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Voddie Baucham - Relating to One Another - Ephesians 4.25-32 · Voddie Baucham Sermons

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  Speaker 1: God and our Father, we thank you for this, another
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  Speaker 1: opportunity to gather together as your people. We thank you
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  Speaker 1: that even in the midst of these challenging times, you
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  Speaker 1: have drawn near to us, even when we haven't been
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  Speaker 1: able to draw near to one another. We thank you
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  Speaker 1: for the ways that have been made available to us
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  Speaker 1: to do just that, to draw near to one another.
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  Speaker 1: Grant by your grace that as we do so this morning,
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  Speaker 1: we might meet with you. As we dive into your word,
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  Speaker 1: we ask that you would grant us clarity of thought.
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  Speaker 1: I ask that you would grant me clarity of speech.
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  Speaker 1: And that you would grant us willing hearts. so that
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  Speaker 1: we might not only hear but heed your word. We
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  Speaker 1: ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, as we
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  Speaker 1: continue our series, looking at the Ephesus family, if you will,
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  Speaker 1: we come to the second half, or the last portion
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  Speaker 1: of Ephesians chapter 4. beginning there in verse 25. If
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  Speaker 1: you remember when we were together last, we looked at
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  Speaker 1: the paragraphs before this, beginning at verse 17. And we
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  Speaker 1: talked about how it was imperative to put verse 25,
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  Speaker 1: or that last paragraph, into context and to grab those
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  Speaker 1: other verses and the idea that from those other verses
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  Speaker 1: in order to be able to understand verse 25 because
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  Speaker 1: if we didn't we'd run straight to verse 25 and
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  Speaker 1: it would become a lesson in works righteousness and moralism
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  Speaker 1: a set of rules that we need to adhere to
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  Speaker 1: instead of understanding that this is something that grows out
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  Speaker 1: of our life in Christ you remember this also puts
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  Speaker 1: the book itself in context Because in the first three
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  Speaker 1: chapters of the book of Ephesians, we have indicatives or
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  Speaker 1: a picture of who we are in Christ. A picture
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  Speaker 1: of what God has done on our behalf, in us
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  Speaker 1: and for us, on our behalf, through the person and
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  Speaker 1: work of Christ. There are no imperatives in the first
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  Speaker 1: three chapters of the book of Ephesians. We aren't told
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  Speaker 1: to do anything. We are told who we are because
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  Speaker 1: of what Christ has done. And it's only when we
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  Speaker 1: then get into the second half of the book of
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  Speaker 1: Ephesians that we find imperatives, things that we are called
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  Speaker 1: to do. But those imperatives are connected to the indicatives.
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  Speaker 1: We are called to do these things in the second
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  Speaker 1: half in light of and because of what Christ has
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  Speaker 1: done on our behalf in the first half. Christ then
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  Speaker 1: equips us and prepares us to do those things in
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  Speaker 1: the second half. We also looked at the fact that
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  Speaker 1: in that first half, in those first three chapters, we
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  Speaker 1: had these three big ideas. We have Christ's headship over
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  Speaker 1: his body. And then we have unity in Christ's body
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  Speaker 1: and the glory that the body gives to its head.
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  Speaker 1: We see that in chapter one clearly. Christ's headship over
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  Speaker 1: his body. And we see that at the end of
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  Speaker 1: chapter 1. We see that unity in Christ's body clearly
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  Speaker 1: at the end of chapter 2. And that glory that
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  Speaker 1: the body gives to its head clearly at the end
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  Speaker 1: of chapter 3. And then we have that transition in
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  Speaker 1: verse 20. Now to him who is able to do
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  Speaker 1: far more abundantly than all that we can ask or think,
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  Speaker 1: according to the power at work within us, to him
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  Speaker 1: be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus. throughout
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  Speaker 1: all generations, forever and ever. Amen. And so we know
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  Speaker 1: there that we've turned the corner, that we've began to
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  Speaker 1: look at something different. And notice that at the end
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  Speaker 1: of chapter 3, to him who is able to do
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  Speaker 1: far more abundantly than all that we can ask or think.
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  Speaker 1: So all of these things that are going to be
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  Speaker 1: done in the second half, we can count on them
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  Speaker 1: being done Because of him who is able to do.
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  Speaker 1: And then, why? According to the power at work within us.
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  Speaker 1: Not according to our own ability or desire to dig
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  Speaker 1: deeper and to achieve more. But according to the power
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  Speaker 1: that is at work within us. Which is why the
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  Speaker 1: glory then belongs to him. So with that in mind,
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  Speaker 1: we started looking at this second half, and we looked
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  Speaker 1: beginning at verse 17 of chapter 4. I want to
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  Speaker 1: read that first before we get into verse 25. Now
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  Speaker 1: this I say and testify in the Lord, that you
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  Speaker 1: must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the
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  Speaker 1: futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding,
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  Speaker 1: alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance
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  Speaker 1: that is in them. due to their hardness of heart.
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  Speaker 1: They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality,
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  Speaker 1: greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is
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  Speaker 1: not the way you learned Christ. Assuming that you have
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  Speaker 1: heard about him and were taught in him, as the
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  Speaker 1: truth is in Jesus. And then here's what we were
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  Speaker 1: called to do. To put off your old self, which
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  Speaker 1: belongs to your former manner of life, and is corrupt
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  Speaker 1: through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit
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  Speaker 1: of your minds, and to put on the new self
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  Speaker 1: created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
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  Speaker 1: So that's the principle there. That's what we're called to do,
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  Speaker 1: put off the old and to put on the new.
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  Speaker 1: But what does that look like in practice? And specifically
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  Speaker 1: for our series, What does that look like in the
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  Speaker 1: context of interpersonal relationships within the family? And that's where
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  Speaker 1: we get to verse 25 and to our text today. Therefore,
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  Speaker 1: and remember, the therefore points us back to the previous paragraph. Therefore,
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  Speaker 1: having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak
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  Speaker 1: the truth to his neighbor, for we are members of
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  Speaker 1: one another. That's number one. Number two, verse 26. Be
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  Speaker 1: angry and do not sin. Do not let the sun
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  Speaker 1: go down on your anger. Give no opportunity to the devil.
