January 18th Sermon

Almost certainly you recognize these verses as the Ten Commandments from Exodus 20:1-17. We note that the Bible calls them the Ten Commandments and not the “Ten Suggestions.” These commandments form the foundation for the moral values and ethics for the people of Israel, who, in chapter nineteen of Exodus, collectively agreed to enter into a covenant relationship with Yahweh, the Lord and Creator of all things, who miraculously delivered them from slavery in Egypt. Please keep in mind that the Law was not given so that the Israelites by keeping it could attain righteousness. A righteous standing (justification) before God has always been only by faith (trust) in God. The Law functioned to show the people of Israel their sinfulness in contrast with God’s standards of holiness and righteousness and to condemn mankind of their transgressions and rebellion.

In the fourth chapter of Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians, the apostle has moved from the doctrinal teaching of chapters one through three to exhorting the practical application of that doctrine in the individual lives of believers in Jesus Christ. He has commanded the Christians of Ephesus (and by extension, to all Christians) that we walk the new life by taking off the old self and putting on the new self which was created in every true believer at the moment of salvation.

This is a call for a changed or transformed life, and it helps to answer the question, “How can you tell a true believer in Christ from an unbeliever?” The only reliable test is not a past experience, but a changed life. How does a person’s life reflect the glory of Jesus Christ? Second Corinthians 5:17 tells us that if any person is in Christ, he or she is a new creation, all things have become new and the old things have gone. New creatures act like new creatures. If they don’t, they provide a walking contradiction to God’s work in a believer’s life.

It is unfortunate that we live in a day when true believers look and act so much like the world. People in our world live in a spiritual desert, and they come parched and thirsty looking for relief and, in many cases, only find more desert and more disappointment. The passage we are looking at in Ephesians today provides for the Christian some practical guidelines for how to live a holy, Christ-honoring life. It would be easy to see these verses as individualistic, but they are more than that. That is because more than the individual is in view here: the Lord is interested in how the local church lives (or walks) collectively as a local body.

So, what should the world see if it looks in here at our local church? In what ways should we be different? Some have correctly observed that the church has lost its evangelistic zeal. Is it because there are no lost people any more? Hardly. Could it be that God’s design is that we exhibit a holy life and that is what will cause people to turn to the Lord? Today, from these verses in Ephesians, we will see five characteristics for which the Lord Jesus wants the local church to be known. We begin with: the church is known by its honesty.

THE CHURCH IS KNOWN BY ITS HONESTY. Ephesians 4:25

We Must Walk a Worthy Walk. Paul began the fourth chapter of Ephesians by exhorting us to walk (or live) in a manner worthy of our calling in the Lord Jesus Christ. Over the course of my years in ministry, I have met people who ask me to tell them what they have to do now that they are a Christian. It would be easy to launch into a works-centered relationship with Christ, thinking that we are kept by what we do. That would lead to imbalance and could end up in legalism. Paul is careful in Ephesians to begin with our position in Christ so that we will know it is not by any works of righteousness we have done that we merit salvation or earn our security in Christ. All of this has been done for us through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. Now, because of our lofty position in Christ, we are encouraged to live a life that pleases and honors Him.

Chapter four of Ephesians begins by discussing a worthy life. In verses one through sixteen, our worthy walk is a walk of unity. In verses seventeen through thirty-two, Paul tells us that in order to walk a worthy walk, we must walk in holiness. In verses seventeen through twenty-four, he presents a required background for living in holiness, then in verses twenty-five through thirty-two, he gives us an example of what a holy life looks like. To walk a worthy life means to live a life that measures up to how the Bible says we are to live, so that our walk and our talk please the Lord. The key to this type of living is to recognize them as commands we are to obey.

