Imitating the Love of Jesus

Ephesians 4:31 - 5:2

Introduction

            We have friends who are missionaries in Africa. They are in a very remote village. It takes them a whole day to get to the major city where they need to conduct business. They have five children and they need to home school their children while they carry on a ministry of discipleship. It is hard work and often discouraging, but they continue to do so faithfully. What an amazing love they have for the people of that land as they learn their language, live among them and serve them.

            We have friends who have a severely handicapped daughter. She cannot walk and has limited mobility and can only move her arms a little bit. The parents, particularly the mother needs to do almost everything for her. She is in her early 20's and her mother has been doing this for her whole life. What an amazing love they have for their daughter.

            In October 2006 near Lancaster, Pennsylvania a gunman walked into an Amish school and killed several girls. Francis Chan reminds us of that incident in his book "Crazy Love" and writes, "Amish people visited the shooter's family to say they had forgiven him. That sort of forgiveness is incomprehensible to the world."

            Frederick Buechner writes, "The love for equals is a human thing…The love for the less fortunate is a beautiful thing…The love for the more fortunate is a rare thing…And then there is the love for the enemy…This is God's love. It conquers the world."

            These kinds of love seem unusual and amazing, but for those who belong to Christ it is valid to ask, "Is this extraordinary or expected?" A moment ago we read in Scripture, "…be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us…" When we read that we must realize that these kinds of love are not to be the exception, but the norm among those who have given their lives to Jesus.

            If we are to make the gospel of Christ known in the world, we have already talked about the fact that we need to be imitators of the holiness of Jesus. This portion of the text indicates that we must also be imitators of the love of Christ. Are you seeking to learn what it means to imitate the love of Christ?

I.     We Are God's Beloved Children

            There is only one reason why we can even entertain the notion that we are to imitate the love of Christ and that is because, as the text says, we are God's "beloved children."

A.   We Are Children of God

            How can we dare to claim to be the children of God? The truth is that we do not dare to claim to be the children of God. It is God Himself who declares that we are His children. When we stop fighting God and rest in Him by faith, He makes us His children. The thing that prevents us from being His children is sin but because Jesus died on the cross, our sins have been removed. Just as we did not become children to our parents by obeying them, but by birth, so we do not become God's children by obedience, we become God's children by a new birth. When we put our trust in Jesus, we are welcomed into the family of God and God calls us His children. Because we are His children, we are given permission to call Him "Dad." Because we are His children, He comes to live within us by His Spirit. When we die, we are invited to go home and live in His house for all the rest of eternity.

B.   We Are Dearly Loved

            As children of God, we are loved by Him. I like the New International Version translation of this verse which says that we are "dearly loved children." We know that the love God has for us is amazing because it pre-dates our relationship to Him. In fact, John 3:16 and Romans 5:8 both tell us that love was the foundation which caused God to reach out to us with salvation.

            When I was in boys club we took an outing to the Whiteshell. On the way home, we were fooling around in the back seat of the car of whoever was driving us home. One of the older boys who was a junior leader was funny and I liked him. I remember thinking, I am going to be funny so that people will like me. We all have a need to be loved and if we do not feel loved, we do different things to try to get people to like us, some of them are not very good. However, the need to do that disappears when we understand how much we are loved by God. One of the lies which Satan tells us is that we are not loved. The truth which will set us free is the truth that God already loves us. He loved us before we knew Him. He loved us enough to send His only Son into the world to die for us. He loves us enough to forgive our sins. He loves us enough to call us His children. He loves us enough to live within us. The love God has for us is incredible and we need to know that, understand it deeply and rest in it.

            The instruction in this passage to imitate God in loving is only possible when we know how much we are loved by God. Unless we understand the depth of His love for us we will continue in self centeredness. When we know that we are loved, we can give up self centeredness, grasping for attention and seeking for affirmation because we know we are loved by the creator of the world. This gives us the freedom to give away love because we understand that we have everything we need.

            Francis Chan writes, "The very fact that a holy, eternal, all-knowing, all-powerful, merciful, fair, and just God loves you and me is nothing short of astonishing."    

II.  How Christ Loves

            If we would each take a quarter out of our pocket and compare them, we would find that they are almost exactly the same. The reason they are the same is that they were all impressed by the same master. As Christians, we also ought to look the same as every other Christian because we also have been impressed by the same master. Of course a coin has no choice in the matter, but we do. Therefore, the text calls us to imitation. Yet we are all called to imitate the same thing. We are called to imitate God and to love as Christ loved us. So if we are to understand how we are to imitate God's love, we need to know how that love works and what it is like. The master we are to imitate is none other than Christ Himself and Paul tells us exactly what that love looks like. So let us take a careful look at the love which Christ has demonstrated for us.

A.   He Gave Himself for Us

            The text says that "Christ loved us and gave himself up for us." Philippians 2:6 says, "who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited," or NIV has "something to be grasped." There was a time when Jesus made a decision and the decision was to offer Himself in order to come to the earth and to make the sacrifice that was necessary in order to redeem people from their sins. He was in heaven reigning with God as His Son, but made the choice to give up all that power and position in order to come to this earth on our behalf. That is what it means that He gave Himself for us.

