Rules for Christians (Ephesians 4:25-32)

WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.280 --> 00:00:08.189 Let's turn our attention to Ephesians for and we will finish this chapter tonight, 2 00:00:09.550 --> 00:00:18.149 e Fusians for a twenty five through thirty two. If you like grammar, 3 00:00:20.510 --> 00:00:28.420 you may know the difference between an indicative and an imperative right. indicatives tell 4 00:00:28.460 --> 00:00:34.859 you something about something, imperatives tell you to do something, and the first 5 00:00:34.979 --> 00:00:39.210 part of Ephesians in many ways, was an indicative to us, telling us 6 00:00:39.250 --> 00:00:45.530 about what God has done for us. And now we are in, broadly 7 00:00:45.570 --> 00:00:51.479 speaking, and imperative section. But these things have a lot of overlap, 8 00:00:51.560 --> 00:00:59.840 as you'll see. Ephesians for twenty five through thirty two. Therefore, having 9 00:00:59.840 --> 00:01:03.399 put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, 10 00:01:03.349 --> 00:01:07.109 for we are members of one another, or for we are members one 11 00:01:07.230 --> 00:01:12.549 of another. Be Angry and do not sin. Do not let the sun 12 00:01:12.670 --> 00:01:18.900 go down on your anger and give no opportunity to the devil. Let the 13 00:01:18.980 --> 00:01:23.500 thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor doing honest work with his 14 00:01:23.579 --> 00:01:26.140 own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. 15 00:01:27.219 --> 00:01:30.379 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such is 16 00:01:30.420 --> 00:01:34.930 as good for building up as fits the occasion that it may give grace to 17 00:01:36.049 --> 00:01:41.250 those who hear and do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom 18 00:01:41.290 --> 00:01:46.010 you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and 19 00:01:46.209 --> 00:01:52.200 anger and clamor and slamder be put away from you, along with all malice. 20 00:01:53.200 --> 00:01:59.120 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another as God in 21 00:01:59.239 --> 00:02:06.030 Christ forgave you. On them you may be seated. So this morning we 22 00:02:06.189 --> 00:02:15.430 considered the appropriate behavior, character motivations of a ruling elder, of one of 23 00:02:15.509 --> 00:02:21.419 the those men that are called to serve in Christ's Church, for Christ's Church, 24 00:02:21.620 --> 00:02:28.460 as an officer, as an overseer, as a leader, and we 25 00:02:28.620 --> 00:02:32.969 saw that the we saw, we considered those instructions as they were given from 26 00:02:34.090 --> 00:02:38.169 Paul to the Ephesian elders, when he called them to himself and he said 27 00:02:38.370 --> 00:02:42.370 this is how you ought to serve, this is the way in which you 28 00:02:42.490 --> 00:02:46.400 ought to walk. Well, now we consider those very same things, behavior, 29 00:02:46.520 --> 00:02:53.159 character motivations. I'm not of ruling elders in part articular, but of 30 00:02:53.400 --> 00:02:59.229 all Christians in general. And again, interestingly, from or as Paul speaks 31 00:02:59.789 --> 00:03:07.270 to the Ephesians, we read of our character, our conduct our motivations, 32 00:03:07.030 --> 00:03:10.949 rules of Christian living, you might say, the way we ought to conduct 33 00:03:10.990 --> 00:03:19.580 ourselves. These things include speaking the truth, controlling our anger, working instead 34 00:03:19.580 --> 00:03:25.180 of stealing, being kind and and forgiving good rules. If you might think 35 00:03:25.300 --> 00:03:30.289 to yourself, if I were a if I could choose a church, if 36 00:03:30.330 --> 00:03:35.610 I could choose a kind of way of life, wouldn't it be nice to 37 00:03:35.770 --> 00:03:40.840 find something that looks like this, something that was characterized by these things? 