THE WALK OF THE CHRISTIAN BELIEVER

D. THE BELIEVER IS TO WALK PUTTING OFF THE GARMENTS OF THE OLD NATURE

-- { Ephesians 4:25-32 }  ²⁵ So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another. ²⁶ Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, ²⁷ and do not make room for the devil. ²⁸ Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labor and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy. ²⁹ Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. ³⁰ And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. ³¹ Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, ³² and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.  -- NRSV

Breath Prayer For The Week (A "breath prayer" is a brief sentence or simple phrase that can be repeated often to Jesus in one breath.)

Jesus, give me a Make-over.

Dear Friend, grace and peace be unto you from God our Father, and our Lord and Savior, Jesus, the Christ.  Amen.

Most people are sensitive as to how they look in public.  They want to dress properly to fit the situation.  If one is dressed improperly you feel uncomfortable, maybe embarrassed.  So it is with being a child of God.  There are things that you are to put on and things you are not to put on.  St. Paul in this passage discusses the things that you, as a Christian, are to strip off from your life.

First, the garment of lying (4:25)  “Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body.”

The Greek word for “falsehood” or lying is “pseudo” and means untruthfulness, deception, misrepresentation, exaggeration.  As a follower of Jesus you are not to be a person who lies.  

1. A lie does at least three things.

1. Lying misrepresents the truth.  It covers up.  If you lie to a person, the person does not know the truth and may act accordingly.  If the die is serious, it can be damaging.

2. Lying deceives a person.  It leads a person astray.  Lying is a deception, a misdirection.  The movie “Swordfish” is a perfect example.  John Travolta, plays a supposed anti-terrorism agent who survives by misdirection.  Misdirection is one reason we may be unable to find Osama Bin Laden.  Is he a master of misdirection?
   
   You, as a follower of Jesus, are not to be a deceptive person.  

3. Lying builds a wrong relationship, a relationship built on sinking sand.  Two people cannot possibly be friends or live together meaningfully if the relationship is based on lies.  Lying destroys… confidence, assurance, security, love, trust, hope.

2. Paul says that you are to speak the truth because you   are part of something bigger than yourself.  You are  part of the body of Christ, the Church.

3. You are to be exactly who you say you are.  There is to be no cover-up, nothing hidden, no shame.  You are to be exactly who you are in public as you are in private.  You are to be a sincere, honest person.

You have heard the saying, “Love the sinner, hate the sin.”  That is not good enough.  That is not the Gospel – not a picture of God’s grace.  Do you have trouble with lying?  Here is the grace of God for you, “Love the sinner, heal the sin!”  “Go and sin no more” as Jesus said.

Second, put off the garment of anger (4:26-27)  “’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..”

You do become angry.  Paul recognizes this fact.  There are times when it is right to be angry but we are to be very careful that it does not lead to sin.  Correct anger motivates us to right wrongs and injustice.  Incorrect anger simply lashes out and hurts others.

1. Wrong anger or selfish anger…

2. There is right anger or justified anger.  You must be angry with sin, your own sin, and the sin of others.  You must be angry at the injustice in the world that keeps people starving and homeless.

3. The devil exploits selfish anger and uses it for his own ends.  He sows discord and disturbance and dissension.  Here Paul uses the Greek word “diabolos” for the devil.  It means slanderer.  Satan uses anger to try to destroy the Church.

Do you have trouble with anger?  Go and sin no more.

Third, put off the garment of stealing (4:28)  “He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.”

The Greek word for “steal” is “klepto” and means to cheat, to take wrongfully from another person, either legally or illegally.  We get our word “kleptomaniac” from this word. 

In this case Paul is talking about God’s law not human laws.  Sometimes a person can use human law to steal.  They are not breaking a human law but God’s law.  They will be held accountable in the judgment.  

There are at least three forms of stealing.

1. Taking something, which is actually possessed or personally owned by another person.  

2. Hoarding and banking more than is needed.  Keeping back what is not needed for one’s self is stealing from the needs of others – from the hungry, unemployed, sick…  Not to use the over blessings God has given us is to steal from Him and allow others to suffer.

