This week's theme on Things Unseen has been the grammar of the gospel, and we've been

thinking that it's helpful to understand the New Testament's teaching of the gospel

in terms of verbal moods and tenses, indicative and imperative moods and past and present

and future tenses. And today we're coming to another grammar lesson in the school of

the Lord Jesus. When we use verbs, we imply them in both positive and negative senses.

We do some things, but there are other things we don't do.

In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul several times describes the Christian life as a walk.

We're to walk in a manner worthy of our calling, we're to walk in love, we're to walk as

children of light, we're to walk as wise people. But Paul teaches us that walking worthy in this

way means we don't walk in ways that are unworthy of Christ. Walking in love means we don't

walk in sexual immorality or impurity. Walking wisely means we don't walk in foolish ignorance

of God's will. We don't walk like drunk men controlled by wine, but as people who are

filled with the Holy Spirit and who walk in ways that encourage each other and are marked

by thankful hearts. So there's always both positive and negative. And the gospel produces

both in us, and it's really important to see that and to look out for it when you're

reading the scriptures because once you begin to notice it, you'll find it's all over

the place. And if you've never noticed it before, you'll wonder how you could actually

have missed it. So let me add a couple of comments. The first is that I think most of us by nature

tend to emphasize one or the other, the positive or the negative. Some of us do something

like that physically when we walk, don't wait, the stress goes out on our lead foot and

it takes more pressure than the other one. And in the same way, some of us are naturally

drawn to stressing the positive aspects of spiritual growth, love and joy and peace and

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