            When Jesus was about to be put to death, he was in the Garden of Gethsemane and was fully aware that his life was about to end in a terrible way. He was about to be hung on a cross, but not only that, He was about to be held guilty for the sins of the whole world. At that moment, he once again had to make a choice. His prayer to the Father at that moment was one in which he sought a way out of the terrible suffering He was about to endure. This tells us that it was terrible indeed, more terrible than we can imagine. Yet at that time Jesus said, "Not my will, but yours be done." That is what it means that He gave Himself for us.

            The love of Jesus was self giving and sacrificial. Wood says, "The model of love is Christ himself. It is because he laid down his life for us that we are to love others to the point of sacrifice." Therefore, when we consider how we are to imitate the love of Christ, we understand that imitation of love involves sacrifice. We must learn what it means to give our life for the sake of another.

B.   He Gave Himself to God

            The other phrase we notice here is that Jesus "gave Himself up…a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." The sacrifice which Jesus made to show His love was not only "for us," but also "to God." Jesus didn't only offer Himself on our behalf. He offered Himself to His Father. His death on the cross was God's idea and He loved God so much that He trusted that God's plan was the right one and the one which He should follow. Therefore, because He loved and trusted God, He was willing to give Himself to God. The direction of His life was towards God. The direction of His sacrifice was towards God. He gave who He was and what He had to God.

            The language used here, "offering and sacrifice" comes from the language of Old Testament offerings. There were different types of offerings and sacrifices which were common in the Old Testament times. The offerings indicated that a sacrifice had been made. Someone had dedicated some animal or some grain to God. It indicated a dedication to God which was made with gratitude. This tells us that, following the example of Jesus, our love must also be offered to God as a sacrifice to Him, something that is dedicated to God.

            The Old Testament speaks of such a sacrifice as "a pleasing aroma" in such passages as, Exodus 29:41 which says, "And the other lamb you shall offer in the evening, and shall offer with it a grain offering and its drink offering, as in the morning, for a pleasing odor, an offering by fire to the LORD." Sometimes when I ride my bike between 5:30 and 6:30 in the evening, I get whiffs of BBQ. It smells good. But that was not why God called sacrifice a pleasing aroma. God was not impressed with cooking meat. God was impressed with the willingness to obey Him. That was what the pleasing aroma was. Because Christ chose to obey His Father and offer Himself for us, God was pleased with His sacrifice.

               In the same way, God will be pleased when He sees in us a willingness to offer our lives to Him as people who love. Therefore, if we are to imitate Christ, we must imitate Him in offering ourselves in love to God because He first loved us.

C.   He Forgave Us

            The third example of love demonstrated in this passage is found in Ephesians 4:31 when it says, "as God in Christ has forgiven you." All our sin was against Christ. He died for us and so took the offence upon Himself and did not hold it against us. In the same way, we are called to imitate His forgiveness by loving others and showing that love by forgiving them.

            One of the ways in which we often get into relational trouble is when we take offence at what someone has done to us. When that happens, we often assume malicious intent on their part and we hold it against them. If we are to imitate the love of Christ, we must imitate His readiness to forgive.

            The love which Christ has is sacrificial, offered to God and forgiving. That is the kind of love we are to imitate.

III.          Imitating the Love of Christ

            Because we are deeply loved we are able to love and because Christ has demonstrated what love looks like, we know what it means to love. Having this foundation we are called to love.

A.   Imitating God

            We are called to imitate God. In Ephesians 4:17 we were told that we are not to walk like the Gentiles walk. The opposite of walking like the Gentiles, however, is not walking like a nice person. The opposite of walking like the Gentiles is imitating God Himself.

            A few weeks ago our son Joel and I worked together with Jonathan to build a fence and a deck in their yard. Haven was watching and playing in the area for most of the day and I am told that since that day he calls himself "Uncle Joel." He plays with wood and tools and wants to be like Uncle Joel. This is what children do. They imitate and by imitation they learn.

            When the text calls us to "be imitators of God" that is the kind of idea that is in mind. The Greek word for imitation is μιμηταὶ from which we also get our word "mimic"  which gives us the idea of doing what we see done. Yet when we think of imitating God, we know that there are some ways in which we cannot imitate God. Barth says, "Men cannot copy the essence of God, e.g. his work as creator or redeemer, or his trinity, but they are called to imitate his love and make progress on the way of love."

            We were together with extended family, some of whom hadn't seen each other for a long while. We saw a man, who is probably in his 70's, whom we hadn't seen him for a long time. Someone remarked that he looks just like his father used to look. When we obey this command, we will look like our Father, not in physical appearance, but in behavior. We will love in imitation of the one who loves us.

