Living a new life

Hypocrites

‘Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven’

Have you seen that stuck on the back of someones car?

Maybe you’ve heard someone say it?

What did you think?

Like many perhaps you thought it was lame excuse for a litany of Christian failure.

And most certainly it can be that.

For we can all think of a Christian who has been exposed for their failure to act in the kind of ways Paul is encouraging us to in our reading today, and who says, oh well, Christians aren’t perfect just forgiven.

That is it’s no big deal that I’m not trying to live better.

When that’s what is meant or heard when someone says, ‘Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven’ it is oh so wrong.

But when it means we aren’t perfect, we’re still sinful, we still fall short, but we’re striving to put off the old self and asking God to daily forgive us and make us new. Then it is a helpful idea.

When it refelts the reality we’ve been learning about in Ephesians

That we’ve been raised with Christ to live a resurrection life. Then it might be a helpful idea.

And as we see in our reading today Paul encourages us to make active effort to be perfect, and to rely on God when we’re not.

Theology drives Practice

Verses 17-24 Paul recaps one of his big ideas.

That dead people have been made alive in Christ. First part of Ch 2.

Now in these verses he is insisting that the Ephesians Christians live differently because of that theological reality.

We are No longer

Darkened in our understanding or separated from God (v18)

No longer without sensitivity and therefore indulging in impurity and being full of greed (v19).

The Christian has learnt a new way of life (v20). It’s a life where we are to live like Jesus (v21).

A life that means we stop living the old way (v22) and start living the new life.

With a new attitude (v23).

and a new self (v24) - not one of impurity and greed (v19) but righteousness and holiness (v24).

So given this reality. Of our move from death to life in Christ. Of our move from selfishness and indulgence to righteousness and holiness. Of this new mindset. What should the Ephesians do? What should we do as Christians? Paul unpacks this from v25 through to the end of Ch 4.

First:

Speak Truthfully

Ephesians 4:25 TNIV

Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body.

Why? because of that other big theological reality Paul has been telling us about. We are one body. God is making one new community through faith in Christ.

To live together in unity, as Paul has just told us in the first half of Ch 4 we are to do as Christians then we are going to need to speak truthfully to each other and about each other and unfortunately sometimes we’ve struggled at this lately.

We’ve been going through a change process as a church and that’s been difficult. And I’ve been trying to communicate clearly and at times I’ve done that well and at times I needed to do it better. But always I’ve sought to be honest about my thinking.

It’s important that we speak truthfully, and where we are unsure of something, we seek clarification rather than rumour.

Rumours about finance. Rumours about buildings. Rumours about services. Rumours about the Little Shop. Rumours about the Columbarium. Rumours about Redress.

Seek the truth and if you don’t know the truth, say nothing lest you be failing to speak truthfully to your neighbour.

So we’re to be truthful.... next

Deal with your anger

Ephesians 4:26–27 TNIV

“In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.

Why? - If we don’t it gives the devil a foothold.

Note: It doesn’t say don’t get angry, that’s part of being human. Sometimes we can’t control what makes us angry, we have an emotional, perhaps sometimes irrational anger response to something, that’s life. But what we can do is control what we do. And what should we do? Deal with it.

Find the person who’s made you angry and go to them and seek to sought it out.

And likewise, if we’re going to live in a community where people deal with their anger by talking about it, we’ve got to be ready and willing to hear people when they come to us and say we’ve made them angry. Not to react, but to apologise and seek reconciliation.

We’re being truthful

We’re dealing with our anger.

Next Paul says,

Work hard

Ephesians 4:28 TNIV

Those who have 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.

No perhaps not many of us have a chronic stealing problem, but if we do… don’t do it.

But the bigger idea here is the need for us to work hard.

But why? Does Paul want us to work hard.

Well you see it at the end of v28… (to share…) … So we can be generous.

Be truthful

Deal with your anger

Work hard and be generous

Next:

Speak words of life

Ephesians 4:29 TNIV

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.

This is connected to being truthful.

This is connected to dealing with your anger.

This is using our words to bring life rather than tear others down.

Next time you find yourself in a conversation try asking yourself, is this benefiting me? Is this benefiting those who listen? If not… stop it!

Be truthful

Deal with your anger

Work hard and be generous

Speak words of life

Now something a little confusing...

Don’t Grieve the Holy Spirit

Ephesians 4:30 TNIV

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

I’m not sure why Paul says this hear, but nonetheless I think this is Paul’s way of saying that when we fail to live as God intended, this upsets God.

John Stott says,

“Every Spirit-filled believer desires to bring him pleasure, not pain.”

Stott, J. R. W. (1979). God’s new society: the message of Ephesians (p. 189). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

I remember going on summer camps at Montgomery Park in Connigham as a teenager. Every night the aim was to sneak out find the girls and maybe go down to the beach, or sneak them into our rooms.

Anyhow, the great irony of this was some of us, the week before camp were leaders ourselves for a primay school camp with some of the same adults who were now our leaders. And so the camp leader sat us down the next day and she didn’t yell at us. She just looked at us and said how disappointed and sad she was because we hadn’t lived up to her expectations. And it was brutal. So much worse than making her angry, we’d let her down.

I think perhaps that is something like what Paul is saying here. When we sin we let God down. Don’t do it. If we love God, we will seek to please him rather than grieve him.

So

Be truthful

Deal with your anger

Work hard and be generous

Speak words of life

Don’t let God down

Finally, Paul says:

Be kind, loving and forgiving

Ephesians 4:31–32 TNIV

Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Get rid of bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander along with every form of malice.

The Message of Ephesians e. Don’t Be Unkind or Bitter, Bur Rather Kind and Loving (4:31–5:2)

There is no place for any of these horrid things in the Christian community; they have to be totally rejected.

These things can’t be tolerated. And when they occur we are to call them out and rebuke those who are behaving in this way.

So if you hear someone who calls themselves a Christian behaving in such a way that seems to you that they are spewing with bitterness and rage and anger and they are slandering another brother or sister in Christ. You must call it out.

Your sitting at lunch and the conversation turns to bitter and slanderous talk about another Christian, you need to ask them to stop.

And in place of those things we are to be

kind, compassionate and forgiving.

Why?

Because this is what God has been like to us. He forgives us even when we grieve him.

He loves us even when we’re unloveable.

And so he calls us to do likewise.

Note: Implicit in this command to love and forgiveness is the assumption that we will need these things because at times we will be in need of forgiveness. In fact one assumes that all the things Paul has listed that he doesn’t want the Ephesians to do he’s chosen because he knows they are things that they do do from time to time.

But as God reveals their shortcomings to them. They are to seek Christ and his forgiveness and extend that to others just as they will need to receive it themselves.

God has transformed us. So we need to:

Be truthful

Deal with our anger

Work hard and be generous

Speak words of life

Don’t let God down

Be kind, loving and forving.

And to remember as we strive to live like this we do it all as a response to God’s kindness to us. His love for us. And his constant forgiveness of us when we fall short.