Living Like Jesus: Radical Reorientation, Ephesians 5:1-14

Recap of previous two messages:

Recap of previous message from Ephesians 4:17-24.

Christianity isn’t about following a set of religious rules, it’s about following a person! Following Jesus involves learning Jesus, from Jesus, to live like Jesus. The new life we are learning from Jesus prioritizes what goes into our heads in an effort to practice what Jesus says with our hearts and with our hands. Renewing your mind requires time with the Lord, and time with the Lord requires time, silence, and solitude.

“If the churches came to understand that the greatest threat to faith today is not hedonism but distraction, perhaps they might begin to appeal anew to a frazzled digital generation.” - Andrew Sullivan

Recap of message from Ephesians 4:25-32

Living like Jesus involves a dramatic transformation God has loved you to life! Salvation is seismic This dramatic shift changes the direction and goals of our lives from selfish to surrendered. The dramatic shift is not just personal, it is relational. Shift from personal selfish motivations in your relationships to selfless acts of grace toward others.

You can see here that the in our New Life with Christ we have entirely new ways to think about the foundation and purpose of our lives. Everything changes…

the things we get angry about

the reason we work

the words we use in conversation with others

and our end goal for our relationships with one another. Which is, to be toward one another the way that Jesus is toward us! And Jesus is kind, tenderhearted, and forgiving to us, so therefore we should be toward one another.

In addition to the dramatic transformation of our relationship with God and one another… the New Life (Dramatic Transformation) Paul describes is one that also requires a Radical Reorientation…

Look with me at Ephesians 5:1-14, “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, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

Radical Reorientation

Following Jesus means ordering your life around the way Jesus taught and the way Jesus lived.

Ephesians 5:1-2 says , “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.”

Paul’s frame of reference for imitating God is Jesus. The reason for this is because Jesus taught and demonstrated what it looks like to put God’s word into practice. There are a lot of different opinions today about what Jesus really meant or how Jesus’ words impact our lives. But, Jesus provided the interpretation… It’s what he’s doing throughout his entire teaching ministry.

Radical reorientation to follow the rules of a Rabbi

I know we don’t like the word rules… but that is in effect what a Rabbi gave people to live by… and Jesus is referred to as Rabbi over and over again in the gospels by those who followed him.

Rabbi’s were teachers of the Jews. And, each Rabbi had an interpretation of the law… and it was this interpretation that people followed.

Rabbi’s studied the Word of God and then taught people how to do what it said. This meant taking what it said and applying it to all of life. From marriage, to finances, to issues with your neighbor, to raising kids, and discerning what you could and couldn’t do on the sabbath and/or in relation to the Gentiles around you.

Each Rabbi invited his followers to learn from him, and those who were their disciples were not just learning from them, they were learning to be them. Rabbi’s traced their interpretations back through their relationships. You could have an idea of what a Rabbi might think about certain parts of Scripture based on who he followed when he was a disciple. Like all things there are variations on how this played out, but generally speaking Rabbi’s expected their disciples to imitate them in both interpretation and in application… or they expected their disciples to teach what they taught and do what they did.

Jesus was considered to be a Rabbi by those who followed Him. And, like other Rabbi’s Jesus had rules or a way for them to follow. The rules of a Rabbi could be referred to as a yoke, like what you put around the next of an ox so that you can hitch up a load or even a cart for them to haul around.

A yoke is what you attach a burden to an ox with… and the rules that Rabbi’s gave their followers to live by were a yoke that allowed them to live or carry the burden of the law.

In Matthew 11:28–30 (ESV), Jesus said, “28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

So, when Paul says to “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.” He means that we should walk as Jesus walked… which is what those who follow a Rabbi do.

Jesus is much more than a Rabbi, he is Messiah, the Son of God, the Prince of Peace, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords… but, in His role as Rabbi he made it clear that the same person who gives rest to our souls is the one who can teach us to live in the way that is good, right, and true.

Living according to the rule of Jesus requires a radical reorientation of our lives. The kind of radical reorientation that removes the old core or center of your life and replaces it with an entirely new one.

We have described this as a dramatic transformation, and it is. The change God makes is so dramatic that everything you knew about what is good, what is right, and what is true is different.

Jesus spent his time saying things like… ‘You have heard it said… but I say to you…” and Jesus did this so that we would know the extent to which God meant what he said.

