Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

I recently received a newspaper from Pastor Matt from the Washington Times, entitled, “America’s Church Leaders Now Wolves in Shepherd’s Clothing” written by Dr. Everett Piper.

He gives a scathing warning about the declining biblical understanding of the world by pastors.

The problem we are facing is that just under two-thirds of American Senior Pastors do not possess a biblical understanding of the world.

The trend among associate pastors is even more alarming at 28%, and only 12% of youth and children’s pastors have a biblical world view.

According to the Bible, there are two humanities co-existing in the world, two ways of living, and two eternal destinations (Phillips).

There is a stark difference between the Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of this world.

It can be difficult to understand the distinctions for someone new to the faith.

We must remember that this world is not our home and the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus is substantially different from the world.

The fact of the matter is, Jesus tells us the the church here on earth is made up of true believers and false believers; of wheat and tares (Matt 13:24-30), sheep and goats (Matt 25:31-46), and it can only be found by taking a narrow road (Matt 7:13-14).

At the end of the age, the Lord Christ Jesus will sit down and separate the two apart - the false believers from the true believers.

The sad reality is that there will be people who believe they are going to heaven only to find out they are not.

The false teachers and pastors who compromised the truth, will bear a portion of responsibility for their souls.

We’ve sold an American Gospel based on cheap grace.

A message that tells people all they have to do is say a prayer and they’re good; the way they live their life does not matter.

The Gospel of Jesus is message of repentance.

It is an understanding that sin is repugnant to a Holy and Righteous God.

It is a surrendering of the life of the believer as a result of rebirth and transformation of the heart.

It is the understanding and knowledge that our salvation cost God everything .

Someone will then ask, it is possible to know for sure of my salvation.

The answer is absolutely yes.

The assurance of our salvation is the sealing of the Holy Spirit upon our lives.

He is our assurance that we are Children of God and the evidence of that assurance is the godliness of our living.

1 Peter 1:3–5 (ESV)

3 he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

There is a practical as much as a spiritual application to our salvation.

The evidence of salvation is a distinction in how we live, think, and believe.

We walk by faith, not by sight (2 Cor 5:7).

We live differently because we live by God’s moral law.

We think differently because He’s transforming us by the renewing our minds (Romans 12:1-3).

That is Paul’s point to the Ephesian church.

Last week, we read Eph 4:17 “you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds.”

‘Gentiles’ is referring to an unrestrained world.

Verse 19 says that they pursue sensuality with greediness - they can never have enough.

You and I as believers still struggle with sin, but were not longing for sin, lusting to sin.

It doesn’t dominate us.

Why because we did not learn from Christ that way (Eph 4:20).

You no longer live like that or think like that because the work of Christ on the cross.

Your pursuit is no longer selfish sensuality, but godliness.

Our passage is a continuation of the “therefore” at the beginning of the chapter.

It points back to our redemption, our salvation, our eternal security, and every spiritual blessing (Eph 1:3).

Now we come to another ‘therefore.’

It is a continuation of verses 17-24.

Since you do not walk like the rest of the world; since you have put off the old self and put on the new self, how you respond and live is completely different.

You have virtue in your life and that is your assurance because the qualities of God are obviously expressed in how you live.

In verses 25-32, Paul leads us through a series of transformations in the believer’s life.

It is not exhaustive, but it is foundational.

For example, in verse 25 Paul tells us the believer is transformed from lies to the truth.

Verse 26 the believer’s anger is transformed to righteousness, and verse 28 the believer is transformed from stealing to sharing.

Let’s start with verse 25:

The Believer’s Life is Marked By the Pursuit of Truth

Paul previously commented in verse 15 that the leaders of the church are to be marked by speaking the truth in love, less the believer be given over all kinds of false doctrine that will make their lives like a ship being tossed in the ocean.

The more you come to understand the Cross the greater your commitment to pursue what is right over what you prefer.

Satan is the father of lies (John 8:44).

So if the believer struggles with living and speaking truthfully, how can his life be an expression of God?

There are many ways we can lie with our mouths or our lives.

How we represent our work.

Cheating on tests, taxes, or other forms.

Honesty in our businesses.

How we represent our own lives, especially before the congregation.

We can twist facts or not give credit to sources we’re using for writing or our jobs.

Someone once said that integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching.

But perhaps the greatest way we can lie is by how we represent others - lying about others, putting someone else down in order to gain a promotion or notoriety, and gossip are all tools of the enemy of God.

I would say that in the last couple of years our society has become an environment of lies.

Our leaders openly lie to us.

Truth is hidden; labeled misinformation.

“Truth is protected by a bodyguard of lies.”

(Churchill).

How many times have we heard a national leader claim they never said something or did something with video footage showing the opposite?

We even use our media to play into this hand of false seduction.

We entertain ourselves with the false seductions of the visual, indoctrinating ourselves and our children with ideas that are abhorrent to God, but trivialized in the name of entertainment.

But what happens when the truth is no longer exclusive and valued.

Justice is the handmaiden of truth, and when truth dies, justice is buried with it.

Society wants to protect itself from the truth because they erroneously believe that if they are absolved from the truth they are impervious from God’s justice.

The Greek word translated here “falsehood” is pseudos which is literally translated “the lie”.

The is the same language John uses in 1 John 2:20-23 to describe the spirit of the antichrist.

Here, Paul may have in mind the Christian’s reputation as a basis for urging truthful speech upon him.

In becoming Christians the believers at Ephesus had repudiated the lie and had embraced the truth.

That is, they had turned from false gods, idols, or Satan to Jesus, who is said to be “truth” (John 14:6).

If they are known for speaking falsely they cannot witness to the truth of Christ.

(Boice).

We therefore, must be deliberate in cultivating a lifestyle of truth.

The Believer’s Life is Marked By the Pursuit of Righteousness

We live in a world that is being fueled by anger.

The Apostle Paul issues a dire warning: Anger is a close neighbor to the devil which damages our souls and gives the devil a foothold into our lives.

Our problem however is not a problem of merely anger but a deep-rooted issue of spiritual poverty.

That is why we need a Savior.

It seems there’s anger wherever we turn.

Road Rage, killings and mass shootings, racism, protests, political divisions, marriage and family disputes, all are become more and more common.

A Pew Research Poll suggests that America is the most angry of countries and we are more angry today than in previous generations.

Sadly, we see this anger in the halls of our churches as well.

It is not supposed to be that way.

The Christian life is different from the world.

Sure, there are plenty of reasons we can be angry, but should we?

If there is anyone who has the absolute right to be angry, it is God.

Num 14:18 “18 ‘The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression”

Paul is quoting from Psalm 4:4 “Be angry, and do not sin; ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent.”

He will repeat his exhortation to “put away all bitterness, wrath, anger and clamor and slander (Ephesians 4:31).

The reason this is so important is because anger is the way satan divides God’s people because at its core, being quick to anger is rooted in pride (Prov 8:13; 11:2; 16:18; 29:23).

Whenever I have allowed myself to become angry I almost alway regret it.