Christian Conduct

(NKJV) “25 Therefore, putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another. 26 “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, 27 nor give place to the devil. 28 Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. 29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. 32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”

Therefore. One question you always need to ask is why is therefore there for?

Therefore is showing the contrast between who we used to be and who we are now.

(NKJV) “22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.”

In order to get into our text this evening, we need to understand the point scripture is trying to make. It’s as simple as clothing. Just as you put on and take off clothing, so is the conduct of the Christian.

Put off former conduct. Take off the clothing of sin in your life.

Be Renewed - Get a new change of garments.

Put on the New Man. Put on the clothing of righteousness in your life.

It is not possible to go from old to new without being renewed. You can only go from old bad to new bad. It is like this.

The outside of my shirt looks dirty, so I’m going to turn it inside out and now it will be clean!!!

It was easy to stop smoking cigarettes once I started chewing tobacco. - All of our efforts to be good ultimately fail without being renewed.

We are renewed by Jesus.

We are renewed by Jesus.

We are renewed by Jesus.

(NKJV) “3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.””

The contrast here is once we are renewed, we are no longer to act the way we used to act.

There are (5) exhortations about a believer’s conduct that will be clarified. Each of the five all contain the following format.

The negative

The positive

The reason for the positive.

(NKJV) “25 Therefore, putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another.

The negative. Put away lying.

Who was this book written to? The christian church at Ephesus. The Bible is telling us, Dear Christians, put away lying. In other words, I’ve caught you lying and you need to stop.

Why are Christians drawn back to commit the old sins they were forgiven of?

I propose that it is a simple equation. Garbage in = Garbage out. Spiritual in = Spiritual out. Whatever we are filling ourselves more with is what we are going to express through our lives.

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible Chapter 4

One member could not injure or deceive another, without injuring himself, as all have a mutual and common interest.

2. The positive. Let each of you speak truth with his neighbor.

2. The positive. Let each of you speak truth with his neighbor.

The opposite of lying is to tell the truth. Jesus says He is the truth. Therefore, we should tell the truth to be more like Jesus.

3. The reason for the positive. We are members of one another.

There is an appeal here to speak truth with your neighbor for we are members of one another. The word members...63.17 μέλοςb, ους n: a part as a member of a unit—‘member’ (based on the figure of the relationship of parts to the body). Louw, Johannes P. and Eugene Albert Nida. 1996. Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains 1:613. We are members of the same body of Christ, so let’s stop lying to each other. Let’s tell the truth for the sake of being part of the same body.

The Bible says, (NKJV) “25 And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.” Well, if a body is lying to itself, it cannot be healthy and functional.

Louw, Johannes P. and Eugene Albert Nida. 1996. Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains 1:613.

26 “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, 27 nor give place to the devil.

1. The negative. Being angry and do not sin.

The negative. Being angry

The Bible doesn’t say anger is a sin for surely righteous anger exists. God demonstrates righteous anger when His children worship idols and commit murder and break His commandments. We demonstrate righteous anger when we see heinous acts take place.

(NKJV) “13 Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business. 15 When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables. 16 And He said to those who sold doves, “Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!” 17 Then His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up.””

So the Bible doesn’t say anger is a sin, but what it does say is to not sin in your anger.

Isn’t this what we call rage? Or when we are in a car, we call it road rage.

2. The positive. Keep short account of your anger. Do not let the sun go down on your wrath.

Anger is an emotion that must be kept on a short leash. It is better to be angry for a short time, than to be angry for days on end. Anger is much like forgiveness. The longer I hold on to anger, the worse I feel. The longer I wait to forgive, the worse I feel. The shorter I hold on to anger, the better I feel. The quicker I forgive, the better I feel.

When Jesus was on the cross, at the time when He had every right to be angry for being sentenced to death for being 100% innocent, says this,

(NKJV) “34 Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”

3. The reason for the positive. Staying angry is giving place to the devil in your life.

Remember Ahitophel who was one of David’s counselors? What is hidden in plain sight in the scriptures is that Ahitophel was Basheba’s grandfather. And when David committed adultery with Bathseba and had her husband murdered, Ahitophel carried this anger for years. Eventually when David’s son Absalom would rebel against David and try to assume the throne, it was Ahitophel that counseled David’s son to kill David and become King. Ahitophel committed suicide when he realized Absalom took the advice of one of David’s other counselors who was secretly trying to protect David. Ahitophel’s reluctance to forgive was driven by unreconciled anger for what David had done to Bathsheba’s husband.

