Habits of Holiness: Part 2
The Letter to the Ephesians • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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I went to my parents last night to help my dad do something around the house. My main mission was to hang a TV OUTSIDE under his pergola. He wants so bad to be able to go out and help but he can’t risk the fall. He sat at the window inside and watched me, occasionally giving me feedback from inside. I couldn’t hear him through the glass.
I have watched my dad’s health deteriorate the last few years and one of the hardest for him is he is no longer able to work with his hands. He has always been a hard worker and a model of that in my life. He comes from a long line of hard workers. My great grandfather Fred Jones was an electrician in the Memphis area.My grandfather Cito took over his business and was also a Memphis Fireman. My dad did the same carrying on the legacy of fireman and electrician. My father in law Mickey also has been consistent modeling a relentless work ethic for myself and my children to learn from.
I am encouraged that in this body of believers, we have men and women who work tirelessly to earn a living. This message should be an encouragement to you to keep cutting those boards, leading those people, into typing those keys, or raising those kids.
I also pray that this challenges us to ask the question: why do we work hard? Are we growing callouses on our hands for the right reasons?
Today, I want us to consider the Holy Habit of Good Labor. How is Paul asking the church to live in this new transformative life in relationship to their labor or work in the world? What kind of laborers and employees should Christians be so that people see Christ in us?
Review: Spiritual maturity, renewing the mind, PUT OFF/PUT ON
1. Good Labor is not….
1. Good Labor is not….
28 He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need.
A. Taking that which has not been assigned to you
A. Taking that which has not been assigned to you
Stealing: The term come from the Greek word “Klepto” like Kleptomaniac
The OT forbids theft because its dishonors our Holy God and it dishonors our neighbor
We might think that theft dishonors God because he tells us to not steal. This is only half of it. He commands His people not to steal because they do not need to. They serve a God who provides for them. Israel received the ten commandments as they stood at the base of MT Sinai. The context of these laws reflect not just on some do’s and don’ts that will make their life better or worse. These are words from the Lord to them in regards to relationship.
Phillip Ryken writes,
Exodus—Saved for God's Glory The Lord Your God
They had come into the presence of the awesome and almighty God, who lives in unapproachable holiness. Obviously, whatever such a God has to say demands our fullest and most careful attention.
God is speaking directly about how their relationship to Him and to others is of the upmost importance. The context of the last 6 commands of the 10 commandments rest upon the first four. Jesus gives his disciples in the NT a summary of these commandments by stating we should Love God and love our neighbor. Loving God means we honor Him by not taking what does not belong to us.
What we have been given is God’s kind assignment to us. Nothing truly belongs to us. What we have in our possession is an assignment of stewardship by God’s grace. Our homes, our children, our bodies all belong to God. We are called to use these possessions for expanding and extolling the King and HIs kingdom.
What we have not been assigned by God should not be of concern or a desire of ours to possess. Stealing from others is really stealing from God because it belongs to him.
10 “For every beast of the forest is Mine, The cattle on a thousand hills. 11 “I know every bird of the mountains, And everything that moves in the field is Mine. 12 “If I were hungry I would not tell you, For the world is Mine, and all it contains.
B. Keeping that which belongs to someone else
B. Keeping that which belongs to someone else
The other side of the coin of theft is the fact of keeping that which does not belong to us. We are under obligation to authorities to pay fees and fines depending on the situation. The government requires taxes from us and as Christian’s we should pay our taxes honestly and fully. We might not agree with how that money is being used but to submit ourselves under the governing authorities is to pay the fees or taxes that come with our citizenship in this world.
You may say…pastor, these taxes are not fair. I am poor and i will wait and pay my taxes when I get more money. Friend, that does not honor the Lord because the Lord has allowed your state of wealth. Maybe he is teaching you to give in your poverty so you will give more in your wealth in the future.
15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted together how they might trap Him in what He said. 16 And they sent their disciples to Him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and teach the way of God in truth, and defer to no one; for You are not partial to any. 17 “Tell us then, what do You think? Is it lawful to give a poll-tax to Caesar, or not?” 18 But Jesus perceived their malice, and said, “Why are you testing Me, you hypocrites? 19 “Show Me the coin used for the poll-tax.” And they brought Him a denarius. 20 And He said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” 21 They said to Him, “Caesar’s.” Then He said to them, “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s.” 22 And hearing this, they were amazed, and leaving Him, they went away.
There are some amazing points here to consider but I will focus on two. Jesus points out to the religious leaders that they were under Roman rule based on the image of Caesar on the coin. His face represented their appointed leader by God…like it or not. Therefore, as those who lived under the benefits and hardships of that leadership, they were obligated to pay taxes instead of withholding them in disagreement.
