Introduction: Grace be to you and peace, from God our Father, and from our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Our text is the Epistle Lesson just read, from Ephesians 4 and 5. We begin with prayer.
Dear fellow disciples of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ:
- We all make decisions in life as to just how closely we are going to imitate and get along with the world, and just how much effort we are going to put into emulating the life of Jesus and following the instructions of God’s Word.
- We make these decisions as we are confronted with the reality that not everything we have been taught and trained in conforms to and follows the instructions of God’s Word. Just as we are on a continuum and moving either in one direction or the other, so also our parents, teachers, and pastors who taught us were on the same continuum and also hopefully moving in the direction of greater conformity to the ways of God.
- But we still have to get along with people in the world, and we still have to “succeed” in the world. And we soon realize that what God’s Word encourages is contrary to our sinful nature. In fact, living in accord with God’s Word can be hazardous to one’s health and threaten one’s survival – as was the case for Elijah.
- So we try to walk a careful line – of giving some attention to God’s Word, His revealed will for human living, but also compromising our commitment to God so as not to imperil our earthly relationships and success.
- We would like to be “moderate” and “reasoned” in this approach – but God’s Word is clear in condemning “worldly ways,” and as the general values of our society become less and less “godly” and more and more devoted to “rationalizing” wickedness, this compromise becomes much more difficult. And actually, it always has been and will be difficult!
- So in our text the apostle – by direct inspiration of God’s Holy Spirit – urges us to more fervent consideration of devoting ourselves to the ways of God, clearly noting both the ungodly influence of the world around us and also of our own sinful nature. There is no way around facing, acknowledging, and accepting that:
I. To Live As Children Of God Requires Abandoning Our Former Fleshly And Worldly Ways
A. Paul Describes Worldly Thinking As Futile – Full Of Ignorance, Hardness Of Heart, And Alienated From The Life Of God
Text: “You must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.”
B. The Result Of This Ignorance And Hardness Of Heart Is Capitulation To Sensuality, Greed, And Impurity
Text: “They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.”
C. So We Must Give Up This “Manner Of Life” – Also With Its Falsehood, Lies, Anger, Malice, Thievery Laziness, And Corrupt Use Of Language
Text: “You were taught to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires . . . to put away falsehood . . . to not let the sun go down on your anger, and to give no opportunity to the devil. . . . Let thief no longer steal . . . Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths . . . Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God . . . Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.”
Statement: One of the things about contemplating “THE WAY OF LIFE FOR GOD’S PEOPLE” is that it constantly reveals to us the depth of our fallen sinful nature, and how much we need the gracious forgiveness and mercy of God which is ours in Christ Jesus. Take “bitterness” for example – something that arises in all of us at times. Or take “deceitful desires” – all the things we desire because we think that having them will make us more happy. Or take “slander” – our propensity to speak badly of others, to gossip. Or take anger and malice – the ill-will toward others that we consider reasonable and appropriate given “who they are” and “what they have done.”
Application: Each of these things – if we allow truthful reflection upon them – helps us to also see how greed for pleasures and possessions is deeply enmeshed in our “thinking” and also in our “way of life.” God’s Word does not contrast God’s ways with our sinful nature and the world’s sinfulness in order to make us “feel better” about ourselves or to help us measure our “victories” and our “progress,” but rather to call us to repentance. And repentance is not merely “feeling sorry” about things, but rather recognizing them for what they are, repudiating them, and being repulsed by them, especially and particularly as we find these evils within us.
Thankfully, God has included the gift of forgiveness and redemption in His will, His plans for us, and in His Word to us. But the only way to access His redemption is through repentance, real and genuine repentance as just described. This too is difficult for us to learn; in fact, what comes naturally from our sinful nature is to rather deny that we have much of a problem with sin, and to explain and justify how our compromises are in fact good, right, and holy. But this is just the opposite of “THE WAY OF LIFE FOR GOD’S PEOPLE,” which in fact is a life of deep-seated repentance and humble gratitude for God’s gracious forgiveness!
Transition: And this is the purpose of our life together within the church, our study of God’s Word and His will, for:
II. “THE WAY OF LIFE FOR GOD’S PEOPLE” Requires Chiefly That We Learn Christ
Text: The evil ways of the world, and of our sinful flesh, Paul reminds us are contrary to God’s will, and against our learning of Christ: “That is not the way you learned Christ! – assuming that you have heard about Him and were taught in Him, as the truth is in Jesus.”
A. Learning Christ Is Learning God’s Gracious Mercy And Love, Which Makes Us Similarly Tenderhearted And Loving
Text: “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”
B. Learning Christ Guides Us To A Life Of Love – Of Giving Ourselves To One Another As Christ Did, So That We Become Imitators Of God
Text: “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
Statement: Learning God’s love requires truthful and honest confession – as God’s Word about sin and evil evoke within true Christians. So the foremost evidence of Christian life is repentance and confession, true sorrow for our sin, and utter humility. The next evidence is continued yearning and desire to study God’s Word and to grow in “learning Christ,” learning to know and believe the love that God has for us. This yields not only the greatest comfort and confidence that we can have in life, but also greater boldness in our repentance and confession. Finally, as we learn Christ through repentance and faith in God’s grace, other fruits become evident – particularly and most importantly kindness, tenderheartedness, and willingness to forgive, and ultimately self-sacrifice to God and to others.
Application: And this is “putting off your old self.” But this is not accomplished by trying harder, or working harder on ourselves, but rather through the pain and torment of genuine repentance and the joy of knowing God in Christ Jesus, learning Christ, and living in the gracious clemency, kindness, tenderheartedness, forgiveness, and love of God. It is this alone that transforms us – and it is by God’s power – so that we are incorporated into “THE WAY OF LIFE FOR GOD’S PEOPLE.” And this has nothing to do with “our victories” or celebrating “our progress.” It is rather utterly humbling so that we cry out “God be merciful to me, a sinner,” and that we glory only in the cross of Christ and His resurrection for us.
Conclusion: Because we are Christians – and at least moderate and compromise our sinful and worldly desires against the Word of God, our life in Christ is difficult. We tend to emphasize the good we have done and are doing, rather than lamenting and mourning the evil that is left within us, which we intentionally harbor in compromise with the world and in deference to our sinful flesh. But this is precisely what we are called to acknowledge and repent of. Do not be afraid to move in this direction – for it only moves you closer to Christ, and enables you to “learn Christ” more fully. Only in this way will we grow in true goodness. This is “THE WAY OF LIFE FOR GOD’S PEOPLE.”
Let us not “grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by Whom we were sealed for the day of redemption.” God grant each of us such continued grace and blessedness. Amen.
Votum: And the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds in the true faith, which is in Christ Jesus, even unto life everlasting, Amen.