Live as Christians
Ephesians - The Secrets of the Church • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 22:13
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· 63 viewsWhen Paul tells us how to live as Christians, who does that apply to? All Christians? All the time? And what will happen if we don't? Join Malcolm as he works on these questions. The video in the middle of the sermon can be found here: https://youtu.be/B5NmhtqGg04 Apologies for the poor audio quality.
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17 With the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused. 18 Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him. 19 They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity.
20 But that isn’t what you learned about Christ. 21 Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, 22 throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. 23 Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. 24 Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.
25 So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body. 26 And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 for anger gives a foothold to the devil.
28 If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need. 29 Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.
30 And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.
31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. 32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.
1 Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. 2 Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.
Introduction
Introduction
Let’s pray.
Our Father, please open our hearts to your word. Transform our minds by your Spirit. Mould us into the likeness of your Son. In Jesus name, amen.
You might notice that this is almost the same passage as last week. It was originally split into two, but we’ll now do two different takes on the same passage. This is my take.
Before we get started, I have a couple of questions to ponder. First:
After you give your life to Jesus and become a Christian, when are you transformed into a better person?
So I think you’ll find that the New Testament teaching that this transformation, which is called sanctification, begins right away, and it continues throughout our lives. We’ll unpack that further soon, but first, here’s another question:
How does the process of sanctification work?
Common Confusion
Common Confusion
Now, there is a very common belief about sanctification and the Christian life that you’ve probably heard of. It is the idea that, when we become a Christian, we don’t necessarily start being transformed. Rather, at some point, we have a crisis where we “let go and let God,” and experience a second blessing or a Spirit baptism that then transforms our lives from lives of defeat to lives of victory over sin. This view is often called “higher life theology” and is represented in this diagram. This is the version held by Pentecostals. Unfortunately, it is not Biblical and therefore not realistic.
The picture Paul presents in Romans, and here in Ephesians, is more like this. Sanctification is an ongoing, progressive process of transformation that runs from our rebirth in Christ to the death of our body.
How we live as Christians
How we live as Christians
So just how does sanctification in the Christian life work?
In his book Inside Out, Dr. Larry Crabb suggests that people think of two different paths to transformation.
Path 1 involves meeting our external needs first (the outer circle), which fulfilment then allows us to meet our deeper, emotional needs, which finally allows us to address our spiritual needs. Path 2, in contrast, works by having any satisfaction in our external or relational needs stripped away so that we can develop a genuine relationship with God, upon which our relationships with others can flourish, and then our external needs can be met.
Path 1, starting from the outside in, is the path that Secular Materialism, the primary worldview of Australia, recommends. Here’s an example of that, courtesy of one of our two primary department stores, Myer:
Play “Bigger than Christmas from Myer”
Did you see what they were doing there? We have all missed out on all these opportunities through this year to indulge in life: sports, celebrations, eating out. So now, we should get shopping at Myer so that we can throw everything together and have a huge celebration that’s “bigger than Christmas.” Has Myer accidentally suggested that combining all these opportunities for meeting your external and relational needs is a “bigger” opportunity than meeting your spiritual needs in Christmas? I don’t think so. I think they are accurately expressing Secular Materialism thinking about the world.
Other religions, too, suggest that we work from the outside in. This is the approach of Buddhism, legalistic Judaism, and Islam. Obey the rules and you will get better inside.
Does Christianity work this way?
The Inside-out path
The Inside-out path
23 Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.
No, of course it doesn’t! Christianity works from the inside out. Paul says, “let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.” That’s how we are transformed. Of course, it doesn’t stop with our thoughts and attitudes.
17 “Anything you eat passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer. 18 But the words you speak come from the heart—that’s what defiles you. 19 For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander. 20 These are what defile you. Eating with unwashed hands will never defile you.”
Jesus taught his disciples that working from the outside in (such as ceremonially cleaning your hands) didn’t make someone righteous or holy. Rather changing their heart, the centre of their mind, was how they became holy. Inside out!
Changing our minds
Changing our minds
So how does the Spirit renew our minds, as Paul insist we must allow him to do?
Paul expresses it very simply in the twin of the letter to the Ephesians: the letter to the Colossians. In the passage that is parallel to Ephesians 4’s exhortation to be filled with the Spirit, Paul says:
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
We are to focus on Jesus’ word, the Scriptures, sharing it with one another and living it out as Jesus’ ambassadors in this world. That is, of course, why teaching is such an important part of Christian practice. We really do beleive that we are transformed by learning, by discipling, together at the feet of Jesus.
25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.
Paul says that we are “members one of another,” so our transformation is mutually supportive! And that’s what we’re doing right now, of course.
Practical considerations
Practical considerations
Now, in case you think Paul or I are completely impractical, verses 25 to 31 of Ephesians 4 are practical examples of that transformation. Here’s a diagram representing the four transformations Paul discusses.
Graham talked about these last week, so I just want to point out the general progression visible here.
First, as we are transformed, we are not necessarily transformed in each of these areas at the same rate. Some people will be better at lovingly telling the truth to others, and some will be better at encouragement, for example.
Second, our progress won’t always be forward. The term Paul uses in introducing this section in verse 17 is peripateo, which means “walk,” or metaphorically, as in the NLT, “live.” This word conveys the idea that a Godly life is intended to have motion, to be heading toward a destination, to require effort and action, like walking. It is not a “ride.” No matter how much us modern people may love our cars, there is no “sanctification car:” we need to take every step in company with Jesus. We can’t just “let go and let God,” we must “trust God and get going.”
Third, I want you to notice the progression from the “carnal” or “fleshly” attitude of people in rebellion against God, to those who have become Godly. That is not merely a progression from being destructive and selfish to not being destructive. It is not merely a progression from stealing to not stealing, for example. The progression goes further than that, from stealing to its holy opposite: generous sharing! So from lying to lovingly sharing the truth; from being controlled by anger to being able to release your anger out of love; from being abusive to being encouraging; from bitterness to forgiveness.
Exhortation
Exhortation
So that is our calling. To immerse ourselves in God’s word, letting the Spirit use that to renew our minds, and so to walk with Christ, as his representatives in this dark world.
It always amazes me how God gives us so much responsibility. How he insists that we join him in his work. And here we see that he even insists that we join him in the work of transforming our own characters! How amazing is that?
But equally amazing is how God uses that transformation to bring the Good News to those who are still in rebellion against him.
Jesus says,
35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
It is our transformation, acted out in the church, that is the most powerful witness to the world! Let us never forget that! And let us never give up encouraging one another to grow more and more like our precious Lord Jesus Christ.
Just a reminder: Paul recognises that Christians are not perfect. But he insists that we should and can be on a path heading towards perfection! Let’s take encouragement from that.
Let us pray.
Dear Lord, work in our hearts and minds, transform us with your word. Take our rebellious natures and rework them into generous, loving, caring, encouraging, forgiving, tenderhearted characters. And let the world see that transformation and be drawn to you.
In your name we pray, Lord Jesus.
Amen.