3. Living extravagantly, beyond what is needed.  There is no doubt that the means to meet the needs of the world exist today.  But extravagance and indulgence are stealing from the needy.  You are to use your over abundance to help the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, provide medicine for the sick, provide a roof for the homeless.

God gives us the gift of work to support ourselves and care for those less fortunate.  You are to work to give.

Do you have trouble with stealing?  Go and sin no more.

Fourth, put off worthless talk (4:29)  “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.”

What St. Paul is talking about here is the talk of the world.  A language that becomes rotten, foul, polluted, obscene.  The Amplified Bible says it this way, “Let no foul or polluting language, nor evil word, nor unwholesome or worthless talk (ever) come out of your mouth.”

Paul says in his letter to the Romans that a person with a foul mouth has a mouth that is “an open sepulcher (grave).” (Rom. 3:13)  An open grave stinks.  If you use foul language you stink to God and to those around you.  That means telling off-color humor to dirty jokes.  Filth from a person’s mouth eats away their character until there is nothing left to respect.

St. Paul says that you are to speak only that which is good and which will edify or build up people.  Speech is for the purpose of sharing good things, strengthening people and ministering a blessing to another.  

Does your language, vocabulary, speech stink?  Go and sin no more.

Fifth, put off the garment of being contrary (4:30). “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”

“grieve” (lupeite) means to pain, to offend, to vex, to sadden the Holy Spirit.  When a child acts contrary to the counsel of his parents, he hurts and grieves them.  So when a person acts contrary to the counsel of the Holy Spirit, he hurts and grieves Him.  

There are at least four ways the Holy Spirit can be grieved.

1. You can entertain impure thoughts in your life or mind without turning them over to Jesus.

2. You can behave immorally.

3. You can act unjustly.

4. You can participate in something contrary to the nature of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is your great Friend.  He seals you into God’s Forever Family in your Baptism and faith.  He ministers to you throughout your life.  Don’t grieve Him.  Go and sin no more.

Sixth, put off unkindness (4:31).  “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.”

1. A person who is bitter is often – sharp, resentful, cynical, cold, harsh, stressful, intense, relentless, distasteful, unpleasant.  These are sins to God and you are not to practice them.  God desires that you be filled with love, joy and peace.

2. A person who expresses rage is one who burst into anger, indignation, violence, and has an explosive temper.  But this rage also fades away as quickly as it arises.  In that brief time it can do tremendous damage, however.  You are not to express yourself in rage.

3. A person who expresses anger has already been discussed earlier.

4. A person who is a brawler is one who argues, fusses, quarrels.  This behavior is insulting, loud and abusive.

5. A person who has an attitude of malice is hurtful and speaks to injure.

You, as a follower of Jesus, are not to act unkindly.  Go and sin no more.

Seventh, put on the garments of a new person (4:32).  “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgive each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”

Now St. Paul gives us some guidance on how we are to live.  Paul is very clear here.  God loves you and gives you His grace to be healed of your sin.

1. The word “kind” means to be gentle, caring, helpful, courteous, good, useful, giving, and showing favors upon people.  It is the opposite of everything Paul mentions before.  Be healed, in Jesus name!

2. The word “compassionate” means to be tenderhearted, show mercy, understanding, love and warmth.  It means to be aware of a person’s hurts and sufferings, problems and difficulties, emotions and mental state, physical and spiritual condition.  Be healed, in Jesus name!

3. The word “forgive” means to be gracious to others, to pardon others for a wrong done.  Even though a person has done you wrong you are charged by God to forgive that person whether you like it or not.  You must will to forgive that person.  You don’t have a choice.  Be healed, in Jesus name!

4. The reason you must forgive others is because God has forgiven you.  No matter how much a person has done against us, it does not come close to what we have done against God.  Yet, God has forgiven us!  Why?  Because of Jesus.

Jesus died for you.  He died for your sins so that you could be forgiven and healed.  Therefore, you are to forgive others no matter what they have done to you so that they might be healed.  Period!

Heavenly Father, You offer us a make-over.  You offer us a new garment for living.  Dress us properly according to Your will by the power of Your Spirit.  Heal us so that we can go and sin no more.