38 00:03:43.039 --> 00:03:47.159 So I've titled the Sermon Rules for Christians or rules for Christian living, because 39 00:03:47.199 --> 00:03:53.439 this is how Paul speaks to us right he addresses us as Christians. Throughout 40 00:03:53.439 --> 00:03:55.389 the letter to the Ephesians, he's been talking to them about the things that 41 00:03:55.509 --> 00:04:00.550 God has done for them, things that have been planned by his love before 42 00:04:00.990 --> 00:04:06.750 the world even began, things that they would enter into by way of the 43 00:04:06.949 --> 00:04:13.060 Cross, by way of the ascended Lord. I'm pouring out his gifts on 44 00:04:13.139 --> 00:04:18.100 the church, not only officers but, as we know from the hospitals and 45 00:04:18.300 --> 00:04:25.089 from this letter as well, the very spirit of God. These are people 46 00:04:25.129 --> 00:04:28.889 who have been made new. We've considered how they have been made into a 47 00:04:29.050 --> 00:04:33.930 Holy Temple. We've considered how they are those who have been redeemed, bought 48 00:04:34.050 --> 00:04:39.800 out of a bad situation, rescued even from sin and death, and brought 49 00:04:40.120 --> 00:04:44.560 into the newness of life. We've considered how we, as Christians, are 50 00:04:44.639 --> 00:04:47.879 those who are putting off our old self, verse twenty two, which belongs 51 00:04:47.920 --> 00:04:53.350 to our former manner of life, corrupt, deceitful desires that are now being 52 00:04:53.750 --> 00:04:58.670 renewed in the spirit of our minds. We are to put on the new 53 00:04:58.829 --> 00:05:02.990 self, created after the likeness of God, in True Righteousness and holiness, 54 00:05:03.069 --> 00:05:06.860 and it's in that spirit, in this new way of life, that he 55 00:05:06.980 --> 00:05:14.220 is now describing some very specific things. We're called in scripture to discern the 56 00:05:14.420 --> 00:05:19.459 will of God. How ought I to live, and God gives us directions 57 00:05:20.379 --> 00:05:24.810 on how we ought to speak, how we ought to act and treat one 58 00:05:24.889 --> 00:05:31.490 another. These are rules for Christians or a Christian way of living. So 59 00:05:31.649 --> 00:05:38.800 what makes these rules particularly Christian, you might ask. Well, not to 60 00:05:39.040 --> 00:05:43.839 totally undermine what I've said thus far, but to make them in a way 61 00:05:44.480 --> 00:05:48.199 they aren't particularly Christian. Let me explain what I mean, though. They 62 00:05:48.240 --> 00:05:54.350 do tell us about proper behavior in life in Christ's kingdom, and they anticipate 63 00:05:54.550 --> 00:06:00.269 our life and is glorified kingdom. These rules are often and easily acknowledged apart 64 00:06:00.350 --> 00:06:05.019 from scripture. Your unbelieving neighbors, at least hopefully, will tell the truth, 65 00:06:05.980 --> 00:06:10.259 won't steal from you, will work hard and these kinds of things. 66 00:06:10.339 --> 00:06:15.300 Even if they've never read the Bible, they have an understanding that this is 67 00:06:15.379 --> 00:06:19.170 the requirement, these are good things to do. God has made known his 68 00:06:19.329 --> 00:06:25.329 commands concerning truth, telling, kindness and working hard to all men in all 69 00:06:25.449 --> 00:06:30.370 places and at all times. These rules, these commands are, as the 70 00:06:30.449 --> 00:06:35.279 theologians have put it, part of God's moral law, accessible and noble by 71 00:06:35.399 --> 00:06:42.759 all, even apart from the saving revelation of Jesus. I want to read 72 00:06:42.800 --> 00:06:48.029 to you a little bit from our confession of faith tonight. In Chapter Sixteen, 73 00:06:48.069 --> 00:06:54.029 section seven, we read this. It's the sex of the chapter is 74 00:06:54.149 --> 00:06:59.949 called on good works. Chapter Sixteen, section seven says works done by unregenerate 75 00:07:00.149 --> 00:07:03.699 men, although, for the matter of them, they may be things which 76 00:07:03.779 --> 00:07:10.779 God commands and of good use both to themselves and others. Yet because they 77 00:07:10.860 --> 00:07:15.420 proceed not from a heart purified by faith, nor are done in a right 78 00:07:15.540 --> 00:07:18.329 manner according to the word of God, nor to a right end. The 79 00:07:18.449 --> 00:07:24.889 glory of God they are therefore sinful and cannot please God or make a man 80 00:07:25.009 --> 00:07:29.610 meet to receive grace from God. And yet their neglect of them is more 81 00:07:29.769 --> 00:07:34.079 sinful and displeasing unto God. So a few things to note from this section. 