Ephesians 5A. For unbelievers, the beliefs and practices of Christianity can appear to be a contradiction

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1 Fr unbelievers, the beliefs and practices f Christianity can appear t be a cntradictin On the ne hand, they ll hear hw we believe we re assured Heaven slely because f ur trust in Jesus Christ We reject any thelgy that ding gd deeds is a means f salvatin r that it even cntributes t ur salvatin Of curse this cnfuses a wrld that assumes gd things cme t thse wh help themselves As I ve heard mre than ne unbeliever say having heard f salvatin by grace thrugh faith it can t be that easy But then having been saved, Christians maintain that ding gd deeds shuld be the mark f a changed life Jesus calls His fllwers t pursue ding gd s that we may glrify ur Father in Heaven We put away sin and we seek t serve thers as a lving respnse t ur salvatin, nt a means f salvatin Fr believers taught by the Spirit f Gd, these cncepts make perfect sense, but t the unbelieving wrld they can appear t be a cntradictin They see n sense in claiming a salvatin that cmes withut regard t ur persnal merit r effrt Yet at the same time, teaching that the Lrd demands gd wrks frm thse He has saved This thelgy is a stumbling blck t ther religius system because every false, manmade religius system assumes Gd thinks like we d That He fllws a cause-and-effect reward system Thse wh d gd, receive gd; while thse wh d bad, receive judgment That s hw we perate 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

2 2! f! 14 S unmerited favr seems t easy t an unbeliever, and ding wrks after receiving salvatin seems pintless It s like studying after the test is ver And yet this is exactly the way the Lrd has cnstructed salvatin Because it brings Him all the glry and leaves us with nne He saved us withut any f us lifting even a finger, s He alne deserves the glry Then secndly, when a believer lives an bedient life f gd wrks, he r she cntinues t give Gd glry Since we dn t claim ur gd wrks as a means f earning salvatin, then ur gd deeds can nly be understd as an act f lve fr Gd Cnsider the example f a yung by wh decides t wash his father s car ne Saturday mrning Perhaps a neighbr witnesses the by s gd deed, and he assumes the by s father must be paying the sn t d this chre In which case, he simple cncludes the by is wrking t earn a wage But what wuld the neighbr think if he discvered that the by wasn t being paid at all? Instead, yung man simply decided t wash dad s car ut f lve and respect fr his father Knwing this, the neighbr wuld naturally wnder what kind f father inspires such selfless lve in his children In that sense, the by s gd deed brught glry upn his father And in the same way, we are called t glrify ur Father in Heaven thrugh gd deeds dne ut f a heart thankful fr ur salvatin We knw by faith alne we have been adpted int the family f Gd, made sns and daughters f Gd Mst High by His grace S nw that we are in the family, we are called t glrify the Father 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

3 3! f! 14 First, by putting away sin, putting n the new self And secndly, by living ut ur faith thrugh gd wrks These things will lead the wrld t ask the questin, What kind f Father inspires His children t live this way? This is where we find Paul at the end f chapter 4 and mving int chapter 5 He was exhrting the church t put n the new self, t let ur Christ-like nature we received by ur faith shine thrugh And t disassemble ur crrupt, sinful uter man ne thread at a time This is the call f sanctificatin It s a decisin t take up an inward battle, t fight against urselves fr the glry f Gd Paul s call t bedience in the faith runs three chapters, and when we last studied tgether, we reached the end f the first f thse chapters Paul was giving a series f five exhrtatins t adpt a different apprach t life cnsistent with ur new nature If yu remember, each f these exhrtatins had three parts: A negative cmmand t stp smething, a psitive cmmand t begin smething new in its place And a justificatin r reasn fr why this change was beneficial r necessary While we read thrugh all five exhrtatins in vs.25-32, we nly discussed fur f the exhrtatins The first was t stp speaking falsehds The secnd was t cease sinning in anger The third was t stp stealing The furth was t put an end t unwhlesme speech Each f these is self-evidently a gd thing 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