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  Speaker 1: Here's a third example. Let the thief no longer steal,
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  Speaker 1: but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his
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  Speaker 1: own hands so that he may have something to share
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  Speaker 1: with anyone in need. Here's a fourth example in 29.
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  Speaker 1: Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but
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  Speaker 1: only such as is good for building up as fits
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  Speaker 1: the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.
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  Speaker 1: And do not grieve the Holy Spirit, by whom you
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  Speaker 1: were sealed for the day of redemption. And then finally,
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  Speaker 1: let all bitterness and wrath, anger and clamor and slander
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  Speaker 1: be put away from you, along with all malice. Be
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  Speaker 1: kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God
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  Speaker 1: and Christ also forgave you. This is not an exhaustive
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  Speaker 1: list by any stretch of the imagination. But it's an
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  Speaker 1: application of the principle that we saw in the last
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  Speaker 1: section of the chapter. In the last section of the chapter.
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  Speaker 1: And so The question could be asked this way. In
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  Speaker 1: light of what God has done in us and for
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  Speaker 1: us through the person and work of Christ, in light
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  Speaker 1: of this picture that we have of putting off the
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  Speaker 1: old and putting on the new, that principle, what does
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  Speaker 1: that look like as we apply it in terms of
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  Speaker 1: our relationships with one another? And specifically, how do we
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  Speaker 1: apply that as we engage with one another in that
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  Speaker 1: place where we are who we truly are, which is
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  Speaker 1: at home? Remember, we've talked about that before. We can
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  Speaker 1: put on airs when we're out in public. We can
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  Speaker 1: be a certain person, you know, when we're at work.
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  Speaker 1: But when we're home, we take off the masks. So
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  Speaker 1: let's look at these illustrations. and see what's underneath them.
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  Speaker 1: The first one. Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each
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  Speaker 1: one of you speak the truth with his neighbor for
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  Speaker 1: we're members of one another. It's not therefore put away falsehood.
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  Speaker 1: It's therefore having put away falsehood. Since we've put away falsehood,
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  Speaker 1: how have we put away falsehood? By putting on Christ,
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  Speaker 1: we have put away falsehood. So This is actually an
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  Speaker 1: indicative and then an imperative. Because we are individuals who
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  Speaker 1: by virtue of belonging to Christ have put away falsehood.
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  Speaker 1: Because coming to Christ brings us out of darkness into
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  Speaker 1: his marvelous light. Because we've put away falsehood. Now let
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  Speaker 1: each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor. Why?
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  Speaker 1: For we are members of one another. It's interesting, in
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  Speaker 1: the first half, we have all of these indicatives, and
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  Speaker 1: we're not told to do anything. In the second half,
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  Speaker 1: we finally get to the imperatives, and you would think
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  Speaker 1: that what the author would do was just say, okay,
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  Speaker 1: we've done all of that. We know about the gospel truth.
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  Speaker 1: We know about who we are in Christ. Now let's
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  Speaker 1: just get down to it and start doing. That's not
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  Speaker 1: what he does. In the second half, we also have
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  Speaker 1: indicatives because the indicatives are twice as important as the imperatives.
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  Speaker 1: And hear me on this, saints. We have a natural
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  Speaker 1: tendency toward moralism and works righteousness. And as Christians, what
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  Speaker 1: we tend to do, even when we're reminded of that
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  Speaker 1: natural tendency toward moralism and works righteousness, when we're reminded
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  Speaker 1: of the essential nature of the gospel Here's what we
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  Speaker 1: tend to do. We tend to say, oh, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes,
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  Speaker 1: I get that. Yes, Jesus, the gospel, salvation. None of
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  Speaker 1: this is possible apart from salvation. Now, rule, rule, rule, rule, rule.
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  Speaker 1: Every now and then, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Jesus, salvation, yeah,
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  Speaker 1: the gospel. Rule, rule, rule, rule, rule. That's not what
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  Speaker 1: Paul does. He doesn't spend the first half of the
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  Speaker 1: book going salvation, the gospel, Jesus, and then the second
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  Speaker 1: half saying rule, rule, rule, rule. Even in the second half.
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  Speaker 1: Notice again in verse 25. Therefore, having put away falsehood,
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  Speaker 1: let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor.
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  Speaker 1: That is law. Amen. That is law. But then he says, for. Why?
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  Speaker 1: For we are members of one another. That goes back
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  Speaker 1: to the indicative. So we have indicative, imperative, indicative. What
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  Speaker 1: is he speaking about there, us being members of one another? Well,
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  Speaker 1: if we look back at the first half of the book,
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  Speaker 1: I think we answer the question. Go to chapter 2.
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  Speaker 1: And look beginning at verse 14. For he, Christ, himself,
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  Speaker 1: is our peace, who has made us both one, and
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  Speaker 1: has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of
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  Speaker 1: hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances,
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  Speaker 1: that he might create in himself one new man in
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  Speaker 1: place of the two, soul-making peace, and might reconcile us
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  Speaker 1: both in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.
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  Speaker 1: And he came and preached peace to those who were
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  Speaker 1: far off and peace to those who were near. For
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  Speaker 1: through him we both have access in one spirit to
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  Speaker 1: the Father. So then, you are no longer strangers and aliens,
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  Speaker 1: but you are fellow citizens with the saints. members of
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  Speaker 1: the household of God, built on the foundation of the
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  Speaker 1: apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone in
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  Speaker 1: whom the whole structure being joined together grows into a
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  Speaker 1: holy temple in the Lord. In him, you also are
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  Speaker 1: being built together into a dwelling place for God by
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  Speaker 1: the Spirit. So, now, that's the indicative statement This is
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  Speaker 1: what Christ has done. This is who he has made us.
