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Ephesians 4:25-32 - A New Set Of Clothes · Tabernacle Talk - A Bible Study Podcast with Pastor Bryon Self

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  Welcome to Tabernacle Talk. Tabernacle Talk is a Bible study
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  podcast brought from Tabernacle Baptist Church in Essex, MD.
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  I'm your host, Brian Self. We hope this podcast encourages
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  you to know Christ, grow in his word, and show his love to
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  others. Let's dive right in.
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  Welcome back to Tabernacle Talk. Today we're in Ephesians chapter
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  4 and verses #25 through 32, Ephesians 425 through 32.
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  And today we're talking about a change of clothes for you.
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  And you might be like, listen, why do I need a change of
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  clothes? Maybe you're at the age where
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  like, yes, I, I always have to bring a change of clothes with
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  me. Maybe you're a young parent and
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  you have to bring a change of clothes or multiple changes of
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  clothes for your kid wherever they go because they're still
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  trying to learn how to potty train.
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  I may or may not have a daughter in that particular stage right
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  now. We're talking about putting on
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  clothes. We're not talking about a change
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  of clothes physically. This is something spiritually
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  that you have some articles of clothing on right now that need
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  to be taken off. It's not a good look on you and
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  it's not a good look on me. And instead, God has a different
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  wardrobe choice for us that He desires.
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  And so we're going to be looking in these verses.
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  It's just really practical. There's, you know, some some
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  episodes in Ephesians that we've done where it's very
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  theological, it's very doctrinal.
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  This is going to be a crazy practical one.
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  This is here's something you need to do or not do today.
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  And so I'm looking forward to this.
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  Let's read. I'm going to try and read
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  through the whole passage and then go by bit by bit.
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  Verse 25. Therefore, putting away this is
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  taking off, putting away lying. Speak the truth, each one to his
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  neighbor, because we are members of one another.
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  Be angry and do not sin. Don't let the sun go down on
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  your anger and don't give the devil an opportunity.
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  Let the thief no longer steal. Instead he is to do honest work
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  with his own hands so that he has something to share with
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  anyone in need. No foul language should come
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  from your mouth, but only what is good for building up someone
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  in need so that it gives grace to those who hear.
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  And don't grieve God's Holy Spirit, you were sealed by Him
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  for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, anger and
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  wrath, shouting and slander be removed from you with along with
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  all malice and be kind and compassionate to one another,
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  forgiving one another just as God also forgave you in Christ.
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  All right, well let's look at these.
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  We have the put off these things and put on these other ones
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  starting off in verse #25 therefore putting away lying.
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  Speak the truth, each one to his neighbor because we are members
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  of one another. God does not want you and I to
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  say things that are untrue, that are false, that are lies.
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  Ways in which we either to save face for our wrongdoing Already
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  we go, OK, well I'll just lie about it.
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  That way they won't know that I failed in this way.
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  God doesn't want you to do that. Sometimes we lie in order to
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  harm someone else. So we might say, Oh yeah, so and
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  so was over that project. That must be why, you know, it
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  went down or have this problem. We might lie against someone
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  else. The term that's used in Exodus
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  20 in the 10 commandments is don't bear false witness against
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  your neighbor. That is in kind of a court
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  setting. Don't lie to the court.
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  Don't speak untruths in such a way as to harm another person.
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  Now, people have come up with kind of a ethical conundrum from
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  time to time, and they've said, all right, well, we're not
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  supposed to lie. Let's say you're back in 1940s
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  Germany and the Nazis come to your house and they ask if you
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  are hiding some Jews. Do you have to tell them the
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  truth because you're a Christian and you're not supposed to lie?
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  No, in that instance, you are not lying in order to harm
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  someone. You are actually protecting
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  someone. You are not giving a person
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  information that is not theirs to know.
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  And so that would not be lying. Or when you have Rahab, that's
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  protecting the lives of the two Hebrew spies.
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  And I think it's Joshua 2. It might be Joshua 3.
