“Having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” [1]
Some things have no place in the life of a Christian. The elements commonly identified with this dying world were part of your life before you came to faith. But now that you are born from above and into the Family of God, these features have no place in your life. As followers of the Risen Son of God, you need to take off those elements that have no place in the life of the child of the Living God. Take it all off. Don’t allow these dishonourable items to remain on your life a moment longer. Before you leave this service today, take it all off!
GETTING READY TO TAKE IT ALL OFF — Before a change in lifestyle can glorify God, it is necessary to be born into the Family of God. No one is born Christian. It is true that infants and those who are incapable of forming conscious thought are kept safe. They are not saved, in the sense of being set free through their faith. They are not capable of being conscious of their fallen condition. Yet, we know that all mankind is born in sin. The birth of a child is not a sinful act, nor is the creation of that life a sinful act. Indeed, God gave the gift of sex to glorify His Name through giving men and women pleasure, through providing for the propagation of the race, and to serve as a picture of the union of the Bride of Christ with Christ Jesus the Bridegroom. We read of the creation of the first woman for the first man in the Book of Genesis.
The Lord God had created Adam, the first man, and placed him in the Garden of Eden. There, Adam was to work the garden and to keep it, indicating that God has blessed work, giving man purpose in the labour of his hands. However, God noted that man was incomplete. Therefore, we read in Scripture, “The LORD God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him’” [GENESIS 2:18].
God didn’t simply tell the man that he was incomplete. God allowed the man to maintain his dignity by discovering on his own that he was deprived, incomplete. Thus, we read, “Now out of the ground the LORD God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. So, the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said,
‘This at last is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called Woman,
because she was taken out of Man.’”
The Word appends this explanatory notation. “Therefore, a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed” [GENESIS 2:19-25].
Woman makes man complete; she was created for man. Together, man and woman reflect the fulness of Christ and His church. This is evident from even a cursory reading of Paul’s words in the Letter to Ephesian Christians. There, the Apostle has written, “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.
Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. ‘Therefore, a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband” [EPHESIANS 5:22-33].
Marriage is not solely a matter of finding a soulmate, a matter of seeking gratification for the desires of the body; marriage is a picture of what God is doing with His church. Focus on the final verses of this passage. Paul cites what Moses wrote in GENESIS 2:24, emphasising the fact that marriage is between a man and a woman and that they are united body, soul and spirit. Then, he moves quickly to point that the marriage union pictures the union of Christ and His church. In short, the marriage relationship ideally reflects the divine union between the Saviour and the redeemed. Because this is true, men are to love their wives as they love themselves. And wives are to respect their husbands.
I’m not nearly so far off track as you might imagine in talking about marriage. Marriage is, in no small measure, for the propagation of the race. When God had created the first couple, He blessed the man and the woman and He commanded them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth” [GENESIS 1:28]. It is emphatically true that marriage is expected to result in children. Women should have the joy of bringing children into the world; and men should anticipate the joy of raising godly children. This anticipated birth of children is not sinful of itself.
It is true that David spoke of his birth when he was confessing his great transgression against God because of his adulterous affair with Bathsheba, and affair that led him even into the dark realm of murder of an innocent man. He could not cover over his deliberate sin, just as we cannot cover over our own wicked choices. As he grappled with his own sin, David confessed,
“Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
and in sin did my mother conceive me.”
[PSALM 51:5]
David is not saying that childbirth is a sinful act, but that from birth he was a sinner. Like all of mankind, David was a sinner from birth, since man’s condition is a mark of his fallen condition. Do you remember the Apostle’s commentary on our broken condition? Paul wrote, “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come” [ROMANS 5:12-14].
We know that even infants die. We are certain that such children have committed no sin, they are not guilty of some heinous violation of God’s holy law, and yet, children die. There must be something beyond deliberate violation of God’s righteousness that is at play to account for such evil in the world. Without wading into the weeds of theological argument, it is enough to appeal to the Word of God.
Writing the Corinthian saints, the Apostle makes an intriguing statement offering light on this subject. He writes, “As by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive” [1 CORINTHIANS 15:21-22]. “By a man came death.” Our first father, Adam, sinned and plunged the race into ruin. “As in Adam all die.” Adam is the source of our fallen condition. It is as though a deadly malady is inherent in the human condition, and that malady is identified as “sin.” It is our estrangement from God that condemns us to die.