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  Speaker 1: He has reconciled us to himself and to one another
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  Speaker 1: so that we belong to one another. Now think about
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  Speaker 1: what happens in the marriage covenant where we enter into
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  Speaker 1: this one flesh union. So being in Christ, we belong
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  Speaker 1: to one another. However, being in marriage, We heighten that
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  Speaker 1: union through this one flesh union that we have as
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  Speaker 1: husband and wife. And then children, as a byproduct of
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  Speaker 1: that union, also heighten that union that we have because
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  Speaker 1: of Christ. Now you bring all of that to verse 25. Therefore,
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  Speaker 1: having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak
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  Speaker 1: the truth with his neighbor. Why? For we are members
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  Speaker 1: one of another. Because of who Christ is and because
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  Speaker 1: of what Christ has done, we don't just belong to
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  Speaker 1: one another. We are one another. I've used this phrase
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  Speaker 1: often to try to get this into people's heads as
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  Speaker 1: it relates to marriage. When I think about my wife
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  Speaker 1: and I tell a husband, when you think about your wife,
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  Speaker 1: Think about this phrase. She's not just mine. She's me.
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  Speaker 1: Do you catch that? She's not just mine. She's me.
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  Speaker 1: She's not a thing that I possess to do with
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  Speaker 1: as I please. She's me. We are members of one another.
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  Speaker 1: We are part of a one flesh union. The two
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  Speaker 1: of us have become something together that neither of us
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  Speaker 1: could have or would have been apart. Do you catch this?
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  Speaker 1: We belong to one another. And think about that in
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  Speaker 1: terms of the church. Yes, we belong to one another.
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  Speaker 1: We are part of the body of Christ. You are
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  Speaker 1: a member of Christ's body. I am a member of
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  Speaker 1: Christ's body. We belong to one another. You're not just mine,
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  Speaker 1: you're me. As we belong to Christ. So he doesn't
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  Speaker 1: just say, here's the point that I'm trying to drive home.
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  Speaker 1: The law looks at you and says, don't bear false witness.
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  Speaker 1: And in and of yourself, you are incapable of keeping that.
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  Speaker 1: Let's just, let's be clear. Galatians makes it very clear
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  Speaker 1: for us. The law is a mirror and a tutor.
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  Speaker 1: As a mirror, the law reflects back to us our imperfection.
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  Speaker 1: And as a tutor, the law instructs us that we
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  Speaker 1: need a savior. And so the law says to you,
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  Speaker 1: do not bear false witness. And we think legalism and
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  Speaker 1: moralism says, okay, I can do that. I can be
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  Speaker 1: better than that person or I can be better than
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  Speaker 1: those people out there. I can even be better than
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  Speaker 1: I was yesterday in terms of not bearing false witness.
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  Speaker 1: I can do better, be better, try harder. You don't
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  Speaker 1: understand the law. The law doesn't require you to do
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  Speaker 1: a good job at not bearing false witness. The law
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  Speaker 1: requires you to be perfect in truthfulness. God is perfect
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  Speaker 1: in truthfulness and anything less than perfection in truthfulness is
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  Speaker 1: a violation of the law of God that is worthy
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  Speaker 1: of death and eternal separation from God in hell that's
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  Speaker 1: what the law requires and the only reason that you
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  Speaker 1: cling to moralism and legalism the only reason that I
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  Speaker 1: cling to moralism and legalism is because I forget what
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  Speaker 1: the law actually requires and and deceive myself into thinking
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  Speaker 1: that I can actually work hard enough to get there.
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  Speaker 1: You can't get there from here. You can't get there
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  Speaker 1: from here. It's like trying to spend the wrong kind
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  Speaker 1: of currency. You know, imagine a businessman takes a trip
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  Speaker 1: and he goes to Nairobi And when he comes back
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  Speaker 1: from Nairobi, you know, he's exchanged his Zambian kwacha and
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  Speaker 1: he's gone to Nairobi and he's gotten, you know, the Nairobi,
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  Speaker 1: they have a shekel, whatever the Nairobi, you know, currency is.
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  Speaker 1: And then he comes back from Nairobi with that money,
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  Speaker 1: forgets to exchange it at the airport. He's on his
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  Speaker 1: way home. He wants to stay. and pick up some
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  Speaker 1: gifts for his kids or some flowers for his wife
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  Speaker 1: when he comes home and he reaches into his pocket
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  Speaker 1: and has this currency from Nairobi. It doesn't matter how
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  Speaker 1: much of the currency he has. It won't spend Do
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  Speaker 1: you see? It won't spend. It is the wrong currency.
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  Speaker 1: And in terms of righteousness, here's what you and I
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  Speaker 1: need to understand. Your righteousness is not even the same
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  Speaker 1: currency as God's righteousness. So it's not that God's righteousness
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  Speaker 1: is a billion kwacha and your righteousness is one. It's
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  Speaker 1: that your righteousness is not even the same currency. So
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  Speaker 1: the problem is not that you don't have enough. The
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  Speaker 1: problem is, in terms of the righteousness that God requires,
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  Speaker 1: you don't have any. So, So are we just doomed
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  Speaker 1: and defeated? No. Christ has fulfilled the righteous requirements of
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  Speaker 1: the law of God on our behalf because he had
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  Speaker 1: the right currency and in more than sufficient amounts. He
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  Speaker 1: lays down his life as a ransom for many, takes
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  Speaker 1: upon himself our sinfulness and gives to us, imputes to
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  Speaker 1: us his righteousness, he does a currency exchange. So that
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  Speaker 1: in Christ, we now have the right currency and enough
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  Speaker 1: of it, which is why we have to read verse
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  Speaker 1: 25 in light of the first half, which is why
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  Speaker 1: he keeps going back there. Therefore, having put away falsehood, therefore,
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  Speaker 1: because you had this exchange that took place, Let each
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  Speaker 1: one of you speak the truth with his neighbor. Why?
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  Speaker 1: Because you have the right currency now through the person
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  Speaker 1: and work of Christ. Four, we are members of one another. Why?
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  Speaker 1: Because of the person and work of Christ. Do you
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  Speaker 1: see that? It's bringing us back to Christ. Look at
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  Speaker 1: verse 26. Be angry and do not sin. Do not
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  Speaker 1: let the sun go down on your anger and give...
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  Speaker 1: no opportunity to the devil. Now again, contextually, we're still
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  Speaker 1: in the same place. Be angry and do not sin.
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  Speaker 1: Do not let the sun go down in your anger
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  Speaker 1: and give no opportunity to the devil. We're going to
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  Speaker 1: see later on that this relates to verse 30. Be
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  Speaker 1: angry and do not sin. It doesn't say don't be angry. Amen?