B.   Walking in Love

            We are also called to "live" in love or as NASB puts it to "walk" in love. The idea communicated here is that love is to be a lifestyle. We may feel love when we hold a newborn baby, but we will walk in love when we pace the floor at night holding a colicky baby. We may feel love when we stand with our fiancé at the altar on our wedding day, but we will walk in love when our spouse gets a life altering disease and we continue to care for them. We will have warm feelings towards our neighbor when they invite us to come over to use their swimming pool, but we will walk in love when we decide how to respond on the early morning when they start their snow blower and blow all their snow onto our driveway. The Message puts it this way, "Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that."

            Penner says, "…the life of love is always active and outgoing to those who need that love. That is how God acts and how we, his dear children, must act."

C.   Putting Off "Un-love"

            As I was studying this passage, I noticed that the call to love in Ephesians 5:1, 2 is preceded in Ephesians 4:31, 32 with some very specific and practical details about what it means to love. The pattern followed in these verses is that which we have already noticed in earlier verses which talk about putting off a particular way of living and putting on a transformed way of living. Verse 31 calls us to put off those things which are not loving. We will learn love when we put off "all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice." I like the way Stott puts it. He calls us to put off "the ill-willed plotting of a malicious spirit."

            It is possible that the writer intended a progression in this section. The first step of not loving is to feel bitterness. Bitterness can progress to anger, loud protestation, speaking ill of someone else and ends in a settled anger called malice.

            So if we want to avoid all of these unloving things, we must stop them at the first step. We must choose not to allow a root of bitterness to grow up. How do we remove bitterness from us? The best defense against any manifestation of lack of love is to understand that we are loved by God.

D.   Putting On Love

            We will also learn love when we replace these things and instead put on the things mentioned in verse 32.

            Kindness reflects that which arises out of a gentle and good heart.

            Compassion is an interesting word. The Greek word comes from a word that originally referred to the internal organs or as Wood says, "the liver, kidneys and larger viscera." This is a concept that should be somewhat familiar to us. When we talked about being excited we used to say "I have butterflies in my stomach." Emotions, according to the Greeks were located in this region. We have more often thought of the emotions as residing in the heart. It is a similar concept and communicates the feelings of caring for another from deep within our being. It is this kind of love that we are to put on.

            Furthermore we are also to put on forgiveness. Once again Paul points to the forgiveness of Christ as our model. Jesus, of course, tells the great story in Matthew 18:23-35 to help us understand just how important forgiveness is in our love for others. In that parable, the king forgave a man his massive debt. Yet the man was unwilling to forgive someone else who owed him a relatively small sum. It is obvious to us that there is something very wrong about this. God has forgiven us all our sins, how can we not forgive the things done to us. Barth says, "'Live as people who are forgiven!' – this is the sum of Ephesians 4:31-32." He also reminds us that forgiveness is always and only practiced in specific situations when he says, "No man can really forgive a man whom he does not personally know."

Conclusion

            Is there anyone who hasn't heard this before? I didn't think so. Is there anyone here who is able to imitate the love of Jesus effectively? I kind of suspected that. How will we make progress? We know that we are deeply loved by God and that He calls us His children. We have a very clear example of love in Christ. We understand that we must respond to God's love by loving Him and others. We understand that in order for the good news about Jesus to be made known in the world requires that we love God, love one another and love the other. But how will we make progress in imitating the love of Jesus?

            Let me suggest several practical acts of love:

1. Identify someone you don't know very well in the church or in your neighborhood and go talk to them.

2. Think of a person you don't like very well and without telling them you don't like them or making a big deal of it, do something kind for them.

3. Listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit in order to hear how you can show love and to whom you can show love.

            If we are willing to imitate the love of Jesus, there is no telling what God will do in us and through us.

Imitating the Holiness of Jesus Part II

Ephesians 5:5-20

Introduction

            There are numerous animals that have been created to conform to their surroundings. There are two kinds of rabbits common in Manitoba, the Cottontail which we all have in our yard and the larger Jackrabbit. Because they are often out in open fields, Jackrabbits turn white in winter to match the snow so that larger predators don't catch and eat them.

            One of the most striking examples of animals which change their color to match their surroundings are some species of chameleon, which can actually change the color of their skin depending on the color of the surface around them.

            When these animals change color, it is an important part of their survival. If they don't blend in, they are much more susceptible to being eaten by their enemies. In other words, if they don't change to match their surroundings they are in great danger. The opposite is true for Christians. If we do change to match our surroundings, we are in great danger.

            Last week we talked about the change which has taken place in us by the power of Jesus. In Ephesians 4:17-29 we learned that we must live the change that Jesus has made in us, or in other words we must live in holiness. We talked about some of the practical things which must change: we must speak truth instead of lying, we must be generous instead of stealing, we must be holy instead of immoral and so on.

            This week, we will look at Ephesians 5:5-20 and discover several more reasons why it is critical that we be holy and why it is so dangerous for us to blend in with the society that surrounds us.

I.     To Avoid God's Wrath

            The first reason is found in Ephesians 5:5, 6, "Be sure of this, that no fornicator or impure person, or one who is greedy (that is, an idolater), has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes on those who are disobedient."

