SERMON OUTLINE:
(1). The Command (vs 17-19)
(2). The Explanation (vs 20-24)
(3). The Application (vs 25-32)
SERMON BODY:
Ill:
• A friend of mine (Les Hardwick) once saw a tramp and decided to help him;
• He noticed he was wearing a dirty old coat;
• It was ripped and dirty and fit only for the bin.
• So my friend Les offered the tramp his newer coat;
• The tramp took it but to my friends surprise;
• Instead of taking off the old coat and putting on the new;
• He just put the new coat straight on top of his old coat
• TRANSITION: Sadly like that tramp too many Christians behave the same way:
• They want the new things of Christ;
• But they do not want to let go of the old things of self & sin.
• Yet, when a person becomes a Christian there is a putting on and a putting off.
• When a person becomes a Christian, there is a change of lifestyle required.
• God has not just patched us up;
• But he has given us a brand new life in Christ!
• Verse 17 is very telling:
• “So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do,”
Question: How different are our lives from our non-Christian neighbours?
• Notice I did not say what do we BELIVE that makes us different;
• But rather how different is our lives, our lifestyle?
• Do we have a different attitude to money?
• Do we have a different attitude to material possessions (things)?
• Do we have a different attitude to sexual morality?
• What about our attitude to the poor, to refuges, to prejudice and discrimination?
• I suppose the point I am making is this:
• Do we behave & think differently in these areas of our lives to non-Christians?
• Because verse 17 is telling us that we should be different:
• The reason we are different is because we have Christ in our lives!
• And we live to please him!
(1). The Command (vs 17-19)
“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”.
These verses contain a warning, a caution, an instruction to follow;
• The Christian is not to imitate the life of the non-Christians around him or her.
• The Christian is called to be different!
• Elsewhere the New Testament puts it this way:
• “We are in the world but we are not of the world”.
• In other words, we all as people live in and interact with this world,
• But our Source, our motivation, our values are not from this world system,
• The Bible describes us as ‘aliens, foreigners, strangers & pilgrims’,
• “We are in the world but we are not of the world”.
Ill:
• A boat in water is pleasurable, constructive and fulfils its purpose;
• We enjoyed some canoeing while on holiday recently.
• But…
• Too much water in the boat and you got big problems!
• The Christian in the world is there to make a difference!
• But too much of the world in the Christian and you got big problems!
Christians are meant to be different!
• Notice in this warning there is a emphasises on the mind;
• Christians are to think differently from the world in which they live.
• There is a contrast between the believer and the non-believer.
• Verse 17: tells us that we ‘think’ differently.
• They just live for this world because it’s all they have!
• Verse 18: tells us that we have a different ‘understanding’.
• They are in spiritual darkness but we are people of the light.
• Verse 18: tells us that we are no longer ‘ignorant’.
• We do not harden our hearts to the things of God.
• Verse 20-22: tells us that we have ‘learned’ & ‘been taught’ a better way of living.
• In Christ we have exchanged the old lifestyle for the new lifestyle!
ill:
• A person who is born blind;
• Could not describe to you a beautiful sunset because they were born blind.
• Due to their disability, they are therefore limited in their understanding.
• TRANSITION: when it comes to the God of the Bible;
• The reason people cannot see him or his ways, is because they are spiritually blind!
• It takes the Holy Spirit of God to bring light and life!
• You cannot receive these things any other way!
In verse 19 the contrast continues:
“Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.”
• Because they have darkened minds they ignore and therefore nullify their conscience;
• And live on the principle; “If it feels good then do it!”
Note: the contrast in verse 20:
• Christian’s have to be different because they have come to ‘Know Christ’.
• When a person becomes a Christian a change of ownership that takes place:
• ill: We often see signs in shop windows;
• Simply saying: “Under new management”
• TRANSITION: Because we are under new management,
• We are expected to be different!
• We walk to the beat of a different drum.
• The apostle Paul says we have finished with that old lifestyle:
• We have exchanged our old clothes (lifestyle);
• For new clothes (lifestyle).
(2). The Explanation (20-24)
“That, however, is not the way of life you learned 21 when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22 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; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”
Ill:
• Every day in the life of a Christian a civil war takes place!
• A battle for control of the heart and man occurs.
• The Christian must decide whose will is going to be done!
• Before you came to faith the choice was easy; “My will be done”.
• But now as a Christian it is more difficult as we try to say; “Thy will be done!”
Ill:
• One evening,
• An old Cherokee Indian told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.
• He said, "My son, the battle is between two 'wolves' inside us all.
• One is Evil - It is anger, envy, jealousy, greed, and arrogance.
• The other is Good - it is peace, love, hope, humility, compassion, and faith."
• The grandson thought about this for a while and then asked his grandfather,
• "Father, which wolf wins?"
• To which the old Cherokee Indian simply replied,
• "The one you choose to feed."
• TRANSITION: The apostle Paul’s argument is simple:
• Don’t exchange all you have in Christ;
• For the little you had before you met Christ!
• Each day put on Christ, feed on Christ;
• And allow him to be Lord of your life!
Notice the three things the apostle Paul says here:
• First: verse 20: ‘Heard him’.
• ill: ‘You just ain’t listening story’.
• Second: verse 20 ‘Learned Christ’.
• This means much more than information i.e. he existed, he died & rose again etc.
• It means you ‘learned’, you took on board his lordship, his ethics, his kingdom purposes.
• Third: verse 21: ‘Taught him’.