As one has reached the age of maturity when the individual can truly comprehend the difference between sin and goodness, and a person can understand the consequences of choosing evil, then that person becomes responsible for his or her own choices. Here is a question to help clarify the issue for you. Do you sin because you are a sinner? Or, are you a sinner because you sin? Does the choice define you? Or, is the choice an expression of who you are? Obviously, we sin because we are sinners. This was the point that David made in that FIFTY-FIRST PSALM.
Children who are innocent are still liable to death, though they have not consciously done wrong. They die because of what theologians have identified as “original sin.” They are under the curse communicated through the transgression of our first father, just as are all of us. Here is the good news of that issue—“as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.” Those who die because of original sin, those who die, though never having chosen to rebel against Holy God, are nevertheless kept safe in Christ. They are not saved in the sense that they had to commit themselves to Christ as Master over life; nevertheless, they are kept safe in Him.
So, if infants and those without the capacity to understand the difference between right and wrong are kept safe, what of others? If you say you understand the difference between right and wrong, then you must know that you are responsible to choose good and to embrace God’s Redeemer as Saviour for your life. This is the message of life that I cite so very often. God sent His Son to be the Saviour of the World. Jesus, the Son of God, gave His life as a sacrifice because of your sin. He died and was buried; but the Good News is that He rose to life. Now, the Word of God calls each of us, saying, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved” [ROMANS 10:9-10].
Paul then emphasised this call to faith in the Risen Saviour by citing the Prophet Joel, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” [ROMANS 10:13].
All who believe that Jesus died because of their sin and that He was raised from the dead in order to declare them right before the Father is delivered from condemnation. God receives all who believe, never again condemning them. In Christ, sinners are made right with God. No one is born a Christian. If one will be a Christian, they must be born from above, born again into the Family of God. Though we call on people to come to the services of the church that they may hear the declaration of grace in Christ the Lord, salvation is found only in Christ as Master. There is no salvation in the church! Salvation is in the Lord Jesus Christ.
What I have said to this point is to bring us into common agreement that until one is born from above, until one has been saved, there is no possibility of pleasing the Living God. Have you never heard the warning of the Lord as delivered through Solomon?
“The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD,
but the prayer of the upright is acceptable to him.”
[PROVERBS 15:8]
Again, the Wise Man warns,
“If one turns away his ear from hearing the law,
even his prayer is an abomination.”
[PROVERBS 28:9]
Some may imagine that they can be religious and please God. This is nothing less than an arrogant attempt to coerce the Living God. You can’t pull the wool over God’s eyes! He warns in the Word, “Since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” [HEBREWS 10:1-4].
You cannot be dipped deep enough to make yourself pure. There is not enough soap to remove the stain of sin from your soul. Speaking through Jeremiah, the LORD God warns,
“Though you wash yourself with lye
and use much soap,
the stain of your guilt is still before me,
declares the Lord GOD.”
[JEREMIAH 2:22]
You cannot be good enough to make yourself presentable to the Living God. Job asked, and answered,
“Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?
There is not one.”
[JOB 14:4]
Is it not obvious that you cannot be good? It is not a question of being good enough to please the Lord—you cannot do good! It is impossible for you to be good, if “good” is defined as pleasing God. The Apostle to the Gentiles was compelled to confess, “I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me” [ROMANS 7:18-20]. If I will please God, it must be on His terms. As the hymn writer has said,
Not the labours of my hands can fulfil Thy law’s demands;
Could my zeal no respite know, could my tears forever flow,
All for sin could not atone; Thou must save and Thou alone.
Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to Thy cross I cling;
Naked, come to Thee for dress, helpless, look to Thee for grace;
Foul, I to the fountain fly; wash me, Saviour, or I die! [2]
TAKE IT ALL OFF — “Having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice” [EPHESIANS 4:25-31].
After preparing himself, or herself, the Christ follower must take off some aspects of life identified with this dying world. Christians are not to live as those living in this world; we are different. According to Scripture, we are, “A chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that [we] may proclaim the excellencies of him who called [us] out of darkness into his marvelous light” [1 PETER 2:9]. Thus, some elements common to this present life must be put away so that we can please the Lord Christ.
Let’s consider the aspects of life that must be put aside if we will honour the Saviour. While there are other lists recorded in the Word, I want us to look especially at those aspects of life that the Apostle has listed in this passage of the Word. Paul urges us to Put away falsehood. This is the first expectation if you will honour Christ the Lord. It is apparent that this command means that you must not engage in lying. Those who engage in falsehood are definitely not in good company. You will perhaps recall that John wrote, “Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the [holy] city by the gates. Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood” [REVELATION 22:14-15].