            Whenever you get on an airplane you have to listen to the safety information which they give about seatbelts, oxygen masks and flotation devices. It must be difficult for the flight attendant to stand in front and do the demonstration as most people deliberately ignore them. Although most people have probably heard the drill many times, for some it is new information and so it must be repeated each time. When an emergency happens, I suspect that there are some people who have ignored the important information many times and when they suddenly have to act on it they don't know what to do.

            Scripture frequently calls us as disciples to live as holy people but I suspect that some people have ignored this information. In Ephesians 5:5, 6, Paul makes a point of indicating that this is important information. It cannot be ignored or dismissed, it must be listened to.

            Notice that in the beginning of verse 5 he says, "Be sure of this" and in the beginning of verse 6 "Let no one deceive you with empty words." In other words, look up! Pay attention! This is important and you need to know it. There will be a test!

            The test may come in the form of deception. The Bible speaks about those who are false teachers. Revelation 2:14, 15 mentions some of the false teachers of that day when it talks about Balaam and also about the Nicolaitans. False teachers are still around and some have taught that, as a Christian, you can sin and not worry about the consequences because God is gracious. Some people, by their example, have taught others to be careless about wickedness. The NLT translates this verse, "Don't be fooled by those who try to excuse these sins…" Penner writes, "Whether society argues that one can participate in immorality in the name of 'love,' or for the sake of so called Christian 'freedom' …believers must not be deceived."

            So we are encouraged to realize that this is serious stuff and we need to take note and not ignore it, as we so often ignore the announcements on the airplane.

            It is an axiom that God hates sin and anyone who lives in sin cannot be in His presence. Those who sin will not receive an inheritance among those who will spend eternity with Him. But we need to be careful that we do not dismiss this warning assuming it applies only to those who do not know Jesus and are outside the church. This is written to people who are in the church, it is written to us. So the warning is to everyone of us. We need to be aware of the danger and we need to be aware of anyone who would deceive us that sinning has no serious consequences.

            And so we are warned that anyone who lives in fornication, impurity or greed has no "inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God." If we do not live holy lives, we are in danger of disinheriting ourselves. Christianity is a gift of God given to us when we have faith in Jesus, it is a gift that involves a change of heart. If our heart is not changed and if we continue in sin it shows that we may not have received the gift at all or we may lose the inheritance we thought was ours.

            The further warning is that those who continue to live in such disobedience are under the wrath of God. God hates sin. That is why He sent Jesus to this earth. That is why Jesus died on the cross. God wanted to do away with sin and it's evil consequences. If we continue in sin, especially after we have received the gift of God in Christ, what makes us think that God is suddenly OK with our sinful disobedience? God still hates sin and so if we walk in sin, we are in great danger because the wrath of God will come on all sin, whether we have once given ourselves to Him or not.

            We cannot blend in to the surrounding society because God's wrath comes on all who are unholy. Therefore, we are called to live holy lives so that we will not come under God's wrath.

II.  To Live as Children of Light

            When our children were in high school and when they participated in school functions we often asked them the question, "are you an influence or are you being influenced." The other reasons to be holy is so that we will not be influenced, but rather that we will be an influence.

            In verse 8 we are reminded, "once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light." This is the message we looked at last week when we were reminded that God has created a change in us and we must live in that change. Yet we have just noticed that it is possible for us to be deceived. There are those who would say things to make us think lightly about the matter of holy living. They may say that it isn't all that bad if you sin a little or they may convince us that some action or other is not a sin, when Scripture is clear that it is disobedience to God. Because of that danger, Paul says in verse 7, "Therefore do not be associated with them." In other words, we are called to live in holiness so that we will not be influenced by darkness.

            But this is a difficult thing to do. There are two important questions that we need to ask about this statement. One is, "who is 'them?'" The other is, "What does "associate" mean?"

            As Christians our relationship with people who are not Christians is often somewhat tentative. It isn't very long after people become Christians that they begin to drift towards friendships only with Christian people. Often our interpretation of who "them" is in this passage is that it refers to unbelievers. The problem with that interpretation is, how are we going to tell people about Jesus if we don't know them? How are we going to earn the right to be heard if unbelievers are not among our friends? How are we going to imitate Jesus if we don't eat with "tax collectors and sinners" as He did?

            That is why I believe that "them" refers to people who identify with the church and may even sit in the pews, but who influence us towards darkness. These are the people we are not to associate with. They are the ones who are really dangerous. The reason they are dangerous is that, because they are in the church, we feel that they are safe. This was my experience. When I was in grade 7 and 8 I went to a public school. I knew I was different and needed to live in a different way and so I was quite careful about how I lived my Christian life. In grade 9 I went to MBCI. I am not blaming MBCI and it was a combination of factors, but one of the things that happened was that I felt "safe" in the "Christian" environment. As a result, I was no longer on guard and so I was influenced towards disobedience. I am to blame, but I think it is an illustration of why it is those who are in the church, but are disobedient, whom we must not associate with rather than those who are not believers.

