Renewing Your Heart

Renewing Your Heart - Ephesians 5:1-21 June 9, 2024 In a sermon description for a sermon on Romans 10:9-10 by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, the writer asks: "Is salvation merely an intellectual endeavor that begins and ends with the mind or does it include the heart?" Eventually, he summarizes that Lloyd-Jones, using the example of Romans 10:9-10, reminds us that "saving faith is not only in the mind, but that it must include a change of heart." What we learn from the Scriptures is that we must believe with both our minds and our hearts. But what does that actually mean? That's what we'll be discussing this morning as we continue in our sermon series in the book of Ephesians. This morning, we'll look at chapter 5:1-21. If you have your bibles, please follow along as I read the passage: 1 THEREFORE BE IMITATORS OF GOD, AS BELOVED CHILDREN. 2 AND WALK IN LOVE, AS CHRIST LOVED US AND GAVE HIMSELF UP FOR US, A FRAGRANT OFFERING AND SACRIFICE TO GOD. 3 BUT SEXUAL IMMORALITY AND ALL IMPURITY OR COVETOUSNESS MUST NOT EVEN BE NAMED AMONG YOU, AS IS PROPER AMONG SAINTS. 4 LET THERE BE NO FILTHINESS NOR FOOLISH TALK NOR CRUDE JOKING, WHICH ARE OUT OF PLACE, BUT INSTEAD LET THERE BE THANKSGIVING. 5 FOR YOU MAY BE SURE OF THIS, THAT EVERYONE WHO IS SEXUALLY IMMORAL OR IMPURE, OR WHO IS COVETOUS (THAT IS, AN IDOLATER), HAS NO INHERITANCE IN THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST AND GOD. 6 LET NO ONE DECEIVE YOU WITH EMPTY WORDS, FOR BECAUSE OF THESE THINGS THE WRATH OF GOD COMES UPON THE SONS OF DISOBEDIENCE. 7 THEREFORE DO NOT BECOME PARTNERS WITH THEM; 8 FOR AT ONE TIME YOU WERE DARKNESS, BUT NOW YOU ARE LIGHT IN THE LORD. WALK AS CHILDREN OF LIGHT 9 (FOR THE FRUIT OF LIGHT IS FOUND IN ALL THAT IS GOOD AND RIGHT AND TRUE), 10 AND TRY TO DISCERN WHAT IS PLEASING TO THE LORD. 11 TAKE NO PART IN THE UNFRUITFUL WORKS OF DARKNESS, BUT INSTEAD EXPOSE THEM. 12 FOR IT IS SHAMEFUL EVEN TO SPEAK OF THE THINGS THAT THEY DO IN SECRET. 13 BUT WHEN ANYTHING IS EXPOSED BY THE LIGHT, IT BECOMES VISIBLE, 14 FOR ANYTHING THAT BECOMES VISIBLE IS LIGHT. THEREFORE IT SAYS, "AWAKE, O SLEEPER, ARISE FROM THE DEAD, CHRIST WILL SHINE ON YOU." 15 LOOK CAREFULLY THEN HOW YOU WALK, NOT AS UNWISE BUT AS WISE, 16 MAKING THE BEST USE OF THE TIME, BECAUSE THE DAYS ARE EVIL. 17 THEREFORE DO NOT BE FOOLISH, BUT UNDERSTAND WHAT THE WILL OF THE LORD IS. 18 AND DO NOT GET DRUNK WITH WINE, FOR THAT IS DEBAUCHERY, BUT BE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT, 19 ADDRESSING ONE ANOTHER IN PSALMS AND HYMNS AND SPIRITUAL SONGS, SINGING AND MAKING MELODY TO THE LORD WITH YOUR HEART, 20 GIVING THANKS ALWAYS AND FOR EVERYTHING TO GOD THE FATHER IN THE NAME OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, 21 SUBMITTING TO ONE ANOTHER OUT OF REVERENCE FOR CHRIST. Last week, the main idea was "I am transformed through the renewing of my mind." This section of Ephesians is a continuation of last week, and naturally creates a "part-two" to last week's sermon. So, as we study this passage, we must remember that these are actions that are caused by a renewed mind, which is transformed in Christ. Today, my goal is to show you the progression that is seen here as we develop and renew our minds, and how that naturally leads to a renewed heart. And that leads to our main idea: The renewing of the mind leads to a renewal of the heart. You see, it's all connected. When we think differently, we will act accordingly. This passage provides four principles that answer the question of ... HOW TO RENEW THE HEART First, we are to ... * Be imitators of God (vv. 1-2) o A lot of commentators include this section with the prior section that we looked at last week. o Fact is that this entire section all speaks to the same general concept - the Christian life. o Right off the bat, Paul provides us two commands: * Be imitators of God and * Walk in love. o There it is again ... the picture of "walking" * When you go back through the book of Ephesians, there are as many as seven "walks" going back to chapter 2. All of which allude to the conduct of the Christian. o But what about that first command? Imitate God? * Paul is famous for the command to imitate himself, as he imitates God, but this command is very unique. * In the Old Testament, we see God command that His people be holy because He is holy, but one cannot be like God - at least not completely. * Here's what I mean by that. * There are certain attributes of God that we cannot imitate. * For example, God is eternal, which means He was, is, and always will be. God is self-sustaining, meaning that He does