Sanctification

Ephesians 4:17-32

Last Week

Pastor Tim introduced us to our passage here in Ephesians 4.

Pastor Tim also taught on the purpose and effect of the Gospel.

The Gospel or “Good News.” The Gospel is the good news of God’s redemption of sinful humanity through the life, death, and resurrection of his son Jesus Christ.

The purpose was to save humanity from their sins with the atonement of Christ.

The effect that the Gospel has is that now you, we all get to live free from the condemnation of sin.

This Week

The few verses we are going to be honing in on today are Ephesians 4:22-24.

Why?

While we now know and understand the purpose of the Gospel, we know to understand what to do with it.

We cannot be stuck in the same spot we were before.

Read Ephesians 4:20-24

“But that is not how you came to know Christ, 21 assuming you heard about him and were taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to take off, your former way of life, the old self that is corrupted by deceitful desires, 23 to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on, the new self, the one created according to God’s likeness in righteousness and purity of the truth.”

The few verses before talked about Gentiles who were futile, darkened, hard-heartened, etc.

But when the Gentile Christians learned about Jesus, they no longer could stay this way.

Why?

When you accept that Jesus is the Messiah, something really special happens to you.

You gain a power that Biblical heroes in the Old Testament never had.

The Holy Spirit.

Here's the point:

If you have been filled with the Holy Spirit, you cannot be the same as you were before.

Three Truths based on this point:

Your past has no grip on you.

Will you be perfect? No, but that’s not expected.

You have the power of God inside you.

Lean on it.

You are called to be Sanctified.

What is sanctification?

The process of renewal and consecration by which believers are made holy through the work of the Holy Spirit.

Why is being Sanctified so important?

Look what Paul said in verse 24:

“... put on a new self, the one created according to God’s likeness in righteousness and purity of the truth.”

God’s will for you is to live a new life, to be sanctified.

How to be Sanctified.

In order to be sanctified, you have to submit yourselves to God.

What do I mean by submit?

To submit to God is to choose to obey God.

Submitting is not:

1. Living in a state of indifference with him.

2. Living only for yourself.

3. Living to please others – doing what the crowd does.

4. Living with a love of the world.

What are you chasing?

In other words, we need to “take off our old self,” and “put on our new self.”

What does Paul say about putting on our new selves?

Paul gives 5 exhortations, or urges us in a way to live very intentionally:

25“Therefore, putting away lying, speak the truth, each one to his neighbor, because we are members of one another.

Notice how he starts with a negative command, then reinforces it with a positive command and a spiritual principle as to why the command is necessary.

Also, What do we have a culture of? Respect.

26 Be angry and do not sin., Don’t let the sun go down on your anger,

Yes, there is a righteous way to be angry.

27 and don’t give the devil an opportunity.

James 4:7 “Submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”

28 Let the thief no longer steal. Instead, he is to do honest work with his own hands, so that he has something to share with anyone in need.

Be generous, not greedy.

29 No foul language should come from your mouth, but only what is good for building up someone in need, so that it gives grace to those who hear.

Taming the tongue. Proverbs 15:1 “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”

30 And don’t grieve God’s Holy Spirit. You were sealed by him for the day of redemption.

God feels pain for our wrongdoings. He’s our savior.

31 Let all bitterness, anger and wrath, shouting and slander be removed from you, along with all malice. 32 And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ.

Being Loving, as God loved us. The point of the Gospel.

There should be a clear difference in the way you live your life with Jesus than before him.

New Life

Because of the Gospel, we are being restored to what God originally intended with Eden.

Not because of good works.

God knows we cannot do this on our own, we tried for thousands of years and still couldn’t figure it out.

That is why Jesus paid our debt.

Why Sanctification?

The reality is that God calls us to be something greater than what we were before.

God has called us all, everybody, to be a part of one big incredible rescue mission.

We are called to tell others about Jesus – Matthew 28:18-20

Without Jesus’ sacrifice, the truth is that we all were headed straight to eternal damnation.

Thankfully we’re free from that with the blood of Christ.

There are sadly many people in this world who do not yet know the love of Christ.

Common reason: “Christians are hypocrites.”

This is why it is so important to be sanctified with the Holy Spirit.

Our old ways cannot be our current ways.

People are watching, people notice your behavior.

If you say you’re Christian, you represent the Church as a whole.

Not only will being Sanctified impact the lives of others, it will impact your own life.

To be Sanctified is to be in tune with the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit will lead and guide us through life.

Romans 12:2 “Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.”

- Sanctification is the will of God.