Behavior Befitting a Christian

“Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.  And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.  Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.  Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” –Ephesians 4:29-32 (ESV.  Read Ephesians 4:17-32).

These verses from Ephesians are part of a passage in which Paul is setting forth the characteristics and behavior of a Christian.  “By their fruits you shall know them,”  Christ taught.  And Paul, who was instructing the believers at Ephesus (and subsequently Christians everywhere) in how to live the new life in Christ, gave some very firm advice on how a Christian should live a separate and distinctive life of holiness.

Watch what you say.  Our words should not corrupt but build up and should convey grace to those who hear.  All gossip, idle talk, vain repetitions, cursing and slander should be far removed from a Christian’s talk.  We all know that it is easy to hear vain talk, and a temptation to pass on tidbits of gossip that may or may not be true but certainly can harm the persons about whom these are told.  Paul says firmly, “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths.”  He had just admonished in verse 25 to “put away falsehood.”  How we talk is a measure of our Christian commitment.  James also warned against the tongue and the damage it can do:  “From the same mouth come blessings and cursing.  My brothers, these things ought not to be so” (James 3:10).

“Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God.”  Our sin “grieves”—brings sorrow to—the Holy Spirit.  His mark upon and work in the life of the Christian is to “seal” or designate, as though marked by the assurance of God’s presence.  God pours out His Holy Spirit on all of His children as a guarantee (an earnest) of their share in the kingdom of Heaven.  Believers are the Lord’s especially treasured possession, kept for the day of redemption from this world of trouble and sin and anticipating glorification .It matters how we live here.  The Holy Spirit is an indwelling presence to lead us to live lives different from the world.

Paul says the New Life has certain behaviors squelched.  These are wrath and anger and clamor and slander…and malice.”  These are all characteristics to which we are prone in a worldly state.  But with cultivation of the virtues of gentleness, goodness, faithfulness and love, we can overcome the ulterior behaviors that characterize unredeemed persons.  We must make decided efforts to put off these behaviors unbecoming to a Christ-follower.

Then Paul gives the opposite of worldly behavior.  He urges “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”  Jesus taught us to pray, “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” (Matthew 6:12).  The behavior befitting a Christian takes diligence, prayer and practice.  It takes remembering that we are different from the world because we belong to Christ. And the Holy Spirit Himself, whom we are not to grieve by falling into sin, is beside us to guide us into truth and goodness.  Thank God for His ever-present help in assisting us to live a changed and different life in Christ!