Sunshine and fruit
This week is on Ephesians 4:17-28:
There are two lessons in these verses, given to us by Paul the Apostle. The first is that the Christian life is a life of change and renewal, and the second is that taking part in that process is a transparent process, and not one that can occur in darkness. Not to sound all churchy, but we must repent and live in the light.
The non-Christian "gentiles" in Ephesus lived for themselves. They did what they wanted to do, and hardened their hearts against any advice that would contradict what they wanted. Being in the midst of it, they had no idea how wrong their actions and lifestyles were. They set their hearts on it, declared it to be righteousness, and ignored the truth. Because they lived for themselves, when confronted on their sin, they would lie. Why would you tell the truth to someone who doesn't matter (everyone else), if it could inconvenience the only person that does matter (self)?
So, this is how life was in Paul's time, and it had crept into the church. Believers were doing bad, destructive things, and nobody was able to address it. If someone was caught stealing, they'd say "It wasn't me!" If someone had problems at home, they'd say "I just fell down the stairs." If someone struggled with alcoholism they'd say "I can quit anytime I want to, not that it's any of your business." And so the church continued in its sin, and nobody changed. Or at least nobody changed for the better...
The problem with that, is that it is in direct opposition to the plan God has for our lives. Self is not more important than others. Sin is not supposed to be protected at the cost of relationships. That's the world's animal-natured strategy, not God's divine plan. Light and truth are not supposed to be shied away from. Confession, repentance, and change aren't cruel outrageous punishments. They're how we get free. Who would want to keep you from being free? Could it be...hmm.
When you join Christ, when you become part of his body, you're not living for yourself anymore. You're not living for your friends, or for your family. You're not living for your country or your ethnic group. You're living for Christ. You're free, but you're also part of something bigger than any of those other groups. You are part of the church, not just your church, but the entire worldwide body of all believers who have ever believed, and all of them are connected to God as you are connected. Together, not as rock star individuals, we carry out God's plan.
You can't pick who is part of that group, and divide yourself against them, or exalt yourself above them. If you're doing something that hurts you, or hurts those around you, or is something God has told us not to do, you're affecting everyone. In refusing to change, you might as well be denying your place in the body of Christ. There are no superstars who get to sit out during practice and then play in the game. We're all in it together.
That said, the Gentile method doesn't produce a healthy Christian community. Sin remains hidden, and change becomes superficial. Hiding it becomes equal in value to fixing it. At first it produces stagnation, because nobody wants to change when the reward for pretending is the same as the reward for doing. But then it turns into backsliding, as people descend deeper and deeper into their own selfish desires, having successfully hardened their hearts against each other's warnings, and eventually even their own consciences.
In Christ, we're made new. That means that when we're doing something that doesn't work, we get to stop doing it. In Christ, we have access to the truth. That means that we get to hear when we're doing the wrong thing. Those are blessings, not curses. Our relationship with him is a relationship with each other. None of us has the exclusive line to God's inner circle. We all do, when we pray.
Paul tells us Christ's plan for community. Change means giving up the old self and the old ways. If you used to be a bully, you don't have to be a bully anymore, even if that's what people expect of you. If you used to be afraid, you don't have to be afraid anymore, even if someone tries to scare you. If you used to be in bondage to drugs, you don't have to use the drugs anymore, even if your friends or your body tell you that you do. You're free, if you want to be renewed.
It also means not lying about your past, or about your current struggles. How is someone supposed to know you were delivered from drug addiction if you "never inhaled?" If you're struggling now, how are people supposed to pray for you if you won't admit it or talk about it? And how will they know when it's over? Does God have to pass notes between us like we're feuding children, or can we be open like adults? Telling lies severs ties between you and those you deceive. It is not good for man to be alone.
Christ's plan for community also means not holding onto anger longer than you should. Don't let the sun go down on your anger means don't stay angry for the rest of your life about something that is over. The body of Christ needs to be a safe place, and if you're going to rip people to shreds for telling the truth, they will rot in darkness. When someone changes, and you see the fruit of their repentance, don't hold a grudge against them for it. If they're not hurting you now, why hold onto the pain? Make it safe for people to tell the truth, and when someone changes, give them sanctuary from your vengeance.
We need to be in God's light in order to grow. We can't do that when we're hiding in darkness. And when we're called upon to change, we need to bear fruit of that change. We can't just declare ourselves to be different and go on as if that's all that's required of us. Our self-righteousness isn't the same as God's righteousness. And our selfishness (self-holiness?) isn't the same as God's holiness. Let's choose his lifestyle over our failed ones and find some freedom.
