Habits of Holiness: Part 1
The Letter to the Ephesians • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Intro:
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Paul has just challenged the church to put into practice the activity of putting off the old man and putting on the new man of the Christian life. He gave particular emphasis to the mind of the believer being rooted in Christlikeness knowing that with a renewed heart, and a mind that is being renewed, the outward actions of godliness will follow suit. This transformation of mind and heart continues on in the Christian life in the work of sanctification by the Holy Spirit.
Paul gives the basis for the change in the believer in Eph 4:24
24 and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.
Based on the existing characters of God, Paul states that our new created lives in Christ are created for righteous and holy living. Today, we are going to look at first three examples that Paul gives of Christian’s walking in Habits of Holiness
1. Truthfulness
1. Truthfulness
25 Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another.
Following the formula Paul has just given, he calls the church to be a people of truthfulness. Above all truthfulness is rooted in the character of God. Scripture teaches us that all that God says and does is rooted the truth in Him. In Isaiah 65, he is called the God of truth. In Ex 34, He is said to abound in grace and truth. Numbers 23 reminds us that in the truthfulness of God he does not lie to us nor can he lie. He always speaks and acts according to His nature of truth. To be a God of truth means that all his wisdom and his words are faithful and true. They are not speculations and hopes. They are certain facts stemming from his omniscience.
The Lord Jesus came into the world as the God-man who is said to be “the way, the truth, and the life.” He is said to be one who came into the world full of grace and truth (Jn 1:14). Also in John, the Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of Truth Jn 14:17 and guides all believers to understand truth. Jn 16:13
As new creations, we are called to emulate truthfulness of Christ in us. It is the Holy Spirit, who works within man to change our thinking and our actions so that we put off lies and we put on truth. This is how Paul instructs the Ephesian church.
A. Think Truthfully
A. Think Truthfully
“Put away falsehood”
Paul begins with the action of putting off falsehood and in response putting on truth. I would like to begin with section with the idea that this must begin in the mind. The battles of the mind must be victorious on the field of truth. We cannot skip to speaking truth before we highlight putting falsehood away in our minds and replacing it with true thoughts.
In our mind bounce efforts, we daily battle with untrue thoughts. We think untrue things about ourselves based on the waves of our emotions and perceptions. It starts in the morning as we look in the mirror and engage ourselves and it continues as we engage with others. We are constantly tempted to think untrue things. I am ugly, I am useless, I am never going to _____(fill in blank).
I am not advocating speaking positively for the sake of changing your own mentality. We must root our thoughts in the truth and character of God. For example, There are some things we should never say because we do not know what ways the Sovereign hand of God will move in our lives. I hear some say, “ I will never find someone or I will never be successful. They are hopeless with their words so they obviously are hopeless first in their thoughts. We always think in greater volumes than what we say out loud.
But Paul says to put away falsehood which includes lies we tell ourselves.
8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.
Paul teaches that whatever is true…we should think intently and continually on those things. This means we are to put away in our minds, that which is untrue. We must stop believing lies and assumptions about people. Mentally, if we believe lies we tell ourselves, we are like the rollercoaster clicking slowly up the first hill. Once we get to the top, the momentum of our creative fantasies carry us downward on a winding ride of falsehood. We must mind bounce from untrue thoughts about God. Scripture is our guide to understand God and his work in this world. We should reject information that is not rooted in what Scripture teaches.
We should also reject what we think we understand about others and life if it is not rooted in facts. I know we have some conspiracy theorists among us on different levels, including myself. Let me challenge all of us to believe that which is rooted in truth that you have discovered in your research. Let us not simply adopt the madness of others.
B. Speak Truthfully
B. Speak Truthfully
Secondly, Paul talks about speaking truth instead of falsehood. I was taught as a kid to think before I speak, so true thoughts lead to true words. But if you are a shoot first, aim second kinda person, you may say untrue things mistakenly because you haven’t thought first about them. Paul is dealing more with malicious lies here in this passage in the community of God’s people. This is actually a quote from the prophet Zechariah
16 ‘These are the things which you should do: speak the truth to one another; judge with truth and judgment for peace in your gates.
Again, truthfulness was commanded to be present among God’s people because it reflected His character in them.
