4:28
We now get down to specific actions, and those who had been stealing must stop and do something useful with their lives instead. Note first that the gospel was reaching all sorts of people, including those who were criminals. This is what the gospel was designed for. Then note that there is transformation, transformation from someone who is a drain on society to someone who is useful, from someone who does bad to someone who does good. Too often we think “we must reach the sinner”, without the accompanying thought of “the sinner needs to be transformed”. It is not a matter of you need to change before you come into the kingdom, but that you come into the kingdom in order to be changed. Coming into the kingdom to stay exactly as you were is a deeply unbiblical concept.
4:29
“Do not let unwholesome talk come out of your mouths”. This is something we need to watch today, for there has been an enormous increase in unwholesome talk in society. There is far more swearing on the media than there used to be, and much talk is about doing people down. The converse of this is that we are to speak to build others up “according to their needs”. So sometimes this might be correcting someone, but if so it is always done with the purpose of helping someone, of “benefiting those who listen”.
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