This past week the Episcopalian church elected its first ever openly gay bishop, Gene Robinson. The election has threatened to cause a split amongst the 2.4 million member denomination. When asked by a CNN reporter whether his election would cause a split in the church, Gene Robinson replied, “I hope they don’t decide to leave my church. If they do that will be there choice.” He then went on to address the impact his election would have on other churches. He said, “I suspect that before too long, other denominations will also follow and welcome openly gay and lesbian people into leadership positions." And then he said, “Just as Jesus reached out to people on the fringes and brought them in, that’s what the Episcopal Church is doing with this vote”
Bishop Elect Gene Robinson (who by the way has a great last name but terrible theology) was right in one aspect when he said that Jesus reached out to those on the fringes. Jesus spoke with, spent time with, even welcomed and ate with all kinds of sinners…but the one thing the Bishop elect left out was that Jesus welcomed the sinners, but then called on them to repent of their sins and change their lives. (John 8-woman caught in adultery told to go and sin no more.)
Friends, God loves you just the way you are right now. And there is nothing you can do to make Him love you any less or any more, but God loves you so much that He will not let you stay just the way you are. He wants you to be transformed by His grace, to be made new in the image of His Son Jesus Christ. And as the body of Christ, we are called to do the same, to welcome and love any and every kind of person, but to call them to be transformed by God’s grace.
In the text that was read to you a few moments ago, the apostle Paul gave us a before and after snapshot. It’s a snapshot of a person before and after becoming a Christian and the change that takes place. As we continue in our series of what makes a great church, I want us to see that a great church is a place where lives are transformed, where lost sinners are turned into saved saints. And perhaps this morning, by responding to God’s grace, you can leave here saying like the blind man who met Jesus, “I was blind but now I see!”
Now, if we here at this church are going to be the kind of church that God wants us to be then we must be a church where lives are changed. This means first of all that the church needs to be distinct from the world around it. Look at vs. 17. It says, “So 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 church literally means the called out ones. And as the church, we are called to stand out. To be distinct, not by a fish on our car or a bible on our shelf, but by the way we live our lives. Jesus said, “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.” We are called to shine, to give light to this world darkened by sin, but if we are no different from the world our light just simply tends to just blend in. Paul tells us as the church, you must not live like those who don’t know Christ.
How does a person who does not know Christ live? Paul here tells us. Now there are degrees of extremity, but all follow a similar pattern in life. In his book, God’s New Society, John Stott describes the downward spiral of a heart that does not know Christ. It starts first with the Hardening of the Heart. Look at the last part of vs. 18. “They 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 all these other symptoms are the result of the hard heart. Now the word there literally means a heart of stone. It’s a heart that is unwilling to allow the truth of God to penetrate and thus respond to that truth.
Now it’s not impossible. I’m a firm believer that the Grace of God can soften even the hardest of hearts, (that’s why I believe no one is ever so far away from God that they are without hope), but God will not force Himself upon anybody. That’s why I said that a hard heart is an unwillingness, not an inability, to respond to God’s truth. God gives us the choice to decide. A hard heart is the result of a conscience decision to reject God’s truth. Now let me ask you, how will you respond? Have you chosen to harden your heart to God’s truth, if so why not allow that truth to penetrate and totally transform you? But it’s your choice, and it’s a choice you have to make.
Now the next step in this downward spiral is a darkened heart. Vs. 18 says that They are darkened in their understanding. If a person is unwilling to hear the truth of God, then they are then unable to understand the things of God. There hearts are darkened. That’s why its so hard to explain spiritual issues to someone who is not a Christian. Ever try to explain to someone why it is that you are seeking to live a holy life, or why you can have joy even in the worst of circumstances. And its difficult for those with a darkened heart to comprehend who God is. A God who is Holy, righteous, and just; a God who holds us accountable; and a God who place His Son on a cross to die for the sins of the world are concepts that the unbeliever can’t understand. They may be able to regurgitate them back to you, but they can’t comprehend the truth.
And the result of this is that they often replace the truth of God with their own version of the truth. In the Aug 4th edition of the Weekly Standard, there was an article by Gary Anderson called “Can You Believe It? The Gospel according to Elaine Pagels” in which he describes how Ms. Pagels came to her own understanding of the gospel. After her son was diagnosed with a rare and fatal disease, she ducked into a church in New York City to get out of the rain. While in the church, she was moved by the service taking place. She was so moved that she wanted to become a Christian, but she couldn’t bring herself to believe the Apostle’s creed as it was recited. So her response… to discredit the creed and claim that Christianity was meant to be a faith not limited by beliefs. Since she could not accept the truth, she decided to make her own. And you see this all the time.