One need not lie verbally to engage in a falsehood. The choices of life may be a lie. Not only are choices often based upon a lie, but living them out is a deliberate falsehood. As an example, consider that dark passage with which the Apostle opens the Letter to Roman Christians.
“The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So, they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
“Therefore, God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen” [ROMANS 1:18-25].
Living without consideration of the Creator, living without concern for what He has revealed concerning a life that honours Him, is to live a falsehood. Regardless of how nice such a person may be, regardless of how much the remainder of their life comports with the revealed will of God, they are living a lie, revealing that they do not know the Lord God. Of course, this passage continues with what can only be seen as censure of contemporary social attitudes. In short, modern culture is largely based upon a grand falsehood.
Stop harbouring anger. Paul writes, “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil” [EPHESIANS 4:26-27]. It is impossible not to be angry; however, when we harbour sin, we dishonour God. Perhaps we have forgotten the Word of the Living God, “We know him who said, ‘Vengeance is mine; I will repay’” [HEBREWS 10:30]. According to the Word, vengeance does not lie within the purview of mere mortals; judgement and vengeance are restricted to the Lord God. Even when we judge those who are part of the assembly, the congregation is seeking the mind of the Spirit of Christ in order to align ourselves with Him. We are not judging in this instance—we are seeking the mind of Christ and reflecting His judgement of the evil.
Nevertheless, we will be angry at times. However, our anger must always be short-lived. We must not permit the rage that flares up to drive us to unholy acts or to grow until it consumes us. It is impossible not to be angry at the injury perpetuated to the nation we love. It is impossible not to be angry at the perverted attitude that degrades women and destroys children for the sexual gratification of wicked men. It is impossible not to be angry when we are cheated, or when a thief has stolen that which our labours procured. However, we must not allow ourselves to be consumed with bitterness. We must not allow rage to dictate our lives, for that will only destroy us.
Tragically, professed Christians are almost indistinguishable from the world in this business of harbouring anger. We are easily angered at fellow saints, and we often appear to enjoy holding onto the malice in our hearts. I’m not arguing that this is a new phenomenon since the matter is addressed on multiple occasions throughout the Pauline Letters. Writing the Corinthian saints, Paul addressed the very real possibility of malice corrupting their fellowship when he wrote, “Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” [1 CORINTHIANS 5:6-8].
Apparently, his admonition in the first letter did not put an end to the problem since he wrote in his second letter, “I fear that perhaps when I come I may find you not as I wish, and that you may find me not as you wish—that perhaps there may be quarreling, jealousy, anger, hostility, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder” [2 CORINTHIANS 12:20].
The Apostle provided similar instructions to the Church in Colossae, indicating that the problems addressed in the Ephesian Encyclical were evident in Colossae as well. Paul wrote, “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator” [COLOSSIANS 3:5-10].
To harbour anger is to open wide the door to your life, inviting the devil to take control of your life. Your influence will be damaged, perhaps beyond repair, if you do not take control of your rage. As a follower of the Christ, you are commanded to forgive, as Christ has forgiven you. After providing the instructions we just read from the Letter to Colossian saints, Paul instructed believers, “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive” [COLOSSIANS 3:12-13].
Stop stealing. We are instructed, “Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labour, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need” [EPHESIANS 4:28]. This instruction does address the act of stealing that we identify as theft. However, there are broader applications of what is written, applications that are easily missed. We can steal affection, treating one another in an unkind manner, rather than showing grace and kindness to one another. We can steal time by not doing what is expected of us, stealing by spending all our available time on our own desires. I’m not suggesting that we must never have down time, or time for our family or for ourselves. However, we must ensure that we give the time expected to those dependent upon us within the Family of God. We can steal through cheating. We are expected to be honest, but when we fail to fulfil expectations, we are stealing.
Recall the Apostolic admonition, “Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.
“Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law” [ROMANS 13:7-8]. Then, the Apostle continues by listing areas in which we may steal from others when he writes, “The commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,’ and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law” [ROMANS 13:9-10]. Adultery is stealing love that rightfully belongs to your spouse. Murder is stealing a life, something that does not rightfully lie within our purview. Stealing is … well, stealing. Coveting is stealing the respect due another. Stop stealing!