not need us or anything else to be. Finally, God is what we call omniscient, which means that He is all knowing. * These are attributes that we are unable to imitate, because it is impossible for us as finite beings to do so, however, there are some attributes that we are capable of sharing. Here's a list that I found in my studies this week: o Justice, wrath, wisdom, faithfulness, goodness, love, mercy, compassion, tenderness, forgiveness * To be clear, we could never be completely like God in these areas, but at least they are traits that are attainable for the Christian, and ones that we should strive to be like Him in. * Really, that's what Paul is speaking about here, he is telling these Christians that they should strive to mirror the character of God. In fact, the word imitate that we see in the ESV could be translated mimic. He's saying, mimic God, our Father. * Think about it. If you're an athlete, many times you try to mimic your favorite player. I think about Kobe Bryant, he imitated his idol, Michael Jordan. * Or maybe you try to mimic your mother or father. * No matter how hard you do so, you'll never really get to their level, nor is it possible to do so. o The picture that Paul uses is just like the picture of a child imitating their father. o What Paul does here is show us the type of love required, which is sacrificial love. o That type of love - that we'll see in more detail in the next two weeks - is only possible with a renewed heart, next, Paul charges us to ... * Be children of light (vv. 3-14) o This is a bit of a large section here, so I'll do my best to break it down effectively o First, we see a warning against sexual immorality. * You've likely noticed that the Scriptures speak about this often. * It isn't because it's considered the "worst sin." * But look what Paul says about it here. He says it leads to impurity, to covetousness, to idolatry, and to crude and filthy talk - which of course is a product of our thoughts. * How is sexual immorality a picture of these things? * In a couple of words, it is self-serving. * When you serve yourself, you worship yourself. You become your own god. * So, what's the result of this sin? * Judgement. * I like how Peter O'Brien explains verse 5. He says, "the apostle is not asserting the at the believer who ever falls into these sins is automatically excluded from God's kingdom. Rather, what is envisaged here is the person who has given himself or herself up without shame or repentance to this way of life." * 1 Corinthians 6 is a parallel passage to this one, and here is what he tells those believers in verse 11: AND SUCH WERE SOME OF YOU. BUT YOU WERE WASHED, YOU WERE SANCTIFIED, YOU WERE JUSTIFIED IN THE NAME OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST AND BY THE SPIRIT OF OUR GOD. * Victory is possible in Christ. * Verse 6 is very important in our current age. He warns against being deceived with empty words. * Even "churches" (little "c") today will try to tell believers that their sin is okay. But Paul says in verse 12 that it is shameful to even speak about it, yet some publicly celebrate it, even within some denominations. * That's darkness. The Church (big "C") is called to be light. * Part of being a light is to put away those sinful and self-serving desires, and not to become "partners" with those who participate in them. o He expands this idea of darkness and light in verses 8-9, reminding us, yet again, that before our transformed minds and hearts, we were darkness. But now that we are children of the light, we must walk in the light. o How does Paul suggest that we walk in the light? * Discern what is pleasing to God (v.10) * This requires a deep relationship with God. How much time do you spend reading and studying the Bible? * How much time are you spending in prayer? Next, Paul says ... * Don't fellowship with them (v.11) * We can have discussions (as you'll see momentarily), but we cannot participate with them in their sin. Paul says, instead we should ... * Expose them (v.11) * Remember, in the context of a church community, this is to be done in gentleness and in love. * The goal is restoration and repentance. * We want to expose them to the light. o Verse 13 is a great reason for this. Here is what Paul says: BUT WHEN ANYTHING IS EXPOSED BY THE LIGHT, IT BECOMES VISIBLE o If this person is a Christian, and their sin is made visible, it should lead them to repentance. o Next, we see we should ... * Seek wisdom (vv. 15-17) o Just like in the opening chapters of Proverbs, and emphasis on wisdom is made. o Proverbs 9:10 defines the starting point for wisdom, where we