People can’t grasp that God is holy and wants his people to be holy, so their response? God must want me to be happy. In his Breakpoint commentary, Why Christians Divorce, Chuck Colson tells the story of a woman named Diana, who left her husband Paul for another man named Roger. She defended herself and removed any guilt she might have had do to the pain she caused her family with the excuse: "It was just so good and right with Roger that I knew it would be wrong to go on with Paul." The understanding is that no matter how awful the sin maybe, if it makes me happy, then it must be right. Their hearts are darkened to the truth.
The next step downward is that of a deadened heart. Vs. 18 says that they are separated from the life of God. Paul used the expression elsewhere to explain life apart from Christ as being dead in sin. And when a person is apart from God, there is no shame felt for committing a sin and no reason for controlling one’s behavior.
I remember to this day something I saw on television when I was only in the 6th grade. My brother and I had a television set in our room, and one weekend our cable system gave an HBO preview weekend. Without my parents knowledge, I watched a documentary on sexual perversion, and even though we didn’t grow up in a Christian home, we grew up in a moral home, and I remember watching a group of adults dressed in raunchy clothing making love to everyone in the room thinking how in the world can those people do such things. Don’t they feel guilty? They didn’t because they were dead in their sins.
And when a person is dead in their sins, with no feeling of guilt or shame, then what follows is recklessness. Look at vs. 19. “Having 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.” It’s an anything goes mentality. There is no limits to the perversion that is possible, and I think you can simply turn on your television to witness this taking place. They are seeking satisfaction and fulfillment in their sins, but they can never be satisfied. It says that there is a continual lust for more. Dr. J.V. McGee in his commentary said that, “This vicious cycle leads to a desire to go even deeper into sin. If you paint the town red tonight, you have to have a bigger bucket and a bigger brush for tomorrow night. The meaning here is to covet the very depths of immorality. Men in sin are never satisfied with sin.” (Tell story of Ted Bundy. He was interviewed prior to execution by James Dobson and was asked how he got to the point of raping and killing women. He said that it started in his teens at a gas station where he picked up a pornographic magazine. It satisfied only temporaraly. Then he had to go to hard core porno. Then to live shows. Then when that wasn’t enough, he had to expereince it himself.) Isaiah 56:11 says, “They are dogs with mighty appetites; they never have enough. They are shepherds who lack understanding; they all turn to their own way, each seeks his own gain. "Come," each one cries, "let me get wine! Let us drink our fill of beer! And tomorrow will be like today, or even far better."
Now the point makes with describing this lifestyle is this…You shouldn’t live like this. You’re not like that. You’ve been saved, you’ve been sanctified, so you shouldn’t behave like those who are not. Look at vs. 20-24. “You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” In other words, stop living the way you were living and live a holy life.
Paul says that we are to put off the old self, and this is what we call repentance. Now the word repentance comes from two Greek words Meta Voia meaning to change one’s mind. It’s a change of attitude. My mind was once proud and arrogant, now it humble and permissive. It’s a redirection of your will. It’s a purposeful decision to forsake all that is evil and pursue all that is good.
Now there are three words involved with Genuine repentance. The first is conviction. You admit that you’re wrong. There is no evasion, no denial, no blaming others. David said after his affair with Bathsheeba and the murder of her husband, “I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the guilt of my sin.” He admitted his guilt. Proverbs 28:13 says, “He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.”
Next, you must have contrition, or remorse. It’s not enough to know that what you have done is wrong, but there needs to be sorrow behind it. While I was stationed in the Navy, we had a first class Petty officer who whenever we hit the ports, he would go out to the nearest bar and find him what he called a wife for the night. The problem with this was that he already had a beautiful wife at home with three kids all under the age of 10 who used to send him pictures they drew him. When confronted with his behavior, his response was, “yeah its wrong, but what happens at sea stays at sea, and if his wife didn’t know, no harm done!”
