Eph 4:26-5:4

Introduction:

                When you see this lotus, we immediately associate it with “出淤泥而不染”. The lotus begins life as seed buried in the mud of a pond. It begins its growth in muddy, dirty water, shooting a tuber up to and through pond scum until its green, round leaves spread out on the surface. The stem of the flower rises another 10-12 inches above the water where the blossom with its pure white petals open. It is a stark and beautiful contrast to the muddy environment.

This is the message we have been hearing from the first few chapters of the book of Ephesians. We live in a muddy and polluted world. Marked with alienation among men and characterized by all forms of morality. Out of the polluted environment, we learned that God has called and chosen us to be his children. We are now a new people, a holy people. As a new people, we are to visibly demonstrate this unity. Last Sunday we learned that as a holy people, we are to demonstrate its purity. In the movie, “Brave Heart”, the elderly king of England said to his son, “one day you will be the king of England, now you better act like one.” We are a new and holy people, so our challenge is to live like one, for we have a higher calling to a higher standard.

                Today we will continue to look at the remaining 5 examples of how our purity can be manifested.

I. A new standard of Truthfulness.

                Last week we looked at truthfulness. We discussed how untruth and half-truth words could ruin and destroy relationships. And above all, untruth and half-truth are all lies. And you know what, Satan is the father of all lies. Therefore, lies have no place in God's household, in the body of Christ.

II. A new standard of Anger management.

                Are you angry with someone or something? Anger is a major problem in our society. Anger drove a Houston father to kill his three children and wounded the 4th. Anger leads to domestic violence and the breaking up of families.

                In vs.26   we read first of permission of anger, followed by a restriction. First, be angry. What does it mean? 4:34, ‘……wrath and anger”. It refers to anger that is improper, which needs to be rid of. We call them the unrighteous anger. 5:6, there is God's anger on evil, the righteous anger. In the gospels, we learn about Jesus’ anger towards the merchants in the temple.

                Vs.26 tells us, be angry. It is about the righteous anger, like the kind of anger God has. What does it mean? When we see government authority around the world abusing its power by killing hundreds and thousands of people, we are to be angry and mad. When we read about the father who killed his 3 children and wounded the 4th, we are to be angry. Or a father in Asia who killed his 3 girls because he wanted a son, we are to be angry. We are to be angry when we see injustices done to the people in this and other society. When we see 4000 innocent babies being aborted every day, we are to be angry. When we see the snake heads in the far east deceiving innocent people in China, brought them to this country and forcing them to work as prostitutes, we are to be angry. These are the things God is certainly angry about, and so should we.

                Too often we Christians are very silent on such issues. In the comfort of our homes, we have lost our social conscience. Maybe we need to learn to be angry.

                However, having said this, we also remember that we are fallen creatures. We all carry the marks of sins in our lives. So we need to watch out and restrain our anger. James 1:19 tells us to be slow in anger. You see, we don’t always discern correctly between righteous and unrighteous anger. So the scripture provides us with 3 restrictions.

                First, do not sin. When we see unrighteousness around us, we should be angry. But isn’t it also true that too often our anger is because of selfish reasons? Our pride, arrogance, personal standards and preferences lead us to anger. I am angry because you are not up to my standard or expectations. When we get angry because of selfish reasons, then its wrong, it becomes a sin. Yes, when we perceive that we are being mistreated or violated, we are angry. And sometimes our anger can lead to revenge, hatred and violence. This is wrong.

                Second, do not let the sun go down. What does it mean? To some it means that when I am angry, I need to resolve the issue before sunset, or before we sleep. But what if you are a Christian living in Greenland or northern Norway, where the sun doesn’t set for several months?  If you are an angry person, immigration to those countries may be a very attractive option. The meaning here is really not to nurse anger. For it will only lead to more resentment and bitterness.

                Thirdly, do not give the devil a foothold. There is a fine line between Righteous and unrighteous anger. Sometimes its very hard to tell which is which. And very often the devil will use our anger, to destroy unity and Christian fellowship. For this reason, the scripture says, be careful about your anger. Don’t give the devil an opportunity to come in.

