Christians…Not Perfect…Just Forgiven  

Ephesians 4:22-32

Sermon by Pastor Dennis Gleason, February 29, 2004

      22throw off your old evil nature and your former way of life, which is rotten through and through, full of lust and deception. 23Instead, there must be a spiritual renewal of your thoughts and attitudes. 24You must display a new nature because you are a new person, created in God’s likeness—righteous, holy, and true.
      25So put away all falsehood and “tell your neighbor the truth” because we belong to each other. 26And “don’t sin by letting anger gain control over you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27for anger gives a mighty foothold to the Devil.
      28If you are a thief, stop stealing. Begin using your hands for honest work, and then give generously to others in need. 29Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.
      30And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he is the one who has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.”31Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of malicious behavior. 32Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.”

Nails in the Fence

There was a little boy with a bad temper. His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, to hammer a nail in the back fence. The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Then it gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence. Finally the day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper.

The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone. The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said, "You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won't matter how many times you say 'I'm sorry', the wound is still there."

Our  text for today is an interesting one in that in it the Apostle Paul gives a series of commands to the believers who are to receive his letter. I have chosen the title “:Christians…not perfect…just forgiven” for this text because of what Paul says here.

First of all, a quick survey of this passage shows something very important to us about the Christians who received the letter:  they did not have it all together as Christians. There were some issues and difficulties in their church even though they believed in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. They were a church in progress because they had certainly not arrived at anything approaching maturity in Christ.

Secondly, Paul’s instruction to this point in his letter points to the fact that maturity is one of the goals of their walk with Christ and the purpose of the gifts they had received in the gifted people Christ had sent to them was that they might become mature. He now tells them that they must put off the old self…the old way of life. The concept he is sharing is this: Just as you were taught when you came to know Christ Jesus, “put off  the old self just like you would a garment. It is old… in the sense of worn out, decrepit, useless. He says put off the old man. The word for man is the word anthropos, which is the word for man in the sense of mankind, and not the word for a male individual. Paul’s reference is to the individual self. The old man in this case refers to the unsaved person dominated by a totally depraved nature. This is the old person we were before we came to Christ. Because we have identified ourselves with Christ and because of his crucifixion we are no longer dominated by our sinful nature and we no longer have to render a slave’s obedience to sin.
This putting off has to do with our former way of life. The old man according to verse 22 is being corrupted. This is a state of progressive corruption. Things are getting worse all the time. There is never going to be anything better unless God steps in and does something. Things will simply get worse and worse as people are being corrupted by evil desires.

The third thing we should note as we consider this passage is the fact that choices will be made either to put off the old self or not and to put on the new self or not. It is also important to understand that in our spiritual life “not to choose” is to choose not to do it God’s way. Every one of these commands Paul gives us is something that we can choose to do. We can do this and are responsible for choosing to obey the commands. God never commands us to do anything that we cannot actually choose to do. We may not choose to do it, but we can if we will only be obedient., All of this becomes a matter of the will.

Paul says this is how you were taught:  Put off the old and put on the new way of life. It is through God’s Word, prayer, love for one another, fellowship with each other, acceptance of each other and forgiveness that we are being made new in the attitude of our minds.  This is the spirit of our minds…that part of us that is truly like God…in which this actually takes place.  When we put on the new man…what we are doing is becoming a person whose life is dominated by the divine nature. The person we are becoming is patterned after what is. This is characterized by true righteousness and holiness.

Why has Mel Gibson’s movie caused such a stir? The old nature does not want to be reminded of the choice it must face…life or death. Most people have not chosen Christ. They have been graphically reminded of His sacrifice on the cross for our sin, and are smarting because of God’s love they have rejected.

Therefore, choose God over the world. Choose God’s Word over the wisdom of the world. Choose God’s ways over the things the world considers important. This becomes discipleship in action. If we do what Paul encourages us in this passage, then we will actually live out what we believe.

Choosing correctly to put on the new self…leads us to a corresponding conduct that honors Jesus Christ our Lord. Paul tell s us that we must continue putting things off…taking things out of our lives like we would remove a garment.

Look at his list of commands:  Therefore…
* Put off falsehood once and for all…and speak the truth to your neighbor. Lying was one of the habits of the old man. It does not belong in your new life Paul says. Get rid of it…and do it by being truthful to your neighbor…because you are one body…members of the body of Christ and united in Christ with each other.

