Walk The Talk, Part 1 Series

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 what they are: radical fundamentalists, mirror images of Bin Laden and his bunch.” (http://www.theleftcoaster.com/archives/003112.php)

· 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