I compare that with another shipmate of mine who went out one night and had too much to drink. With his defenses weakened by the alcohol, he gave into temptation and cheated on his newly wedded bride. And the next day he came to me and he was in tears. He said, “Barry, how could I do this,” and you could just sense the immense remorse from him. Psalm 34:18 says, “The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
But true repentance doesn’t end there. There must be a change. It’s not enough to know its wrong; it’s not enough to feel bad about it….there needs to be a transformation. Now there are some who go to God in prayer and you’ll say, “Father forgive me for yelling at my spouse, for looking at that pornographic magazine, or lying to my boss, getting drunk last weekend, for gossiping about that lady…Father I’m sorry and since I know You’re a God of grace, forgive me and forgive me later to because I’m going out to do it again.” That’s not repentance…that’s indulgence, that’s exploiting grace. And there is no room for that in the Christian life. As a Christian, you have been redeemed from the empty way of life, you have died to sin, and God wants you…No He demands that you change and live a holy life.
Now what happens when we repent and turn to Christ? 1 John 1:9 tells us. It reads, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” God will forgive us of all of our sins. Every sin you’ve ever committed, no matter how repulsive and awful it may be, is completely washed away. Though your sins be as scarlet they shall be white as snow.
The next thing that happens when we repent and turn to Christ is that we become a new creation. The bible says that if anyone is in Christ He is a new creation, the old is gone and the new has come. All things are new. You’ve changed. Look at vs. 23. It says, “be made new in the attitude of your minds.” You’ve got a new attitude; a new mindset.
Now there are some of you who have been Christians for a number of years, yet you’ve never changed. If an old man is in church and is cross and mean spirited, don’t just think, Oh that’s how old Bob is. Yeah, exactly, the old Bob, but what about the new Bob that is being renewed in the image of Christ. If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, and if you haven’t changed, then maybe you are not in Christ. I’m convinced there are plenty of people who love the church and devote their time and resources to it…they love the church but care nothing of Christ. And if you do, then why hasn’t there been a change? Look at all the changes Paul mentions here. Look at the vast differences. You used to lie, now you tell the truth. You used to be bitter and angry, now you’ve learned to forgive. You used to steal, now you’re a hard worker who shares with those in need. You used to imitate the world, now you imitate God. What a difference, what a change.
Now how about you? Have you changed? You know, concerning Bishop elect Gene Robinson, a defender of his said that he was elected because of his superior credentials as a minister. A man who left his wife and two daughters to live in a homosexual affair with another man is good credentials? You know what would be? If he said, “God, I messed up. I sinned against my family and you. I pledge that I will leave this sinful lifestyle and return to you. Please forgive me and help me to follow You.” That would be the best credentials possible. The credentials of a changed life.
Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I am found. I was blind, but now I see. There’s been a change in me.
Sermon Study Guide
A Life Transformed By Grace
Ephesians 4:17-5:2
I. If we are going to be the kind of church that God wants us to be, then we must be a church where lives are ______________.
A. This means that the church must be _____ from the world. (vs. 17)
• The word church literally means the ______-____ ones.
• We are called to _______, to give light to this world darkened by ______, but if we are no ________ than the world we simply _____ in.
B. Life without Christ is described by John Stott as a ______ spiral of the heart.
1. It starts with the _________ of the heart (vs. 18c)
• It means that a heart is ________ to allow the ______ of God to penetrate and thus respond positively.
2. The next step is the ________ heart. (Vs. 18a)
• If a person is unwilling to hear the truth of God, then they are then unable to __________ the things of God.
3. The next step is that of a ________ heart (vs. 18b)
• When a person is at this stage, they feel neither _____ nor _______.
4. This leads to a life of ____________ (vs. 19)
• Isaiah 56:11 “They are dogs with mighty appetites; they never have enough. They are shepherds who lack understanding; they all turn to their own way, each seeks his own gain. "Come," each one cries, "let me get wine! Let us drink our fill of beer! And tomorrow will be like today, or even far better."
C. Paul’s point in describing this is that we shouldn’t _______ like this. (vs. 20-24)
II. We are called to put off the ____ self, and this is what we call ___________. This involves three words:
1. There must be ________________.
• Proverbs 28:13 says, “He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.”
2. You must have a sense of _________________.
• Psalm 34:18 says, “The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
3. There must be a ________.
III. What Will God do when we repent?
A. He will ________ us of all our sins.
• 1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
B. We become a _____ creation. (vs. 23-24) (vs.25-5:2)
• 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