The First Principle of the New Life: Lay Aside Falsehood and Speak Truth. Being people of truth or honesty is a vital requirement for Christians in a local church and generally in society. We expect others to tell us the truth and they expect us to do the same. Lies have no place in the church. In the twenty-first chapter of Revelation, we find that liars will be thrown into the lake of fire. We know that Satan is the source of lies and that the Lord Jesus calls him a liar. It was Satan’s lie to Adam and Eve that condemned the human race and the world to evil and sin. According to John 8:44, a person whose life habitually flows with lies and deception is not related to God at all, but to Satan.

We live in a world that is full of lies and deception. Nations lie to nations. Manufacturers lie about what is in their products. Governments lie to their people. Students lie and cheat in school. People lie on their income taxes. So many lies are told that most people do not trust others. My mother used to say, “Don’t believe anything you hear and only half of what you see.” But this condition should not characterize the church or the Christians who make up the church. Our Savior has told us that He is “the way, and the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). Since our Savior is truth, we should also be truthful. In His prayer to the Father, Jesus said, “Sanctify them in the truth, Your Word is truth” (John 17:17).

Quotation from the Old Testament. In verse twenty-five, Paul is quoting from the Old Testament book of Zechariah, “Speak the truth to one another” (Zechariah 8:16). It should be pointed out that truthfulness is not in conflict with keeping a confidence or other legitimate secrets. Everything we say should be completely true, and to purposely withhold information in order to mislead or deceive is a form of lying. Truthfulness does not demand that we unburden all of our ill feelings, doubts, and hatreds on those whom we dislike. We must note that Paul directs us to recognize that “we are members of one another.” It is the relationship of Christians in the local church that is important. Our physical bodies could not function properly or safely if one part suddenly lied to another part. One ancient commentator wrote, “If the eye sees a poisonous snake, will it not tell the foot?” If your hand reported that the water was cold when it is scalding, would that not injure the body? The church cannot function properly if its members shade the truth or fail to work together honestly and lovingly. We are commanded to “speak the truth in love.”

THE CHURCH IS KNOWN BY ITS COMPOSURE. Ephesians 4:26-27

We Must Put Aside Anger. These verses are full of imperatives. One command follows another. Paul wants us to understand that these principles for living are not left up to our choice. These are behaviors and attitudes we must adopt if we are to live a Christ-centered life. These are non-optional since we have entered into the New Covenant with Jesus our Savior. There are three Greek words for anger. The first word (verse 26) is generally the word for the emotion anger. That word along with the conditional clause that follows means that in order to live a holy life we have to keep our anger under control. The second Greek word is used in verse 27 (let not the sun go down on your “wrath”) That word signifies a smoldering anger; a resentment. In other words what he is saying is: “Keep your anger under control, and don’t allow yourself to develop smoldering resentment towards other people, particularly in the church.”

If God were vindicating anger, as some suggest, He would not have included it in the list of vices to be avoided in verse 31. In that verse, the first word, “wrath,” speaks about a violent anger or temper that is out of control. Simply stated, things will cause us to be disturbed, even angry, but we must keep our anger under control. Some try to find excuse in the fact that God is sometimes angry. But God is angry when wrong has been done against a person or against God Himself. However, God’s anger is always under control. Unlike God, people have a tendency to allow anger to control them.

Do Not Let the Sun Go Down on Your Anger. Anger gives no excuse to sin, such as, saying unkind things and acting in hateful ways to others. When we allow ourselves to keep on being angry for more than a day, it gives the devil an opportunity to gain control over our attitudes, actions, and our relationships. It gives him a foothold to lead us into greater anger and deeper sin. In Christian marriages, Christian families, and the church, anger must not be allowed to fester and swell and surge about for any extended period. It is quite dangerous because it will allow for divisions and corruption in the body.