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  Speaker 1: It doesn't say don't be angry. Anger is merely an emotion.
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  Speaker 1: Anger is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as a
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  Speaker 1: strong feeling of annoyance, displeasure, or hostility. And sometimes it's correct,
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  Speaker 1: it's right, and even godly to experience a strong feeling
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  Speaker 1: of annoyance, displeasure, or hostility. So the Bible doesn't say
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  Speaker 1: you can never be angry. We know anger is not
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  Speaker 1: necessarily sinful because God gets angry. He's angry with the
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  Speaker 1: wicked every day. Amen? Romans chapter 1, verse 18. For
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  Speaker 1: the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all
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  Speaker 1: ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who by their unrighteousness suppress
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  Speaker 1: the truth. The wrath of God, which is intense anger. Hell. Hell.
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  Speaker 1: is a place where God will pour out his wrath
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  Speaker 1: for eternity. John chapter 2, verses 13 to 17. Jesus,
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  Speaker 1: the God-man, perfect humanity and perfect deity. John 2, 13.
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  Speaker 1: The Passover of the Jews was at hand and Jesus
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  Speaker 1: went up to Jerusalem In the temple he found those
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  Speaker 1: who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons and the
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  Speaker 1: money changers sitting there. And making a whip of cords,
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  Speaker 1: he drove them all out of the temple with the
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  Speaker 1: sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of
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  Speaker 1: the money changers and overturned their tables. And he told
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  Speaker 1: those who sold the pigeons, take these things away. Do
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  Speaker 1: not make my father's house a house of trade. His
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  Speaker 1: disciples remembered that it was written, Zeal for your house
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  Speaker 1: will consume me. Jesus was angry. He was angry. And so, again,
• 25:25
  Speaker 1: this is why the text says, be angry but don't sin.
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: There are things that ought to make us angry. There
• 25:36
  Speaker 1: are things that are vile and disgusting and evil. that
• 25:42
  Speaker 1: ought to create righteous indignation in us. But righteous indignation
• 25:53
  Speaker 1: has to be in its proper place. And where is
• 25:56
  Speaker 1: its proper place? Well, its proper place is when God's
• 26:02
  Speaker 1: righteousness is that which we are indignant about. God's righteousness.
• 26:09
  Speaker 1: God's righteousness. Anger that puts me in the place of
• 26:19
  Speaker 1: God is anger that is sinful. Secondly, this anger is
• 26:28
  Speaker 1: expressed in a way that is designed to vindicate God
• 26:32
  Speaker 1: and his righteousness, not to vindicate me. Paul tells us
• 26:37
  Speaker 1: in Romans 12 that we are not to avenge ourselves.
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: We do not vindicate ourselves. We do not avenge ourselves.
• 26:46
  Speaker 1: Anger that is vengeful on my behalf is sinful anger.
• 26:53
  Speaker 1: Anger that is misplaced is sinful anger. For example... If
• 27:00
  Speaker 1: I'm on the job and I see something on the
• 27:02
  Speaker 1: job that is disgusting or evil or heinous and I
• 27:08
  Speaker 1: have righteous indignation because of this thing that I see
• 27:11
  Speaker 1: on the job. But I do not, for whatever reason,
• 27:15
  Speaker 1: express that anger in an appropriate way by addressing whatever
• 27:22
  Speaker 1: this evil is. But instead, I hold my anger in
• 27:27
  Speaker 1: and then I get home and I kick the dog
• 27:31
  Speaker 1: or slap my wife or my kids. Now, I have
• 27:37
  Speaker 1: misplaced my anger and I'm in sin. Do you see that?
• 27:46
  Speaker 1: That's sinful anger because it's misplaced anger or delayed anger.
• 27:54
  Speaker 1: Something happens and I'm rightfully angry about something. But I
• 28:00
  Speaker 1: just swallow it. Right? And what I say is, love
• 28:05
  Speaker 1: covers a multitude of sins. But I'm lying. Why? Because
• 28:09
  Speaker 1: a week later or a month later, somebody does some
• 28:13
  Speaker 1: small thing to set me off. And I explode on
• 28:18
  Speaker 1: them and let them know that it is because of
• 28:21
  Speaker 1: what happened a month ago. If you can't say amen,
• 28:26
  Speaker 1: you ought to say ouch. Do you see? Or anger
• 28:35
  Speaker 1: that's used to control others. Anger that's used to strike
• 28:40
  Speaker 1: fear in others. This is sinful anger. And so this
• 28:45
  Speaker 1: is what the Bible talks about in places like Psalm 37,
• 28:48
  Speaker 1: 8 and 9. Refrain from anger and forsake wrath. fret
• 28:53
  Speaker 1: not yourself, it tends only to evil, for the evildoers
• 28:56
  Speaker 1: shall be cut off, but those who wait for the
• 28:59
  Speaker 1: Lord shall inherit the land. Do you see there? Refrain
• 29:05
  Speaker 1: from anger and forsake wrath. This is a parallelism in
• 29:09
  Speaker 1: the Psalms. Refrain from anger and forsake wrath. He's talking
• 29:12
  Speaker 1: about anger that pours itself out in uncontrolled wrath. Fret
• 29:17
  Speaker 1: not yourself. What is this? This is holding on to it,
• 29:21
  Speaker 1: letting it fester, Because it tends only to evil when
• 29:26
  Speaker 1: you let it fester and grow into bitterness. For the
• 29:29
  Speaker 1: evildoer shall be cut off. God, God will pour out
• 29:33
  Speaker 1: his wrath on all evil. You don't have to do that.
• 29:37
  Speaker 1: But those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.
• 29:40
  Speaker 1: Do not avenge yourself. All these New Testament principles right
• 29:45
  Speaker 1: there in that one, there's two verses of the Psalms.
• 29:49
  Speaker 1: Proverbs 29, 22. A man of wrath stirs up strife.
• 29:53
  Speaker 1: A man of wrath, somebody who's characterized by wrath. Somebody
• 29:57
  Speaker 1: who has no control over their anger. A man of
• 29:59
  Speaker 1: wrath stirs up strife, and one given to anger causes
• 30:03
  Speaker 1: much transgression. Again, you see how those two lines are parallel?
