BE DISTINCTIVE!

EPHESIANS 4:17-5:2

Adapted from a Jim Black sermonhttp://www.sermoncentral.com/

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Ephesians 4:17 NET So I say this, and insist in the Lord, that you no longer live as

the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18 They are darkened in their

understanding, being alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardness of their hearts.

19 Because they are callous, they have given themselves over to indecency for the

practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. 20 But you did not learn about

Christ like this, 21 if indeed you heard about him and were taught in him, just as the truth

is in Jesus.

22 You were taught with reference to your former way of life to lay aside the old man who is being corrupted in accordance with deceitful desires, 23 to be renewed in the

spirit of your mind, 24 and to put on the new man who has been created in God's image

— in righteousness and holiness that comes from truth.

25 Therefore, having laid aside falsehood, each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, (Zec 8:16) for we are members of one another. 26 Be angry and do not sin; (Psalm 4:4) do not let the sun go down on the

cause of your anger. 27 Do not give the devil an opportunity.

28 The one who steals must steal no longer; rather he must labor, doing good with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with the one who has need. 29 You must let no unwholesome

word come out of your mouth, but only what is beneficial for the building up of the one in need, that it may give grace to those who

hear. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day

of redemption.

31 You must put away every kind of bitterness, anger, wrath, quarreling, and

evil, slanderous talk. 32 Instead, be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ also forgave you. 5:1 Therefore, be imitators of God as dearly loved children 2 and live in love, just as Christ also loved us and gave himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God.

Christians are to live worthily of the calling by being different from the world around us.

Paul’s challenge calls Christians to holy living in their minds, speech and attitudes.

What is it about American society in general that has led to the creation of certain sub-cultures; certain ‘counter-cultures’ through

the years? In the 1920’s there were the flappers whose outrageous dress and

provocative dancing embarrassed the older generations.

In the 1950’s there were the greasers who sought to be different by rocking to Elvis Presley, riding loud Harley Davidsons,

slicking their longer than normal hair back with some sort of oil and generally

frightening any man with a daughter old enough to go out on dates!

In the 1960’s there were the ‘flower children’ who sought to be different by sticking

flowers in their hair, tie-dying their brightly colored t-shirts, sowing American flags to

the seats of their faded blue jeans, listening to the Beatles, growing their hair even longer and promoting ‘love’ not war.

The 1970’s saw counter-cultural movements such as disco; the 1980’s-

break dancing; the 1990’s gangsta rap, and on and on and on.

What’s so interesting about each of those movements within our popular culture is

that in their beginnings they were extremely counter-cultural, yet when we look back

over those periods of time, they sometimes define the culture.

Its hard to sustain a purely counter-cultural movement, because just as soon as it

reaches a certain popularity, it has become so cultural that it is no longer ‘different’ or

counter cultural. Are you with me?

Well, I say all of that to ask this: What has become the norm in our culture and where do we as Christians fit in? Are we ‘cultural’

or ‘counter-cultural?’

This is what Paul is interested in, in the text this morning. We’ve been looking at Paul’s

letter to the Ephesians. Last week he turned from discussing a theology of the church to

its implications for the Christian.

Ephesians 4:1 NET I, therefore, the prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live

worthily of the calling with which you have been called,

Literally, that’s “walk worthy of God’s call.” In other words, “You are Christians, so live like it!” And the first thing he mentioned, live

worthily of the calling by preserving unity among fellow Christians!”

That is SO important for the body of Christ!

There are not hundreds or thousands of little bodies of Christ scattered all over the

place, NO!

There is one body of Christ, parts of whom meet in different locations because of

geography, but there should be unity among them, a spirit of love & cooperation!

And in today’s text, Paul continues the same train of thought and says, “LIVE

WORTHILY OF THE CALLING BY BEING DIFFERENT FROM THE WORLD!”

17 So I say this, and insist in the Lord, that you no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the

futility of their thinking. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, being

alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the

hardness of their hearts. 19 Because they are callous, they have given themselves

over to indecency for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness.

Life Without Jesus is Meaningless!

What more horrible picture could be painted of the meaning of life than Paul does here? “Futility of their thinking”; “darkened in their understanding”; “ignorance”; “hardness of

their hearts”; “they are callous”; “given themselves over to indecency for the practice of every kind of impurity with

greediness!”

Isn’t this an accurate picture of life without God? And it may as well have been written today instead of 2,000 years ago. It looks just like a snapshot of the 21st century.

It strikes me that a lot of Christians get up in arms about the current state of affairs in our

world.