            What does such non-association look like? Some churches have made rules about this and they legislate that you cannot eat with anyone who is excommunicated. I think we need to be very careful about our actions of non-association. If we find that our association with those in the church who are living in disobedience is influencing us towards disobedience, we need to avoid associating with them. If we find that there are ways of relating to them which help them and influence them and encourage them back to faith, then we should not avoid them. We need to recognize the point that Paul is making here and that is that we are called to be careful. Because of the danger of being influenced by disobedience, we are called to do anything we can to continue to walk in holiness.

            As we think about these things, we need to hear what Paul says in Ephesians 5:10, "Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord." We should never accept a list of rules so that we can stop thinking. Holy living requires constant thought, reflection and decision making. We will discover what is pleasing to the Lord if we hear what it says in verse 9. Holy living has to do with what is good and right and true. If that is our heart's desire, we will be able to walk in holiness.

III.          To Expose the Darkness

            As many of you know, my father was a photographer. When I was growing up, I helped with certain aspects of the business. At one time, photographic plates were used in the studio camera and the exposed film had to be manually taken out of the plates and fresh film put in them. Of course all of this had to be done in complete darkness, otherwise the film would be spoiled. That was my job and it was always very interesting to be in complete darkness. You couldn't see anything and had to do everything by feel. When the job was done, I could put the light on and the change was always dramatic. Previously I could see nothing, but as soon as the light was shining, I could see everything clearly.

            Earlier I mentioned the saying, "Are you being influenced or are you an influence." We just examined that we are called to holy living so that we will not be influenced to disobedience. Just as important is the other side of that saying and that is that we are called to holy living so that we can be an influence.

            In Ephesians 5:11-17, the text continues with the imagery of light and darkness. In that context, we read in verse 11, "Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them." Then in verse 13 we read, "everything exposed by the light becomes visible" and in verse 14, "everything that becomes visible is light."

            What is clear about these statements is that light dispels darkness. In the same way, we are called to be holy so that we overcome the darkness.

            But the difficult question is, "What does it mean to "expose" the evil deeds of darkness? How do we expose the darkness? There are, of course, a number of options open to us. Some people seem to take delight in speaking about evil things and condemning every evil deed that they become aware of. If a crime is committed, they take delight in speaking about every detail of the crime and declaring judgment on those involved. Although the temptation to do so is strong, I cannot shake the feeling that people who do that are like the Pharisees who brought the woman caught in adultery to Jesus. It is interesting that in that story Jesus concludes by saying, "Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more." When Ephesians 5:12 says, "it is shameful even to mention what such people do secretly," I believe it teaches us that we have good reason not to engage in public scolding or judgmental censure as the methods by which we are called to expose the unfruitful works of darkness.

            I believe that the way in which we are called to expose them is by living in the light. That is why the repeated emphasis in this passage on light. As I mentioned earlier it says things like, "everything exposed by the light becomes visible" and " everything that becomes visible is light." We should never underestimate the power of holy living to be such a light in the world and to have influence on all around. Of course we need to be careful how we shine our light. Being "holier than thou" does not shine light, but shines hypocrisy. Yet if we lovingly live in holiness, as Jesus did, we will have a powerful impact and we will obey the command to expose the unfruitful works of darkness, whether those works of darkness are present in the church or in the world. So holiness is important as a way to have an influence in the world. It is an important part of our mission in the world.

               Penner says, "The bearers of true light do not respond to the surrounding moral darkness with gloating superiority or self-righteous condemnation, for these attitudes are themselves part of the unfruitful deeds of that darkness. Rather they approach it with love and truth to accomplish a twofold purpose: (1) to show the error and evil concealed by darkness…and (2) to bring about transformation into light…"

            The quote in verse 14 encourages us to allow the light of Christ to shine in and through us. As we continue to read in Ephesians 5, we discover some very helpful thoughts on how we can be light.

            Verse 15 encourages us, " Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise…" Proverbs reminds us of the value of living with wisdom. As we put our hope in God, He will teach us the path of wisdom and so we must always ask, "Is it wise." We read a book in the last year with the title, "The Best Question Ever" by Andy Stanley. What does he suggest is the best question? "Is it wise?"

            Paul goes on to advise, "making the most of the time because the days are evil." If we want to be an influence, we need to consider that we live in a world that will try to influence us away from God. If we waste our time with things that do not give us the opportunity to grow in Christ or to live in holiness, we will not shine as lights into the darkness of the world. Neufeld says, "In short, the wise had better know that they are living in the last days and that there is no time to waste. Whatever time there is must be used to get ready for the day of redemption."

            In order to make the most of our time, we also need to "understand what the will of the Lord is." There are several ways to discern the Lord's will. We have already talked about one way and that it to seek wisdom. God has revealed His will in Scripture and a good knowledge of the Word of God is very important in teaching us His will. The other is to go directly to God and ask Him. Scripture does not speak directly to every issue. If we ask God, He will teach us what His will is so that we can live in holiness.

            On Pentecost Sunday, we talked about the wonderful power and strength that God has given us to live for Him. He has given us His Spirit and we are called to be filled with the Spirit. If we are filled with the Spirit of God, we will live holy lives.