82 00:07:34.639 --> 00:07:39.040 On the one hand, it's saying that unregenerate people, people who aren't 83 00:07:39.040 --> 00:07:44.509 Christians, know these things and and and and they ought to do them, 84 00:07:44.589 --> 00:07:46.430 and there is even some good, a measure of good, in them. 85 00:07:47.670 --> 00:07:51.790 But yet at the same time there's no ultimate good in them. Why? 86 00:07:53.430 --> 00:07:58.899 Because they proceed from the wrong place, the confession says. They proceed not 87 00:07:59.139 --> 00:08:01.620 from a heart purified by faith. They are not done in a manner according 88 00:08:01.660 --> 00:08:07.579 to the word, they are not done for the glory of God. And 89 00:08:07.699 --> 00:08:11.139 yet even still this doesn't excuse the unrungenerate person from saying, well, guess 90 00:08:11.180 --> 00:08:16.689 I don't have to bother then. In fact, it says their neglect of 91 00:08:16.810 --> 00:08:22.449 them is more sinful and pleasing to God, displeasing to God. So while 92 00:08:22.490 --> 00:08:28.199 we may grant that they are noble and oblige both Christians and Non Christians, 93 00:08:28.279 --> 00:08:33.200 we see that Christian obedience is very different. That's what our confession says anyway, 94 00:08:33.840 --> 00:08:37.480 but it's not just our confession, it's the scripture itself, which is 95 00:08:37.559 --> 00:08:41.710 why we confess it right. It's the scripture itself that tells us this. 96 00:08:41.870 --> 00:08:46.830 Now, that obedience may not always be visibly different, and perhaps it won't 97 00:08:46.870 --> 00:08:50.950 be at all in some cases. And, as you know, there are 98 00:08:52.070 --> 00:08:56.860 in fact hypocrites who are very good at playing the part of the Christian. 99 00:08:56.419 --> 00:09:03.259 They have learned how to look in many ways identical to Christians. They've learned 100 00:09:03.299 --> 00:09:07.659 how to cover up their outside or their insides by making the outside or outward 101 00:09:07.700 --> 00:09:13.529 actions the same. But what we learn from the confession and what we learned 102 00:09:13.610 --> 00:09:18.970 from scripture, what Paul teaches us very clearly, is that though we are 103 00:09:18.090 --> 00:09:24.399 called to these certain actions, actions which we are all obliged to in some 104 00:09:24.600 --> 00:09:30.120 way, at least for the most part, here, there is a difference 105 00:09:30.320 --> 00:09:37.639 on the inside, something about our hearts that makes Christian odity obedience very different. 106 00:09:39.710 --> 00:09:45.190 What is the difference? What's the difference between somebody playing a Christian and 107 00:09:45.389 --> 00:09:50.110 somebody who actually is a Christian, or somebody who doesn't even buy their playing 108 00:09:50.149 --> 00:09:54.860 the Christian and yet acts in a generally moral way, and a Christian who 109 00:09:56.100 --> 00:10:01.019 really is a Christian and maybe struggles a lot to act in a moral way. 110 00:10:01.820 --> 00:10:07.129 What makes obedience, true, obedience, Really Christian? Well, the 111 00:10:07.210 --> 00:10:15.210 difference has to do with how we respond to objective realities, or, to 112 00:10:15.250 --> 00:10:18.970 put it a little more simply, has to do with faith. It has 113 00:10:20.049 --> 00:10:24.679 to do with responding and receiving to the things that God has done on our 114 00:10:24.879 --> 00:10:31.200 behalf. Let me explain a little further. We know that our faith, 115 00:10:31.519 --> 00:10:37.629 our obedience, involves our emotions, but we also know that it's not just 116 00:10:37.230 --> 00:10:43.509 feeling things more deeply. Another words, Christian obedience isn't just being more sensitive 117 00:10:43.710 --> 00:10:50.100 to the law. It's not just having a more sensitive conscience. In fact, 118 00:10:50.379 --> 00:10:54.580 I've met, and perhaps you've met, many unbelievers with very sensitive consciences, 119 00:10:54.940 --> 00:11:01.019 even more sensitive perhaps than some believers that you know now. A mature 120 00:11:01.059 --> 00:11:05.009 Christian will have a sensitive conscience, will be