Together in Actions

This is our last week of our Together sermon series. We have been spending the last few weeks in the book of Ephesians focusing on ways that we should be united together instead of focusing on things in life that can divide us as followers of Jesus. This series has helped us discover that through our weaknesses, love, grace, faith and Christ we can find common ground with each other.

This week our focus turns to how we should be united “Together in our Actions.” Our scripture comes from Ephesians chapter 4:25-5:2.

25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 26 “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold. 28 Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.

29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

5 Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children 2 and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Please pray with me…

Our scripture speaks to us about what to do and how to do it. This can be viewed of God giving us some do’s and don’ts. God ordering us on what we are supposed to do. I would argue what God is really doing is saying do these things because I want what is best for you and those around you and your relationship with me and those you meet along life’s journey.

God desires for us to do these things because it is through making these decisions that we will treat those around us the way that God wants us to treat others. Just before this section of Scripture Paul points out the difference between what the actions of his audience were before they became Christians and how they should choose to act now.

(Transition)

We often use the term transformation. Followers of Jesus should be transformed from who they were into a new being. This new being should choose to not focus on the ways of the world but should instead turn their focus to the ways of God.

It seems based off what Paul says that some of these early followers may have fallen back into their old ways. They were making decisions in their humanness. They were making decisions that were against what God would desire from them. They were being selfish instead of choosing to love one another.

Paul says it this way, they should“no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds.” He continues by stating that the Gentiles are “darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God”

He is saying this to many that would have been Gentiles, meaning they were not born Jewish. He is stating that you are no longer grouped as humans have been grouped in the past. You are a new people. A chosen people. A saved people. A forgiven people

(Transition)

There should be a difference between someone who is a follower of God and someone who is not. What I find Christians often doing is that we expect someone who does not view Jesus as their Lord and Savior to act as if they are filled with the Holy Spirit.

There is an expectation that those outside the faith should act like those of us that believe. The biggest problem with this idea is that we that do believe often fail at living as God would desire for us to live.

That seems to be the point that Paul is making. He is saying that the nonbelievers are acting as would be expected. They are living their lives through the ways of the world. He is pointing out that the believers need to change their ways and choose to follow the ways of God.

(Transition)

Verse 24 says that we should choose to put on their “new self.” We have been transformed, or changed, by God through the Holy Spirit. Paul is telling them and us “act like it.” Act in a manner that shows that you have been changed, that you have been transformed.

(Transition)

This leads me to a very important point. We should choose to follow the ways of God not because some Old Testament text or in this case Ephesians tells us to act a certain way. We should choose to follow the ways of God because we have a God that loves us and knows what’s best for us.

We should attempt to do our best to follow what God wants because “God loves us,” and when we follow his desires for our lives, we are showing that “we love him.” God doesn’t force us to follow what he desires but he does know what is best for us so we should choose to make the choice to follow his ways instead of the ways of the world.

(Transition)

We also should believe that choosing to follow the ways of God is the best way for us to live in community with those around us. The first few examples listed in this scripture are things that we can control without any outside influences. They include that we shouldn’t lie. We should control our anger. We shouldn’t steal. We should watch how we speak.

These life changing recommendations do not involve others even though people can lead us to do them. We get to decide how we act and react to the situations life throws at us.

We can react in a manner that relates to how the world tells us to interact with each other, or we can make the choice to react in the way that God desires for us to react.

The best choice to make even for someone who does not a follow God is to decide to listen to this advice. It doesn’t matter what a person believes. These recommendations should give us a way in which we could all should unite together. The world would be a better place if we listened and followed Paul’s advice.

(Transition)

The first recommendation is do not lie. Paul explains that we should not lie because “we are of one body.” He is saying that as Christians we should be united together. But humanity has also been created by God and is loved by God. That tells me that we should choose to not lie to anyone. The truth can unite while lies will divide.

God speaks the truth and therefore we should speak the truth. Satan on the other hand must lie in order to change lives. Satan has to get people to believe that God doesn’t love them to get them to move away instead of towards God. One of my commentaries says it this way, “Satan is a liar; and he wants us to believe that God is a liar.”

We can see throughout scripture that Satan is a liar. Jesus makes this point to his followers in John 8 when he said that Satan

“was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

The commentary continues on by saying that “Whenever we speak truth, the Spirit of God works, but whenever we tell a lie, Satan goes to work.” The writer is telling us that lying opens up space for Satan to go to work.

The old saying is that one lie always leads to another and then another. We suddenly find ourselves forgetting what the original lie was, and what happens, we get found out. We not only have to admit we lied but now we are someone that can’t be trusted by those around us. Lying leads to broken relationships and people being hurt by us instead of loved by us.

(Transition)

Paul next tells us not to sin when we are angry. Did you notice that Paul did not say that we shouldn’t be angry? Paul is indirectly pointing out that we as humans are going to get angry.

The question is “How do you act when our anger boils up?” Do you mistreat people, do you choose to take your anger out on others, or do you attempt to control your anger?