4 4! f! 14 Just ask yurself hw yu feel when smene lies t yu r cmes against yu in anger r steals frm yu r gssips abut yu Clearly, these things are unlving and unhly and shuld nt define the life f a fllwer f the Lrd Yet as we said last time, they certainly define the wrld arund us In fact, these things are s cmmn, they are expected and even tlerated We celebrate smene wh steals and gets away with it We cheer thse wh say unwhlesme things in a cmedy rutine r in a mvie Therefre, it s all the mre impactful when a Christian acts differently fr the glry f Gd We stand apart in a healthy way And the Lrd may use that draw thers t Himself, which is ur missin while we await ur resurrectin That brings us t the final example at the end f chapter 4, which is a list f several related behavirs Eph. 4:31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamr and slander be put away frm yu, alng with all malice. Eph. 4:32 Be kind t ne anther, tender-hearted, frgiving each ther, just as Gd in Christ als has frgiven yu. Paul cmmands that we put away r set aside six vices that wrk tgether in a particular way Let s lk at each vice fr a secnd and see hw they cnspire t create a single prblem in bdy f Christ First, Paul says put aside bitterness Bitterness is the Bible s term fr a festering hurt r resentment against anther Bitterness is the ppsite f grace and frgiveness 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

5 5! f! 14 A bitter persn keeps track f the wrngs dne t him r her by anther rather than letting them g As Barclay nce remarked, every Christian shuld pray that the Lrd might teach us hw t frget Next, Paul says put away wrath and anger Wrath is a passinate respnse brn ut f frethught It can cme acrss as anger, but it s fundamentally nt anger It s aggressin r abuse fcused against smene r smething Anger is listed separately, because it s a different emtin While wrath is a planned act f aggressin, anger is an unthinking, emtinal respnse t smething Remember, Paul said righteus anger is apprpriate, since it is a Spirit-triggered emtin intended t stir us t a righteus respnse But unrighteus anger manifested by the flesh is an impulsive act demnstrating a lack f self-cntrl The next tw, clamr and and slander, are als related Clamr is a vcal utcry r utburst intended t create a disruptin Like shuting ver smene else in an argument s as t silence them Or being bisterus as a prideful display f pwer, like the way a man basts ludly in a crwded bar hping t intimidate an adversary Similarly, slander is speaking wrds t hurt anther, but the effect is very different If clamr is a verbal frntal assault, slander is the rhetrical equivalent f a knife in the back Slandering is whisper false accusatins abut smene t anyne wh will listen and hpefully repeat it Lastly, Paul says put aside malice, which is fcused hatred fr anther persn manifested in a variety f ways 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

6 6! f! 14 Having malice fr anther means being absrbed by thughts f hurting them r seeing them cme t harm It s a preccupatin with anther s dwnfall Paul asks us t put away these six vices, because tgether they wrk against healing and frgiveness in the bdy f Christ There is n dubt that we will injure ne anther frm time t time Yu can t expect a grup f very different peple t cme tgether int a single bdy and nt expect sme frictin That frictin is a prduct f sin f selfishness, pride, arrgance, thughtlessness While we understand that relatinship prblems will arise, we dn t accept them nr ignre them We came tgether t help each ther put away ur sin nature, s as ur flaws cme t light, we will call them ut gently while encuraging better things But that prcess will be blcked befre it even starts if we harbr bitter, anger, unfrgiving hearts If smene des us wrng and we respnd with wrath r slander rather than frgiveness, we will cement that persn as ur enemy We can t shut them dwn r harbr hatred fr them in ur hearts, fr that just expses us as the evil ne Which is why issues the psitive cmmand t be kind t ne anther Paul isn t merely saying be nice t everyne He s speaking the cntext f being wrnged Be kind t thse wh wrng yu, wh hurt yu r are thughtless t yu Dn t just refrain frm a negative respnse g ut f yur way t prvide a psitive respnse The ppsite f retributin isn t merely silence it s shwing kindness 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

7 7! f! 14 Paul says be tender-hearted, which means literally have a gd heart S that yu might truly frgive anther And f curse ur mdel is fund in the way the Father frgave us in Christ While we were His enemies, despising Him and ffending Him in everything we did r said He mved first t shw us kindness, frgiving us and granting us mercy befre we even knew we needed it The kindness f Gd brught us t repentance Here s ne f the xymrnic Christian mments fr unbelievers We shw frgiveness t thers because we have been frgiven We shw kindness t thers wh dn t deserve it because the Father shwed undeserving peple like yu and me His kindness But it makes perfect sense t thse f us wh knw the grace f Gd We understand hw lve wins ver the hard heart S when we put away malice, anger and wrath, we surprise peple wh were bracing fr a different respnse When we refrain frm clamring t respnd sftly and kindly t a member f the bdy f Christ, we let kindness accmplish a wrk in their heart S as we end chapter 4 and mve int chapter 5, we lk back n Paul s cmmand t live as ne bdy putting n the new self We live and wrk tgether in this wrld as ne bdy with ne Spirit thrugh ne faith Yet we re gifted in a variety f ways by that same Spirit Thse different gifts wrk tgether t make us spiritually strnger tgether than we can be alne We serve in ur gifts, grwing tgether in the likeness f Christ, acting as His bdy befre the wrld And if we re t fulfill that missin, we cannt lk like the wrld 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