Michael Green writes,
The Message of Matthew The First Controversy, about Politics (22:15–22)
The use of Caesar’s coinage acknowledges his authority and, with it, the obligation to pay taxes. They could not benefit from imperial roads, education, justice and freedom from invasion without making their contribution. Far from imperilling the socio-political structure, Jesus was saying that those who enjoy Caesar’s benefits should pay Caesar’s taxes
In the same breath, Jesus exposed a grave sin. When stating to give Caesar what is caesars, and God what is God’s, he is also referring to pagan worship. Caesar in this empire was considered the Son of God and was to be worshipped. Christians were forced to deny Jesus as Lord and confess Caesar as Lord. The worship of any mere man was a tax that the church can refuse to give. Here lies the litmus test…give what belongs to them because God as assigned them their civil authority but do not give them worship for that alone belongs to God.
What do you keep from people that is rightfully theirs? When you withhold that which God has ordained, you too are guilty of stealing. be honest, give what is due, and trust the Lord that He will provide all your needs and even some of your desires according to his will and purposes.
3. Seeking the Attaboy!
Many of us may simply work hard so we can find our identity in what we accomplish. We want people to recognize our work and praise us. The harder we work, the more praise we require. The problem is….if the work wains, then we hunger for praise
Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
2. Good Labor is…
2. Good Labor is…
Now that Paul states what the church should put off in their quest for holy habits, we must replace our thievery with something good. Good thieves become good laborers by the Grace of God!
Now before we dive into good labor, let me point out one more verse to you:
6 Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from every brother who leads an unruly life and not according to the tradition which you received from us. 7 For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example, because we did not act in an undisciplined manner among you, 8 nor did we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with labor and hardship we kept working night and day so that we would not be a burden to any of you;
The question here is what “tradition” is Paul speaking of in these verses? The context shows us that Paul and his companions had taught the people by example and teaching to be hard-workers and not unruly lazy gluttons. Look at v 11-12
11 For we hear that some among you are leading an undisciplined life, doing no work at all, but acting like busybodies. 12 Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to work in quiet fashion and eat their own bread.
The point that I want to make is that not only is stealing an offense to God’s command and character, but idleness and laziness are also offenses against our holy God. Paul states that he led by examples to lead lives of hard work so that we are not burdens to others. We must do whatever we can to labor for the sake of God glory.
Let us then define good labor is ….
A. Doing What is Necessary to Honor the Lord to provide for ourselves with providential opportunities
A. Doing What is Necessary to Honor the Lord to provide for ourselves with providential opportunities
God gives us opportunities by his grace and wisdom to make money and provide income for ourselves. Paul tells the church in Ephesus
28 …but rather he must labor, …
That word “must” is the necessary mandate to use the energy and efforts in our bodies to earn a living what God’s plans for us. Each one of us as adults are called to labor with the responsibilities of our lives assigned to us by God. Labor is non-negotable because it reflects the character of God.
How? Well, let’s go back to creation and ask: Why is there a day of rest? What is it a rest from? Labor
2 By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.
The Sabbath was more than a day off. That day of rest represented a trust in the sovereignty of God to provide for his people. In the wilderness, God told Israel to collect manna for two days so that they could rest on the Sabbath. They had to trust the food would not run out on the day they did not collect the food. THe Sabbath then was a day to reflect on God’s provision and his power to rule over them and care for them. Even today, our sabbath, the Lord’s Day calls us to reflect on the strength of Christ who has done the impossible with his effort to die for sinners and rise victoriously from the grave.
AW PINK elaborates,
“Blessed is the man that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it” (Isa 56:2): it is not a day of irksome restraint, but one of peace and good. It is a gracious gift whereby, in the midst of our toils, we are granted a deliverance even from that curse, “in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground” (Gen 3:19). Man’s Maker has mercifully secured to him one seventh portion of his whole life wherein he may rest his wearied body and refresh his needy soul, by separating himself from the toil of this life and fixing his contemplation on the life to come.
Pink, Arthur W.. The Holy Sabbath (Arthur Pink Collection Book 33) (Function). Kindle Edition.
We work hard to reflect the holy character and all powerful creator who guided us to see He is worthy for us to trust in. God does not need to rest his body. The Sabbath instead teaches God’s people that we are weak and in need of him!
But with that rest came the idea of good labor. Labor means to toil and be weary from our efforts. There is all kinds of labor by the way. We have incredible mothers in here that labor with their hands to feed their families, clean the home, school their kids, maybe work a small job on the side to make ends meet. They go to bed exhausted because they have exerted all their energies for the glory of God’s great purposes for them.
There is this cultural phrase used for lazy women who stay at home “just sitting around watching soap operas and eating bon-bons.” I really don’t not know a single woman who does that and I hope I never will. Instead, I am blessed to know women in this church and in my life in general who work tirelessly in such a way and I am thankful that they have done so to teach my daughters what good labor truly looks like.
Men, this command for us is equally to exhaust ourselves with our vocation and our family life. It is not enough to go work hard during the day and think you have completed your task for the Lord. We must come home to serve our families after we serve our companies. It still is not enough just to work hard at your job and with your families, but you are called to serve your church.
