May 23, 2010
Morning Worship
Text: Ephesians 4:17-32
Subject: Living the Christ-like Life
Title: It’s Personal
We’ve been going through the book of Ephesians, one of Paul’s great masterpieces of theology. Last week I shared with you about what Paul says you are “in Christ” and the authority you have because of your relationship and I also spoke of how you can have all the authority you need and not be in a proper relationship with God and that authority does nothing for you. You must be in a continual relationship with Him in order for you to be able to accept the fullness of all His promises. We also saw how all the power and authority that is given us is not ours at all but it is His power at work in us. The ultimate value of that power at work in your life is not the signs and wonders that you will do in Jesus’ name, or the healing you can bring or the gifts that operate in your life. The real value of that power that is at work in you, the baptism in the Holy Spirit, is that it is sufficient to bring about change in your life. Change is the one word that strikes fear in the hearts of people – saved or unsaved. For many change is not good, is not easy and is not wanted.
A man went to the doctor. "You," said the doctor to the patient, "are in terrible shape. You’ve got to do something about it. First, tell your wife to cook more nutritious meals. Stop working like a dog. Also, inform your wife you’re going to make a budget, and she has to stick to it. And have her keep the kids off your back so you can relax. Unless there are some changes like that in your life, you’ll probably be dead in a month."
"Doc," the patient said, "this would sound more official coming from you. Could you please call my wife and give her those instructions?"
When the fellow got home, his wife rushed to him. "I talked to your doctor," she wailed. "Poor man, you’ve only got thirty days to live."
For the born again believer change is something that should come freely. When you trusted Christ you were changed – you became a new creation. 2 Corinthians 5:17, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come…
I want to walk you through our passage today to show you that God’s desire for your life is change and it’s personal – for you and for you alone.
Lord, open my eyes to see and my ears to hear what the Spirit is saying to the church.
I. CHANGE IS A PERSONAL CHOICE. 17So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. The word “so” makes a connection with what Paul has written up to this point. The first three chapters he emphasized the spiritual standing of a believer and the authority that has been given you. In the first part of chapter four then, he relates the gifts that God has given to the church to help you live out who you are “IN CHRIST”. And now he follows up with this line of thinking. If God has called you and placed you in a position of authority, and if He has given gifts to the church to help you, “reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ…”, then you can no longer continue to live the way you used to live. This is not a word of spiritual guidance to give you a suggestion of the direction God desires for your life. Paul says, “I insist on it…”. He insists on what? That you no longer live like the Gentiles! When Paul uses the word “Gentiles” here he is referring not just to “non-Jews”, but to those who are pagans – who worship false gods. He says that if you have Christ’s authority, if you are part of the church, then for you to go on living the way you lived before is “futility”. That word in the original language means, “moral depravity.” And futility comes from your thinking. That word means your thoughts, emotion, or your will. In other words, if you continue to live like that you are walking in the flesh and not in the spirit. For a person to claim to be a Christian and live like a pagan brings reproach to the name of Christ and to God the Father. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, 9Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders 10nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. Have you ever known people who live in the past with the phrase “if only” on their lips continually? “If only I hadn’t blown out my knee I could have been a pro football player!” “If only I had married so-and-so my life would be different!” if only…if only… if only…! Well that is what Christians who don’t change are doing – only they aren’t just saying it- they are living it out. If only I hadn’t become a Christian…! Verse 18 says, 18They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Now this is talking about those who do not know the Lord. How does that happen? How is it that some remain in darkness and others come to the light? 1) 2 Corinthians 4:3-4, 3And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. It is satan who places the veil over the eyes of unbelievers, but it is Jesus Christ who opens the eyes of our hearts to believe. It’s a choice. 19Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more. The longer people stay in the sinful life the more difficult it is for the light to break through to them. They lose all sensitivity. The can no longer respond to any moral stimulus. So how is it that some Christians actually fall back into their old traps? It comes down to making a choice. You either make a choice to live for Him or against Him. It’s a choice and it’s personal. No one else can do it for you.