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  But as she's protecting these men from the army, the military
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  of the city of Jericho, and she says, oh, I think they went out
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  that way and they headed towards the mountains.
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  What she was doing there, that was not wrong to do.
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  She was actually protecting life.
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  She was not causing there to be death or harm to a person.
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  So we put a way, lying. What's the opposite of that?
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  Speak the truth, each one to his neighbor.
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  Be honest with other people. I think of many of the proverbs
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  one that comes to mind at the moment is open rebuke is better
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  than secret love that if you are honest with a person that has so
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  much more value and weight than if you're like, Oh yeah, I quote
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  UN quote love him on the inside. But I'm never going to tell them
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  when anything that they've done like hurts me or hurt other
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  people. And so I'm just going to keep
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  allowing them to self self destruct in in their
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  relationships with other people. And I just won't say anything
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  because it be too awkward to say anything.
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  No, speak the truth with your neighbor.
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  Be honest with one another. Why would we be honest and why
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  would we not lie to each other? The end of verse 25 says because
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  we are members of one another, because we're part of the same
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  body. And if you know, my eyes are
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  lying to the rest of my body and they say, OK, there's no Cliff
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  there, you can keep on walking. Well then I'm going to go off a
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  Cliff. You can think there's several
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  different, like medical problems that happen when you can't trust
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  your eyes or when you know the sensory things in your hands or
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  your fingers where you can't feel anything anymore.
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  You know, you can think about people that they don't have
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  feeling in whatever part of their body.
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  They accidentally put that body part onto a hot stove or
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  something, and they can be really, really harmed because
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  their body isn't sending the signal.
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  It's not talking to the rest of the body.
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  So we tell the truth to each other because we need to have
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  communication in order to be part of the same body.
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  I, I think that'll suffice for, for verse 25.
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  Then verse 26, not only put away lying and put on speaking the
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  truth, put off, take off the clothing of being angry and we
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  choose instead not to let the sun go down on your anger.
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  I'll give the caveat here. It says be angry and do not sin.
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  There is an anger that's a recognition that wrong has been
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  done, and so there needs to be resolution.
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  That's OK. When you feel angry as a result
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  of wrong that has been done, that's OK.
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  But you actually have to do the thing with that anger that God
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  made you to do with it, which is 'cause there to be resolution.
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  And if there is not resolution, then that's a problem.
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  And this is what he says. Don't let the sun go down on
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  your anger and don't give the devil an opportunity when you
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  have just perpetual anger and rage, especially against another
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  brother or sister in the Lord or someone in your family or
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  someone at your job, unresolved anger gives the devil an
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  opportunity. And so here what Paul says is
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  don't allow, don't allow anger to turn into hatred, rage, or
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  bitterness. Anger is a momentary thing.
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  It's intended to be, but when it finds no resolution, when you
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  haven't squared it away with the other person, it can then result
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  in you festering on that. And anger held within you is a
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  poison that spills out onto all sorts of other people.
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  And so we'll we'll see a little bit of that even in upcoming
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  verses. So be angry, That's fine, but
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  bring resolution, like let your anger move you to a specific
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  action that you can take. And if you can't take an action,
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  you have to release the anger. Don't sin in doing so.
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  Don't shout, don't curse at people, don't yell at people,
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  don't spread slanderous words, don't degrade others with your
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  language or with what you say about them or their motives.
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  Those are all ways to sin when you are angry.
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  When you're angry, the solution is always talk to the person.
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  That's what Christ has modeled for us.
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  That's what he has instructed us to do.
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  There's not another option. Like when you're angry with
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  someone, either resolve it with them as soon as humanly possible
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  or let it go. Those are the two options.
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  Then verse #28 let the thief no longer steal.
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  So don't lie. Don't have like, hatred.
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  You can even think back to the Sermon on the Mount.
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  Those that hold hatred or disdain in the heart for another
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  have killed someone in their heart.
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  So don't lie. Don't murder in your heart.
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  Don't steal. This is verse 28.
