Walk the Walk 4
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Context
Context
I am going to read us something this morning that I found interesting and it gives us a bigger picture of what we are talking about today. “The Way” this is what early Christianity was called, this is from Chad Bird he is a pastor, professor, author, and speaker (1517.org). Why Was Christianity’s First Name “The Way”?
Long before Christianity was known as Christianity, it was simply called The Way. In Acts, for instance, Saul was hunting down men and women “belonging to the Way” (9:2). In Ephesus, there was an uproar over those who were part of “the Way” (19:23). To us, that seems an odd name, if not a little too generic and nondescript. So why was it used?
In the scriptures of Israel, the Hebrew noun for “way” is derek (דֶּ֫רֶךְ). The verb, darak, means to tread, trample, march, or walk, so the place where you do that is a derek—a road, path, or journey.
But it implies more than simply taking a stroll. In English, we speak metaphorically of a “way of life” or “the road we’re now traveling,” by which we mean how we’ve chosen to live, where we are in life, or the behaviors and beliefs that characterize us. Likewise in Hebrew, that “way of life and belief” is a derek.
The Psalms often describe two ways or two “dereks.” Already in Psalm 1, we read that “the LORD knows the way [derek] of the righteous, but the way [derek] of the wicked will perish” (v. 6). The “way [derek] of the wicked” God brings to ruin (146:9) but “blessed are those whose way [derek] is blameless, who walk in the Torah of the LORD!” (119:1). In that longest of psalms, Psalm 119, derek is used 13 times, mainly to describe the way/derek of God.
When Isaiah describes the work of the Messiah, he says that he will heal the lame, give sight to the blind, and begin a new creation (35:1-7). He then shifts to the image of a new exodus, in which God’s scattered people will come home on a highway, “and it shall be called the Way [derek] of Holiness” (35:8). In Matthew 11:40-6, Jesus says that he is “Isaiah 35ing” in his ministry. He is thus healing, recreating, and constructing this Derek of Holiness.
These images of the Way of God continue in non-biblical Jewish writings like the Wisdom of Jesus ben Sirach, 1 Enoch, Tobit, the Psalms of Solomon, and elsewhere. In early Christian literature, such as the Didache (first or second century AD), this biblical imagery is continued. Echoing the Psalms, the Didache begins this way: “There are two ways, one of life and one of death; but there is a great difference between the two ways.”
With all this widespread biblical and Jewish background, is it any surprise that the followers of Jesus were known as those who followed The Way? And, given that Jesus himself said, “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life,” how appropriate a name for this faith (John 14:6)!
To be a Christian, therefore, is to be in the Son of God, who is the Way, and to walk in the Way that he himself has shown us.
Just a quick recap since it has been a minute. We are talking about the walking the walk, living our lives in a manner worthy to our calling as Paul says in the beginning of chapter four. He gives us the principals needed to live the new life we are called to. To put off our old self and put on the new self, the self adopted into the family of God, the self that is being changed by the renewing of our minds. We are called to no longer walk as we once did. This morning we are going to look at a list of things that we are called to do away with in our new state.
25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. 26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and give no opportunity to the devil.
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. 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. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.
The therefore here refers us back to verses 20-24, because we have learned Christ, and we have put off our old self these things we no longer should do, and Paul gives us a list here and in the next few verses. Paul starts us off here with “Falsehood” or lying, this includes every kind of deception. We are to put away which in the Greek is “having put away” once for all. We are to put away falsehood and cultivate truth in our lives. Here again Paul calls us to unity, remember we are many members but of one body, one faith, one LORD.
26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,
Here Paul quotes from Psalm 4:4
4 Be angry, and do not sin; ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah
26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and give no opportunity to the devil.
Is anger wrong? Well we see here that Paul says to not let our anger become sin. So, not all anger is wrong, there is what we call righteous indignation, but if it is not guarded it turns to sin. Anger that is selfish, undisciplined and uncontrolled is always sinful. Now we are going to hopefully clear something up here with the last part of this verse. What does Paul mean “not to let the sun go down on your anger”. You have heard what we say today about this don’t go to bed angry. Well you could look at this in that sense, but what Paul really means is to not hold on to our anger, because when we do it takes root in the heart. It then leads to the what he says in the next verse. When we hold onto our anger it gives the devil an opportunity, it gives him a foothold.
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.
Paul most likely had in mind someone who was a thief before their conversion, and would be tempted to fall back into their old ways. But I think we can take it much further. We most often think of stealing a thing, an item of some sort, but what about time. For those who work, are you working as though you are working for Christ. Or do you waste your employers time.
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.
Corrupting talk is a broad term, and it covers a lot of things. It can be seen as foulmouthed talk or worthless speech.
36 But I tell you that every worthless word that they speak, people will give an account for it on the day of judgment!
Some translations say idle word.
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.
The last part of this verse Paul clues us in on what type of speech we should have. It goes along with the old saying if you don’t have anything nice to say don’t say anything. We our only speech should be for building other up, being graceful to others as God has been with us.
30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
If the Christian lives their life according to the things Paul has just told them not to do they grieve the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit that helps us to live the life we are called to, to walk the walk. It is the Holy Spirit that seals us for the day Christ returns.
31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.
Here Paul gives a list of sins that deal with a bad temper. Bitterness describes the sour, resentful spirit who dwells on things done to them. Wrath is a sudden outburst of anger which leads to clamor and slander. The Greek word for malice is defined as a “vicious disposition or spite”. It can be seen as the deep unkindness of a self-centered heart.
32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Once we have gotten rid of all these things we need to fill our hearts with tenderheartedness, forgiveness and love. We are to love in the way Christ loves us. Through His ultimate loving act of forgiveness.
Walk the Walk 4
Walk the Walk 4