• The idea here is ongoing communion with Christ.
• We never graduate from the school of Christ ;
• We are always learners and he is always the teacher!
• Question: Christian are you still ‘hearing, learning & being taught’?
(3). The Application (25-32)
Quote: Francis Bacon.
“It is not what men eat but what they digest that makes them strong; not what we gain but what we save that makes us rich; not what we read but what we remember that makes us learned; not what we preach but what we practice that makes us Christians.”
• The Bible was written to be obeyed;
• And not just to be read or studied.
• This is why the word ‘therefore’ is repeated so often in the second half of Ephesians.
• i.e. verse 25: ‘Therefore’ (also 4:1, 15, 25, 5:1, 7, 14, 17, 24)
• Now five different sins are named in the section;
• The apostle Paul tells us to avoid them and why.
(a) Lying (vs 25)
“Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbour, for we are all members of one body”.
• The Greek word for ‘falsehood’ used here by the apostle Paul (Pseudos)
• Refers to all forms of lying;
• Christians should be known as people of the truth;
• We believe the truth and we should speak the truth;
• This will then back up our claims to the world that Jesus is the truth!
The apostle Paul then gives a reason why ‘lying & deception’ is wrong:
• Verse 25: “We are members of one body”.
• Lying is a sin against the Church family because;
• It undermines trust, causes conflicts, tears down relationships and threatens unity.
• When you discover that you have been lied too;
• You will always struggle to believe that person in the future.
• Lying always undermines trust, causes conflicts, hinders relationships and hinders unity.
(b) Anger (vs 26-27)
““In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold”.
• Anger is an emotional outburst caused by something that displeases us;
• Note: Anger itself is not a sin,
• i.e. God at times is was and is angry and Jesus got angry.
• But note that their anger were not temper tantrums;
• But rather righteous anger that directs its rage appropriately!
• But unlike Jesus we have sinful natures;
• We therefore we misuse anger often at the wrong people at the wrong times!
ill:
• Person 1: Grab a plate and throw it on the ground.
• Person 2: Drops a plate on the hard ground.
• Person 1: “Did it break?”
• Person 2: “Yes”
• Person 1: “Now say sorry to it?”
• Person 2: “Sorry!”
• Person 1: “Did the plate go back to the way it was before?”
• Person 2: “No!”
• Punchline:
• Person 1: “Now do you understand?”
Quote: Aristotle:
“Anyone can become angry, but to be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose, and in the right way – this is not easy”.
Note: Verse 26:
“Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry”
• The old joke goes:
• “Do not go to bed when you are still angry, stay up and fight!”
• That might be humours but the apostles advice is better:
• “Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry”
• In other words don’t brood on your anger and don’t hold a grudge.
• Deal with it as soon as it is humanly possible.
(c) Stealing (vs 28)
“Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.”
Stealing encompasses a whole array of activities:
• From the obvious such as shoplifting, embezzling,
• And taking other peoples property & possessions!
• To benefit fraud or ‘cooking the books’ when you are self-employed.
• It would also include things such as wasting time at work;
• ill: Vans parked in a nearby lane to our home – drivers all sleeping on work time.
Ill:
• One of the best known of the ten commandments is “Do not steal”.
• In other words respect other peoples property & possessions!
Question: Notice in verse 28 the slant in Paul’s reason not to steal?
“Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.”
Answer:
• He did not say work hard with your own hands to provide for yourself;
• He said work hard with your own hands to provide for others!
• You might remember what he said earlier in this letter;
• Chapter 2 verse 10: “We were created for good works”.
• We fulfil that verse when we generously care for others in need;
• And out of our honesty comes our service to God.
(d) Unwholesome speech (vs 29)
“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30
These days we could paraphrase it as:
“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, or let your fingers type out swearwords and rudeness in social media networks!30
• In these verses the apostle Paul is not just talking about swearing (it does refer to that);
• But also to a much bigger problem; words that are worthless, unhelpful.
• The Greek word used (sapros) was used to describe rotten fruit.
• Paul is talking about words that are rotten, bad, that which causes decay.
• Cursing, vulgar phrases, crude jokes;
• And unkind or mean-spirited remarks.
• If Jesus has cleaned up our hearts (forgiven our sins)
• That will & should evidence itself by the words that come out of our mouths!
(e). Bitterness (vs 30-32)
“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
• These verses are a summing up of his advice;
• Only he adds specific traits that flesh out his picture of wrong living.
Six characteristics of the old life (clothes) are mentioned:
• Bitterness – a spirit that refuses reconciliation.
• Rage – outbursts of anger or quick temper for selfish reasons.
• Anger – a nurtured attitude of hatred.
• Brawling – loud self-assertions of angry people.
• Slander – destroying others reputation by lying and gossiping.
• Malice – deliberately trying to harm people.
The apostle Paul then gives us three characteristics of the new life (clothes)
• Kindness – acting charitable towards others;
• Just as God has done towards us!
• Compassionate:
• Being sensitive and sympathetic to others needs.
• A forgiving spirit:
• Extending grace and mercy to all who need it.
In Conclusion:
• Those first 6 characteristics will grieve the Holy Spirit;
• And hinder his work in our lives and ministry.
• Those last three characteristics will be blessed by the Holy Spirit;
• And allow him to work more effectively in our lives and ministry.
Sermon audio:
https://surf.pxwave.com/wl/?id=dRCzJPvIxgwzllzEFZC8udafSW8oqXou&forceSave