III. A new standard of economy.

                Vs.28, “……don’t steal…” this is echoing the 8th commandment. Its primary reference is not to steal other people’s money, property and possession. This certainly implies that tax evasion is a form of stealing. In this country, it is reported that theft in the department stores by their own employees is a number one loss of revenue. How about us? Taking papers, pencils, ballpoints that belong to our companies. Or Employers not paying employees adequate salary. The scriptures tell us, don’t steal anymore.

                On the positive side, we are to work, doing something useful with our own hands…. Work hard and make a living. So, that you are not a sponge, soaking up others’ effort and accomplishment.

                Why? Yes, be a useful and productive citizen. But wait, Paul also says, “that he may have something to share with those in need.” You see, stealing is a very selfish act. I take things that do not belong to me to meet my own personal needs. But now, having a new standard, I look at things differently. I make enough money to support the family and myself. I don’t stop here, I also help those in need.

                The former governor of a Canadian province said, “ when I die, I will give very little to my children, because they have to earn their own money. Instead, I will give most of my possessions to different charity organizations.” This is the new standard of economy: we earn enough so we can help those in need.

IV. A new standard of Speech.

                Paul now turns from hands to the mouth. Speech is a gift from God. Since we are made in God's image, human speech is also a reflection of God's image within us. For God speaks, so do we.

                The negative statement here is, vs29: “do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouth.” The word “unwholesome” means rotten, like a rotten tree or fruit. It’s yucky. Because of man’s fall, our speech is affected. Our speech is full of dishonesty, unkind and vulgarity. Such rotten words hurt others and rotten relationships.  So, put away such rotten words. Don’t let them come out of our mouths.

                On the positive side, “only (speak) what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” Use our speech constructively. A word aptly spoken, is like a golden apple in a silver net. There is a new standard of speech. Words are not to tear people down, to diminish them, but to encourage and comfort them. We are to use our words to sooth and nurture people around us.

                Last week in CBS’s movie, “Haven” we saw the father always saying encouraging, uplifting words to his grown up daughter. You can do it, you never stop amazing me. This made the daughter feel confident and consistent in helping the Jewish refugees from Europe.

                When we come into this fellowship, the body of Christ, we are to be kind to each other. Don’t let our words hurt and discourage those God brings into our lives.

                Here, Paul also mentions the Holy Spirit. Vs.30, we are told not to grieve the Holy Spirit. This shows that the Holy Spirit is also a person, with emotions. Anything that is unholy, dishonest and incompatible with God's character, will grieve the Holy Spirit.

                The word, “sealed” refers to our time of conversion. When we first come to Christ, we are affirmed that we belong to him and his spirit is with us. “for the day of redemption”, is a reference to the final day, with the coming of Jesus Christ, our salvation will be complete. So this verse means: at our conversion, we have the Holy Spirit, at the end, our salvation will be complete. Meanwhile, while still on earth, we grow into Christ-likeness. Therefore, during this process, don’t grieve the Holy Spirit.

V. A new standard of inner attitudes.

                Vs31 mentioned 6 different kinds of attitudes and behaviors that need to be rid of. Again, first the negatives. Get rid of bitterness, which is sour speech and spirit. We are bitter when we perceive others mistreating us. Bitterness spreads like the roots of a tree. It can make our lives very miserable. So before it is deeply rooted, cut it off.

                Rage and anger. Rage means outburst of anger. The word anger refers to a more subtle and sullen hostility. I am angry, but there is also hostility towards the person. This anger can be in the form of being sarcastic and critical of others.

                Brawling is to get excited and raise one’s voice in a quarrel, shouting and screaming at each other. Oh, well, this never happens to us. See how courteous and nice we are on Sunday mornings? Really? If only the walls of our homes can talk. We will then hear husbands and wives, parents and children in a constant shouting match, making home a miserable place to be. This is not compatible with the new life. Get rid of it.

                Slander is to speak evil of others. Especially behind others back, destroying their reputation. Are we guilty of this? We do this in the name of evaluating others. We are being honest and objective. But in so doing, we are really cutting the other person down.

