Being built up... (18)

Practical Christianity...

Last Sunday, we looked at the society around the 1st century church. Paul admonished them by the authority of the Lord not to live as the pagans lived.

I also made a comment that we should live in such a way that Christians should be the best people to deal with because we are children of God.

Today, we’re going to look at how Paul fleshes out how to throw off the sinful nature and what it looks like to put on the new nature that we receive when we believe.

Let’s read

Ephesians 4:25–32 (NLT)

25 So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body.

26 And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry,

27 for anger gives a foothold to the devil.

28 If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need.

29 Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.

30 And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.

31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior.

32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.

As we work through these verses, we’ll see how Paul gives an example of throwing of the sinful nature, and he reinforces it with how we put on our new nature in Christ. He deals with our relationships with each other as Christians, as well as non-believers. What we do needs to match what we believe.

He starts with

Stop telling lies...

Ephesians 4:25 (NLT)

25 So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body.

Satan is a liar and the father of all lies. It was in the Garden of Eden where the serpent lied to Eve and told her that she would not die, but that she would be like God, knowing good and evil. That day, Adam and Eve died spiritually.

Why do people lie?

Sometimes people lie because they don’t want to hurt somebody else’s feelings, and yet when the truth comes out, it can cause deep hurts.

Some people lie because they don’t want to get into trouble. I tell the kids, “You might get into trouble for doing something wrong, but you’ll get into more trouble if you lie about it. Accidents happen, but when we try to hide it, it becomes a lie, and even if nobody ever finds out, God sees and He knows what we have done to cover it up.

Some commentators believe that Paul was speaking to their former way of life. Before we came to Christ, we may have been living a lie or even believing lies. This may have included worshipping idols. I wonder if it had anything to do with fear of what others would think if they knew that they had left their past and followed Christ.

Have you ever been placed in an awkward position when it came to telling the truth? Fear of what others think can tempt us to lie.

Proverbs 29:25 NIV

25 Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.

Satan might lie to us that if people know who I really am, they won’t like me. He might tempt us to lie so people think that we are someone who is important.

What’s more important than knowing that you are a child of the Most High God?

Instead of lying, Paul encourages us to

Speak truthfully to your neighbours...

Why should we tell the truth?

It’s the right thing to do, but more than that,

Matthew 22:39 NIV

39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

If we love our neighbours with agape love, the same kind of love that compelled Jesus to die on the cross, would we lie to our neighbours?

Pastor Dave, what is the truth hurts? That’s a good question, I’m glad you asked.

We need to speak to truth in love, and sometimes love compels us to say what people don’t want to hear. Our words need to be seasoned with salt, which is pure, but not so much salt so that we spoil the food, in other words what we are sharing.

Paul adds,

...For we are all members of one body.

We need to speak truthful to our brothers and sisters in Christ. This means that our goal is to build each other up, to edify. Jesus doesn’t call us to use our words as swords.

Hebrews 4:12 NIV

12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

Gos’s word perfectly penetrates our hearts. God, who knows the beginning from the end, is able to judge our thoughts and attitudes because He sees all things.

Psalm 139:1–6 NIV

1 You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. 2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. 3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. 4 Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely. 5 You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.

It breaks God’s heart when He sees us cutting each other down with our words. Let’s see what God’s word says about how we should treat each other.

Colossians 3:12–17 NIV

12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. 15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Be angry and sin not…

Ephesians 4:26–27 NLT

26 And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 for anger gives a foothold to the devil.

This is powerful. If we let anger control us, it will destroy our lives.

Jesus had righteous anger when He overturned the tables in the temple. He saw how the people were taking advantage of others, and He dealt with it.

There are times that we need to stand up for the oppressed, and godly anger may be a by-product, but when we are led by the Spirit, we will have self-control.

We can just fly of the handle and lose our temper and expect that there won’t be repercussions. Harsh words can’t be taken back. Our words can bring life to somebody, and they can also bring death to somebody else. Relationships that take years to establish, and be destroyed in mere minutes or even seconds when anger is hurled.

We are human, and imperfect, so there may be times that we don’t handle situations the way that God wants us to, so harsh words can be spoken that can cause offense if not dealt with quickly.

Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry...

I can’t necessarily explain why, but something happens when we don’t deal with conflict quickly. Anger festers and becomes offense or resentment, and when that has grown, we have a tree of bitterness.

If you want to give the devil a foothold in your life, stay angrY. Don’t forgive. He has us exactly where he wants us if he can convince us not to forgive others.

We might think this and we might even be right.

“They don’t deserve it!”

Did we deserve God’s forgiveness? Did we deserve Jesus dying on the cross in our place?

I think that we all know the answer to this. Not at all!

Romans 5:8 NIV

8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

If you’re a thief...

Ephesians 4:28 NLT

28 If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need.

Paul speaks to people who made their living from stealing. Before they were saved, they were thieves. People who were slaves in Paul’s day might have had the temptation to steal from their masters.

Because they were now children of God, this needed to stop. Instead, they needed to work hard and have enough leftover to give to those who are in need.