tender to the things of God. 121 00:11:05.690 --> 00:11:09.129 They'll be like a windsock, right moved immediately wherever the wind moves them, 122 00:11:09.210 --> 00:11:13.049 as the power of God and his words speaks. A tender heart is 123 00:11:13.129 --> 00:11:20.360 sensitive to those things. But an unbeliever might still be sensitive to the law 124 00:11:20.440 --> 00:11:26.480 at times without really being moved by the Gospel. So we know we have 125 00:11:26.600 --> 00:11:31.990 to real is that the root of Christian obedience lies deeper than just feeling or 126 00:11:33.190 --> 00:11:39.990 just sensitivity to the law. Christian feeling is not just feelings. Feeling things 127 00:11:41.070 --> 00:11:46.509 more deeply, feeling the law more deeply, it's acting on faith that certain 128 00:11:46.629 --> 00:11:52.860 things are true, whether we feel like it or not. Take Another Angle, 129 00:11:52.899 --> 00:11:58.379 Christian obedience also involves our minds. But what makes it truly Christian is 130 00:11:58.539 --> 00:12:05.929 not simply knowing things more deeply. There are philosophers and sages who have explored 131 00:12:05.090 --> 00:12:09.529 the moral order of the world, this moral order that God has made, 132 00:12:09.610 --> 00:12:16.320 and have made very keen observations, even perhaps while foolishly denying the God who 133 00:12:16.320 --> 00:12:22.159 has given them the very moral order they study. Nevertheless, the thing that 134 00:12:22.279 --> 00:12:26.240 they study is true, for God has spoken it and in studying it they 135 00:12:26.320 --> 00:12:31.070 learn good and right things. And so you may find unbelievers who have penetrating 136 00:12:31.110 --> 00:12:37.070 insight into human nature, into relationships, into justice and into the power of 137 00:12:37.309 --> 00:12:46.299 truth, into kindness and many other things. But again, excelling in knowledge 138 00:12:46.500 --> 00:12:52.820 of the Law Does Not Constitute Christian obedience. A mature Christian, of course, 139 00:12:52.100 --> 00:12:56.860 will exel and knowledge and wisdom and application of the law, but it's 140 00:12:56.860 --> 00:13:03.649 not really the distinguishing characteristic. It's not the thing that distinguishes and qualifies as 141 00:13:03.730 --> 00:13:09.129 obedience as truly Christian, as are with our emotions. Christian obedience is not 142 00:13:09.169 --> 00:13:15.399 just feeling things more deeply or knowing things more deeply. Christian obedience is acting 143 00:13:15.679 --> 00:13:20.480 on faith in the things that have been revealed, clear things, obvious things 144 00:13:22.399 --> 00:13:28.470 like the resurrection of the dead, like Jesus Christ building his church. This 145 00:13:28.590 --> 00:13:33.629 is important to say because many people go wrong on these points. They think 146 00:13:33.789 --> 00:13:37.230 that if they look and act like a Christian, that that's good enough, 147 00:13:37.269 --> 00:13:43.539 if they pursue the laws zealously far enough in either wisdom or feeling or action, 148 00:13:43.779 --> 00:13:48.059 to that God will be pleased with them. But it's not the case, 149 00:13:48.620 --> 00:13:54.779 because we see even unregenerate people pursuing these things and these ways and yet 150 00:13:54.820 --> 00:14:03.450 still coming up short. It's not enough. True Obedience, we see from 151 00:14:03.490 --> 00:14:09.200 Ephesians here, stems from a heart that is relying on God, that is 152 00:14:09.279 --> 00:14:13.960 relying on the things that he has done, not just his character, not 153 00:14:15.159 --> 00:14:18.600 just his strength, but on the objective things that he has done in our 154 00:14:18.720 --> 00:14:24.830 world. Take a look at the passage with me. It begins in Verse 155 00:14:24.870 --> 00:14:28.990 Twenty Five. Therefore, having put therefore, having put away falsehood, let 156 00:14:30.110 --> 00:14:33.549 each of you speak truth with his neighbor, and so we have this command 157 00:14:33.590 --> 00:14:41.580 about using our tongues for truth speaking. I'm not lying put away falsehood, 158 00:14:41.500 --> 00:14:48.340 but notice the reason that is given, the particularly Christian reason for we are 159 