            The last two verses of this section call us to worship. It is clear that if our eyes are focused on Jesus and if we encourage each other as we worship together we will have a strong motivation to live holy lives and to do those things that are pleasing to the Lord.

Conclusion

            Do you know what holy means? It means set apart. We have some things in our house that are only used when we have special company. They aren't used for daily, ordinary purposes. That is one sense of holy. When I want to write a note to myself or figure something out, I grab a piece of scrap paper that has writing on the other side. When I want to write a letter to someone special, I take a clean piece of paper that is not blemished by anything else. That is another sense of holy. So holiness has about it a separateness from the ordinary and a cleanness.

            When it comes to the way we live in this world, that is what we are called to. The values we have are to be different than everyone else in the world. They are values formed by God Himself. Our lifestyle is not to be marked disobedience and sin, but to be lived in obedience to God.

            Because we have been changed by Jesus and in order to avoid the wrath of God and in order to not be influenced by evil but rather to be an influence, we as followers of Jesus are to imitate the holiness of Jesus. We know that we will not be perfect in this, but this morning I want to encourage us not to give up, but to commit ourselves once again to be holy as we are called to be holy. May God give us grace to shine for Him.

Imitating the Holiness of Jesus Part I

Ephesians 4:17- 5:4

Introduction

            The other day I was at the city wide prayer gathering and a man came and sat beside and I knew immediately that he was a police officer. How did I know that? The uniform he wore identified him as such.

            Have you ever been to a mall and tried to identify people? Have you ever wondered who they are or what they do? Most people look pretty much the same by what they wear, but sometimes you can tell things about some people. If you would be familiar with gang colors, you could identify gang members. If people from certain religious groups walked by, you could know that they identified with that religion. Would you be able to identify every Christian who came by? Probably not, which is interesting because the Bible tells us that we should be identifiable as Christians by what we wear. Of course, it isn't talking about the physical clothing we wear, but another kind of clothing.

            God has done amazing things for us and if the message of change which the gospel proclaims is real, then it should be noticeable in our life. How is the change that God has made in our lives evident to the people around us? This is the theme of Ephesians 4-6 and over the next few weeks, I would like to direct our attention to this challenge. The change which God has made in our lives sets us on a path to be like Jesus and if we are followers of Jesus, we must be like Him. We must imitate Him in our holiness, our love and our submission.

I.     Live in the Light 4:17-24

A.   No Longer Live As You Did

            I read somewhere that in the days of the early church it is possible that when people were baptized, they took off old clothes as they went into the water and put on new clothes after they came out of the water. Can you imagine how powerful such an image would be at a baptism? If people went into the waters of baptism wearing old dirty clothing, which they would then throw away after the baptism and if they changed into new clean clothes after they were baptized? That is one of the images which we find in this passage, along with a number of others, which provide us with a picture of the change that takes place when we come to Christ.

            In this passage, we are told in 4:17 that we must "no longer live as the Gentiles live…" In place of such a lifestyle we are called to be followers of Christ. Ephesians 4:22  talks about the old self which we are called to put away or to take off. This is the clothing imagery, which I just mentioned. In place of the old self we are called to put on the new self. The other imagery is that of darkness and light. Ephesians 5:8 says "once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light." We are to leave the darkness and all the deeds of darkness and walk in the light.

            What is true in all of these images is that there is a way of living that no longer fits with who we are. When the text tells us that we should no longer live as the Gentiles, it is not a cultural identity that is to be shed. Rather, it is a particular way of thinking and living that no longer makes sense. It is well described in this passage.

               At one time our minds were empty. Not empty of everything, but empty of the life giving knowledge of God. Barth describes that emptiness this way, they are "…aiming with silly methods at a meaningless goal!" When you look around at the world you can certainly see this played out. So much of media and many other aspects of life are filled with intense, diligent and costly pursuit of things that in the end matter very little. We are no longer to pursue such emptiness.

               Have you ever listened to two medical people discussing someone's health? It isn't very long before you have no idea what they are talking about. They understand concepts that are foreign to you and use language you don't understand. Your understanding is darkened about those subjects. The same is true of those who do not follow God. The text says "They are darkened in their understanding." The life of God and the truth of God is a foreign subject or perhaps even a foreign language to them.

               Yet this lack of understanding is not innocent. If we haven't studied medicine, we can't be expected to understand the concepts or the language. But the darkened understanding regarding spiritual things was not because of a lack of knowledge for which we had no responsibility, but rather a lack of knowledge that was ours because of a refusal to believe in God. The text tells us that this ignorance is because of hardness of heart. Romans 1:18-23 tells us that God has shown us all that needs to be known about God, but people suppress the truth by their wickedness. So the ignorance is a culpable ignorance. We didn't know, but we were responsible for not knowing. We cannot return to such ignorance brought on by hardness of heart.