The devil had a foothold in the life of Ahitophel because he chose to hold onto anger instead of holding onto forgiveness. We should learn a lesson from Ahitophel.

28 Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.

The negative - Let him who stole, steal no longer.

This is the 8th of 10 commandments. A thief takes from others for his own benefit.

The positive - Let him labor

A believer is to work for his own benefit. But this is not the end all to why a believer is to work.

(NKJV) “35 I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ””

The reason for the positive - that he may have something to give him who has need.

A believer is to work not only so that he can provide for himself, but also so he can make a positive difference in the lives of those who are in need.

The Bible Knowledge Commentary 4:28

Work has many benefits: it provides for a person’s material needs, it gives him something useful to do (something that is beneficial to himself and others), and it enables him to help others materially.

John the Baptist told the multitude in Lk 3

(NKJV) “11 He answered and said to them, “He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise.””

There is something inherently satisfying when you are able to help those out who are in need.

29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.

The negative - Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth

Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains 20.14 σαπρός, ά, όν

20.14 σαπρόςb, ά, όν: pertaining to that which is harmful in view of its being unwholesome and corrupting—‘harmful, unwholesome.’

This not only speaks to profanity, but anything that can be used to tear people down.

The old adage - sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me is simply not true. Words hurt and the closer we are to people, the more those words hurt when they are used against us.

The positive - Let necessary edification proceed out of your mouth

What does edification mean?

Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains 74.15 οἰκοδομέω; ἐποικοδομέω; οἰκοδομή, ῆς

74.15 οἰκοδομέωb; ἐποικοδομέωb; οἰκοδομήc, ῆς f: to increase the potential of someone or something, with focus upon the process involved—‘to strengthen, to make more able, to build up.’

Edification is using words to increase the potential in someone else including describing the process of strengthening or building them up. In other words, it is more than flattery. Edification is the substance of building up other people.

The reason for the positive - So grace may be imparted to the hearers.

Colossians puts it this way...

(NKJV) “16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”

Grace is the result of edification. The result of edification is not Justice, defined as getting what you deserve. The result of edification is not Mercy, defined as not getting what you deserve. The result of edification is grace which is getting what you don’t deserve.

30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. 32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”

The negative - Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God

What does grieve mean?

Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains 25.275 λυπέω

25.275 λυπέωb: (derivative of λύπηb ‘state of sadness,’ 25.273) to cause someone to be sad, sorrowful, or distressed—‘to make sad, to sadden.’ εἰ δέ τις λελύπηκεν ‘if anyone has made someone sad’ 2 Cor 2:5; μὴ λυπεῖτε τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον τοῦ θεοῦ ‘don’t make God’s Holy Spirit sad’ Eph 4:30.

God can be saddened, but God cannot be surprised. For God knows everything we have done, everything we are doing and everything we will do in the future. And every time we sin, God is grieved, God is saddened for He truly wants the best for us and knows sin is robbing the best He has in store for us.

I’ve BBQ’d some great dinners because I wanted to give my kids the best BBQ meat I could. But they come to the table and tell me their full after a couple of bites and at first you don’t get a straight answer, but then the truth comes out and they admit they were eating candy right before dinner. They missed out on good BBQ because they spoiled their appetite with sweet nothings.

There are six behaviors we can exhibit that sadden God.

Bitterness - unforgiving others

Wrath - outbursts of anger

Anger - prolonged anger or unrighteous anger

Clamor - brawling or shouting

Evil Speaking - blasphemy

Malice - ill will or wickedness

The positive - Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another

These three behaviors trump all six bad behaviors

Kind - gracious to others.

Tenderhearted -

25.51 εὔσπλαγχνος, ον: pertaining to being affectionate and compassionate—‘compassionate.’ γίνεσθε δὲ εἰς ἀλλήλους χρηστοί, εὔσπλαγχνοι ‘instead, be kind and compassionate to one another’ .

Louw, Johannes P. and Eugene Albert Nida. 1996. Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains 1:293.

Louw, Johannes P. and Eugene Albert Nida. 1996. Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains 1:293.

Forgiving

(NKJV) “25 “And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.”

The reason for the positive - God has forgiven you.

There is never a good enough reason to not forgive someone who has hurt you. We have been forgiven and that requirement is placed on Christians that we would forgive one another.