Watch your mouth. Paul writes, “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear” [EPHESIANS 4:29]. Perhaps you’re somewhat confused by the term “corrupting talk.” However, there should be no confusion concerning corrupt speech.
Corrupt speech is speech that is putrid, rotten; it is speech that defiles, injures, degrades. Perhaps you have heard the admonition to guide speech? If not, this will assist you in determining how to speak. Before you speak, ask yourself—Is what I am about to say true? Is it beneficial? Is it necessary?
Allow me to make an observation that should be beneficial to the people of God. Your speech—what you say and the way you say it, is an expression of who you are. When you were in the world, your words marked you as a pagan, as a lost person. Now that you have put your faith in the Risen Son of God, your speech should reflect this new relationship. That this is the case becomes evident from Jesus’ teaching. You will recall that He taught us, “What comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander” [MATTHEW 15:18-19].
There is another instance when the Master challenged those who reveal what they are through their words, and the implication is chilling. The Pharisees had just accused the Master of being under satanic control. Jesus’ response should give every child of God reason to check his or her speech. Jesus warned, “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” [MATTHEW 12:33-37].
The presence of God’s Spirit marks the child of God. When your speech reflects that which is dying, that which is even now rotting, you are misleading those who hear you speak. This is the reason that the Apostle follows this admonition to watch your mouth with encouragement to ensure that only that which is good for building up comes out of your mouth. We must speak to the occasion, to be sure, but take control and ensure that what you say gives grace to those who hear what is said. Remember, your speech reveals who you are. What you say and how you say it reveals the presence of the Spirit of God controlling your life, or it demonstrates that He has no control over you.
Stop grieving the Holy Spirit of God. “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption” [EPHESIANS 4:30]. There are many ways in which we can grieve the Spirit of Christ. We have just seen several ways in which the Spirit of God can be grieved. Speaking falsehood, failing to speak truth, grieves the Holy Spirit. Harbouring anger grieves the Holy Spirit. Stealing grieves the Spirit of the Lord. Filling our mouths with corrupting speech grieves the Spirit of Christ. All these actions grieve the Holy Spirit of God.
False speech tears down those for whom Christ died. Holding anger toward God’s children contaminates relationships and destroys fellowship for which Christ gave His life. Stealing harms those from whom we steal, dishonouring the Father. Corrupting speech degrades the very people whom we profess to love and for whom Christ gave His life. The point in this command is revealed in the goal toward which we are progressing.
The Apostle has written that we are not to grieve the Holy Spirit of God, “by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” He is forcing us to look forward to what lies before us as redeemed people. You see, we who are believers look forward to what lies ahead. Often, we think only of judgement, but really, we should be focusing on the redemption that awaits when Christ returns. God saved us for His glory, and He will be glorified in us!
I’ve often pointed you to the coming of the Lord Jesus for His people. On that day when He shall return, we read that He is coming “to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed” [see 2 THESSALONIANS 1:10]. We forget that as He prayed in His high priestly prayer, Jesus said of us who are redeemed, “All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them” [JOHN 17:10]. Though the world cannot see this at this time, they shall see this, they shall confess that it is so, at the return of Christ the Lord.
When we dishonour Christ’s people, we cause the Spirit of Christ pain. We have been sealed for the day of redemption, and the seal with which we are sealed is the Spirit of God. Do you not remember this statement of God’s work in the life of His people? “In [Christ] we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In [Christ] you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory” [EPHESIANS 1:11-14].
Strip away bitterness and wrath and anger and clamour and slander. The Apostle moves from feelings to actions as he commands Christians to act against aspects that contaminate life. Bitterness, wrath, and anger are emotions. To be sure, these feelings may be stirred by what one feels, but unchecked they lead to actions that dishonour the Lord. This is the reason the people of God must not tolerate these powerful and negative feelings to linger in life. When bitterness, wrath, and anger are tolerated in life, it is almost inevitable that they will lead us into clamour and slander.
When we focus on what has angered us, we will grow bitter and we will feel wrath toward those whom we imagine has harmed us. Focused on the irritant, we can no longer focus on the Son of God. Someone deserted you. They meant for you to feel the pain of being alone. Give God praise that you have a friend that sticks closer than a brother [see PROVERBS 18:24]. Someone tried to steal from you. They thought they were going to steal your joy, steal your confidence. Praise God that you can shout,
“I trust in you, O LORD;
I say, ‘You are my God.’
My times are in your hand;
rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from my persecutors!”