00:14:48.580 --> 00:14:56.370 members one of another. This reason is not just something pious to potwer brother, 160 00:14:56.450 --> 00:15:03.090 pious sounding to motivate religious people. It corresponds to an actual reality Paul 161 00:15:03.090 --> 00:15:07.519 has been talking about. The reality is that we are members one of another 162 00:15:07.559 --> 00:15:13.519 right the sphere. It has been given to us so that we would be 163 00:15:13.120 --> 00:15:20.080 spiritually united together into one body. You could use other metaphors that are used 164 00:15:20.080 --> 00:15:26.309 in scripture, metaphors that speak of a true reality. We are a brothers 165 00:15:26.389 --> 00:15:31.389 and sisters of one family. Because of this, we have to work together. 166 00:15:33.389 --> 00:15:37.019 Think about your body. Occasional as Lee, this happens in our bodies. 167 00:15:37.419 --> 00:15:45.379 The information does not get communicated correctly right. Imagine somebody WHO's how to 168 00:15:45.419 --> 00:15:48.460 bad accident and their spine is broken in some way, their nervous system isn't 169 00:15:48.500 --> 00:15:52.610 functioning right and they tell their foot to move and it doesn't move, or 170 00:15:52.889 --> 00:15:56.370 they feel something that's not really there, or you know, there are these 171 00:15:56.529 --> 00:16:00.889 miscommunications that happen, or we might put it even in this way to help 172 00:16:00.929 --> 00:16:07.600 us understand the analogy lies in a way in which the body does not say 173 00:16:07.759 --> 00:16:12.000 something that's true it it gets miscommunicated. And what happens? It's bad news, 174 00:16:12.200 --> 00:16:17.120 generally. Right we we go to physical therapy, we have a various 175 00:16:17.240 --> 00:16:21.830 help and therapists who work with us so that the information can get correct. 176 00:16:22.590 --> 00:16:26.149 Well, what happens in the body of Christ when we don't speak truthfully? 177 00:16:26.990 --> 00:16:34.340 What happens when there's at best miscommunication and it wors slander and gossip and lies 178 00:16:34.580 --> 00:16:41.259 and false doctrine? The body doesn't work very well. There's something, in 179 00:16:41.419 --> 00:16:45.100 other words, that God has done we are relying on and as a result 180 00:16:45.220 --> 00:16:49.409 of that, we tell the truth. We work hard to tell the truth, 181 00:16:49.529 --> 00:16:56.009 we put away falsehood. Let's continue. Next, he speaks of anger. 182 00:16:56.169 --> 00:16:57.889 Be Angry and do not sin. Do not let the sun go down 183 00:16:57.929 --> 00:17:03.079 on your anger. Here Paul recognizes as an obvious truth. Anger is not 184 00:17:03.200 --> 00:17:08.759 always sinful. Sometimes it's required, but it's not something that's supposed to sink 185 00:17:08.839 --> 00:17:14.480 its roots down into our hearts and grab a hold of them. Revenge, 186 00:17:14.759 --> 00:17:19.190 envy, murderous intention these are the things that happen when we don't give our 187 00:17:19.309 --> 00:17:23.549 anger over to God, who is our king, who is both just and 188 00:17:23.710 --> 00:17:30.180 the justifier of men, who promises to have judgment and vengeance on the wicked 189 00:17:30.339 --> 00:17:33.700 in the evil, who promises to take care of all things and to make 190 00:17:33.819 --> 00:17:38.380 all things right. When we take into our own hands and we reject the 191 00:17:38.500 --> 00:17:42.059 resurrection of the dead, when we reject the coming judgment of God and we 192 00:17:42.180 --> 00:17:48.170 say I need to be God, I need to control everything, well, 193 00:17:48.529 --> 00:17:55.329 anger often takes hold. Notice the particular reason he gives, though we could 194 00:17:55.329 --> 00:17:57.680 add others, as I've just done, but he gives this reason. Let 195 00:17:57.759 --> 00:18:02.880 the devil not have an opportunity right, let him not get a foothold in 196 00:18:02.960 --> 00:18:06.920 our lives. Again. This helps us to see that our obedience is not 197 00:18:06.960 --> 00:18:12.190 just doing these things following a set of rules. We are engaged in a 198 00:18:12.349 --> 00:18:22.910 battle, a cosmic one, a spiritual one that has scatological overtones. The 199 00:18:22.029 --> 00:18:26.069 battle we face is, Paul will say, is not against flesh and blood, 200 00:18:26.069 --> 00:18:32.220 but against spiritual forces. Our obedience has a cosmic, spiritual dimension to 201 00:18:32.339 --> 00:18:34.900 it. This is what we receive by faith and this is what we rely 202 00:18:36.099 --> 00:18:40.140 on when we think about Jesus Christ on the cross, who has overcome the 203 00:18:40.259 --> 00:18:45.809 evil one. He is our enemy. We are no longer children of Wrath. 