II. CHANGE IS A PERSONAL ATTITUDE 20You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. 21Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23to be made new in the attitude of your minds… Some things to note here. 1) 20You, however, did not come to know Christ that way… You didn’t turn your heart over to Jesus by living the way the Gentiles do. You responded to the prompting and the wooing of the Holy Spirit as He began to convict you of sin and to show you of your need for a Savior. 2) 21Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. Isn’t that how you came to know the Lord? First you heard about Him and what He has done for you. You were just like the woman with an issue of blood in Mark 5. She had struggled with her condition for twelve years and nothing could be done. But verse 27 says, “When she heard about Jesus…” When she heard about Jesus her whole attitude changed. That is when she made up her mind to touch Him. She knew who He was and what He would do. She didn’t know what He could do – but what He would do. 21Surely you heard of him and were taught in him… …in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus… The truth that is in Jesus is that He is Savior, Healer, Deliverer, Brother, Master, King, Provider, servant… He is the fullness of the Godhead. He is God incarnate. He is a man just like us but without sin. He is the perfect sacrifice. He is the commander in chief of the heavenly forces. Everything that He is in the scriptures is the truth for now and eternity. It is so easy for people to be caught up in what they were always taught or what they have always thought, even when it may have questionable scriptural authority. The fact is that when you came to know Christ, the Holy Spirit intended to open the scriptures up to you to reveal who Jesus is. Church tradition may have interfered with that. Look at the phrase from verse 21 “truth that is in Jesus…” The phrase “In Jesus” or “in Him” by a quick count in the NIV occurs 13 times in Ephesians. I think the Holy Spirit wants us to understand the importance of being In Him 3) 22You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires… When you put off the flesh (your former way of life) you do so because your attitude has changed. It says here that you were taught… How does that happen? First, if you are in a bible believing church you’ll hear it from the pulpit. You’ll see it in the congregation. A people who are dedicated to living a life that is pleasing to God – not by what they do but by the grace of God that is flowing out of them. Second, The Holy Spirit teaches you… 1 John 2:27, As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him. 4) 23to be made new in the attitude of your minds… Change comes when you change your attitude about sin in your life. Those attitudes begin in the natural man (the mind) and they are changed because of your spiritual standing. Romans 12:2, 2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. 5) 24and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. We sing the old Hymn, Victory in Jesus, and we all love it. But I have to tell you, there is one line in the song that I have to question the theology on. But then I cried dear Jesus, come and heal my broken spirit… When we are saved our broken spirits aren’t fixed, we are created new… created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Change takes place in your attitude and it’s personal.
III. CHANGE IS A PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY… 25Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 26“In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27and do not give the devil a foothold. 28He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need. Wouldn’t it be cool if when you got saved that God just automatically stretched out His hand and poof, you were made perfect, never to sin again? In reality, God has given us everything that we could ever need that would enable us to be sinless. We have the abiding presence of His Holy Spirit in us. We have His power through the baptism in the Spirit. The only problem that we have that keeps us from perfection is “self”. From time to time we tend to walk in the flesh instead of being led by the Spirit. Sometimes our sin moves into the arena of our personal relationships… put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor… Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27and do not give the devil a foothold… The decision to change and live for the Lord is your responsibility. Don’t lie, don’t get angry, stop stealing, don’t be lazy… not going to happen unless you decide to allow God’s grace to be at work in your life. Keep the door to sin closed so the devil can’t worm his way into your life. Just a little sin in your life will open the door for more and then more and more, until it is either out of control or your heart has been hardened and you have been convinced that it is not sin any longer. I was just talking to a good friend on Friday and there is a church in the area that professes to be a bible believing church – I’m not going to name any names – but this church preaches the bible but ignores holiness. Cigarettes, alcohol, sexual immorality among other things are occurring and no one seems to mind. God’s grace covers it all, right? Wrong! God’s grace will not cover willful rebellion against the Word and will of God. God’s grace can become effective again if you turn from your sin and renew yourself, but if people continue to actively participate in a sinful lifestyle, they are in grave danger. This is hard for some of you to hear but you need to hear it. 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12, 9The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, 10and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie 12and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness… Those who have heard the gospel message and have refused to accept it and live it out in their lives will not be given another chance during the tribulation when they are left behind. It says that during that time God will send them a powerful delusion… Even if they wanted to get saved they won’t be able to… All the more reason to trust Him now. Change is your choice and it is your responsibility and it’s personal.
IV. CHANGE IS A PERSONAL COMMITMENT In verses 29-32 Paul gives some more instruction about Christian living, but I want to focus on one verse. Verse 30, 30And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. There is debate as to what that means. Some think that it refers to not allowing the Holy Spirit to move in the gifts in the church – it does. We can grieve the Holy Spirit that way. When we don’t do anything because we are afraid of being in the flesh and not in the Spirit, we are in the flesh, and that grieves Him. But when you look at what Paul is saying in the context of this passage it means that if you are a Christian, if you have been saved by the blood of the Lamb, if you are born again, then when you live a lifestyle that is contrary to the scriptures, if you are ignoring what the Holy Spirit is speaking to you, if you are rebellion against the convicting power of the Spirit, you are grieving Him. At some point you will either have to make a total commitment – what kind of commitment is it if it isn’t total? Change is a commitment – and it’s personal.
I have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I am not the same – I have been created anew. That’s what it means to be born again. It’s personal!
There is a natural law that coincides with the spiritual lawn of the new birth. Newton’s first law of motions says, “Everything continues in a state of rest unless it is compelled to change by forces impressed upon it.” The force that initiates change in the believer is the Holy Spirit who takes up residence in you when you repent of your sinful life and ask Jesus to be your Lord and Savior.
What God has for your life is personal – it is for you and you alone. You have a unique personality that no other has. You have a unique mission field that only you can minister to. You have a life that can be changed by the power of the Holy Spirit and it for you and no one else.
If you are born again and not living to the full potential that God has for you it’s time to change. Don’t live like the Gentiles.
If you have been baptized in power in the Holy Spirit and are not living a life of power to be the witness that He has empowered you to be you are grieving the Holy Spirit and it’s time to change.
It is God’s power that is bringing about change, but it is your choice to allow His grace to work in your life.
It’s change!
It’s your choice!
And it’s personal!
How will you respond?