3 Do not let kindness and truth leave you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart.
We could then say that Paul was instructing the church to speak truthfully in all its dealings with others. On a broad scale, all Christians should speak true words in a world full of lies. We should be seen always as being truthful even when its inconvenient, even when it cost us more than if we were to lie. You might hear someone excuse himself from truthfulness to save money or time. But I have seen that truthfulness is blessed by God while falsehood only pays a heavy price.
19 Truthful lips will be established forever, But a lying tongue is only for a moment.
The Bible speaks of God’s punishment to those who speak lies because it dishonors the God who created them and it hurts those in this world. Instead, our mouths should not only speak truth about all of life, but as those redeemed by the Lord of truth, we are called to proclaim the truth of God’s word to the world…starting with the gospel. This undeniable responsibility of the church calls us to be bold in our pronouncement of the Lord’s wrath against sin and his saving grace that is found in Jesus Christ alone.
C. Live Truthfully
C. Live Truthfully
The prophet Samuel told Israel in 1 Samuel 12:24
24 “Only fear the Lord and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you.
As believers our thoughts, words and lives should all reflect the truthfulness of God. To live lives of truth is to have integrity in all facets of our lives. Being truthful in every aspect shows the world the Lord whom we serve. Living lives with integrity is what Peter commands to the church
12 Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.
2. Bridled Passion
2. Bridled Passion
26 Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and do not give the devil an opportunity.
God is righteous in his anger and just in his judgments. He even bring his wrath upon anyone that is undeserving for He is perfect in all his ways. He is passionate for his own glory, holiness and righteousness to be demonstrated and replicated over all creation. When it is not, his passion becomes justly wrathful against sin.
3 “For I proclaim the name of the Lord; Ascribe greatness to our God! 4 “The Rock! His work is perfect, For all His ways are just; A God of faithfulness and without injustice, Righteous and upright is He.
Mankind struggles to understand righteous anger that comes from God because we are infected with sin in our flesh. Our passions lead to anger because our own glory has been violated. As sinful human beings, are passions are for that which make our name great. We are constantly erecting our own towers of Babel day by day.
The Spirit changes this in a person when they are made new in Christ. All the sudden, a person who sought their own glory, now seeks the glory of God. Day by day a heart that longs for God is also having the mind being renewed to direct our passions toward God immense glory.
This is why some passion directed towards God is good passion. I use passion here to replace the word anger that Paul uses, although they are synonomous in this context. Paul commands the church to “be angry and yet do not sin.” His command is to expressed a bridled passion in the world.
A. Bridle your Passion
A. Bridle your Passion
We surely all know that a horse let loose in an open field runs free. But when the saddle and the bridle system on the horse is a game changer. Now the horse learns submission, control. It is subservient to the rider who controls the bridle system.
When Paul commands the church to be be angry and yet do not sin, he is calling us to have control over our passions. Our passions left alone lead to selfish anger directed at others because our glory is offended. But when the Spirit of God controls our passions, even an anger for God’s glory is a good anger/passion.
There lies the discipline or habit need for the Christian to bridle our passions. Are they directed at God’s glory or man’s glory?
Mental Anger/Bitterness is a Spiritual Felony
Jesus told us in the gospel that murder is a sin against God, but the anger of the heart that leads to murder is equally a sin for the murder began with the hatred that led to the murder. In our legal system, murder is a felony before teh courts and before God, anger and hatred towards others is a spiritual felony in his eyes. What we are called to do it put away out anger and bitterness towards our neighbor. Jesus continues in that chapter 5 to teach his disciples that if there is a conflict which has led to an anger, then reconciliation is the upmost importance in that moment, even more important that worshipping at the temple.
The discipline then starts with turning from the anger and bitterness of the mind. I want to share a helpful evaluation of the old man or our flesh that we still battle with Daily. This evaluative tool comes from Ken Sande in his book the Peace Maker. He states that we go through 4 steps to make idols of our lives. The result is the sinful pursuit of our own glory and not the glory of God. This leads to sins like anger.
Sande says that first WE DESIRE something for ourselves. Next WE DEMAND this desire be fulfilled by ourselves or others. “I want peace and quiet or a prepared meal when I get home from work.” “I want my kids to respect my time and my privacy.” I want this outcome from my interaction with this person.