THE CHURCH IS KNOWN BY ITS DILIGENCE. Ephesians 4:28

Put Off Stealing, Put on Giving. We are not to engage in stealing. Think of the words we have in our language for this crime: theft, larceny, pilfering, shoplifting, robbery, burglary, and embezzlement. There are more besides. Crime statistics suggest that stealing costs our economy billions of dollars each year. For a Christian, a holy walk means to not take something that does not belong to them. The Apostle Peter wrote, “Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler” (1 Peter 4:15). Padding expense accounts and reporting more hours than were worked and other such deceptions are accepted as normal by many people. Grand larceny, petty theft, taking some of your dad’s money off the dresser, not paying fair wages, and pocketing what a clerk overpays in change are all stealing. None has any part in the new walk of the new person in Christ.

Perform Good Labor. Our labor should be in what is good, honest, honorable, and productive. Good labor has many benefits: it provides for a person’s material needs, it gives him something useful to do (something that is beneficial to himself and others), and it enables him to help others materially. If a believer stole before receiving Christ into his or her life, they must move from stealing to earning enough to give to others. Paul wrote to the Christians of another church: “For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either” (2 Thessalonians 3:10).

THE CHURCH IS KNOWN BY ITS EDIFYING. Ephesians 4:29

No Unwholesome Words. The word translated “unwholesome,” in the original language is sapros and was used to describe food that had become rotten. One translation uses “corrupt word” while another translates it “foul or abusive language.” An unwholesome word includes taking the Lord’s name in vain according to Exodus 20:7. James said it includes cursing, (James 3:2-10). Living a faithful, Christ-centered life includes choosing not to use foul or corrupt language and especially not taking God’s name or the name of Jesus Christ in vain, especially as a curse.

Instead, Use Words That Edify. Our text tells us that there are three qualities of the right words. First, our words should build people up. Husbands should use words to build up their wives, and wives their husbands. Parents should use their words to build up their children and children their parents. Members of churches should especially use their words to build up other believers. Our words should be appropriate, according to the need of the moment. We must learn to speak in such a way that what we say will build up those who hear us and not tear them down. Our words must be gracious, that is, they should give grace to those who hear. Our words should minister grace and help draw others closer to Christ.

THE CHURCH IS KNOWN BY ITS VIRTUES. Ephesians 4:30-32

Evils to Avoid. Grieving the Holy Spirit is nothing new. The prophet Isaiah warned against this hundreds of years ago. Isaiah reflected on God’s deliverance of Israel and rather than rejoice, they rebelled: “In all their affliction He was afflicted, and the angel of His presence saved them; in His love and in His mercy, He redeemed them, and He lifted them and carried them all the days of old. But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit; therefore, He turned Himself to become their enemy, He fought against them” (Isaiah 63:9-10). Those who have trusted in Jesus Christ are to get rid of the vices of bitterness (a condition of extreme wickedness and hatred), wrath (outbursts of anger), anger (a settled feeling of anger that festers in the heart and soul), clamor (shouting or brawling), slander (to speak immorally and profanely), and malice (ill will or wickedness).

Virtues to Seek. Paul lists three virtues to replace that wretched list of evils. First is kindness, which means being good and gracious. Kindness includes being merciful. Jesus said, “Love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:35-36). Tender-hearted has the idea of being compassionate which reflects empathy for someone else’s need. Forgiveness is so basic to showing Christlike character that it needs little comment. We are to forgive because God in Christ has forgiven us of all our sins and transgressions. How can we, who have been forgiven of so much, not forgive the relatively small things done against us? We, of all people, should remain always eager to forgive.

We live a life of holiness because our Lord is watching and we do not want to grieve Him. We live a life of holiness because the angels are watching to see how God’s grace will be poured out on His people. We strive to live a life of righteousness because the world is watching and the only way they will see Jesus is the ways in which He is working in our lives, bringing us to spiritual maturity; putting off the old and putting on the new.

Application of this text is straightforward. It requires obedience. What motivates our obedience is not knowledge of correct action but awareness of God. Keep the pattern in view and be imitators of Christ. Reject selfishness and self-centeredness. Activate your will and make the right choice.