               As a consequence of this rejection which makes the life of God like a foreign language there is also a moral distance which results in insensitivity to sin and abandonment to all kinds of evil. I have often wondered how people can be so evil and do such terrible things as we so often hear on the news. Wood answers this way, "They can no longer respond to moral stimuli. Their consciences are so atrophied that sin registers no stab of pain." We cannot allow our consciences to become dulled so that we sin without feeling guilty.

               Before we became Christians, we were pursuing emptiness, ignorant of God because of hardness of heart and sinning without feeling guilty. We must not live in that way any more. We must not live in disobedience nor with a foggy mind about the things of God.

B.   Instead, Imitate Christ

               When people want to quit smoking, one of the strategies they use to overcome the addiction is something called "Replacement Therapy." In order to help overcome the craving for a cigarette, they need to replace the desire for nicotine with something else and so they use gum or nicotine patches or sprays or something like that to take away the desire.

               God has given us something very good to replace the darkened understanding, foggy mindedness and hardness of heart. Jesus has come into our lives and softened our hearts. In place of freedom to sin, we have received freedom and power to follow Jesus. It isn't enough to just to repent of our sins, we must also give our lives to Jesus who helps us live in a new way. The text reminds us that in place of futility, darkness, alienation from God, ignorance and hard heartedness, we have learned Christ. Christianity is not just another religion which gives us another way of living. Christianity gives us the power of the presence of God who has created us in a new way. Ephesians 4:24 tells us that the new self was "created according to the likeness of God." We have been recreated to be like Jesus and we have learned that the new life is a life of being like Jesus. We have been taught that in Jesus we have been renewed into those who can live in true righteousness and holiness. Therefore as Christians we must imitate the holiness of Jesus. In place of the ignorance and the darkened understanding we live according to the truth that is in Jesus. A truth that includes power and righteousness and holiness. Learning Jesus is not just learning about a person, but learning to know a person.

               You have heard the saying. "you are what you wear." This is true for those who are in Christ. We must not wear the old clothes, but we must wear Jesus. Why does Paul have to include this in Ephesians? The temptation to continue to live in the way they had lived must still have been a temptation for them, as it is still for us. The thinking of the world is still in our hearts. We live among people who live like that and so observe their example. Therefore, we need to be reminded not to live according to what we were but rather according to what we have been made.

II.  Life in the Light 4:25- 30; 5:3-4

               So what does that look like? What are the details of putting on the new clothing of Jesus?

A.   Truth In Place Of Lying

            One part of new living has to do with how we handle truth. In place of falsehood we are called to be people who speak truth.

            Putting away falsehood is more than just not lying to one another. In fact, lying never begins with deceptive words spoken. It begins with a heart that is not true to itself. If we have an inauthentic existence, it is no wonder that we also communicate that inauthentic existence in words of deception.

            Speaking truth to our neighbors is also much more than not lying to them. Speaking truth is a matter of saying what is true to our neighbors. That means that we tell the truth. It also means that we speak the truth about the world we live in. At the prayer gathering I attended the other day, a number of police officers attended. It was interesting to hear them say that what the city of Winnipeg needs is not more police officers. What the city of Winnipeg needs is hearts that have been changed by the grace of God. They were calling for us to pray for changed hearts. It was interesting to hear them speak such a truth to us.  Speaking truth to our neighbor also means having  the courage to tell them about Jesus and all that He can do for them.

            The pattern in each of the specific details regarding living in the new way introduces a "not this but this" contrast to suggest that the new way of living must replace the old way of living. In this case truth speaking must replace falsehood. It is as we speak truth instead of falsehood that we wear the clothing of Christ.

B.   Action in Place of Anger

               In a similar way, in place of blowing off steam, we are called to an anger that is useful and properly managed.

               In the old days when trains were pulled by steam engines, dangerous situations could arise. If the water was heated too long and too much steam built up, it could create too much pressure in the boiler. In order to prevent things from flying apart, they would release some of the steam, or "blow off steam" in order to stabilize the situation. We have come to use the imagery of blowing off steam to mean that someone just needs to get angry so they will not do worse damage. Yet on the other hand, steam is what was needed to run the engine. If the engine was operating, the steam was used for making it go forward and then the steam did not have to be released "just to blow off steam."

               We must not dismiss the command to "be angry" as a concession to our humanity. It is not a grudging permission to blow off steam. This passage is calling for us to use the "steam" appropriately.  There is an appropriate time for anger. When evil is allowed to go unchecked, we should be angry. When people abuse, hurt or even murder others, we should be angry. When governments are unjust and violent, we should be angry. This verse calls us to be angry and not complacent about the evil we see.

               Yet there is an appropriate way to handle that anger. The new way of living is a way in which we deal appropriately with anger. If we give vent to anger according to what is normal, we live in the way of the person we used to be. The newness we have in Christ invites us to channel our anger into appropriate action. If we don't, we give Satan a place in our lives by which he can bring us down. Justified anger handled poorly gives a toe hold to Satan in our lives. If we deal with anger by using it to work for justice, for example, we prevent Satan from finding a way into our hearts and lives. So we are told to be angry, but not to sin. Jesus is our example in this. He became angry when the house of God was used inappropriately. People used it to make money and prevented others from using it for its intended use as a house of prayer. His anger was appropriate anger used to make a point. He expressed it, but he did not nurse it, or dwell on it, or make it his main thing. As the new people in Christ we are to let anger be a motivation to act righteously, helpfully and lovingly.

