Introduction
1. If you are going to talk the talk…
· Then you gotta walk the walk.
· In other words, if you are going to open your mouth and start making promises…
· You better be prepared to back it up with your actions…
· That’s good advice whether you are talking about how we act in the realm of the world…
· Or in the realm of the spirit.
2. If you are going to claim to be a Christian…
· You’ve got to live the life of a Christian…
· If you are going to profess to be a Christian with your mouth…
· You’re going to have to act like a Christian with your actions…
· You’re going to have to “walk the talk”…
· You’re going to have to “live the life”.
· I’m certainly not talking about acting…
· Or faking it…
· I’m talking about that if you profess to be a Christian…
· Your lifestyle better stack up…
· Because people will be quicker to believe your actions…
· Than they will be to believe your words.
3. As we continue our study of Ephesians…
· We have finished chapter 3…
· And tonight we will embark on chapter 4.
· Chapter 4 begins by talking about these sorts of things…
· Certainly an important reminder for the Christian.
Read Ephesians 4:1-6
· Ephesians 4:1-6 is one paragraph that speaks about…
· Living the life…
· And walking the talk…
· But, as I was working on it…
· I quickly found that I would be unable to fit all that I wanted to say into a single sermon…
· So, consider this, “living the life, part 1”…
· Next week, I’ll preach “living the life, part 2” from this same passage of Scripture.
Body
1. Live a Life Worthy of the Calling (vv. 1,2)
A. Paul starts off by saying. “Live a life worthy of the calling”…
· What calling?...
· The calling to follow Christ…
· To be a Christian.
· Paul certainly isn’t asking them to do anything that he isn’t doing…
· He reminds them that he is a “prisoner for the Lord”
· Obviously it isn’t some sort of social club…
· Most ladies wouldn’t go to prison for being in the Red Hat Society…
· Most men wouldn’t go to prison for being in the Boosters Club
· Those organizations are fine for a hobby…
· Or for personal interest…
· But if it came down to taking a stand for the Red Hat Ladies and going to prison…
· Or just walking away…I’m sure most would walk away.
· But we are talking about living the Christian life…
· Not only in word…
· But also in deed…in our actions…
· And Paul is reminding the Ephesian Christians that when you live for Christ like he lives for Christ…
· It isn’t always easy.
· Sometimes you go to prison…
· Sometimes you aren’t looked upon with respect by the world at large…
· I don’t know if you’ve noticed it or not…
· But the world, by and large, hates Christians…
· They are scared to death that our brand of Christianity will influence the world.
· That they don’t like that.
· And they don’t like US.
· I read the results of a survey one time that really amazed me…
· I can’t remember the exact question…
· But something about, “who would you rather live next door too”…
· And Evangelical Christian was WAY down the list…
· They would rather live next door to a criminal…
· Than an evangelical Christian.
· Just today, I read a comment about evangelical Christians…
· “I like the idea of calling these people
· We are coming to point in our society where it might be okay to say you are a Christian while sitting in church somewhere…
· But if you actually step up to live the life worthy of Jesus Christ in the world today..
· At best, you will be looked upon as strange…
· And at worst, you will be persecuted.
B. Paul goes on to mention some of the characteristics of people who “live the life” and “walk the talk”:
· He tells them to be Completely Humble
· Listen to these quotes from Paul:
· I am the least of the apostles. 1 Corinthians 15:9
· I am the very least of all the saints. Ephesians 3:8
· I am the foremost of sinners. 1 Timothy 1:15
· Paul said those…
· Paul, the man we honor as perhaps the greatest missionary of all time…
· Was certainly completely humble.
· James Packer points out that these quotes occur in
· A.D. 59, 63, and 64 respectively.
· As the years pass he goes lower; he grows downward!
· And he grows closer to Christ…
· His esteem for himself gets less and less…
· (James Packer, Your Father Loves You, Harold Shaw Publishers, 1986.)
· The more like Christ we become…
· The more humility will be evident in our lives.
C. Paul says, “If you’re going to live the life…you’ve got to be Gentle”
· Do you ever get the sense that gentleness is no longer valued in today’s society?
· We value strength…
· We are quick to judge and put people in their place…
· To point out their faults…
· But, we should all practice what mom always says…
· “if you can’t say anything nice…don’t say it”…
· I might add, if you absolutely HAVE to speak up…
· Do it with gentleness.
D. Paul says, if you are going to walk the talk… you’ve got to Be Patient”
· Leonardo DiVinci is quoted as saying “Patience serves as a protection against wrongs as clothes do against cold. For if you put on more clothes as the cold increases it will have no power to hurt you. So in like manner you must grow in patience when you meet with great wrongs, and they will then be powerless to vex your mind."
· The Christian response to delay…frustration…and hurtful words…is to be patient…
· I read this poem:
Patience is a virtue,
Possess it if you can.
Found seldom in a woman,
Never in a man.
(Source Unknown).
· Well, I don’t know if that is true…
· But, I hope and pray that patience can be found in the life of a Christian…
· Whether it’s a man or a woman.
E. Paul continues listing these characteristics of people who “walk the talk”…they will Bear with one another in love
· Like the song says, “yes they’ll know we are Christians by our love” (Scholtes, Peter)
· As people look at us…
· And see how we treat other people…
· And if we treat them with love and kindness and gentleness and patience…
· Then they will know that we are Christians…
· If people look at us and see us treating other people with judgment, Condemnation, and a critical spirit…
· Then they will know that we are hypocrites.
2. So, Paul urges us to live a life worthy of the calling, which includes being humble, patient, gentle, and loving one another…In verse 3, Paul says, “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”
· Keep the Unity…
· That sounds like it would be a good motto for Christians everywhere…
· Keep the unity…
· How do you do that?
A. Well, Paul says, “Make EVERY Effort”…
· It doesn’t come easy…
· You have to work at it…
· You don’t just give it a haphazard try…
· You make EVERY effort…
· Have you tried everything to live with your fellow Christians in a spirit of unity?...
· Have you “bent over backwards”?...
· Have you given it your best shot?
· It all Christians would “make every effort”…
· I dare say we would see a greater spirit of unity amongst Christians…
B. Of course, Paul is quick to point out that it is “Unity OF THE SPIRIT”
· Yes, we do have to work at it…
· But it comes by the power of the Holy Spirit…
· The Holy Spirit brings unity between those who allow the Spirit to work His miraculous power in their lives…
· To those who don’t live according to the Spirit…
· Well, I doubt you will see much evidence of unity in their lives…
C. Paul says, Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace
· Through the bond of peace…
· Peace is the bond that holds us together…
· Peace is the glue…
· Barclay says, about this passage of Scripture:
· These four great virtues of the Christian life--humility, gentleness, patience, love--issue in a fifth, peace” (Barclay’s Daily Study Bible: Eph 4:3)
· When there is peace between Christians…
· The Holy Spirit is able to miraculously bring unity into our midst…
· And we certainly will not be able to continue to enjoy that unity…
· Unless we are willing to work at it…
· To “make every effort”.
Conclusion
1. Well, Paul certainly has important words for the Christian tonight…
· His main message is to get the Ephesian Christians…
· And eventually ALL Christians who will read his letter (which includes us here today)…
· To live the life…
· To walk the talk…
· To not only SAY we are a Christian…
· But to ACT like a Christian in our everyday living…
· That includes Being completely humble…
· Being gentle;
· being patient,
· and bearing with one another in love.
· And Making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
