Sermon Tone Analysis

INTRODUCTION

One of the more difficult tasks the follower of Jesus (as well as those who do not follow Jesus) face is what to do when we are wronged, hurt, taken advantage of, or anything that happens to us that would require us to forgive someone who does not deserve to be forgiven for the relationship to continue in some fashion.

It's hard to accept other people's failures—especially in the church!

Christians can hurt us.

We can easily quote the lyrics from the 2012 song "Losing" by Tenth Avenue North (written by Ruben Juarez, Jeff Owen, and Mike Donehey):

"I can't believe what he did / Oh, don't they know it's wrong?"

We can face a hard tension, showing forgiveness and love to believers who ought to know better!

It shatters our expectations of a Christian community.

When Christians fail, it is easy to become cynical.

We can wonder if following Jesus makes any difference at all.

But sometimes, the brokenness in our community comes from us, as believers, not living as a gospel-centered community where we can be broken and vulnerable.

There's" that expectation issue again.

The implications of the subject of forgiveness have deeper roots than just how I feel.

In the church, not being willing to forgive others can do significant damage within the church in the same way it can negatively affect your family.

In our passage today, we will see that when one is unwilling to forgive, that lack of forgiveness can fracture the unity we are called to as a part of God's family and church.

We have to make sure we do not have the attitude that Garfield the comic-strip cat offered:

"Forgive and Forget, or as we cats say…hold a grudge and plot your revenge."

Houston Chronicle, 6/18/19, p.B6

Big Idea of the Message: Christians will fail us, but we must persevere in love, knowing that we have failed too.

Let's turn to Ephesians 4. We will be in verses 1-3 today.

Ephesians 4:1 (NET 2nd ed.)

1 I, therefore, the prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live worthily of the calling with which you have been called,

SERMON

I.

The call.

Paul uses the phrase "THEREFORE" to connect what he is about to share in chapters 4-6 to all written in the letter's first three chapters.

The flow of thought is that since God has done so much for the readers, like lavishly giving them spiritual blessings and revealing the great mystery of redemption, Paul unveils how the redeemed life should be lived.

Interestingly, Paul points out he is a prisoner of the Lord because Paul is writing this letter to the church at Ephesus from prison.

The implication is that if Paul can live out his faith in the manner he will lay out while he is in prison for his faith, those of you who are reading this letter as free people can also live your life in the same manner!

Paul does not dramatize the fact that he is chained to a soldier, awaiting a verdict of life or death (Acts 28:16).

It is a matter of fact, appropriate to the discussion, but mentioned in passing (cf.

Eph 6:20).

It should remind Paul's readers that he has earned the right to be heard.

(Kenneth L. Boles, Galatians & Ephesians, The College Press NIV Commentary (Joplin, MO: College Press, 1993), Eph 4:1.)

What is the call?

This call is so vital to our walk with Jesus that Paul uses the word URGE!

The word URGE or EXHORT means to call to one's side.

Galatians & Ephesians (1.

Unity in the Body (4:1–6))

This kind of exhortation is not so much a command to go do something, but an appeal to join forces with the speaker in doing something.

It is often a stirring call to action in public or military life

The call to action is to live worthy of the calling with which you were called!

We must remember that we will never be worthy of the calling.

In other words, we cannot earn salvation by our walk; our walk should reflect who we serve.

What Paul wants is a willing response on their part.

He wants them to decide to behave as he has asked them.

This walk he speaks of refers to how we live our life.

Galatians & Ephesians (1.

Unity in the Body (4:1–6))

What Paul is urging is that his readers recognize the purpose to which God has called them, and to conduct themselves accordingly.

“Worthy” introduces the high standard to which the Christian’s living is expected to conform.

Even when this standard seems out of reach, it is still the right goal; to be content with anything less would be unworthy.

Paul’s exhortation can be stated succinctly: “Be what you are!”

What are you?

To whom do you belong?

I think we can all lose sight of how important we live is to God.

It is so easy to think that we are saved, so we do not have to put much thought or effort into how we live our lives.

ISN'T THAT ENOUGH if I put a few Christian-sounding posts or bible verses on social media?

Is that enough if I come to church when it works for me, or I give?

A manner worthy translates the Greek adverb which means having the same weight.

In the balance of life, our walk should be the same weight as Our Calling.

Christians have an exalted position in Christ.

For our lives to measure up to our position in Christ, some attitudes and behaviors must be cultivated.

The primary call is a call to reflect who you belong to by how you live!

What does that look like?

Is the worthy walk simply a checklist of actions, do's, and don't's, or is there more to it?

Look at verse two.

Ephesians 4:2 (NET 2nd ed.)

2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, putting up with one another in love,

II.

The calling.

If you did not know what verse two said, we might think that our calling is a list of actions we take.

Instead, we see three attitudes or mindsets we are to display so that our walk matches up with our call!

Our calling within the call is explained in verse two.

In verse two, Paul identifies four temperaments or attitudes that each Christian must nurture and develop if we're going to walk in a worthy manner.

These temperaments are not external checklist items; they are matters of the heart.

These temperaments are more than going through the motions; they are deep-seated matters of the heart that take a great deal of prayer and reliance on the Lord to possess.

If Christians are careless and fail to cultivate these dispositions, the result will be the rupturing of unity and harmony that Christ desires in his church.

Humility is the opposite of pride and arrogance.

Galatians & Ephesians (1.

Unity in the Body (4:1–6))

Humility, also translated “lowliness of mind,” this word was always used in a bad light in the secular literature of Paul’s day, because lowliness was not considered to be much of a virtue.

It was associated with contemptible servility, an attitude proper only for slaves.

In the Greek version of the O.T., however, the word began to take on a positive connotation: God will bring down the proud and exalt the lowly.

How many problems are caused in our lives because of arrogance, jealousy, and pride?

When one lacks humility, problems within the church will happen.

I think Jesus was humble, don't you?

Gentleness describes an attitude that is the opposite of self-assertion.

It describes my unresisting, uncomplaining disposition, which enables us to bear without irritation or resentment the faults and injuries of others.

The word is also translated as MEEKNESS.

Meekness is a controlled strength or temperament in the face of adversity and persecution.

Meekness relates to how we react when we receive injuries from others.

The third mindset is PATIENCE!

Patience speaks of a long temper, especially when putting up with people.

Another way to say this would be long-suffering.

Long-suffering deals with being patient with people, while patience expresses endurance in respect of things.

The long-suffering person is one who, having to do with injurious persons, does not suffer himself easily to be provoked by them or to blaze up and anger.

The person who is patient is the one who is under a great siege of trials, bears them up, and doesn't lose courage when people do things that provoke us; the patient person suffers a long time, patiently bearing some things one does not like.

(Gareth Reese Commentary on Ephesians)

Then, to make it easier, Paul puts the cherry on top by telling us to put up with one another in love!