Spirit is to allow
Him complete control of our lives as he molds us and shapes us into Christ-likeness.
In doing all this we will walk in love (Ephesians 5:1-14). If we are controlled by
the Spirit, having our entire life invested in Him then we walk as Jesus walked,
in holy love.
Walking the Christian life is a call for us in our churches today where so many are
merely spectators in the walk. They see growth as something for the super-holy to
worry about. However, the Bible equates the Christian life with the walk and those
that are watching on the sidelines need to question whether they are on the path
at all.
Another category that some of the principles could be placed in is the category entitled
submission. In this category we find a negative command. “Therefore keep standing
firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1-13). The sentence
tells us firmly that we are not to submit ourselves to the bonds of the Law. This
of course, would nullify the grace of God because by placing on ourselves the yoke
of the Law we have removed the yolk of Christ. We can only submit to one or the other.
In not submitting to the Law we are then able to submit in a different way. In Ephesians
5:22- 6:9 and in Colossians 3:15-4:1 we are commanded to submit to one another in
our individual relationships with other people. In submitting to each other we are
commanded to bear each others burdens (Galatians 6:1-5). We are to help our fellow
workers (Philippians 4:3). Through submitting to each other we will have the mind
of Christ which in turn will unify us (Philippians 2:2-5).
In our society, to submit is the root of all evil. People want to be free from all
fetters. They want to do what they want and they surely can't do that by being held
down by someone else. It is interesting how Paul shows us that instead of being confining,
submission is liberating. This flies in the face of all of the feminist and liberal
propaganda circulating today.
A third category of principles could be called “Standing Against the Enemy.” To start
off we hearken to Paul's trumpet call to simply stand firm in the Lord ( Philippians
4:1). This is the only place to stand firm. Christ is the Rock and to stand anywhere
else, is to be in the sand (Matthew 7:24). While on the Rock we are to take our stand
against the enemy by putting on the full armor of God, (Ephesians 6:10-19). By putting
on this armor we are prepared to deflect any barrages and to storm the strongholds
of his lies. It is only by putting on the full armor we are able to stand for if
we miss a piece we will be vulnerable to the fiery darts Satan has aimed at us. While
standing in the Lord with our armor on we are to look out for the evil doers, (Philippians
3:2). We need to have our binoculars scanning the horizon for those that Paul so
vividly calls “the mutilators of the flesh”. Like the Romans, Satan has sent out
his dogs of war before him to tear us down. So we need to heed the sign that Paul
has set out, “Beware of the dogs”. In this war the main battleground is the mind.
Paul commands us not to let the enemy deceive us, or disqualify, or cheat or wrongfully
judge, or defraud us of what we have already been commanded. The enemy would like
nothing better than to make us follow him by enticing us in his subtle ways. We are
not to let him or anyone else do this to us. If we follow the principles of war set
forth by Paul, we can stand.
In our world, Satan has been relegated to cartoons and superstition, but Paul reminds
us that he is a real adversary. We need to be on the lookout for his deeds and attack
them with the sword of the Spirit.
The final category I've placed Paul's principles in is how to live the holy, separated
from the world, life. First we need to listen to Paul's command to hold true to the
truth that we have already attained, (Philippians 3:16). The life separated from
the world can only be lived if we hold on to the truth God has given us. The world
is filled with lies and the truth that we have already, and the increasing knowledge
that we obtain through obedience will set us on the path of holiness. With the holding
fast of truth we can accept Paul's command to live holy by putting off of the old
earthly self and by putting on the new self, (Ephesians 4:20-32; Colossians 3:5-17).
Since as Christians, the old man that we once were is dead we ought not go back to
doing the things that we once did. Someone once compared this to fondling a dead
corpse. It's graphic but it makes the point clear. To do the old things is disgusting
for a Christian to do. Since we are this new creation we are called to work out our
salvation, (Philippians 2:12-16). Through submission and walking in obedience we
work out what God has wrought in us. Through this working out of our salvation we
display the new creation that God has made in us. In the working out of our salvation
we are to always think about the things above (Colossians 3:1-4) and of God (Philippians
4:8,9). This out working raises our gaze upward to the promises and hope of God.
This is not about wishful thinking or daydreaming but about setting our minds on
the things of God. We are to fill our minds with everything that is good and holy.
In order to live a holy life it makes sense that we ought to always be thinking about
things that are holy. This leads us to our last two, very practical, principles.
First we are to rejoice and pray about all things (Philippians 4:7). This is a true
mark of a life lived in opposition to the world. When a person can rejoice and pray
about everything, the world has truly lost its strangle hold. And finally, Paul reminds
us of the common principle of sowing and reaping. The principle is easy to grasp;
if you want to live by the Holy Spirit you must do the works of the Spirit. If you
want to live in the flesh, a slave to the world, then do the works of the flesh.
It is a simple idea but one with profound effects for the one that comprehends and
lives it.
A life separated from the world today is truly a light in our depraved generation.
To live the principles that Paul taught is to live a life that no one can miss. You
won't need to look for opportunities to witness, they will come to you. This is what
Paul talked about in Colossians. If you live a holy life you are guaranteed to have
an impact on the world around you.
In these five epistles of Paul, he recorded many principles guiding the living of
the Christian life. The understanding of these truths and the assimilating of them
into everyday life is what it truly means to live life as a follower of Christ.
Bibliography
New American Standard Bible (NASB). The Lockman Foundation,1995.