• 30:07
  Speaker 1: So the idea of a man of wrath is the
• 30:09
  Speaker 1: same thing as one who's given to anger. Being given
• 30:13
  Speaker 1: to anger means that anger controls you. Matthew 5, 21
• 30:18
  Speaker 1: and 22. You've heard that it was said to those
• 30:23
  Speaker 1: of old, you shall not murder, and whoever murders will
• 30:28
  Speaker 1: be liable to judgment. But I say to you that
• 30:31
  Speaker 1: everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable
• 30:34
  Speaker 1: to judgment. Whoever insults his brother will be liable to
• 30:38
  Speaker 1: the council. And whoever says you fool will be liable
• 30:41
  Speaker 1: to the hell of fire. Again, where does murder come from?
• 30:48
  Speaker 1: It starts with anger. It starts with anger. Remember the
• 30:55
  Speaker 1: last point that I made. And so when we look
• 30:57
  Speaker 1: at our text, you know, be angry and do not sin.
• 30:59
  Speaker 1: Do not let the sun go down on your wrath.
• 31:05
  Speaker 1: Don't hold on to it. Don't harbor it. And then
• 31:09
  Speaker 1: here's this last one. And we'll connect these to what
• 31:12
  Speaker 1: went before. James 1, 19 and 20. Remember I told
• 31:18
  Speaker 1: you about using anger. Before I read this text, I
• 31:22
  Speaker 1: want to share this with you here. Here's a classic
• 31:25
  Speaker 1: example of this when we talk about sinful anger and
• 31:29
  Speaker 1: its expression in the home. So your child does something.
• 31:36
  Speaker 1: And you explode at your child. The veins pop out
• 31:41
  Speaker 1: in your neck. You're slobbering and screaming. And you just
• 31:46
  Speaker 1: grab your child and beat them with anything that you
• 31:48
  Speaker 1: can find. And then afterward, you let them know. that
• 31:55
  Speaker 1: this happened because you want them to never do this again.
• 32:02
  Speaker 1: Now what you just did was you exploded on your
• 32:06
  Speaker 1: child in anger because you want them to remember your
• 32:11
  Speaker 1: anger and your wrath the next time they have an
• 32:14
  Speaker 1: opportunity to do whatever that thing is. And you want
• 32:17
  Speaker 1: them to be more afraid of your wrath because then
• 32:23
  Speaker 1: they are desirous of whatever that thing is. In which case,
• 32:30
  Speaker 1: you've just joined them in sin. And in the ultimate folly. Why?
• 32:37
  Speaker 1: James 1, 19 and 20. Know this, my beloved brothers.
• 32:41
  Speaker 1: Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak,
• 32:44
  Speaker 1: slow to anger. For the anger of man does not
• 32:47
  Speaker 1: produce the righteousness of God. Listen. Listen. If I brutalize
• 32:54
  Speaker 1: my children, I'm not talking about spanking here, you know,
• 32:59
  Speaker 1: and if you were paying attention to the conference this
• 33:01
  Speaker 1: week and, you know, you listen to the session there
• 33:06
  Speaker 1: on dealing with discipline with our children, this Dr. Tripp's
• 33:10
  Speaker 1: message there, I commend it to you highly. That's not
• 33:14
  Speaker 1: what I'm talking about. Here I'm talking about that explosive anger,
• 33:20
  Speaker 1: that violent anger. burst of rage that comes out toward
• 33:24
  Speaker 1: your child toward your spouse because you want to strike
• 33:30
  Speaker 1: fear in them so that they don't do that thing
• 33:31
  Speaker 1: again here's what you're doing if your child learns not
• 33:37
  Speaker 1: to do something because they fear you or your spouse
• 33:40
  Speaker 1: learns not to do something because they fear you then
• 33:43
  Speaker 1: that's fear of man and the anger of man does
• 33:49
  Speaker 1: not produce the righteousness of God You are guilty of
• 33:54
  Speaker 1: idolatry because you want people to, you don't want your
• 34:01
  Speaker 1: children to pursue righteousness. You want them to just not
• 34:04
  Speaker 1: make you angry. You don't want your spouse to be
• 34:07
  Speaker 1: conformed to the image of Christ. You just want them
• 34:10
  Speaker 1: to be afraid to do certain things because you don't
• 34:12
  Speaker 1: like them. which means you do not want to point
• 34:16
  Speaker 1: them to Christ as their only hope and the source
• 34:19
  Speaker 1: of their righteousness. You want to point them away from
• 34:22
  Speaker 1: Christ to fear of you that controls them. Repent. That
• 34:29
  Speaker 1: is sinful anger. And it is idolatry because you want
• 34:40
  Speaker 1: pleasing you to be the chief and principal motivation of
• 34:45
  Speaker 1: your family members. Not pleasing God. That's idolatry. Now let's
• 34:55
  Speaker 1: connect this. Be angry. Do not sin. Do not let
• 34:59
  Speaker 1: the sun go down on your anger. This is not
• 35:04
  Speaker 1: disconnected from what came before. This is important because we
• 35:09
  Speaker 1: are members of one another and members of the body
• 35:14
  Speaker 1: of Christ do you see that so even what makes
• 35:23
  Speaker 1: me angry needs to be directed by this truth and
• 35:28
  Speaker 1: how I express that anger and to what end I
• 35:31
  Speaker 1: express that anger needs to be controlled by this truth
• 35:35
  Speaker 1: that we are members of Christ and we are members
• 35:37
  Speaker 1: of one another Verse 28, let the thief no longer steal,
• 35:43
  Speaker 1: but rather let him labor doing honest work with his
• 35:46
  Speaker 1: own hands that he may have something to share with
• 35:49
  Speaker 1: anyone in need. Again, these are illustrations to point to
• 35:55
  Speaker 1: the same general principle. And I think this proves the
• 35:59
  Speaker 1: point that I made earlier. I said that when you
• 36:01
  Speaker 1: look at the one in verse 26 about anger, you
• 36:04
  Speaker 1: can't divorce it from verse 25 and the fact that
• 36:07
  Speaker 1: we belong to one another. I think that argument is
• 36:09
  Speaker 1: strengthened by the fact that here in verse 28, when
• 36:14
  Speaker 1: he says, let the thief no longer steal, but instead
• 36:17
  Speaker 1: let him labor. Why? Just because it's wrong to steal? No,
• 36:22
  Speaker 1: it is absolutely wrong to steal, right? By the way,
• 36:24
  Speaker 1: notice we're still in the commandments. Do not bear false witness.