[PSALM 31:14-15]
Someone slandered you, they tried to destroy your reputation. Praise God that when they slandered you, you learned that the Lord God was the truth within you. Listen, we need to learn to pray for those who think to harm us.
“God, thank You for those people who walked out on me, because when they walked out, You walked in.” I am not alone any longer!
“Thank You, Lord, for those who dropped me, because when they dropped me, You were there to pick me up.”
“Thank You, Father, for that bitter and hateful person who slammed a door in my face, because when she slammed a door, You opened another.”
“Thank You, Jesus, for the people who tried to hurt me, because when they tried to do what was evil and hurtful, You turned it to my good.”
Show me your hand if you’ve been on the receiving end of some of those who meant you harm. Now, tell your neighbour that you’ve got a shout of “Glory,” because from the hurt you experienced came a sweeter “Thank you, Jesus.” God was with you; He never left you. That is something worth shouting about. That is something worth telling others so that they can learn that God is good.
Recall the Psalm that Asaph wrote:
“Give ear, O my people, to my teaching;
incline your ears to the words of my mouth!
I will open my mouth in a parable;
I will utter dark sayings from of old,
things that we have heard and known,
that our fathers have told us.
We will not hide them from their children,
but tell to the coming generation
the glorious deeds of the LORD, and his might,
and the wonders that he has done.
“He established a testimony in Jacob
and appointed a law in Israel,
which he commanded our fathers
to teach to their children,
that the next generation might know them,
the children yet unborn,
and arise and tell them to their children,”
[PSALM 78:1-6]
Don’t continue wearing the filthy rags that are identified with this world. Don’t keep on playing Mr. Dress Up, dressing up in the rags of bitterness, of wrath, of anger, of clamour and of slander. Take it off! Take it all off! Tell your children what the Lord has done. Tell your grandchildren! Strip away that which contaminates. Take it all off!
PUT THIS ON — “Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” [EPHESIANS 4:32]. It is not enough to merely put away those elements of life that displease the Master, some characteristics must be embraced. I’m not speaking of the fruits of the Spirit that are named in GALATIANS 5:22-23, important though those are—and I do hope that you work to cultivate the fruits of the Spirit in your life. However, the characteristics that must be donned arise because these fruits are evident in our life, but these are characteristics that we choose to put on. The characteristics in view at this moment are aspects of life that the child of God must deliberately choose to put on.
Among the characteristics the Lord seeks are kindness, compassion, and forgiveness. Surely no believer would ever argue that these characteristics need not mark the life of one who follows the Christ! Yet, we notice that these precious commodities are absent from the lives of far too many professed Christians. We appear quite willing to justify pettiness, harbouring anger toward others (especially fellow believers), self-centredness, and a plethora of other qualities that render us indistinguishable from the world. This must not continue, dear saints.
In effect, God calls His people to take off the grave clothes. That which must be removed are the garments that identify those of this world. We who follow the Saviour know quite well that, “The world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever” [1 JOHN 2:17]. That which is identified with the world will not last beyond this life. We must not be left naked, but we must be clothed. And though we are clothed with the righteousness of Christ before the throne of the Father, we must clothe ourselves with the wedding garments that mark us as part of the bridal party. This is why we are taught to put on those characteristics that display the beauty of a transformed life. We don these garments because we are to become “Imitators of God, as beloved children” [EPHESIANS 5:1].
I know that the garment of forgiveness is tragically absent from the wardrobe of too many saints; and it is the one garment that should be prominent in each wardrobe. Let me tell you a story of a woman named Gladys Staines. On January 23, 1999, Gladys’s husband Graham and her two sons Timothy and Philip, ages eight and ten, were asleep in a vehicle in a remote village in eastern India. The Staines had invested their lives there as missionaries ministering to lepers for thirty-four years. They were about to give much more. While Graham Staines and his sons were sleeping, a group of militant Hindus doused the car with gasoline and set it on fire. The militants then prevented the Staines from getting out and kept rescuers at bay. The horrific incident brought world attention, but even more did Gladys’s response to the terrible murder of her husband and two young sons.
She wrote, “When I learned that my family was dead, I told my daughter: ‘We’ll forgive, then, won’t we?’ And she said, ‘Yes, Mummy, we will.’”
She explained, “Forgiveness brings healing. It allows the other person a chance to start life afresh. If I have something against you and I forgive you, the bitterness leaves me.… Forgiveness liberates both the forgiver and the forgiven.