C.   Generosity In Place of Theft

               A few weeks ago we were discussing how we would set up things for Drive Through Prayer. We wanted to put up pylons so that people driving in would know how to come to us for prayer. Those involved said that the pylons they had were a little small and I suggested that I knew where to find some nice tall pylons on the side of the road by a construction site. Of course, this was clearly a joke. It is obvious to those who have followed Christ that we should not take what doesn't belong to us. But sometimes it isn't that obvious. Is it theft to make photocopies of copyrighted material? A while ago someone called to confess that they had been making copies of the sermons which I post online. I appreciated the acknowledgement that you can't just copy anything you want. I assured her that my messages did not have copy right and she was welcome to use them.

               We know that we shouldn't steal, but the text adds more than just a reminder that this is inappropriate for those who have been changed by Christ. It also calls us to work with our hands, thus affirming that God has created us to work. But there is even more. The truly changed person does not work simply to build a pile of goods to be stored up. Such a person works so that they can be generous and share what they have. In other words, just as the former way of life is to be put off and replaced with the new way of living, practically that means that theft is to be replaced with generosity.

D.   Grace Talk In Place of Evil Talk

               What is the "evil talk" spoken of in Ephesians 4:29? From Proverbs to James the Bible repeatedly warns us to be careful how we use our words. Jesus stated a significant saying when he declared in Luke 6:45 that what comes out of our mouth arises in our heart. Since we have had our hearts changed, it is abundantly clear that we can no longer speak according to the old nature that was filled with darkness. Yet it is necessary for us to be warned to actually live according to that change. So what kind of talk is "evil talk?"

               We need to be reminded not to take the name of the Lord in vain, not to engage in language that is obscene, not to joke in a way that tears another person down, not to gossip nor to criticize. Wood says, "Any kind of careless, unbecoming talk pains the Spirit, since it is incompatible with the holiness he conveys to those who belong to Christ."

               In place of that evil talk, we are called to replace it with grace. Our conversation must build up and give grace to those who hear us. If we feel we have to say, "I shouldn't say this, but…" we probably shouldn't say it. Instead, we need to learn to let our conversation be guided by the thoughts, "How can I build this person up?" and "How can I bless this person?"

               Some people are very good at it, all of us must learn it for it is part of the life of Jesus in us.

E.   Holiness in Place of Impurity

                 Our first thought when it comes to being holy may be that a change is required in the area of our human sexuality. In fact, sometimes we place sexual sins at the top of the list of what must be dealt with as Christians. Paul has not put it at the top of the list, but he certainly includes it. Ephesians 5:3 says, "But fornication and impurity of any kind, or greed, must not even be mentioned among you, as is proper among saints." If we are the holy people of God, then that holiness must make itself evident in our sexual behavior. This is very difficult. God has created us as sexual beings and the drive within us is very powerful. Added to that is the constant bombardment of sexual images around us. Yet we are saints and as saints, we are called to holiness and to the imitation of Jesus in our sexuality. How do we live in that way?

               It is far too simplistic to say, "do this, don't do that." God has given sexuality to us as a powerful, relational joy. If it is not handled in holiness it becomes abusive, manipulative and destructive. We must constantly be asking "How can I handle my sexuality in a way that it will be the relational joy which God intended it to be?" God has answers for that question and we need to seek Him and His word so that we can replace impurity with holiness.

F.    Thanksgiving In Place of Vulgarity

               One final word about replacement therapy for a Christian which I want to mention briefly is found in Ephesians 5:4 which says, "Entirely out of place is obscene, silly, and vulgar talk; but instead, let there be thanksgiving." Very briefly stated, sometimes it is tempting for us to talk in such a way as to impress others with our cleverness and this can easily deteriorate into obscenity and inanity.

               The remedy for overcoming toilet talk is thanksgiving. When our hearts recognize that we have been given much by God, we don't need to impress others with our cleverness. When we understand the graciousness of God we will be filled with a desire to give thanks and praise to Him instead of descending into inappropriate conversation. This is not to take away fun and teasing and laughter, but it is necessary to replace vulgarity with thanksgiving if we are to imitate God.

Conclusion

               I once helped a friend of mine clean out his pig barn. The job involved spraying the ceiling, walls and floor of the empty pig barn. There was manure everywhere. I wore a pair of coveralls and goggles and a mask. When the job was done I was covered in…well you know. I went out of the barn and straight to the garbage bin and took off my coveralls and threw them away. Then I went home and had a shower and put on clean clothes. Did that ever feel good!

               God has taken away our filthy self and replaced it with a new and holy self. Let's not go back to the garbage bin and put on the dirty old clothes, but let us walk daily in the holiness of Jesus.