How we act and react during times of anger can have either a positive or negative effect on how people view us. But if they know you are a Christian, it can also affect how they view other Christians. Is it fair? No. But life is not always fair.

Anger is one of the hardest emotions for us to control. It is anger that many times leads us into saying something we shouldn’t say or doing something we shouldn’t do. Anger can be a relationship breaker. How we handle anger often shows the maturity of our faith.

(Transition)

Paul continues by reminding us that we need to act in an ethical and moral manner. He brings up stealing as an example. We should not steal from someone, and we also could put another commandment in there and say that we should not covet.

When we covet or a better way of saying it in modern terminology “want something that someone else has” we are more likely to try to steal it in order to get it. Our focus becomes not on what is right but on what we want. Our mind strays from what is Godly into what is worldly. Our focus completely shifts when we decide to steal from someone.

It is through our unethical and immoral actions that people view Christians as hypocrites. They can expect us to get angry after all everyone does. But when they view our actions as unethical or immoral they will struggle to believe that we are following a higher power.

Human nature says that we are to try to find ways to get ahead. Human nature tells us to make choices that would be against God. We need to focus on doing the right thing over doing something that is going to make us look better for the boss or our friends.

Our focus needs to be on uniting those around us not dividing. It is through choosing to do something viewed unethical or immoral that we cause division. We are showing a lack of love to those around us.

(Transition)

Paul next brings up that we need to be careful of what we say and how we say it. James chapter three more clearly explains what Paul is saying.

“9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.”

Think before you speak. We need to as verse 29 tells us say only “what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” Building people up instead of tearing people down should be our priority.

Again, this is a good message for all of humanity during the times we are in right now. Could you imagine what would happen if everyone spent time trying to build people up. We would be living in a much more positive environment than we are right now.

We would have people wanting to interact with others instead of withdrawing. We would have people smiling instead of growling. What a much better place to live.

(Transition)

We have a choice to make with each one of these actions that have been mentioned. We can choose to let our feelings and actions occur in a positive manner or we can make the wrong decision and allow our sinful side to win.

It is true that in the end we might feel better, we might feel vindicated, but that reaction would be short sighted. We would be choosing to divide ourselves from others. We would be acting worldly instead of Godly.

We will have not only failed in pleasing God. We will have also failed in treating those that God created in a way that reflects his love for his creation. We will have let Satan win the battle of wills. We will be farther away from God instead of closer to God.

God cares about us and about how we act. Verse thirty tells us that when our actions are against the will of God it causes the Spirit to grieve. The Holy Spirit is at work in each one of the lives of those that have accepted Jesus as their Savior.

So, when we make choices that are against our best interest and against the right way to treat those around us, it causes the Holy Spirit to grieve. I think another way it could be said is that we frustrate God. He wants us to follow the ways of Jesus because Jesus showed us the way.

God cares about each one of us and wants only the best for us. Therefore, our actions are either positive or negative to society and also to our relationship with God. We our blessed to have a God that forgives. Our God does not hold grudges, but it saddens him when we make choices that cause us to have to repent and realize the wrong that we have committed.

(Transition)

Paul doesn’t only give us the” don’ts” he also offers us alternative actions that we can choose to take. These are actions that can be pleasing to God. Actions that let God know that we are listening to the Spirit, that we are growing in our relationship with him.

Be kindand compassionate to one another and forgive each other. Paul adds on why we should be willing to forget about the human response that has been drilled into us and instead respond in a godly way.

We should do it because through Jesus God forgave us. We should love others and follow the Holy Spirit instead of the ways of the world because Jesus came down to earth not only as our example but also as our Savior.

One of the last statements made in today’s scripture is for us to walk in the way of love. We are called to be the example of Jesus to the world. I heard Christian author and pastor Andy Stanley say it this way on a recent podcast he was on as a guest.

We can ”disagree politically, disagree culturally, disagree theologically. But our mandate is to love unconditionally.” We are called to love because God first loved us.

(Transition)

When we look at our first scripture reading, we have Jesus releasing his disciples into the world. They were to go out in such a way that they would have to rely on the generosity of others. The disciples had to believe in the power given to them by Jesus and trust that God would put people into place to offer them food and shelter.

The same God that directed the disciples while Jesus walked the earth and after he ascended into Heaven is the same God that speaks to us through the Holy Spirit. Jesus sent those disciples out as his representatives to the world.

What were they told to do? They were to proclaim the kingdom of God and heal the sick. They were to show and tell the people that there is a better way to live their lives. We are called to do the same.

We have a message of love, hope, joy, and peace. We have a message of a God that loves his creation so much that he came down as our example and our Savior. Jesus through his actions showed us how to live our lives.

We should believe that while our actions are for him and those we are serving, he is also at work. He is helping those around us to make the decision that they need him in their lives. He is using us as his conduit to the world.

So, let us decide that we are going to follow his ways instead of the ways of the world. We are going to do what we can to unite the world instead of causing division. We are going to show that God has changed us, and we want to show his love in such a way for those around us to also desire to be changed.