“How was I able to forgive? The truth is that I myself am a sinner. I needed Jesus Christ to forgive me. Because I have Jesus in my life, it is possible for me to forgive others.” [3]
Gladys’ words reveal the Spirit’s intent for the people of God. After the accounts of Gladys’s forgiving heart circulated, another missionary reported that a man in India received a gospel tract. After reading it, he asked, “Is this the same Jesus that Gladys Staines believes in?” “Yes,” the missionary replied. The man then said, “I want to know that Jesus.” [4]
A more recent demonstration of forgiveness is provided in the response of a man during a victim impact statement as he addressed the convicted killer of his rother. Brandt Jean addressed Amber Guyger during the sentencing phase of the trial after she had been found guilty of second-degree murder. Brandt Jean said from the witness stand, “I know if you go to God and ask Him, He will forgive you.”
He shocked the court and all who witnessed with the words that followed. Jean said, “I love you just like anyone else and I’m not going to hope you rot and die. I personally want the best for you. I wasn’t going to say this in front of my family, I don’t even want you to go to jail. I want the best for you because I know that’s exactly what Botham would want for you. Give your life to Christ. I think giving your life to Christ is the best thing Botham would want for you.”
Brandt Jean then requested permission to exit the witness stand so he could give his brother’s killer a hug. Permission was granted and Jean went to Guyger, who broke down in tears as the two hugged. [5]
The power of that moment when Brandt Jean hugged Amber Guyger unleashed a flood of God’s grace in the Dallas courtroom, a flood that touched a nation. That singular act of mercy and grace washed away the angry words of many who were complaining that justice would not be done. Activists had agitated for a maximum sentence as a signal of justice for Botham Jean. However, there is no greater honour than that his spirit was welcomed into that courtroom in the person of a brother who chose forgiveness over hate, grace over bitterness, and God’s teaching over earthly resentments.
It is relatively easy to urge the people of God to forgive those whom we believe have wronged us. However, it is only as the Spirit of God empowers us that we can be free of bitterness, wrath, anger, clamour, slander and malice. The natural man wants to destroy those who hurt him, but the Christian will want to honour God. When we are controlled by the Spirit of Christ, our focus is not on those who seek to harm us, our focus is on the Saviour who redeems us. Because He has given His life for our benefit, we always seek to glorify His holy Name.
When what we say and think and do is free from “all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamour and slander … along with all malice,” the Spirit of Christ will no longer be grieved; rather, He will grant us the power of the gospel. How precious is that? For the person renewed by God’s grace, it is as Christ Himself. When we forgive as Christ forgave us, we will enjoy the richest of God’s blessings. It is time for God’s holy people to take off all that dishonours Christ. Do it even this moment. Amen.
[1] Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2016. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
[2] Agustus M. Toplady, “Rock of Ages,” 1776
[3] The story is told in the article by S. David, “‘Once you FORGIVE, there will be HEALING,’ How a martyr’s widow turned her life around and won India’s prestigious Gandhi harmony award,” Christianity Today (Christianity Today, Carol Stream, IL 2003) 46–48
[4] As related in Bryan Chapell, Ephesians, Richard D. Phillips, Philip Graham Ryken, and Daniel M. Doriani (ed,), Reformed Expository Commentary (P&R Publishing, Phillipsburg, NJ 2009) 233–234
[5] Sources include Jackie Salo, “Ex-Dallas cop Amber Guyger sentenced to 10 years in prison for Botham Jean murder,” NY Post, October 2, 2019, https://nypost.com/2019/10/02/ex-dallas-cop-amber-guyger-sentenced-to-10-years-in-prison-for-botham-jean-murder/, accessed 2 October 2019; Vandana Rambaran, “Amber Guyger sentenced to 10 years in shooting that killed Botham Jean in Dallas; victim’s brother hugs her in court,” Fox News, October 2, 2019, https://www.foxnews.com/us/amber-guyger-sentenced-to-10-years-in-shooting-that-killed-botham-jean-in-dallas. Accessed 2 October 2019; Kira Davis, “Amazing Grace: Brandt Jean Forgives His Brother’s Murderer And Gives Us All A Lesson In Grace In The Process,” October 2, 2019, https://www.redstate.com/kiradavis/2019/10/02/amazing-grace-brandt-jean-forgives-brothers-murderer-gives-us-lesson-grace-process/, accessed 2 October 2019