Everything that we have is God’s. Too often, we think that when we earn a living, the money is ours. I earned it, so I can do with it whatever I want.

Who gives us the strength to work? Who gives us the ability to work? Why did I deserve to be born here instead of some refugee camp in the third world?

Let’s work hard, but let’s remember to be faithful to God, and give back to Him generously with what He has blessed us. Let’s do our best to live within our means so that we can be generous. Often, we want to be generous, but because we live to the end of our means, we can’t, because we don’t have anything to give.

It might be credit card debt. It could be things that we thought we needed at the time, and now we don’t even use them, but we are still strapped with their debt. It might be that life just happened, and we are in need because of trials we are going through. That’s where generosity comes in so that we can help others who are in need.

Let’s talk about

Our language...

Ephesians 4:29 NLT

29 Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.

We have a choice to make with how we’re going to speak. Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. As Christians, we need to build others up with our words.

Our words can be unwholesome and foul, which one day we’ll stand before God and have to give an account. I’d rather hear Jesus compliment me on what I said to others than have Him ask me why I told the off coloured joke or used words to demean my brother or sister in Christ.

Would I use the same language if I knew that Jesus was in the room? ...Jesus is in the room.

Let’s choose our words wisely. Let’s encourage and build each other up so that we can become more and more like Christ.

I want to share some words that changed the trajectory of my life. I’ve shared this before but I want to share it again.

I was in my first year of Bible College, second semester. I was told that I would not pass the class without reading the textbook.

I got 64% on my midterm and was pretty pleased with myself. 35% was from the textbook. 64/65 isn’t too bad.

Bob Kennedy told me that he was disappointed with me because I hadn’t put in the effort that he expected, and he believed that I could do a lot better.

Those words were hard to hear but I appreciate them to this day. He was building me up by dealing with a problem that could have plagued me for the rest of my life. Sometimes God uses somebody to correct us to make us better. We need to have hearts to receive when God is using somebody to correct us.

Don’t bring sorrow to the Holy Spirit...

Ephesians 4:30 NIV

30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

The Holy Spirit is the 3rd person in the Trinity. It brings Him sorrow when we don’t walk with Him.

Ephesians 4:30 NLT

30 And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.

He is the deposit guaranteeing that there is more to come. We are kept by the power of the Holy Spirit.

1 Peter 1:3–5 NIV

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

If it were not for God Himself, none of us could be saved.

As Christians we need to

Get rid...

of the sins in our past. In the Old Testament the Israelites would clean their house of any yeast for the Feast of Unleavened Bread. As Christians, we need to clean our lIves of the sin that so easily entangles us.

Ephesians 4:31 NLT

31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior.

Here’s how the Life Application Commentary defines these words:

Life Application New Testament Commentary (Living as Children of Light / 4:17–32)

Bitterness—a spirit that refuses reconciliation.

Rage—outbursts of anger or quick temper for selfish reasons. This could mean continual and uncontrolled behavior.

• Anger—a continuous attitude of hatred that remains bottled up within. This could refer to what is under the surface, while “rage” refers to what bursts out. Anger would destroy harmony and unity among believers.

• Harsh words—loud self-assertions of angry people determined to make their grievances known.

• Slander—destroying another person’s good reputation by lying, gossiping, spreading rumors, etc. Malice often manifests itself through slander. This defamation of character destroys human relationships.

• Malicious behavior—doing evil despite the good that has been received. This word is a general term referring to an evil force that destroys relationships, and it can mean anything from trouble to wickedness. It is a deliberate attempt to harm another person. Thus, all types of malice must be destroyed.

Finally, Paul wraps it up with verse 32.

Instead...

Ephesians 4:32 NLT

32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.

Our sinful nature wants to fight back. It wants to hurt others, and yet God has another plan.

Kindness

God is calling us to be kind to each other, having a generous and benevolent heart. (LANTC) There are times that we need to step out of our comfort zones and take the initiative. It doesn’t happen on it’s own, and it doesn’t always happen between the hours of 8:00-5:00. If you are willing, you’ll have lots of opportunities to show kindness.

To be

Tenderhearted

is also translated “compassionate.”

Life Application New Testament Commentary Living as Children of Light / 4:17–32

Compassion is genuine sensitivity and heartfelt sympathy for the needs of others. Compassion characterizes God.

God is a God of compassion. He empathizes with us in our weakness. He cares for the broken and the hurting.

Psalm 103:8–13 NIV

8 The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. 9 He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; 10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. 11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; 12 as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. 13 As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;

God also calls us to

Forgive, just as He forgave us

The Message of Ephesians e. Don’t Be Unkind or Bitter, Bur Rather Kind and Loving (4:31–5:2)

forgiving one another (charizomenoi) is literally ‘acting in grace’ towards one another, as God in Christ has acted in grace towards us.

Because God’s grace has been so amazing, He calls us to forgive. God doesn’t harbor His anger forever, and we shouldn’t let anger dock in our harbor.

Think of His great love that sent Jesus to the cross.

Ephesians 4:32 NKJV

32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.

Let’s pray!