It's
Time For Us to Clean Up Our Act
[Ephesians
chapter 4, verses 17-32]
Today
we will be finishing up the latter half of chapter four of the book
of Ephesians. Taking up where we left off last week, the apostle Paul
was making some concluding remarks about living up to our calling as
Christians with the understanding that we do so because God is
watching us all, and He is actively protecting his followers and
faithful servants who live up to their calling in Christ. It doesn't
matter as much what your calling is since all have equality in the
Spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ. What is more important is that we
discharge the duties of our Spiritual calling, combined with being
full-time ambassadors for Christ, in a manner that gives all the
glory, honor, praise and full credit to the Father through his Son.
The apostle Paul continues this important topic beginning at verse
17.
“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.
They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life
of God because of the ignorance that is within them due to the
hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have
given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of
impurity, with a continual lust for more. You, however, did not come
to know Christ that way. Surely you have heard of him and were taught
in him in the accordance with the truth that is in Christ Jesus. 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; to be
made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self,
created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”
(Ephesians 4, verses 17-24, NIV)
Paul's reference to “Gentiles” in this context,
since there were already numerous non-Jewish believers at the time
the apostle Paul wrote this, is that of all nonbelievers regardless
of background or status. Refusing to believe in the saving power of
Christ is still very common today, especially over in Asia, the
Middle East, and parts of Europe. There is a price to be paid for
willful separation from God, and for willful disbelief. It starts
with a loss of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit which results in a
loss of all sensitivity to the teachings of Christ, even to the point
of ignoring or walking away from the cleansing power of His blood,
which was shed on Calvary for you and me. This creates an empty spot
in each of us if it is allowed to occur, meaning that people will try
and fill up that empty spot left within them by their separation from
God with anything they can find. This includes a Spiritual “laundry
list” specified in writing by the apostle Paul, meaning it has the
same relevance today as it did when written 2,000 years ago.
Living for sensuality is one of the primary ways these
faithless individuals try to fill in the empty spot within them that
is a result of separation from God and refusal to believe that Jesus
Christ was the Son of God. Sexual promiscuity, drinking alcoholic
beverages until they make themselves sick, and overdosing from
prescription medications (whether legally prescribed or not) are
three examples. All three can and do kill people. Drunk driving,
which killed 35,000 people last year in the US alone, is the worst of
them because it often takes innocent lives. The fact that it happens
unintentionally changes nothing as far as those responsible are
concerned, assuming they survive the crash. Those who do not repent
and turn away from these kinds of behaviors will end up forfeiting
their place in heaven if they don't get their act together. You know
who you are, and you don't have much time left because we are in the
Last Days foretold in the Bible. It's decision time, people. Whatcha
gonna do? Make an affirmative decision to follow Jesus Christ for the
rest of your lives – that is the correct choice! Why not do
so right now? Ask Jesus Christ, who is God's only Son, to come and
inhabit your heart, mind and soul. It doesn't matter how you say it,
just do it.
So!
What happens when people realize they have sinned and make a decision
to repent of their non-belief and their self-destructive behavior? A
total renewal of our minds takes place, as Paul wrote, “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; to be
made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self,
created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” So
evidence of repentance amounts to a Spiritual heart transplant, or to
a brain overhaul, or actually both. When we catch ourselves slipping
in this regard and going back to old habits or addictions, we are to
immediately make a conscious effort to put aside our old selves, even
to willfully suppress ourselves when necessary. We then put on our
new selves in its place, remaining focused on that, while practicing
it continuously until it becomes second nature to us. Bearing that in
mind, let's continue now beginning at verse 25.
“Therefore
each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his
neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 'In your anger do not
sin': Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do
not give the devil a foothold. He who has been stealing must steal no
longer, but must work, doing something useful with his hands, that he
may have something to share with those in need. 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. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom
you were sealed until the day of redemption. Get rid of all
bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every
form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving
each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” (Ephesians 4,
verses 25-32, NIV)
Don't we all aspire to become more Christ-like in our
own special way? Paul is saying to us all that being truthful is the
best place to start. Being truthful is equally as important as the
act of worshiping Christ, and our worship becomes empty and
meaningless without this critical ingredient. Truthful people have
integrity, but untruthful people either have none, or they sometimes
have a distorted vision of what real integrity is. “All liars”,
the apostle Peter wrote, “will go to the lake of fire”, meaning
untruthful people such as those whose livelihoods are based on
deception or theft, or who have a secret or two to hide. I was
somewhat like that a long time ago when I was a much younger man. I
was a very successful “direct salesman” as they used to call us
back in the 1970's. I sold optical products and jewelry, but the
stuff I was selling was poor quality and I knew it, but I sold it
anyway because I just didn't care. I had no problem with lying to get
a sale. I had yet to learn that repercussions result from that kind
of behavior. I'd rather not discuss in detail what those
repercussions were, but they were severe. That is just one example,
but I have long since repented of such dishonest behavior, by the
grace and mercy of God.
The
second thing that can keep us separated from God is anger. When Paul
wrote, 'In
your anger do not sin'... , he
was quoting Psalm 4, verse 4.
It
is one thing to have a justifiable anger resulting from injustice,
such as from being a crime victim (first, be glad you survived). But
anger between spouses, siblings, neighbors, co-workers, and
especially within churches, is not indicative of lives lived for
Christ. “Do not let the sun go down on your anger”, Paul wrote.
Paul had a way of making a point so profound and so concise that he
could sum it up in one sentence, and this is a good example right
here. If you're still angry at bedtime and can't go to sleep because
of whatever – well excuse me, but you're in sin. Don't shoot me,
I'm only the messenger. But this has stayed in the Bible for the last
2,000 years because it is timeless advice, but also because it is a
divine command from the Lord. It's time to change out of your old
selves and to put on a brand-new garment of peace, tranquility,
unconditional love, forgiveness (without which our own sins cannot be
forgiven – it's in all four gospels), generosity, compassion and
being merciful. Do as Paul wrote, “Be
kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as
in Christ God forgave you”.
Watch your
mouths! If we are going to talk, Paul writes, then let's say things
that build people up instead of trash talk, cursing and profanity,
which are offensive and never appropriate. Get rid of every kind of
malice, hatred, envy, rage and violent behavior, which are forms of
spiritual impurity. Spiritually impure people who fit into all the
various categories that I have listed above are not going to be with
the Lord when they die. Let all who read this examine themselves.
It's time for us all to get serious about our faith. People here in
these Last Days of this age have only a short while left before the
two events relating to the second coming of Christ take place. The
first is the rapture of the church somewhere during the three and a
half year reign of the Antichrist as prophesied in several places in
the Bible. The second will be the actual return of Christ at the
conclusion of the battle of Armageddon, as it is foretold in the four
Gospels and the books of Revelation, Daniel, Zechariah and several
others. In between time, in those 3.5 years, all those who refuse to
worship the Antichrist as god on earth will be executed, and will so
be saved and gain eternal life in the presence of God. But those who
yield to the Antichrist and receive his mark on their forearm of
their forehead cannot be saved, and their end will be eternal shame
and condemnation. Believe it or not, it's all over the Bible as I
stated above, and as time goes on I intend to make time to teach all
these other subjects as well. Until next week, then, shalom.
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