                Then there is malice, meaning wishing and plotting evil against others. The bible says, get rid of them.

                And instead, be kind to each other. Compassionate means being tenderhearted to each others. And above all forgive each other. Forgive means to show grace to those who have wronged you. Just like God was gracious to us. He did not treat us as we deserve, if so, none of us will be here. Has someone offended you? Are you full of anger, bitterness and resentment? If so, think of God. He forgives us of all those wrongs we have against him. He is gracious to us. 5:12 “Be imitators of God, therefore as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” So as children copy their parents, let us also copy after our heavenly father in forgiving others. Let us be loving and forgiving towards who have offended us. So that our lives will be like a fragrance, radiating God's love and goodness.

VI. A new standard of sexual purity.

                Finally, there is sexual purity. First the negative. 6:3, “There must not even a hint of sexual immorality or any kind of impurity.” Sexual immorality and impurity covers every kind of sexual intercourse outside marriage. They are against God's standards, and they are wrong. In addition to sexual immorality, Paul also adds greed. In this context, greed is coveting another’s body for personal gratification. Christians are to stay clear of any kind of sexual immorality. Not even joking about it.

                What about our world? The slogan at Madison Ave is, “Sex sells.” When we turn on our TV’s, its hard to find a show without any sexual immorality. In 1998, 56% of all TV shows carried some sexual content. In 2000, its 68%. 89% of TV movies carry sexual content. In our work place, even among the most highly educated ones, our language is filled with sexual innuendos.  

                Scriptures tell us to stay clear of any sexual immorality, don’t even joke about them.

                I think of one Saturday evening almost 10 years ago. I was home preparing for the next day’s sermon while Cynthia went to birthday of a long time church member. When she came back around 10p, she briefly mentioned that in the party, one individual said some jokes which she thought was very inappropriate. To make the situation more complicated was the fact that this person was to lead the worship service the next day. I couldn’t sleep too well that night. After much prayer and thinking, early next morning, around 7:30, , I called him and expressed my concern over what happened the night before. He called me back 10 minutes later and told me that he felt it was not proper for him to lead the service. Then he requested if I can give him few minutes at the end of the service to say a few words. At the end of the service, he came up and publicly apologized to that birthday person, his family and all those who were at the party. Lets rid of all sexual immorality, not even a hint of it, not even joking about them.

                What is the positive side? Be thankful. This also explains that any kind of vulgarity is a reflection of self-centeredness. But for Christians, we have to recognize that sex is a gift from God in the context of marriage. In my premarital counseling, I always encourage young couples that in marriage, sex is a beautiful gift from God for us to enjoy. When we make fun of it, we are trivializing what is good and important. Christians don’t look down on sex. We regard it highly, and this is why we are to avoid any kind of sexual immorality.

Conclusion:

                Do you know why the lotus is so pure in the midst of its polluted environment?(Power Point 1) It has to do with its petals. Under the Electron Microscope, the petals are really full of spikes like nails (Power Point 2). The dirt is trapped on it. When the dew comes, it slides down the petal and takes with it the dirt particle. It is called a self-cleaning system. Like our self-cleaning oven, or the self-cleaning exterior paint. Don’t we look forward to having self-cleaning paint on our cars?

                The Christian life is very much like that. Our lives are to manifest unity and purity. Our purity reflects a very high standard of living. It affects our speech, anger, inner attitudes, money management and sexual purity. Why such high standards? The God we believe is holy, therefore we are to be holy. We do not do these things so that we can be holy. We are already saints, holy people, and our challenge is to live it out. Like the words of the king of England in Brave Heart, “you will be the king in the future, so act like one.” We are already a holy people, a new people, so live it out.

                And what is even more important is that we don’t do it alone. The Holy Spirit is constantly helping us to make changes in our lives. Every day, every moment he is helping us to become more like him. He is like that dew, that comes along and removes the dirt in our lives, so the beauty of God can shine through us.

Rev. William Hsueh    Feb 25, 2001    Houston Chinese Church,  Houston, Texas