8 8! f! 14 We must nt fllw in the same path f sin that defines their lives T d s is t be unlike Christ and therefre t be unlike His bdy And if we re nt prepared t lk like Christ, then hw successive can we be in representing Him t the wrld? Like my example f the yung by wh washes his father s car, what if that yung by was cussing as he did the jb? Or what if he used the neighbr s hse t wash the car, stealing the neighbr s water? Or what if he threw his used rags n the neighbr s lawn? Any message cncerning the by s lve fr his father was lst n the neighbr wh saw just anther unruly, thughtless hligan Which leads us int chapter 5, with Paul mving away frm discussins f behavir within the bdy t persnal behavirs that mark ur character Eph. 5:1 Therefre be imitatrs f Gd, as belved children; Eph. 5:2 and walk in lve, just as Christ als lved yu and gave Himself up fr us, an ffering and a sacrifice t Gd as a fragrant arma. Eph. 5:3 But immrality r any impurity r greed must nt even be named amng yu, as is prper amng saints; Eph. 5:4 and there must be n filthiness and silly talk, r carse jesting, which are nt fitting, but rather giving f thanks. Therefre, Paul says, let s imitate Gd as His children The wrd therefre cmes in reference t ur missin as Christ s bdy Paul culd have said S that we may accmplish ur missin, be imitatrs This is a call t missinal living fr the sake f the Gspel This is nt abut earning r preserving yur salvatin This is abut being effective in the rle Christ assigned t His bdy There is simply n ther way 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

9 9! f! 14 And it begins with walking in lve The phrase is certainly cmmn, and everyne agrees with the cncept But when yu see Paul s definitin f what it means t walk in lve, it gets harder Paul defines walking in lve as walking in Christ s ftsteps Specifically, Christ willingly lay dwn His life fr thse wh were spitting n Him and whipping Him He tk insults and fists and return them with sacrificial frgiveness This is the biblical meaning f walking in lve which is shwing everyne self-sacrificial, agape lve This is walking in lve, but it s hardly what the wrld means when it talks f lve But it is the lve Gd expects, and it s a pleasing thing t ur Father when we d it If yu and I are ging t shw that kind f lve t thers, then we must eliminate the behavirs that are cntrary t that kind f lve And s what fllws are an examinatin f the many ways we fail t walk t lve Beginning with ur persnal purity In v.3 Paul says if we want t walk in lve as Christ walked, we can have n immrality, n impurity and n greed amng the saints These things can t even be named amng us, Paul says Which is t say that even the suggestin that such things are part f the bdy f Christ is harmful t ur missin If we thught Paul was ging t g easy n us, it s clear Paul has n intentin f skirting the tugh issues Immrality is a Greek wrd that always describes any cnduct that defiles the marriage bed like frnicatin r adultery 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

10 10! f! 14 While impurity refers t any frm f unhly living like using prngraphy r illegal drug use Finally greed seems t be cnnected t the earlier tw thughts, which means any uncntrlled appetite fr evil things Paul begins with these things because they are exactly the ppsite f walking in lve Walking in lve means sacrificing the desires f self fr the betterment f thers But these actins are all abut serving self at the expense f thers Frnicatin is having sex with smene withut marrying them first It s the mst selfish frm f lve It s stealing smething precius frm smene s future wife r husband It s abut serving ur wn greedy desires rather than sacrificing self fr the sake f the ther persn and their future spuse Obviusly, we can say the same things abut an adulterus r hmsexual relatinship They are illegitimate relatinships brn ut f selfishness and greed They dn t lve anther persn because they aren t fr the betterment f the ther persn They are merely ways we lve urselves In fact, every immrality (drug abuse, prngraphy, etc.) is a selfish act that hurts thers, whether directly r indirectly And therefre, we cannt allw such things t gain a perch inside the bdy f Christ We cannt have even the suggestin that such things are cmpatible with a walk with Christ Because their very existence in the bdy f Christ argues against the truth f ur message 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