And, Jesus spent his time demonstrating the extent to which the word is to be applied. And as Paul says here, he gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

The offerings that are pleasing to God, are those that are pure and holy… and Jesus is pure and holy.

The purity and holiness of Jesus is central to the reorientation that following Jesus requires. So much so that Paul says to imitate God.

And what does it mean to imitate God if it doesn’t mean to be holy… and if you are to be holy than you are to live holy lives.

1 Peter 1:16 (ESV) says, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” Which is a quote from Exodus 19:3–6 (ESV) which reads, 3 while Moses went up to God. The Lord called to him out of the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel: 4 ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; 6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.”

Peter and Paul both have in mind the Word of God from Genesis, Exodus, and Leviticus in which God makes it clear to his people that they are called to be holy as he is holy, and they are do it in the midst of people who are living unholy and ungodly lives. For example- Leviticus 20:22–23 (ESV)22 “You shall therefore keep all my statutes and all my rules and do them, that the land where I am bringing you to live may not vomit you out. 23 And you shall not walk in the customs of the nation that I am driving out before you, for they did all these things, and therefore I detested them.

This is why Paul instructs them the way that he does about how they are to live. Even if everyone else around you is living a completely different way… because of the dramatic transformation that has come through the seismic salvation of Christ you live radically different from those who don’t know Jesus.

And I would say that in so many parts of the south Christians need to accept that living according to the holiness of Jesus will cause you to live radically different from many people who say they know Jesus.

The truth is you can’t actually follow Jesus if you don’t live by the teaching of Jesus.

I know that might seem controversial, but it’s really not. What should seem controversial is when people say they know Jesus, believe in Jesus, and are following Jesus but don’t do anything with their lives that looks anything like what he said and did.

Following Jesus requires a radical reorientation of what is good, right, and true

“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.” - Ephesians 5:7-10

Without Jesus we don’t know what is good, right, or true.

Jesus said it plainly when he said that He is the way, truth, and the life. So, those who have not been transformed by the grace of God through their faith in Jesus are living according to what they think is good, right, and true.

Romans 1 says that those who are lost have exchanged the truth for a lie… and what they think is good is actually bad, and what they think is bad is actually good.

Some of the easiest ways to see this in the world is the sexual agenda of culture. But, you should take notice that sexuality and sensuality have always been a primary means the enemy uses to destroy lives.

It's literally the subject of what Paul is writing about here in Ephesians 5.

He addresses sexual immorality, he links it to impurity and idolatry. Then he says these kind of things shouldn’t even be talked about by those who are following Jesus.

Ephesians 5:3-14

“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, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

You cannot redefine what Jesus has said… and you have to accept that when the Bible calls Jesus the Word, that it also means that the whole thing- all of the Bible is his… All Scripture is breathed out by God and is profitable…

Rejecting the whole thing in favor of only believing and following what someone decided to print in red letters isn’t the same thing as following Jesus. Following Jesus means you believe and trust the foundations of the prophets and apostles are built on the cornerstone of Jesus… and the testimony of the apostles extends beyond the gospels…

Sexual immorality speaks today to the issues of sexuality and gender in the world. And, it also means that those in the church are to put those practices away as well.

Impurity speaks to the things that go in and the things that come out…

Idolatry speaks to the passions and priorities that we worship with our lives. The things we chase after- or the things that we base our yes and our no on…

Jesus defines what is good, right, and true- and this means that Jesus determines what we think, do, and pursue in our relationships, each day, each week, etc

Following Jesus requires a radical reorientation to a rule of life that helps you to follow Jesus with your head, heart, hands, and feet.

Head has to do with what we believe. We need a rule of life that is built on what is true, good, and right… that also helps us continue growing and maturing in what is good, right, and true.

Heart has to do with who and what we love. Christians are transformed and changed by Jesus, and we also need a rule of life that is built on helping is to live out the change He has made, while also helping us to grow into the change more and more.

Hands has to do with what we do with the life we have been given in Christ. We need a rule of life that helps us to do and obey Jesus with what we know and love, and it helps us to stay on track or get back on track when we wander and sin.

Feet has to do with where we are. We need a rule of life that helps us to live for Jesus in our daily and weekly relationships, habits, routines, etc.

Following Jesus involves a dramatic transformation that is the result of a seismic salvation, that results in a radical reorientation of your whole life.