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  Let the thief no longer steal. Instead, he is to do honest work
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  with his own hands so that he has something to share with
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  anyone in need. When we work, we work for a
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  purpose. We do honest work with our own
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  hands so that we have something to share.
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  If you work a job, God has given you that job, yes, to meet your
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  needs. But then so that you can share
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  with others who are in need, whether that's people in need of
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  the gospel and we give to our local churches, whether that's a
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  person that's in need of some local necessity.
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  And you might partner with like a, you know, Ronald McDonald
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  House or another that might be like that, that you're able to
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  help people where they're at. Maybe if your local city has
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  some programs to be able to help out people with physical,
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  tangible needs, but maybe other members within your church that
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  are in financial need. When you work you, God gives you
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  what He deems necessary both for your survival and to bless and
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  to benefit and to share with others.
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  That's the reason for our money. We work.
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  We don't steal so that we have something to share.
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  Verse #30 Actually 29 no foul language should come out of your
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  mouth. Your foul language.
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  This would be what he's going to talk about in chapter 5 as like
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  filthy talk, foolish talking, crude joking.
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  This would be inappropriate. Often sexual language would fall
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  a lot under this as well as much of what's involved in like
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  cursing nowadays is language intended to tear down other
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  people or to demean them. I'll, I'll probably go into that
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  a little bit more in a second. This would also involve
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  blasphemy. So using the name of Jesus as a
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  curse word. This would be like a Oh my God
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  as just a flippant exclamation that's not reverencing who God
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  is or having respect for that name and how you're using it.
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  Is it just a filler? Is it just an exclamation in
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  your life? So don't do that.
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  Don't have foul language. Don't have have crude joking.
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  Don't have cursing within your language.
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  Don't blasphemy. Don't use the name of God
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  flippantly or or as a curse says.
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  No foul language should come from your mouth, but only what
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  is good for building up someone in need so that it gives grace
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  to those who hear. I'll say this, this envelops
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  more than people think. So they OK, I'm a Christian so
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  there's you know, 10 words on the no no list that I can't say
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  and like 2 topics that I can't say and everything else is fine
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  for me. No, we are only to say what is
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  good for building up someone in need so that it gives grace to
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  those who hear. Do other people, when they hear
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  you talking, are they built up? Are they encouraged, Are they
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  challenged to do what is right? Are they equipped?
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  Are they better equipped for what God wants for them to do?
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  Grace, the power of God on their life.
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  That is what we are called to talk about.
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  Can I tell you that is not something that just comes from
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  human behavior. None of these things that we've
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  talked about are something that can just come from the human
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  nature. The whole point is this only
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  comes from the new nature that we have been given by the Lord.
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  And so because of this new nature that we have, because we
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  are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, because Jesus dwells in our
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  hearts by faith, as we learned in chapter three, we have the
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  ability to shut up and to say only the things that will
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  encourage and uplift others. All be transparent with you
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  guys. We're we're 14 minutes and we're
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  almost at the end of the episode.
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  A lot of our political talk as Christians does not it it it
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  does not filter through this well.
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  We speak things to demean others, to degrade them, to drag
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  them down, to impugn motives, to describe as subhuman or demonic
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  people made in the image of God, loved and bought by Jesus
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  Christ, that we are called to show care and love for.
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  And we should not be like the world in how we talk.
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  This is I'll shoot straight with you guys.
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  This is something that I I know that Donald Trump did not start
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  much of the just vulgar evil language that is often used.
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  It's foul language that is used in politics these days that then
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  many other people are are doing. The advent of social media
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  brought a lot of this on. Even hearing about Richard Nixon
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  back in the day and the shock that came from Watergate when
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  people heard the president of the United States use the F
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  word. Whereas nowadays, not in some,
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  you know, behind the scenes, closed doors, our current
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  president in live television is cursing.
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  It is a filthy, foul language and that, that that has no place
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  in the child of God. Don't talk like our politicians.
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  Don't talk like the people that are in your workplace.