read: THE FEAR OF THE LORD IS THE BEGINNING OF WISDOM, AND THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE HOLY ONE IS INSIGHT. o The contrast of wisdom, of course, is foolishness. o Paul began this next thought with careful consideration on our walk with the Lord. o Wisdom is one of those things that gets us out of trouble, so to speak. It gives us insight that we may not normally have. I want to provide two biblical examples of this. First from Solomon himself. In 1 Kings 3, Solomon was told by God to ask for anything, and it will be given to him. Here is how Solomon responded in verse 9: GIVE YOUR SERVANT THEREFORE AN UNDERSTANDING MIND TO GOVERN YOUR PEOPLE, THAT I MAY DISCERN BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL, FOR WHO IS ABLE TO GOVERN THIS YOUR GREAT PEOPLE * Solomon wanted wisdom, so he could govern the people. If only every leader had this mindset. Next, o What did James say in his letter when encouraging the Christians to overcome and take joy in suffering? In James 1:5, he said: IF ANY OF YOU LACKS WISDOM, LET HIM ASK GOD, WHO GIVES GENEROUSLY TO ALL WITHOUT REPROACH, AND IT WILL BE GIVEN HIM. o In Hebrew, the concept of wisdom is related to the ability to function in life, to a skill o So, when we fill our minds with the things of the Lord, that spills into our hearts, and eventually into how we go about life. o This is why Paul says next, that we are to ... * Be filled with the Spirit (vv. 18-21) o Paul immediately contrasts two behaviors in this final sentence of the passage. o First, he urges the Christians not to be drunk with wine, but instead to be filled with the Holy Spirit. * I used to be a certified trainer for safe alcohol service for restaurants and bars. I trained hundreds of people. Part of that training required identifying signs of intoxication. * As I'm sure many of us have experienced, when someone is under the influence of a controlled substance, they almost become someone else. Everything from their speech, judgement, coordination and behavior is impacted. * This is why Paul says we should instead be under the influence (or filled) with the Holy Spirit. o He then goes on to describe what the filling of the Holy Spirit looks like. He does so in two ways: * First, worship. The wording in verse 19 is interesting. I want to read it again, but slowly to illustrate what this looks like: * ADDRESSING ONE ANOTHER ... * ... WITH PSALMS AND HYMNS AND SPIRITUAL SONGS ... * ... SINGING AND MAKING MELODY TO THE LORD ... * ... WITH YOUR HEART ... * The picture here beautiful, as Paul is obviously describing the corporate worship experience. o Which is designed to be beneficial to us together, as well as glorifying to God. o Remember Paul's theme of unity within the body of Christ in this letter. * Second, thanksgiving. What's neat about verse 20 is the structure of the command. He says first to give thanks, * ALWAYS, then * FOR EVERYTHING, then * TO GOD THE FATHER, then finally, * IN THE NAME OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST * Just like in verse 19, when we break it down, it helps us to see its meaning o You see, being filled with the Holy Spirit leads to a heart attitude of worship and gratitude. o But this section closes with verse 21 which is really a transitional verse, where he calls for a mutual submission to one another. o Many include this verse with the next section, but in the Greek, this phrase is included in the same sentence as verses 15-20. o So, what Paul is doing here is setting up 5:22-6:9 which addresses submission. o This is why it's important to remember the theme of Ephesians, and what Paul is trying to accomplish in this letter. Unity and life in Christ. When we have that understanding in mind, the next two sections aren't as controversial as they are. This morning, we saw that the renewing of the mind leads to a renewal of the heart. Paul uses this section to show the further progression of the Christian in his or her walk with Christ. And many times, the correlation on their relationship with God is seen through their relationships with God's people. Much of how we act is because of our hearts, and our hearts are motivated by our minds. So, when we transform our minds, our hearts follow, and our actions reflect that transformation. We can do this by imitating God, through being children of light, by seeking wisdom, and by being filled with the Holy Spirit. In a world that constantly wants to change your way of thinking, seek a God that is unchanged, and who remains the same yesterday, today, and forever, who knows what's best for you, because He created you. Let's pray. 2