The Baker & The Farmer
A baker in a little country town bought the butter he used from a nearby farmer. One day he suspected that the bricks of butter were not full pounds, and for several days he weighed them.
He was right. They were short weight, and he had the farmer arrested.
At the trial the judge said to the farmer, "I presume you have scales?"
"No, your honour."
"Then how do you manage to weigh the butter you sell?" inquired the judge.
The farmer replied, "That's easily explained, your honour. I have balances and for a weight I use a one-pound loaf I buy from the baker."

* Do not sin…in your anger.  The key to being angry is that we are angry about the right things, in the right way and at the right time. 
o There are three words in the Greek for anger:

* Thumos…which speaks of turbulent commotion, the boiling agitation of feelings, passion…anger that boils up and then subsides. This is forbidden in 4:31.
* Parorgismos which is translated wrath in 4:26 which is also forbidden here. This is anger which is accompanied by irritation, exasperation and embitterment.
* Orge…which is anger which is an abiding and settled habit of the mind that is aroused under certain conditions. It is orge that Paul talks about in this verse.
* In your anger sin not…Paul says.   The sense of this expression is:  stop sinning in your anger. Be careful that even your righteous anger does not slip into sin.
* Do not let the sun go down on your anger…(parorgismos). This is wrath, the exasperation, irritation and embitterment. It must be surrendered and dealt with  right away; don’t let it simmer or go unchecked.
o One of the most unpleasant looking people I ever met was a woman in a church I pastored years ago in Minnesota. She was an embittered, unhappy person and it showed in her face any time you saw her. One day she showed up at the parsonage and spoke with RuthAnn down in the foyer at the front door. She asked RuthAnn to pray for her that God would take away her anger and bitterness RuthAnn said “No.” It  was and has been the only time I ever heard RuthAnn tell anyone that she would not pray for them. But she went on to say something like this to the woman: “God doesn’t just wave a magic wand and take some thing like this away from us. Your anger and bitterness is a sin. You made a place for it in your heart and to get rid of it you have to repent, ask God to forgive you for allowing it a place in your heart. After sputtering for a moment the woman was speechless. Now to her credit she did exactly that and she sought to mend the fences  with the other people in her life. When we last saw her many years later there was a softness and a radiance about her that was not there before and she was still a joy to be with.
o She was nearly destroyed by anger that was allowed to simmer and become a root of bitterness in her heart. Paul says…don’t let anger get away from you…deal with it now…why?
* Do not give the devil a foot hold…an opportunity, an occasion for action or the power to disrupt and destroy in your life.
o Anger that is not dealt with, that gets out of control gives the devil a foot hold in our lives to begin wreaking havoc in our life and the lives of those around us. I saw an example of ‘road rage’ yesterday afternoon. A woman was attempting to parallel park on the main street that runs into downtown Elmhurst. To back into the parking space she caused traffic to stop while she parked. This is normal procedure. An older couple got angry that they had to wait while she parked. They honked the horn, shook their fists at her and yelled nasty things at her. The older man driving the car behind her moved up closer to her car as if trying to force her to go on down the street.  The woman trying to park did not have enough room to park her car correctly and was flustered,  obviously embarrassed and ended up with both wheels on the sidewalk over the curb. After trying to get the car into the parking spot correctly for about five to ten minutes she pulled out and left without ever getting out of the car. There was nothing pleasant about observing that incident of anger and the results of it.

* He who is stealing must steal no more.

o Stealing was not condemned in ancient societies.  If you were in Mexico today and your car broke down on the highway everything on it of any value might be stolen if you leave it unattended along the road while you go for help. However, if you ask someone to watch over it while you are gone, no one will touch it. The thought is that if it was valuable to you, you would take steps to protect it. It has no value to you, you won’t and then it is free for anyone who needs something for it. For this reason, when you build a house in Mexico, the very first thing you do is put a fence up around your property. That shows that you value whatever is inside the fence and people will leave your building materials alone because you value them.
o There apparently were Christians who were stealing from others. Imagine that! This was certainly not proper Christian conduct and Paul says…stop it. If you are stealing, stop it. Go to work at something useful.

* Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouth.

Unwholesome talk is speech which is rotten, worn out, unfit for use, worthless, bad.  It will come out if you let it. Choose not to let it out! Remember, it is out of the heart that the mouth speaks…either good or bad.