Prayer has been taken out of our schools, the ten commandments aren’t allowed on

the walls, a sixteen year old girl has to have a permission slip to go on a field trip with her class but in some states can get an

abortion without even informing a parent, schools can give kids condoms or teach

Islam, but can’t mention Jesus or give them Bibles.

SURE, all of these things are bad . . . they’re horrible! Our world is really messed up! No doubt about it! But my question is:

why are we surprised that the world is behaving like the world? Aren’t we told in the Bible that the world is in the control of

the evil one? We’re even warned that while we have to live in the world, Christians are

not to be OF THE WORLD!

Why not? Because we’re supposed to be DIFFERENT! Folks, the world is going to be the world! Now, I don’t mean that Christians

shouldn’t do what we can to change that with our influence, but it’s a reminder of just

how desperately our world needs Jesus! The bottom line: this horrible picture is a

typical picture of a people that don’t know Jesus!

Paul’s message is clear: Life without Jesus is just meaningless! The thinking of the

Gentiles was ‘to no end’; futile, pointless, meaningless! The wise old teacher of

Ecclesiastes understood this thought well. Ecclesiastes 1:2 NIV "Meaningless!

Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless." 3

What does man gain from all his labor at which he toils under the sun?

4 Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever. 5 The sun

rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises. 6 The wind blows to the south and turns to the north; round and

round it goes, ever returning on its course. 7 All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come

from, there they return again.

8 All things arewearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the

ear its fill of hearing. 9 Whathas been will be again, what has been done

will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.

He seemed to make it his life’s ambition to seek meaning for his life.

As you flip through the pages of Ecclesiastes you see that he looked in

many places: he sought meaning in wisdom, in pleasures, in work, in riches & on and on. But, in the end, this is how he concludes. Ecclesiastes 12:10 NIV The Teacher searched to find just the right

words, and what he wrote was upright and true. 11 The words of the wise are like

goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails—given by one Shepherd.

12 Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them. Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies

the body. 13 Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God

and keep his commandments, for this is the whole [duty] of man.

In the end, the wise old teacher could only find meaning in God! Where are you

seeking to find meaning for your life? We look in all kinds of different places even

today, don’t we?

Wisdom of men? Doing what makes us happy? Our jobs? Status? Wealth? That’s

still where the world is looking. But as Christians perhaps our reaction to things like this in the world, shouldn’t be “Oh my, the world is going to hell in a handbasket!” as much as it should be “Oh, how sad that someone would live this way not knowing

Jesus. What can I do to live counter-culturally & to share with them the good

news of a better way?”

Life with Jesus is Transforming! Because, as Christians, we know...

20 But you did not learn about Christ like this, 21 if indeed you heard about him and were taught in him, just as the truth is in

Jesus. 22 You were taught with reference to your former way of life to lay aside the old man who is being corrupted in accordance

with deceitful desires,

23 to be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and to put on the new man who has

been created in God's image — in righteousness and holiness that comes

from truth.

Now, we’ve got to understand that knowing Jesus is more than knowing ‘about Jesus’,

about just knowing the facts! Its about RELATIONSHIP; about knowing him

personally!

That’s why he came to Earth in the flesh. God had already given us the facts about himself through the Old Law, but in Jesus we have the opportunity to actually know

him first hand! The “truth” is not facts about Jesus rather the truth is Jesus. Jesus

replied, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except

through me. John 14:6 NET We CAN know truth by knowing Jesus!

Knowing Jesus makes all the difference! It is transforming; life-changing! We put off the old, cast it aside to put on the new! We no longer walk in the ways we used to walk, that path led to death & destruction! Paul said it this way to the Romans, Do not be conformed to this present world, but be

transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve what is the will of God — what is good and well-pleasing and perfect. Romans 12:2 NET

Some years ago, young kids were going crazy for a group of teenage super-heroes called the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.

The TV show was a hit based on a Japanese series. Their appeal was that, while ordinary teenagers by day, when

called upon, they could transform themselves into powerful martial arts

experts for justice.

They would cry, “It’s morphin time!” By the way, a form of that word “morph” is the very Greek word (Metamorphoo) that Paul used in Romans which mean transformation! It’s not just kids who want to ‘morph’ is it? We, too, are to be changed, to be transformed, to “morph” from our former way of life into

something new, something different! Servants & representatives of Jesus Christ!

Live a life of Integrity

Well, what does this new life look like? It is COUNTER-CULTURAL!

25 Therefore, having laid aside falsehood, each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, (Zec 8:16) for we are members of

one another.Truth DOES matter, especially to a people living in community like the people of God!