• 36:30
  Speaker 1: Anger is connected to do not commit murder, because according
• 36:35
  Speaker 1: to Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, Murder comes
• 36:37
  Speaker 1: from anger in the heart. And now this one, do
• 36:42
  Speaker 1: not steal. Do you see that he's dealing with the
• 36:45
  Speaker 1: commandments here? But he's connecting the law of God in
• 36:49
  Speaker 1: the Decalogue to the reality of who we are in
• 36:52
  Speaker 1: Christ from the first half of the book of Ephesians.
• 36:55
  Speaker 1: He's teaching us how to understand the law. And that
• 37:02
  Speaker 1: it's only kept... Because we belong to Christ who is
• 37:06
  Speaker 1: the law keeper and are in union and communion with him.
• 37:14
  Speaker 1: So don't steal, but do labor with your own hands. Why?
• 37:17
  Speaker 1: So that you may have something to share with anyone
• 37:20
  Speaker 1: in need. What's the understanding there? We belong to one another.
• 37:25
  Speaker 1: We don't steal from one another. We give to one another.
• 37:32
  Speaker 1: Verse 29 says, Let no corrupting talk come out of
• 37:38
  Speaker 1: your mouths, but only such as is good for building up,
• 37:42
  Speaker 1: as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to
• 37:46
  Speaker 1: those who hear. We have to connect verse 30 to this.
• 37:53
  Speaker 1: We talked about this before, but I think it bears
• 37:55
  Speaker 1: mentioning again. Because taking verse 30 out of context has
• 37:59
  Speaker 1: led to all kind of terrible interpretations of verse 30. First,
• 38:03
  Speaker 1: there's an and connecting this to verse 29. And do
• 38:07
  Speaker 1: not grieve the Holy Spirit of God by whom you
• 38:10
  Speaker 1: were sealed for the day of redemption. Do not grieve
• 38:16
  Speaker 1: the Holy Spirit of God by whom you were sealed
• 38:19
  Speaker 1: for the day of redemption. What does this mean? I
• 38:25
  Speaker 1: think you connect these two ideas. First, the first one
• 38:31
  Speaker 1: is our words. We don't let talk or corrosive talk.
• 38:37
  Speaker 1: Literally in the Greek, this is something that is corrosive
• 38:41
  Speaker 1: like acid. Don't let words come out of your mouth
• 38:47
  Speaker 1: that have the effect of corroding and tearing down like acid.
• 38:53
  Speaker 1: You know, there's a saying, and it's pretty much universal.
• 38:58
  Speaker 1: Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will
• 39:03
  Speaker 1: never hurt me. You know this saying? This means yes.
• 39:09
  Speaker 1: Especially with your mask on. You got these people just looking.
• 39:13
  Speaker 1: So I really need you to give me that, right? Okay?
• 39:15
  Speaker 1: All right. Thank you so much. All right. Right? And
• 39:19
  Speaker 1: on the one hand, it's something very helpful that we
• 39:22
  Speaker 1: teach children. You know? She said so and so he
• 39:27
  Speaker 1: said so and so like the world is going to
• 39:29
  Speaker 1: sticks and stones may break my bones but words will
• 39:33
  Speaker 1: never hurt me and to an extent that is a
• 39:39
  Speaker 1: true and valuable lesson for us to teach to our
• 39:41
  Speaker 1: children but only to an extent because here's the reality
• 39:50
  Speaker 1: There are words, depending on where they come from and
• 39:56
  Speaker 1: who they come from, that can hurt you far worse
• 40:00
  Speaker 1: than any broken bone. There are words that parents can
• 40:09
  Speaker 1: speak to their children day after day, week after week,
• 40:14
  Speaker 1: year after year, that will cripple a child. worse than
• 40:20
  Speaker 1: if the parent just took a stick and broke their leg.
• 40:25
  Speaker 1: There are words that husbands can speak to wives and
• 40:30
  Speaker 1: wives can speak to husbands over time that drip and
• 40:36
  Speaker 1: corrode like acid and can do far more damage than
• 40:41
  Speaker 1: any punch, kick, or slap ever could. This is why
• 40:52
  Speaker 1: this text is so important. Do not let these corrosive
• 40:58
  Speaker 1: words come out of your mouths. But words that build up,
• 41:06
  Speaker 1: that edify, that encourage. Words that suit and fit the occasion.
• 41:17
  Speaker 1: And then he connects this to, and do not grieve
• 41:20
  Speaker 1: the Holy Spirit. Don't grieve the Holy Spirit. Again, how
• 41:26
  Speaker 1: many times have we heard interpretations, don't grieve the Holy Spirit?
• 41:28
  Speaker 1: Your cell phone goes off in church. Ah, you're grieving
• 41:32
  Speaker 1: the Spirit, right? I've been in churches where they ask,
• 41:36
  Speaker 1: you know, for babies. If babies are making noise, you know,
• 41:40
  Speaker 1: you take them out so you don't grieve the Holy Spirit.
• 41:43
  Speaker 1: This text has absolutely nothing to do with that. Nothing whatsoever. Nothing,
• 41:50
  Speaker 1: nothing to do with that. It has nothing to do
• 41:53
  Speaker 1: with what's going on in worship. It has nothing to
• 41:57
  Speaker 1: do with, you know, a moment that is somehow super spiritual. Nothing.
• 42:04
  Speaker 1: In context. In context, it has everything to do with
• 42:09
  Speaker 1: verse 29. Verse 29 is about these corrosive words. But
• 42:15
  Speaker 1: how do we know this? Go back to chapter 2 again.