Young men, you are growing up in an age where your peers get on social media and they whine because the had to work an 8 hour day or the work environment was difficult. We are seeing young men grow up being treated soft and effeminate and we wonder why so many end up struggling with masculinity and knowing the meaning of grit and hard labor. This has to change in the church and through the gospel penetrating families, redeeming fathers to invest in their sons and sons being influenced by godly men in their lives.
Paul told the Corinthians
13 Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.
He used the masculine characteristics of hard work and courage to define the way the church should act in a world of difficulty and warfare. “act like men…be strong.” It is a message that reverberates back to the message of Paul for both men and women to be good laborers.
B. Doing What is Good to benefit yourself and world
B. Doing What is Good to benefit yourself and world
What does he mean by good in v 28? I will say that good labor is >>>Doing What is Good to benefit yourself and the world. Labor is good which means that tiresome exhausting labor was part of God’s perfect world.
Labor is not a post-fall word!
Look back with in Genesis 2
8 The Lord God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed. 9 Out of the ground the Lord God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it.
Two words that I want to show you this afternoon. Man was placed in God’s place so WORK in the garden and to KEEP or GOVERN it. With these words, we see that hard work in the garden was not a part of the curse of man. Hard work is instead rooted in the character of God. To work the garden meant that before sin entered the world, God would put forth labor and because it was God’s purpose for man to rule over the earth and work hard in his governance, then tiresome labor is God’s plan and therefore it is good.
Now I know you might be thinking: But I thought curse of God was for the work of Adam to struggle in his labor. Let’s look at Gen 3
17 Then to Adam He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’; Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you will eat of it All the days of your life.
It is not the labor of man that was cursed by God because of man’s rebellion. God cursed the ground so that it would require a greater effort to produce what would have been much easier in the garden.
Kenneth Matthews writes,
Ironically, the ground that was under the man’s care in the garden as his source of joy and life (2:15) becomes the source of pain for the man’s wearisome existence
The curse of the ground echoes throughout history with violence in nature and our constant struggle with what is in our natural world. But the beauty of the grace of God is that Adam and Eve were expelled from the garden, not destroyed, and in their new life outside the garden, God still allowed them in their struggle to produce and he nourished from God gave them from the land.
Therefore, to engage in good labor is to work hard, struggle against nature itself and in doing so produce that which is good because it harkens back to how God created man to serve Him and the earth where he placed him. What Adam and Eve accomplished outside the garden by God’s grave was a way they cared for that which God intended for them.
28 God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Adam was still called to rule over the earth and subdue it, with the labor that was necessary and so when we engage in labor that has been given to us by God’s providence, then we participate in such a labor that provides for our needs and blesses others. It is GOd’s plan you work where you work and you accomplish what you accomplish. You are fulfilling God’s plan for your labor and therefore, although it might be more mentally and physically tiresome because of sins curse on our bodies and this earth, we perform good labor when we accomplish it for God’s glory.
23 Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.
C. Doing What is Fruitful to bless others
C. Doing What is Fruitful to bless others
Finally, Paul states that work is a necessity, it must be good labor, seeking to glorify Christ in our service, and now finally that it is used to bless others.
Going back to Gen 1:28
28 God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
The fruitfulness of the earth is seen in its population of humanity as beautiful babies are born to families who will be raised to love and serve God. But fruitfulness also applied to the role of man in his care of the earth. Throughout the Scriptures, what we produce with our labor, it is never intended for ourselves.
We are never called to be individualistic -consumers. Instead, that which is produced is to be shared for many. Obviously, God calls us to work in order to provide for our families. Therefore, our families should not be in need. What we produce serves them and so honors the Lord in what bears fruit.
But secondly, what we earn from our labors goes to those in need. Now you know the first day of the month out of a seven day period was the Sabbath, a day of rest. God also commanded that the Feasts of Trumpets be held in the Seventh month of the year. It was a Sabbath month to commenorate rest in God. God commanded Israel during this month in Lev 23:21-22
21 ‘On this same day you shall make a proclamation as well; you are to have a holy convocation. You shall do no laborious work. It is to be a perpetual statute in all your dwelling places throughout your generations. 22 ‘When you reap the harvest of your land, moreover, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field nor gather the gleaning of your harvest; you are to leave them for the needy and the alien. I am the Lord your God.’ ”
Here the fruit of the labor of God’s people cared for teh needs of those in their community, to bless others from teh surplus of what God gave them. In Eph 4, Paul carrries the same message to the church. The surpplus of opur labors goes to help those in the church and in our world who are in need.
28 He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need.
In the OT we see God’s people sharing with those in need. In the early church, we read
42 They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. 44 And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; 45 and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need.
We too are called to give from our abundance because it is a mercy of God on the needy and it is an act of glorifying God for the mercy He has shown us in Christ. It is in the abundance of God’s grace in Jesus that we who all were once in need, now find fulfillment from his fruitful labors.
