Corporate Sins of a Faith Community

Introduction

Ephesians 4:25–32 ESV

Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

After having put on Christ, we put off the “old life.”

Explanation

Ephesians 4:25 “Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.”

Christian community is founded upon truth.

Because we have the truth of God’s Word, we walk in truth towards one another.

Dishonesty, we think, softens reality in a way that is good.

When we lie, we miss the bad consequences that come with the truth.

A white lie leaves well enough alone.

what is C. S. Lewis says on truth, “If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end; if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin, and in the end, despair.

The truth is always worth knowing, because the gospel grants us the ability to endure any reality.

Ephesians 4:26-27 “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.”

What is righteous anger?

Anger, in and of itself, is not sinful. It is possible to be angry without transgressing God’s law. In fact, we must get angry at times.

We can be angry about the things that anger God, namely injustice and the sin of the world.

You can love someone and hate the destruction that you know sin wages on their life.

If we look around us, see blatant injustice and pain caused by that injustice, and are not moved to act out of a righteous anger, we sin in our omission.

However, righteous anger can quickly turn to unrighteous anger.

What is unrighteous anger?

Even your anger can quickly turn to bitterness, a grudge, or malicious thoughts or intents.

Or, your anger could be about something that doesn’t anger God.

Anger over sin should never cause us to hate the individual, but understand that without Jesus, that person has no hope - just like you.

What about not letting the sun go down on your anger?

I have a close pastor friend who literally won’t let his wife go to sleep if she is mad at him.

He takes this verse very literally. I always reply, “well, if you should wanted to take this literally, you should have resolved it before dinner, because it says “sun down.”

The premise of the text isn’t that you have to resolve anger issues before the end of the day, although generally, I think that is a good thing to practice.

Paul is saying that longstanding anger turns into bitterness, which is even more damaging to your soul.

Practical Advice:

If you aren’t going to resolve an issue that night, be sure to set a time that you do.

Remember that people process information differently. You may be the faster thinker but totally wrong in what you are saying.

Many people win the argument at the expense of the relationship.

Ephesians 4:28 “Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.”

God has called us to be honest financially. Any form of financial dishonesty is stealing.

Work is ordained by God, and you should work.

If you can work in any way, and do not work, it is the sin of laziness.

Proverbs 10:4-5 “A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich. He who gathers in summer is a prudent son, but he who sleeps in harvest is a son who brings shame.”

Proverbs 6:9-12 “How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man. A worthless person, a wicked man, goes about with crooked speech,”

The Bible is pretty straightforward about people who refuse to work but are able to work - they starve.

John Smith, the governor of Jamestown, had to deal with royalty who would not work but expected to eat. He said, “He who will not work, shall not eat.”

Work is honoring to God, and we might not love our work, but we know that God redeems our work and our time by His grace.

There is a contribution mandate in the Scriptures. We serve, because Christ gave all for us.

Ephesians 4:29 “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.”

We live in an age of corrupt talk, and we have slowly become desensitized to it.

TV shows that aired 20 years ago that were considered racy or unscrupulous are now considered mild.

We slowly become desensitized to sinfulness.

Corrupting talk is anything that takes away from your witness for Christ.

Gossip about a coworker

Cursing

Crude Jokes

Delighting in the downfall of others

Constant and consistent negativity

Complaining

Rude (often disguised as “telling it like it is”)

Etc.

Every word you say either brings life or death. Either it helps someone to see grace, or it keeps them from seeing grace.

Psalm 19:14 “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”

We ask God to transform our hearts so that our mouths are transformed.

The mouth is the mirror image of the heart.

To change your mouth, change your heart.

As a pastor, I always struggle when people tell me that they cannot control their tongue. Whether it’s gossip or rudeness.

I have asked before, “Well, do you curse in front of your boss?” “Are you that assertive in front of your boss?” “Do you use that language around your mother?”

And if the answer is no (which it invariably is), I say, “You like saying those things, because you like how they are received by other people.”

May we be more concerned with how God sees our words than how we see them.

Ephesians 4:30 “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”

When we walk in ways that are sinful and violate the promptings of the Holy Spirit to walk in holiness, we grieve the Holy Spirit.

Grieving the Holy Spirit involves sinning when the Holy Spirit speaks to our hearts against sin.

When we ignore the pleadings of the HS, we fall into sin.

We grieve Him.

When we ignore the HS, we grieve HIm.

Ephesians 4:31-32 “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”

Paul uses V31-32 as a wrap-up on the text.

Set aside everything that rots your soul and destroys the community around you.

Decide, instead to be kind, tenderhearted, and forgiving.

When you get mad at someone, realize how easily it might be to get frustrated with you, and remember that you have a God who never does get frustrated with you.

Jesus wasn’t frustrated with you.

He gave Himself for you.

Invitation

Realize that we live this life, because Christ gave it to us first. The life He has given is infinitely better than the one the world offers. Come to him and find rest.

Repentance brings freedom. Has the Lord exposed a sin in your heart today? Lay it at the feet of Jesus. He always forgives those who cast their sins before Him.

Consistent sin brings grief upon the Holy Spirit. Are you dull to the things of God, because you have consistently said, “No,” to the Spirit of God?