“When we see something as being essential to our fulfillment and well-being, it moves from being a desire to a demand. “I wish I could have this” evolves into “I must have this!” This is where trouble sets in.”Sande, Ken. The Peacemaker (Function). Kindle Edition.
Thirdly, WE JUDGE others when whatever our mind has formulated to happen, does not happen like we dreamed. David Powlison says,
“We judge others—criticize, nit-pick, nag, attack, condemn—because we literally play God. This is heinous. [The Bible says,] “There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you to judge your neighbor?” Who are you when you judge? None other than a God wannabe. In this we become like the Devil himself (no surprise that the Devil is mentioned in James 3:15 and 4:7). We act exactly like the adversary who seeks to usurp God’s throne and who acts as the accuser of the brethren. When you and I fight, our minds become filled with accusations: your wrongs and my rights preoccupy me.” Sande, Ken. The Peacemaker (Function). Kindle Edition.
Finally, WE PUNISH which usually is where out outward anger comes in. Our anger is a punishment towards those who have not lived up to the idol that we have fashioned.
Now that we understand more the process within, let’s look at what Paul says positively about anger. Vs 26 b and 27 is where instructs the church to what we PUT ON in place of anger.
B. Stall your Passion
B. Stall your Passion
There are two commands in these verse. The positive is stated in a negative…. do you let the sun go down on your anger. In other words, put your anger to bed before you go to bed. Using the horse metaphor again, let’s call this Stalling your Passion. To stall your horse is to make sure it is put up in a safe place to rest for teh night…in the stall. There it has proper lodging, hay and water. It is in a place of rest.
Now how do you put your anger or passion in a place of rest …you reconcile. Reconcile before the day is done and you go to bed. Why?
Unreconciled conflict is like the erosion of a cliff. The longer is left unattended, the more it crumbles from beneath. Instead seek the reconciliation with those who you have offended or who have offended you.
Spurgeon gives this example:
300 Sermon Illustrations from Charles Spurgeon Not Letting the Sun Set on Anger (Matthew 5:21–22; 18:7; Ephesians 4:26; James 1:19–20; 1 Peter 3:8–9)
Two good men had a sharp difference with each other in business. I do not know which was to blame—perhaps neither of them. They might have misunderstood each other. And one of them, as he walked home, very much ruffled, saw the sun going down, and the passage occurred to him, “Do not let the sun set on your anger” (
Friends, we can think it is best to go to bed and deal with it in the morning, but the morning may be too late. God commands immediate reconciliation because He demands immediate obedience in general. There is always a time to take a break from conflict for a brief time to settle your passions and get the mustang under control. Maybe a donkey is a better example. But never confuse taking a short break with waiting until the morning for that is sin! God is honored in purposeful and immediate repentance, and restoration.
Notice what Paul says is the result of disobeying this command for reconciliation…. you give opportunity for the devil to make things worse. You give him a place in the situation. There he seeks to devour both internally and externally. There he wants to pour gasoline onto the small flame of disagreement or conflict. Do not let do so by honoring God and coming to some peace in the conflict.
Paul commands that we should reconcile, but how can we reconcile?
Look with me in Matthew 18:15
15 “If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother.
This principle here is private reconciliation. It involves keeping emotions under control and simply pursuing reconciliation based on truth. The offendee tells the offender what has hurt him or her. The offender should listen, consider the hurt and confess the wrongdoing to God and the person. Then offendee should commit to turn away from such an action and in turn should put on the opposite action as a result.
If you are at fault for being being angry, take a few minutes to step aside and calm down but then return to the person with remorse, confession, and a commitment to put off anger. But what is it that we can put on instead of anger?
If anger is unbridled passion, then a self-disciplined calmness and patience should be practiced in its place. In a state of disciplined emotion, we are are able to think rationally before we speak with angry words or actions. From a calm state, put on kindness and grace towards others instead of anger, as the Lord Jesus demonstrated. when he was being beaten and tortured by the Roman soldiers. Instead of responding with self-defensive anger, he was calm in the moment, receiving that which the Father had prepared for him.
17 Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. 19 Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 “But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
In the end, we trust the wrath of God will fall on those who deserve it. We turn from selfish anger because our command is to reflect a godly grace towards others. We can demonstrate a righteous anger when we see the Lord and his kingdom being maligned and abused. But in our a righteous passion, we must be careful that we do not excuse an unrighteous response.
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