11 11! f 14! We say we want t shw Christ s lve t the wrld but then we act in ways that are the ppsite f the way Christ lved In Paul s day in Greek cities like Ephesus, these behavirs were cmmn place and s he s cncerned abut these things making their way int the church But dn t think we re far remved frm these cncerns Many Christians tday struggle with varius frms f immrality But it s an even mre trubling t knw that many Christians aren t even struggling anymre They have cnceded t the existence f these things in their lives withut even putting up a fight, as if it s the new nrmal Many churches have cme t accept these things as nrmal in ur culture Like yung Christian cuple living tgether befre marriage Or Christians talking penly abut enjying watching nearprngraphic televisin shws and mvies Or kids in Christian families using illegal drugs r alchl, caught in sexting scandals at schl, etc. If we think this is the new nrmal in the Church, than we ve lst the message lve Christ left us fr us t share with the wrld Our message has merely becme the wrld s message Which is lve yurself at all csts And that message brings n ne clser t Gd Finally, Paul mves frm immral behavirs t immral speech in v.4 Like Jesus said: Matt. 15:18 But the things that prceed ut f the muth cme frm the heart, and thse defile the man. Matt. 15:19 Fr ut f the heart cme evil thughts, murders, adulteries, frnicatins, thefts, false witness, slanders Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

12 12! f! 14 What lies in ur hearts will find its way ut f ur muths sn enugh And just as immral and impure acts are cntrary t lve, s is vulgarity Let s lk at each f Paul s cncerns Paul starts with filthy speech Filthiness is bscene cnversatin Like tw men discussing a wman s bdy in lurid terms Or using prfanity Speaking in these ways is the ppsite f lve It s abusive t thers And it s insensitive t thse wh will be justifiably ffended by such things In fact, there is prbably n faster way t undermine yur Christian witness than t engage in prfane r bscene speech And by the same tken, there is n mre bvius and pwerful way t stand apart frm the wrld than t refrain frm such language Next, Paul tells the church t cease silly talk, which culd be translated flish talk This is a brad categry f speech, but think f it as any talk that is beneath us And in particular, any cnversatin that diminishes us in the eyes f thse we re trying t influence fr Christ Fr example, repeating silly phrases like a child might r speaking in a silly vice Or talking seriusly abut meaningless things as if they were wrthy f mature cnversatin I think much f what passes fr entertainment n the internet (e.g., internet memes, fr example) might fall int this categry We all enjy the ccasinal cat vide 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

13 13! f! 14 But it s easy t get carried away with that srt f stuff t the pint f acting juvenile I think this categry fr speech is especially challenging fr teenagers It s a time in life when we re suppsed t mve beynd the silly and frivlus t serius cncerns f life Let s encurage ur Christian teens t mirrr their adult aspiratins with adult speech patterns Obviusly, there can be mments in life when talking in silly ways is perfectly acceptable Like when entertaining a baby r during private mments with yur spuse But when we carry these kinds f behavirs int a public setting, we encurage thers t take us less seriusly And if that s wh we becme in frnt f ur friends r acquaintances, then we ll find it difficult transitining t serius discussins f eternal life And it s in that sense that we are unlving when we talk in this way If we truly have lve fr the lst, then we will guard urselves against lking frivlus r silly befre them We want t make sure they see us as serius, thughtful peple wh can be trusted t ffer meaning cunsel n weighty matters Peple dn t seek eternal advice frm peple wh can t act like an adult Finally, Paul asks us t put aside carse jesting He s talking abut dirty jkes, and we all knw ne when we hear it Keep in mind that this categry als includes subtle dirty humr Like duble entendres that imply smething prfane Once again, we knw when we hear it And term carse jesting als includes crude remarks f any kind 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

14 14! f! 14 Fr example, making ff-handed remarks abut smene s spuse Thmas Cnstable tells a stry f a time he attended a wedding where a guest prudly declared that she was the first persn t get the grm drunk That was carse jesting t Carse talk f this srt isn t cnsistent with walking in lve because it impses n thers Either it ffends Or it incites lust Or it celebrates depravity and sin in thers In all cases, it is cntrary t lve and detracts frm ur ability t represent Christ Instead f these speech patterns, use yur tngue t give thanks, Paul says First t the Lrd Himself and then t thers Be smene wh is a blessing with yur muth Because in that way yu will certainly stand apart frm the wrld Which can nly serve t help yu reach them fr Christ We ve just begun the chapter and there is a lt mre waiting fr us here Paul will mve frm individual purity t marriage and then family and t thse in authrity We ll have plenty mre t cnsider as we g But befre we lk past tday, give sme sber thught t hw yu carry yurself in the things Paul mentined Remember, yur jb is t glrify the Father frm a thankful, hly heart 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.