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  Talk in such a way that people go, wow, every time I'm around
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  them. They're not complaining, they're
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  not whining. They're not angry about
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  everything. They just encourage me.
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  They build me up, they invite me to church, they remind me that
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  God loves me. They tell me encouraging things
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  that happen. They they are happy about the
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  life that they lead and the church family that they have and
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  what God is doing in and through them.
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  Like let's have that reputation. Let's have good language to
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  build up others in need. Then verse 30, don't grieve
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  God's Holy Spirit. You were sealed by him for the
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  day of redemption. You can make the Holy Spirit sad
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  through how you live, through telling him to shut up, that
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  you're not going to talk to that person, you're not going to
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  share that you're not going to forgive, you're not going to,
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  you know, church this weekend. Don't grieve God's Holy Spirit.
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  He is prompting you to do what God wants you to.
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  So listen to him, Obey him as as one of my pastors growing up
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  would say, obey every impulse of the Holy Spirit, that everything
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  that God's Spirit leads you to do.
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  How do I know what God's Spirit wants me to do?
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  Know the Word of God because that's how the Holy Spirit, the
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  Holy Spirit uses the word of God to make the child of God more
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  like the Son of God. So listen to him, don't grieve
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  him. He is the seal, the protection
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  on you until the day that God receives you to Himself.
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  So love, cherish, obey the Holy Spirit.
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  Then verse 31, let all bitterness, anger and wrath,
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  shouting and slander be removed from you along with all malice.
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  Talked about this a little bit earlier.
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  Bitterness, anger that you held onto and you've never let it go.
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  Anger, just a perpetual, perpetual anger.
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  Not, you know, angry for a moment that brings resolution
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  that then you're able to release it, or anger that you can't
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  resolve anything about and so you choose to release it.
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  Bad anger is anger. You hold on to that, that stays
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  for days and days and days and days.
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  Then you have wrath. This would be rage.
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  It's it's outrage against someone.
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  You have just a visceral reaction.
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  That's not good, that's not godly.
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  So let all bitterness, anger and wrath, shouting and slander,
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  speaking evil of others, may it be removed from you, along with
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  all malice, any heart intent to do someone wrong.
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  Verse 32 And be kind and compassionate to one another,
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  forgiving one another just as God also forgave you in Christ.
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  Be kind. Seek to do good to others and
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  their compassion. Seek to understand where they're
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  come, where they're coming from, have a love for them and the
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  desire to see them walk with God and to have a good relationship
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  with those around them, including you, as you seek to
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  become kind to others and to be compassionate.
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  They are going to fail you. They're going to hurt you.
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  And so God, Paul here tells us, forgive one another.
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  Then in those moments when you've been kind, you've been
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  compassionate and they don't return the favor.
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  He says forgive them. Don't forgive them because they
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  deserve it. He says forgive them just as God
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  also forgave you. In Christ.
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  We do what we do. We we put away lying to speak
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  truth. We are only temporarily angry,
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  not sinning, refusing to let anger fester within us.
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  We don't steal. Instead we work honestly so we
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  can share with others. We don't speak foul language,
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  but we speak encouraging, building up language.
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  We don't grieve God's Holy Spirit, and we put away all of
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  these various ways of being angry and and hateful and mean
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  to other people in order to be kind and compassionate because
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  that's how God treats us. He treats us with truth.
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  He treats us with not perpetual anger.
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  He has given to us. He has spoken good words,
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  building up words to us that have given us grace.
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  He's given us His Holy Spirit. He has been kind to us.
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  And so we do everything we do in response to how God has treated
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  us. We don't do any of these things
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  because someone else deserves or doesn't deserve it.
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  We do all of these because that is how God has modeled this new
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  way of life. So take off the old ratty
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  clothes and put on this new life in Christ.
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  Put on the beautiful robe that God has for you, a robe that
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  looks like the robe that Jesus has.
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  The way that he lives his life is the way we're called to live
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  ours. Thanks for tuning in today.
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  Tomorrow we'll start in chapter #5 See you then.