* Do not grieve the Holy Spirit….The sense here is to stop grieving the Holy Spirit of God.

 
o To grieve is to cause someone sorrow.  Paul says, Don’t cause the Holy Spirit (God) sorrow.
o Isn’t it interesting that God can feel sorrow. You would think that because He is God that he would be immune from feeling sorrow. All of these things Paul tells us to put off are repugnant to the holiness of the Spirit of God. He is a person and He too feels the sorrow caused by our sin.
o The Holy Spirit Himself is the seal that God places on us that guarantees all the promises of salvation and forgiveness and the grace of God promises us.

* Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice

o These were part of their lives and experience as a church. A reminder that Christians are not perfect…just forgiven.

* Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgave you

The Good Points
Standard Oil was once one of the biggest companies in the world, led by the famous John D Rockefeller. On one occasion a company executive made a bad decision. It cost the firm $2 million. This was the late 1800's and $2 million was a huge sum.
Edward Bedford, a partner in the company had an appointment to see Rockefeller. When he entered Rockefeller's office he saw his boss bent over a piece of paper, busily scribbling notes. When Rockefeller finally looked up he said to Bedford,  "I suppose you've heard about our loss? I've been thinking it over," Rockefeller said, "and before I ask the man in to discuss the matter, I've been making some notes."
Bedford looked across the table and saw the page Rockefeller had been scribbling on. Across the top of the page was the heading, "Points in favour of Mr __________." Below the heading was a long list of the man's good qualities, including notes of three occasions where he had made decisions that had earned the company many times more than his error had lost.
Bedford later said, "I never forgot that lesson. In later years, whenever I was tempted to rip into anyone, I forced myself first to sit down and thoughtfully compile as long a list of good points as I possibly could. Invariably, by the time I finished my inventory, I would see the matter in its true perspective and keep my temper under control. There is no telling how many times this habit has prevented me from committing one of the costliest mistakes any executive can make -- losing his temper."
Source: reported in Bits & Pieces, September 15, 1994

Kindness of a Stranger
And then there is the story told about a bitter, cold evening in northern Virginia many years ago. An old man sat by a river, waiting for a ride across. His beard was glazed by winter's frost and the wait seemed endless. His body became numb and stiff from the frigid north wind.
He heard the faint, steady rhythm of approaching hooves galloping along the frozen path. Anxiously, he watched as several horsemen rounded the bend. He let the first one pass by without an effort to get his attention. Then another passed by, and another. Finally, the last rider neared the spot where the old man sat like a snow statue. As this one drew near, the old man caught the rider's eye and said, "Sir, would you mind giving an old man a ride to the other side? There doesn't appear to be a passageway by foot."
Reining his horse, the rider replied, "Sure thing. Hop aboard." Seeing the old man was unable to lift his half-frozen body from the ground, the horseman dismounted and helped the old man onto the horse. The horseman took the old man not just across the river, but to his destination, which was just a few miles away.
As they neared the tiny but cozy cottage, the horseman's curiosity caused him to inquire, "Sir, I notice that you let several other riders pass by without making an effort to secure a ride. Then I came up and you immediately asked me for a ride. I'm curious why, on such a bitter winter night, you would wait and ask the last rider. What if I had refused and left you there?"
The old man lowered himself slowly down from the horse, looked the rider straight in the eyes, and replied, "I've been around these here parts for some time. I reckon I know people pretty good." The old-timer continued, "I looked into the eyes of the other riders and immediately saw there was no concern for my situation. It would have been useless even to ask them for a ride. But when I looked into your eyes, kindness and compassion were evident. I knew, then and there, that your gentle spirit would welcome the opportunity to give me assistance in my time of need."
Those heartwarming comments touched the horseman deeply. "I'm most grateful for what you have said," he told the old man. "May I never get too busy in my own affairs that I fail to respond to the needs of others with kindness and compassion."
With that, Thomas Jefferson turned his horse around and made his way back to the White House.
Source: Author unknown, source unknown.

How might God want you to respond to this message today?
The obvious response would be to do the things we should do in this list and quit doing the things we shouldn’t do that Paul lists here.
But let’s do this…Recognize that we are not perfect as individual members of the body of Christ.

When we know Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior, we not perfect, but we are forgiven.
Let’s actively choose the right things and actively choose to get rid of the wrong things. And then let’s choose to be kind to one another, showing each other compassion, loving kindness and always exhibit a forgiving spirit.

Unfortunately, we will fail each other. When we do, let’s choose to take on a compassionate and forgiving spirit toward each other just as Jesus Christ did for us. That is the fruit of putting on the new man and the putting off of the old way of life we had as sinners.

--Dennis Gleason