So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.
That, however, is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. Those who have been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.
There are two lessons in these verses, given to us by Paul the Apostle. The first is that the Christian life is a life of change and renewal, and the second is that taking part in that process is a transparent process, and not one that can occur in darkness. Not to sound all churchy, but we must repent and live in the light.
The non-Christian "gentiles" in Ephesus lived for themselves. They did what they wanted to do, and hardened their hearts against any advice that would contradict what they wanted. Being in the midst of it, they had no idea how wrong their actions and lifestyles were. They set their hearts on it, declared it to be righteousness, and ignored the truth. Because they lived for themselves, when confronted on their sin, they would lie. Why would you tell the truth to someone who doesn't matter (everyone else), if it could inconvenience the only person that does matter (self)?
So, this is how life was in Paul's time, and it had crept into the church. Believers were doing bad, destructive things, and nobody was able to address it. If someone was caught stealing, they'd say "It wasn't me!" If someone had problems at home, they'd say "I just fell down the stairs." If someone struggled with alcoholism they'd say "I can quit anytime I want to, not that it's any of your business." And so the church continued in its sin, and nobody changed. Or at least nobody changed for the better...
The problem with that, is that it is in direct opposition to the plan God has for our lives. Self is not more important than others. Sin is not supposed to be protected at the cost of relationships. That's the world's animal-natured strategy, not God's divine plan. Light and truth are not supposed to be shied away from. Confession, repentance, and change aren't cruel outrageous punishments. They're how we get free. Who would want to keep you from being free? Could it be...hmm.
When you join Christ, when you become part of his body, you're not living for yourself anymore. You're not living for your friends, or for your family. You're not living for your country or your ethnic group. You're living for Christ. You're free, but you're also part of something bigger than any of those other groups. You are part of the church, not just your church, but the entire worldwide body of all believers who have ever believed, and all of them are connected to God as you are connected. Together, not as rock star individuals, we carry out God's plan.
You can't pick who is part of that group, and divide yourself against them, or exalt yourself above them. If you're doing something that hurts you, or hurts those around you, or is something God has told us not to do, you're affecting everyone. In refusing to change, you might as well be denying your place in the body of Christ. There are no superstars who get to sit out during practice and then play in the game. We're all in it together.
That said, the Gentile method doesn't produce a healthy Christian community. Sin remains hidden, and change becomes superficial. Hiding it becomes equal in value to fixing it. At first it produces stagnation, because nobody wants to change when the reward for pretending is the same as the reward for doing. But then it turns into backsliding, as people descend deeper and deeper into their own selfish desires, having successfully hardened their hearts against each other's warnings, and eventually even their own consciences.
In Christ, we're made new. That means that when we're doing something that doesn't work, we get to stop doing it. In Christ, we have access to the truth. That means that we get to hear when we're doing the wrong thing. Those are blessings, not curses. Our relationship with him is a relationship with each other. None of us has the exclusive line to God's inner circle. We all do, when we pray.
Paul tells us Christ's plan for community. Change means giving up the old self and the old ways. If you used to be a bully, you don't have to be a bully anymore, even if that's what people expect of you. If you used to be afraid, you don't have to be afraid anymore, even if someone tries to scare you. If you used to be in bondage to drugs, you don't have to use the drugs anymore, even if your friends or your body tell you that you do. You're free, if you want to be renewed.
It also means not lying about your past, or about your current struggles. How is someone supposed to know you were delivered from drug addiction if you "never inhaled?" If you're struggling now, how are people supposed to pray for you if you won't admit it or talk about it? And how will they know when it's over? Does God have to pass notes between us like we're feuding children, or can we be open like adults? Telling lies severs ties between you and those you deceive. It is not good for man to be alone.
Christ's plan for community also means not holding onto anger longer than you should. Don't let the sun go down on your anger means don't stay angry for the rest of your life about something that is over. The body of Christ needs to be a safe place, and if you're going to rip people to shreds for telling the truth, they will rot in darkness. When someone changes, and you see the fruit of their repentance, don't hold a grudge against them for it. If they're not hurting you now, why hold onto the pain? Make it safe for people to tell the truth, and when someone changes, give them sanctuary from your vengeance.
We need to be in God's light in order to grow. We can't do that when we're hiding in darkness. And when we're called upon to change, we need to bear fruit of that change. We can't just declare ourselves to be different and go on as if that's all that's required of us. Our self-righteousness isn't the same as God's righteousness. And our selfishness (self-holiness?) isn't the same as God's holiness. Let's choose his lifestyle over our failed ones and find some freedom.
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