Why should we be truthful? Because Paul says, we are members of one another! That makes sense, doesn’t it? Communities are built upon mutual reliance. How can we be community, be unified, if we can’t trust, rely on, be there for one another? How can we

lean on each other for the spiritual encouragement that we need as Christians,

if we can’t trust each other?

Beware of Anger26 Be angry and do not sin; (Psalm 4:4) do

not let the sun go down on the cause of your anger. 27 Do not give the devil an

opportunity.Anger, in and of itself is not wrong,

sometimes we need to get angry! Christians need to be angry at some of those things I

mentioned that is going on in the world.

Paul knows that anger is one of those emotions which can take hold and

overcome us if we let it, like a cancer that infects our soul, and if not removed

immediately can spread and overtake other, healthier parts of our souls, eventually

rotting our spirits from the inside out! So, Paul says, take care of your anger

BEFORE you give the devil this foothold in your life! Don’t let it fester!

Work so that you might GIVE

28 The one who steals must steal no longer; rather he must labor, doing good with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with the one who has

need. Notice WHY Paul says a person is to work. Not just so he won’t be a drain on others,

but so that he might be able to help provide for others!

That’s certainly counter-cultural: the thief is to become the philanthropist! But a

transformed life no longer lives in total dependence upon others; but seeks to give

to others.

29 You must let no unwholesome word come out of your mouth, but only what is beneficial for the building up of the one in need, that it may give grace to those who

hear.

Watch your mouth

Like James also says, our mouths, our tongues, our words, are indeed powerful weapons. James 3:8 NET But no human

being can subdue the tongue; it is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

The word “unwholesome” is also used to describe spoiled fish (Mat 13:48) or rotting

fruit, (Mat 12:33) it is “Bad”, “foul” and we may understand it in terms of foul language.

I think it may be better understood as DESTRUCTIVE language; words that hurt. Why? Because Paul’s concern is that our

language is beneficial for the building up of the one in need; that it give grace to those

who hear us! How many of us consider how our words might hurt, BEFORE we say them? James says that while men have

tamed lots of wild beasts, “no human being can subdue the tongue.”

Notice that this whole list has been about a people living in Christian community with one another! Our lives affect others & our transformed lives should build up others!

30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 You must put away every

kind of bitterness, anger, wrath, quarreling, and evil, slanderous talk.

Get rid of Hatefulness

These things hurt the Spirit of God! They grieve Him! They cause him to weep over

our sins; over the way we treat one another with bitterness. etc.!

32 Instead, be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another, just

as God in Christ also forgave you.

Forgive because you’ve been forgiven

Seems to me that this is a key component, not only of living in Christian community, but of preserving the unity that we talked about

last week.

We’re not only to be kind to one another, not only to bear with one another, or “put up with one another,” we forgive one another. Given what God has forgiven us of, how

could we NOT forgive each other?

The Bottom Line: Imitate God5:1 Therefore, be imitators of God as dearly

loved children 2 and live in love, just as Christ also loved us and gave himself for

us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God.

Our character is to be modeled after our Father. Leviticus 19:2 NIV “Speak to the

entire assembly of Israel and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am

holy.

And again, Paul mentions the underlying, foundational motivation for it all: LOVE. We live this way because of what God has done for us in Christ. He loved us so much! For

this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that

everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 NET

That’s Certainly A Counter-Cultural way of life. Life with Jesus is to be Distinct from the

world!

What does YOUR life look like this morning? Is it different than everybody

else? Have you sought meaning for your life in the things of this world? Are you

looking for it even now out there somewhere? If someone from the

outside were to look at the way you live your life, would they say that you’re

more “like the culture” or more “different from the culture?”

Is your life TRULY DISTINCT from the World? Truly Christlike? Do you promote truth & integrity in all that you do, in every area of your life like Jesus did? Are you a

person others can trust? Do you treat others differently, like Jesus

did? Do you use your words differently, like Jesus would have you? Do you readily

forgive, like Jesus does?

Do you show love, not hate in your actions, like Jesus did? Do you give rather than

take, like Jesus does? Do you walk to the beat of a different drum, that of Jesus’?

The truth is that for all of us, if we put our lives side by side with Jesus, we all fall way short! But God is transforming us more and more into the image of His Son, or at least

that is his goal. Have you been letting him?

If you don’t know Jesus, or have a personal relationship with him, you need to. Will you to come to him this morning, turning away from your former way of life and wanting to put on the new man by being baptized into

Christ for the forgiveness of your sins!If we can encourage or pray for you in any way, please let those needs be known by responding & coming forward during this

invitation song.