204 00:18:45.009 --> 00:18:48.809 We belong to the heavenly father now, we have been adopted into his 205 00:18:48.970 --> 00:18:53.450 family. For that reason, why in the world would we let the devil 206 00:18:53.490 --> 00:18:59.759 get a foothold in our lives? No, we don't let the sun go 207 00:18:59.880 --> 00:19:03.920 down on our anger. We battle here and now, every thought, and 208 00:19:03.079 --> 00:19:07.880 we're not independent of what is going on in this world, but because of 209 00:19:08.000 --> 00:19:12.109 it, because we are a part of a great Holy War, and Jesus 210 00:19:12.150 --> 00:19:18.509 Christ is our victor. We are rooting out and cutting down the enemy in 211 00:19:18.630 --> 00:19:22.630 our lives. We are seeing to it that we stay far away from him 212 00:19:22.670 --> 00:19:27.220 and that he gains no victory over us. That's why we don't let the 213 00:19:27.259 --> 00:19:34.539 sun go down on our anger. Christian obedience more. Take first thirty one, 214 00:19:34.700 --> 00:19:41.089 just continuing the which it continues the theme of anger. Let all bitterness 215 00:19:41.170 --> 00:19:44.849 and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along 216 00:19:44.890 --> 00:19:48.809 with all malice. Instead, a verse thirty two. Be kind to one 217 00:19:48.849 --> 00:19:53.839 another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another. You just even in hearing, though 218 00:19:53.839 --> 00:19:57.400 I don't know if this this happens to you for me, when I read 219 00:19:57.559 --> 00:20:03.279 the words of verse Thirty One, I can feel my body getting ten's wrath, 220 00:20:03.559 --> 00:20:08.710 anger, clander, malice or wrath, angered clamor slander along with all 221 00:20:08.789 --> 00:20:14.109 malice, and I feel my body relaxing when I read verse thirty two. 222 00:20:14.430 --> 00:20:18.589 Be Kind to one another. You just hear that words and your heart softens, 223 00:20:18.150 --> 00:20:25.259 tenderhearted forgiving one another. One is a opposed to the work of the 224 00:20:25.420 --> 00:20:30.099 Lord and the other belongs to him. One is situated in a place of 225 00:20:30.299 --> 00:20:37.529 rest and comfort and peace that our Lord has earned us, the other is 226 00:20:37.569 --> 00:20:44.250 against it. Our relationships with each other are characterized by the love with which 227 00:20:44.250 --> 00:20:48.089 we have been loved. It's not just the love that is better, though 228 00:20:48.130 --> 00:20:53.480 it is. Our reason, our motivation goes deeper. We love not just 229 00:20:53.640 --> 00:21:00.119 because love is better, but because we have been loved, because we have 230 00:21:00.240 --> 00:21:07.269 been called the beloved even when we were unlovable. So because of that, 231 00:21:07.470 --> 00:21:11.990 how can we hold a grudge against a brother or sister when we've all been 232 00:21:11.069 --> 00:21:19.660 adopted from a sinful family into the family of God? Now that back to 233 00:21:19.700 --> 00:21:23.579 verse Twenty Eight. As we continue through this passage, here, Paul reminds 234 00:21:23.660 --> 00:21:27.980 us of the change that happens in our lives. When we become the Christians, 235 00:21:29.019 --> 00:21:32.819 let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as 236 00:21:32.890 --> 00:21:34.849 good is building up, as fits the occasion, as it may, give 237 00:21:34.890 --> 00:21:41.410 grace to those who hear. In a world where we rebel against God and 238 00:21:41.569 --> 00:21:47.049 think of ourselves as kings and Queens, we we talk a lot about our 239 00:21:47.160 --> 00:21:52.079 right to this and that, we deserve this or that thing. We excuse 240 00:21:52.240 --> 00:21:55.799 our sin, though we know it is sin. We develop ways and things, 241 00:21:56.240 --> 00:22:00.200 ways of thinking and acting that are against the laws and rules that we 242 00:22:00.359 --> 00:22:06.869 know. But when we are Christ's creatures, when we are being made, 243 00:22:07.390 --> 00:22:11.549 created after the likeness of God and into his image, something changes. We 244 00:22:11.710 --> 00:22:21.819 begin to bend our wills to him. We are made new creatures, and 245 00:22:22.019 --> 00:22:26.299 so, instead of corrupting talk and these kinds of things, we'd say things 246 00:22:26.460 --> 00:22:32.650 that build up that we might give grace to those who hear. Why? 247 00:22:33.650 --> 00:22:38.609 Because we are now creatures of grace, creatures of him. Of the same 248 00:22:38.730 --> 00:22:42.690 goes a to I guess I missed my order a little bit, but well, 249 00:22:44.089 --> 00:22:48.640 the same goes here at a verse. Now a twenty eight. Let 250 00:22:48.720 --> 00:22:51.880 the thief no longer steal, but lad it. Rather, let him labor, 251 00:22:52.240 --> 00:22:55.240 doing honest work with our own hands, so that he may have something 252 00:22:55.319 --> 00:23:04.109 to share with everyone in need. You are no longer children of the flesh. 253 00:23:06.109 --> 00:23:08.230 You are no longer bound to the way of the gentiles, as he 254 00:23:08.349 --> 00:23:14.900 recently said. You belong to a new way, a new path. You've 255 00:23:14.980 --> 00:23:21.299 been given a spirit, even the very spirit of God. If you were 256 00:23:21.339 --> 00:23:27.970 a thief, put away, you're stealing and work with your hands. You 257 00:23:29.089 --> 00:23:34.130 see how we bend our wills to the will of God. But it's more, 258 00:23:36.890 --> 00:23:40.569 let me add just it's a little bit different, though. Then simply 259 00:23:41.049 --> 00:23:47.039 no longer stealing, but now working. This addition is important. He says 260 00:23:47.920 --> 00:23:52.680 that we may have something to share with anyone in need. Here, I 261 00:23:52.839 --> 00:23:59.029 think you see that operating and distinctive principle of generosity and of grace. That 262 00:23:59.190 --> 00:24:03.630 happens. It's not just that we're not supposed to steal anymore, but now 263 00:24:03.750 --> 00:24:07.190 we're to work and earn our bread, but we do it in order to 264 00:24:07.509 --> 00:24:11.779 share with others, in order to share with those who are in need. 265 00:24:11.619 --> 00:24:15.980 Theft is not the operating principle of the church, nor is it even every 266 00:24:17.059 --> 00:24:22.700 man for himself. What's the operating principle of the Church of the Christian it's 267 00:24:22.779 --> 00:24:29.410 every man for his brother, every man, every woman for her sister. 268 00:24:30.329 --> 00:24:33.890 We can work so that we provide for ourselves, yes, but we also 269 00:24:33.930 --> 00:24:38.240 work so that we can provide for others. May it be true that there 270 00:24:38.359 --> 00:24:45.519 is never a soul in need here in our church was we can consider all 271 00:24:45.559 --> 00:24:49.359 of these things. We now come to verse thirty, in many ways the 272 00:24:49.400 --> 00:24:56.710 sum of all of this, and if you could memorize one verse, this 273 00:24:56.869 --> 00:25:00.390 would be a good one to choose. But all that, you choose as 274 00:25:00.430 --> 00:25:04.750 your needs dictate. But verse thirty says, and do not grieve the Holy 275 00:25:04.869 --> 00:25:11.019 Spirit of God by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Its 276 00:25:11.099 --> 00:25:15.180 versus so important and because it has so much contained in it about how we 277 00:25:15.339 --> 00:25:21.180 need to be thinking about our lives as Christians. What do we mean? 278 00:25:22.410 --> 00:25:26.609 Well, for one, we rest in the fact that God's righteousness is imputed 279 00:25:26.650 --> 00:25:33.369 to us, that we have been sealed and assigned to glory, to redemption 280 00:25:33.089 --> 00:25:37.720 of our souls and our bodies by the very spirit of God who is applying 281 00:25:37.759 --> 00:25:44.680 the work of Christ. That's our starting point. We rest in God's work 282 