• 42:21
  Speaker 1: We read it. We'll read it again. beginning of verse 19. Remember,
• 42:33
  Speaker 1: in chapter 2, we're looking at the fact that we
• 42:36
  Speaker 1: have been united with Christ, and by virtue of being
• 42:39
  Speaker 1: united with Christ, we've been united with one another. Verse 19,
• 42:43
  Speaker 1: so then, because again, don't grieve the Holy Spirit, that
• 42:48
  Speaker 1: doesn't just come out of nowhere. The best commentary on
• 42:53
  Speaker 1: the Bible is the Bible itself, right? So has Paul
• 42:57
  Speaker 1: talked about the Holy Spirit already? Yes, on a number
• 43:00
  Speaker 1: of occasions. Has he talked about the Holy Spirit in context,
• 43:05
  Speaker 1: in the context of building up and tearing down like
• 43:10
  Speaker 1: in verse 29 of chapter 4? Yes, he has. Chapter
• 43:14
  Speaker 1: 2 beginning verse 19. So then you are no longer
• 43:17
  Speaker 1: strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the
• 43:20
  Speaker 1: saints and members of of the household of God built
• 43:25
  Speaker 1: on the foundation of the apostles and prophets Christ Jesus
• 43:27
  Speaker 1: himself being the cornerstone in whom the whole structure being
• 43:32
  Speaker 1: joined together grows into a holy temple in the Lord
• 43:35
  Speaker 1: there's your building metaphor he uses the same building metaphor
• 43:41
  Speaker 1: in verse 29 and then right after the building metaphor
• 43:44
  Speaker 1: in verse 29 of chapter 4 what do we have
• 43:47
  Speaker 1: don't grieve the Holy Spirit well right after the building
• 43:50
  Speaker 1: metaphor in chapter 2 verses 19 to 21, you have
• 43:54
  Speaker 1: the Holy Spirit in verse 22. In him, you also
• 43:59
  Speaker 1: are being built together into a dwelling place for God
• 44:03
  Speaker 1: by the Holy Spirit. So if the Holy Spirit is
• 44:08
  Speaker 1: building us into a holy temple and a dwelling place
• 44:13
  Speaker 1: for God, and your words... are tearing down and corroding
• 44:21
  Speaker 1: like acid other members of that body whom the Spirit
• 44:26
  Speaker 1: is building together, then it grieves Him when you do that.
• 44:38
  Speaker 1: Not when your cell phone rings. Not when your baby
• 44:43
  Speaker 1: cries in church. but when your words actively tear down
• 44:52
  Speaker 1: what the Spirit himself is building together. Do you see this?
• 45:00
  Speaker 1: This all has to do with our union and communion
• 45:03
  Speaker 1: and us belonging to one another. Now, verse 31. We'll
• 45:08
  Speaker 1: allude to this so that we make the connection, but
• 45:11
  Speaker 1: we're going to look at verses 31 and 32 on
• 45:13
  Speaker 1: their own because I think this is the most important
• 45:17
  Speaker 1: thing for us to learn in the context of marriage
• 45:20
  Speaker 1: and family and the most important interpersonal skill that we
• 45:25
  Speaker 1: can have 31 let all bitterness and wrath and anger
• 45:29
  Speaker 1: and clamor and slander be put away from you along
• 45:31
  Speaker 1: with all malice verse 32 be kind to one another
• 45:34
  Speaker 1: tenderhearted forgiving one another as god in christ forgave you
• 45:43
  Speaker 1: so we're called to forgive and again we're going to
• 45:45
  Speaker 1: deal with verses 31 and 32 on their own. But
• 45:50
  Speaker 1: we're called to forgive, and our forgiveness is based on
• 45:53
  Speaker 1: two things. One, our relationship with one another. And two,
• 46:03
  Speaker 1: our relationship with God, who forgives us through the person
• 46:06
  Speaker 1: and work of Christ. Now, Here's what we find. Essentially,
• 46:21
  Speaker 1: this begins and ends with our union and communion in Christ.
• 46:33
  Speaker 1: But let's be honest. How do we normally read this paragraph?
• 46:39
  Speaker 1: Most of us, if you've been a Christian any amount
• 46:41
  Speaker 1: of time, you've read through this before. You've read through
• 46:45
  Speaker 1: Ephesians before. And you've read through Ephesians chapter 4, verses
• 46:49
  Speaker 1: 25 to 32 before. But when we read it, what
• 46:54
  Speaker 1: do we do? We moralize it. Do this. Don't do that.
• 47:05
  Speaker 1: Do this. Don't do that. Do this. Don't do that.
• 47:13
  Speaker 1: This is good. That's bad. How much do we miss
• 47:27
  Speaker 1: when we do that? Did Paul intend for verses 25
• 47:34
  Speaker 1: to 32 to just be a list of things that
• 47:39
  Speaker 1: you try harder to be moralistic and legalistic about? In
• 47:46
  Speaker 1: its context, absolutely not. Absolutely not. Especially when you recognize
• 47:57
  Speaker 1: this connection. Look again, beginning at verse 17. 4, 1
• 48:07
  Speaker 1: through 16 is really introducing this second half of the letter.
• 48:15
  Speaker 1: And so, you know, in 4, 1, I therefore a prisoner, right?
• 48:19
  Speaker 1: We've just come out of the first three We're getting
• 48:21
  Speaker 1: ready to get to the imperatives. What does all of
• 48:24
  Speaker 1: this mean? I, therefore, a prisoner of the Lord, urge
• 48:26
  Speaker 1: you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling
• 48:28
  Speaker 1: with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness,
• 48:32
  Speaker 1: with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to
• 48:35
  Speaker 1: maintain the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace.
• 48:39
  Speaker 1: And then he gives us this sort of theological dissertation
• 48:44
  Speaker 1: on this bond that we have because of the person
• 48:46
  Speaker 1: and work of Christ. Then in verse 17 of chapter 4,
• 48:50
  Speaker 1: Now this I say in testifying the Lord, that you
• 48:53
  Speaker 1: must no longer walk as the Gentiles do in the
• 48:56
  Speaker 1: futility of their minds. Right? So chapter 4, verse 1. Therefore,
• 49:02
  Speaker 1: I'm urging you to walk in this manner. Chapter 4,
• 49:05
  Speaker 1: verse 17. I'm urging you to no longer walk like
• 49:09
  Speaker 1: the Gentiles. Verse 25. We then get these practical illustrations
• 49:15
  Speaker 1: of what that looks like. And now, look at chapter 5.
