Saved to Walk -- by Dave Harvey

In discipleship, I have been reading through a book called Rescuing Ambition by Dave Harvey and it is a gold mine into the riches of Christ. I can't remember a simple book I've enjoyed this much and I wanted to share a excerpt from it that hopefully you'll enjoy as much as I did:

"To be rescued from something sets us on path toward something. The One who saved us is now calling us to walk. Though snatched from spiritual death, we soon discover that the Christian life isn't an arrival -- its an adventure. We experience a rescue, then we're pointed to a path.

The apostle Paul describe this active view of the Christian life in his letter to the Ephesians, urging them to 'walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called' (Eph. 4:1). This is a brief command, and its easy to rush past it. But this isn't a toss-off request. It's the center of Paul's letter, the bridge between truth and life, and it's crucial for us to understand what Paul is saying.

To this point, Paul has spent three chapters of this epistle exulting in what Christ has accomplished for us:

• We were chosen in Christ (Eph. 1:4)
• We were predestined for adoption (Eph. 1:5)
• We've been given an inheritance (Eph. 1:11)
• We were raised up with Christ (Eph. 2:6)
• We're reconciled to God (Eph. 2:16)
• We're blessed with unsearchable riches in Christ (Eph. 3:8)

In the final three chapters of Ephesians, Paul looks at the practical implications of what he has said in the chapters 1-3 -- what effect this redemption has on our actions, our words, and our relationships.

In Ephesians 4:1, Paul is building the bridge between doctrine and duty, principle and practice, creed and command. Bridges aren't for standing; they're for getting somewhere. Paul is saying, 'Synchronize your walk with what Christ has accomplished. Since you're declared righteous, now walk righteous. Since you're declared holy, purify your ambitions and actions. B.B. Warfield describes this as Paul's 'ringing appeal ... to live up to our privileges.' Become in faith what God has declared you to be in Christ. "