00:25:45.920 --> 00:25:55.029 and it's because of that relationship that we mourn our sins. The word grieve 283 00:25:55.269 --> 00:26:03.069 here is a personal term. Maybe even surprises you how personal it is. 284 00:26:03.190 --> 00:26:08.700 Do Not Grieve the Holy Spirit of God when you sinned? Do you think 285 00:26:08.740 --> 00:26:14.660 about it in those terms, that I have grieved the Holy Spirit of God, 286 00:26:15.299 --> 00:26:18.769 by whom I have been sealed for the day of redemption? If you 287 00:26:18.849 --> 00:26:23.049 don't, you should, and you should have specially think about it when you're 288 00:26:23.170 --> 00:26:30.609 feeling tempted. Shall I grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom I 289 00:26:30.730 --> 00:26:36.240 have been sealed for the day of redemption? When we think about our obedience 290 00:26:36.359 --> 00:26:40.400 in our real and that we must think about it in this very personal way, 291 00:26:41.799 --> 00:26:47.910 because it is very personal. You See, Christian obedience, Paul is 292 00:26:48.029 --> 00:26:53.150 telling us, is not following a mere moral order, like opening up a 293 00:26:53.269 --> 00:27:00.789 math textbook and simply figuring out the order of operations that you need to execute 294 00:27:00.829 --> 00:27:08.900 in your lives. Christian obedience is about following a mighty moral orderer. It's 295 00:27:08.980 --> 00:27:15.500 there's a relationship involved. We submit ourselves not just to the thing that he 296 00:27:15.579 --> 00:27:19.289 has made or the order and the morality is revealed to us, but we 297 00:27:19.329 --> 00:27:26.970 are submitting ourselves to him. That's why our obedience is so often characterized in 298 00:27:26.130 --> 00:27:33.480 scripture as love. That is what it means to obey, it is to 299 00:27:33.640 --> 00:27:40.640 love, and it's not merely following a mighty moral orderer, a mighty king 300 00:27:40.839 --> 00:27:47.390 who has established these rules. But this particular king, and I speak here 301 00:27:47.509 --> 00:27:51.990 of Christ, who has come as our Messiah and who rules and reigns over 302 00:27:52.069 --> 00:27:57.190 the church, is a king who has loved us, who has saved us, 303 00:27:57.940 --> 00:28:04.099 who has redeemed US and who has sent his spirit to prepare us for 304 00:28:04.220 --> 00:28:10.619 the glories to come. Our relationship is not just to a law giver, 305 00:28:11.859 --> 00:28:15.410 but to one who has redeemed us out of the curse of the law so 306 00:28:15.569 --> 00:28:23.970 that we can live lives of obedience to him. So what is Christian obedience 307 00:28:25.089 --> 00:28:30.559 then? I hope you are seeing the Christian obedience is much more than following 308 00:28:30.720 --> 00:28:41.079 rules. It's following him who has saved us by His grace. It's in 309 00:28:41.279 --> 00:28:45.670 our weakness, in our struggles against the flesh and the temptations that we feel, 310 00:28:47.109 --> 00:28:52.309 in our ignorance of God's law, in our coldness of our hearts, 311 00:28:52.630 --> 00:28:59.220 to turn to the spirit of God at every turn and, instead of grieving 312 00:28:59.299 --> 00:29:03.460 him, putting our faith in him, asking him to reveal to us what 313 00:29:03.619 --> 00:29:08.700 is right to preserve us in the moment of every temptation, to encourage us 314 00:29:08.859 --> 00:29:15.289 in our weakness, to give us the very life of Christ that we might 315 00:29:15.369 --> 00:29:21.250 be strengthened in him, and to preserve us to the very end. We 316 00:29:21.329 --> 00:29:25.359 are not to grieve the spirit of God, but to put our faith in 317 00:29:25.519 --> 00:29:30.000 him, to worship him, to love him, to obey him, because 318 00:29:30.119 --> 00:29:37.279 from him we receive all the blessings of our redemption that have been purchased for 319 00:29:37.319 --> 00:29:42.910 us by Christ's own blood. That's what Christian obedience is, and when we 320 00:29:44.109 --> 00:29:49.349 obey with faith in that for the glory of God and in obedience to his 321 00:29:49.509 --> 00:29:56.500 commands, God is pleased, because it is God who is at work, 322 00:29:56.339 --> 00:30:02.500 doing his work in you. Let's pray