• 49:20
  Speaker 1: verse 1. Therefore, be imitators of God as beloved children
• 49:27
  Speaker 1: and walk in love as Christ loved us and gave
• 49:31
  Speaker 1: himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
• 49:39
  Speaker 1: Where does he begin? I'm going to show you how
• 49:43
  Speaker 1: to walk. Again, the second half. Here are the imperatives.
• 49:48
  Speaker 1: I'm going to show you how to walk in the
• 49:51
  Speaker 1: truth that I gave you in the first half. Verse 17.
• 49:58
  Speaker 1: Don't walk like you used to walk in the futility
• 50:02
  Speaker 1: of your mind. Put that off and put on the new.
• 50:08
  Speaker 1: Verse 25, here's what it looks like when you walk
• 50:13
  Speaker 1: in this new reality. And then in chapter 5, there's
• 50:16
  Speaker 1: another therefore clause. Notice the therefore clauses, right? Chapter 4
• 50:21
  Speaker 1: and verse 1. I, therefore. Chapter 4, verse 25. Therefore.
• 50:31
  Speaker 1: Chapter 5, verse 1. Therefore, therefore, therefore, therefore, don't disconnect
• 50:48
  Speaker 1: these things. Don't rip them apart from one another. If
• 50:52
  Speaker 1: you do, you won't understand them rightly. But in chapter 5,
• 50:58
  Speaker 1: verse 1, therefore be imitators of God as beloved children.
• 51:10
  Speaker 1: What does that mean? It means that we're not imitators
• 51:19
  Speaker 1: of God as individuals who just have a rule book
• 51:23
  Speaker 1: in front of us to try to follow. We're imitators
• 51:30
  Speaker 1: of God like those who have been born of God's spirit,
• 51:37
  Speaker 1: adopted into God's united with God through the person and
• 51:45
  Speaker 1: work of Christ and conformed to the image of God
• 51:51
  Speaker 1: through the ongoing sanctifying work of the Spirit. How radically
• 52:02
  Speaker 1: different is that from someone who's just sitting there with
• 52:10
  Speaker 1: a list of rules, trying to do their best to
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  Speaker 1: keep them. May God grant us grace to be freed
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  Speaker 1: from this. I have lived in this, as have most
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  Speaker 1: of you. And it is frustrating, overwhelming, tiring, And never satisfied.
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  Speaker 1: Because it's chasing a ghost. You can't get there from here.
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  Speaker 1: But everything changes when we recognize that we have been
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  Speaker 1: purchased by the blood of Christ. That a great exchange
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  Speaker 1: has taken place. Our sinfulness has been imputed to Him,
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  Speaker 1: and His righteousness has been imputed to us. But beyond
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  Speaker 1: that legal justification that has happened, we have been adopted
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  Speaker 1: by God. United with God, united with Him through the
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  Speaker 1: person and work of Christ. who is not only our master, lord, savior, king,
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  Speaker 1: but our elder brother. And that we are being sanctified
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  Speaker 1: by the same spirit who justifies and adopts us. Folks,
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  Speaker 1: theology matters. And there are a lot of Christians out
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  Speaker 1: there who've been duped into believing that we are saved
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  Speaker 1: by grace. But we're sanctified by law. It's a lie
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  Speaker 1: from the pit. The same grace that saves you sanctifies you.
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  Speaker 1: The law can't save you and the law can't sanctify you.
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  Speaker 1: It is the person and work of Christ who sanctifies.
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  Speaker 1: And it is our union with him and our communion
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  Speaker 1: with him that sanctifies, that gives us everything that we need,
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  Speaker 1: that works in us both to will and to work
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  Speaker 1: for his good pleasure. So when we're looking at these
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  Speaker 1: interpersonal skills and these relationships within the family, We have
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  Speaker 1: to look at them within this context. Otherwise, we have
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  Speaker 1: no hope. Because we belong to Christ, we have all
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  Speaker 1: the hope we need. So when I think about my
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  Speaker 1: relationship with my wife, when you think about your relationship
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  Speaker 1: with your spouse, when we think about our relationships with
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  Speaker 1: our children, we have to run back to the cross
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  Speaker 1: because that is our only true supply and our only
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  Speaker 1: real hope. When we're building these interpersonal relationships, when we're
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  Speaker 1: trying to figure out how to live with one another
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  Speaker 1: in right ways and relate to one another in righteous ways,
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  Speaker 1: we run back to the person and work of Christ.
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  Speaker 1: And so we do these things like speak the truth.
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  Speaker 1: We do these things like avoiding sinful anger We do
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  Speaker 1: these things, like speaking appropriate words and avoiding harsh and
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  Speaker 1: corrosive words. We do all of these things. Amen, hallelujah,
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  Speaker 1: praise the Lord. We do these things. But we do
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  Speaker 1: these things because we've been enabled, empowered, and motivated to
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  Speaker 1: do them by the person and work of Christ. By
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  Speaker 1: the way, I'll just say this and connect it all together.
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  Speaker 1: When you understand this, you understand, for example, why God
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  Speaker 1: would forbid us to be unequally yoked with an unbeliever.
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  Speaker 1: How are we going to build this if this is
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  Speaker 1: what God's calling us to build? if we enter into
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  Speaker 1: this one flesh union with someone who doesn't even have
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  Speaker 1: the right currency. Do you see? And if we are
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  Speaker 1: willing to do this, then it speaks volumes about what
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  Speaker 1: we believe marriage is and what we believe family is.
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  Speaker 1: and about what we believe about God himself. May God
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  Speaker 1: grant us grace to trust his word and to live
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  Speaker 1: by it. Father, thank you. Thank you for this reminder,
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  Speaker 1: for this encouragement, for this rebuke. Thank you for pointing
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  Speaker 1: us again and again to the person and work of
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  Speaker 1: Christ who is more than enough. And through whom we
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  Speaker 1: are and we have more than enough. And without whom
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  Speaker 1: we shall never have enough. Grant that we might be
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  Speaker 1: found in him. And that you might be pleased. For
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  Speaker 1: we pray it in Christ's name. And for his sake. Amen.