IN CHRIST: Walking Every Day, Part 2
EPHESIANS • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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INTRO—
INTRO—
[[VID: “Previously on 24...”]]
[“Previously on IN CHRIST: Walking Every Day (Part 1)...”]
Big Picture Context Reminder
Ephesians 5:21 “submitting to one another in the fear of Christ.”
Walking Every Day — IN MARRIAGE
Wives / Husbands … Submission / Love
[[Living biblically…]]
((Walking Every Day…))
WITH FAMILY [Ephesians 6.1-4]
WITH FAMILY [Ephesians 6.1-4]
[[Primary scope here is Parents and Children; the extension to family is pretty logical; what if I’m not a parent, etc…that’s why I’d say again, ‘Keep tuned in,’ also…all of us are someone’s child, grandchild, cousin, etc.]]
CHILDREN [6.1-3]
Obey your parents—in the Lord [for the record, hupotosso IS different than hupakouo!!; Obey…honor (= ‘respect’) shows us a lifetime perspective—which, I admit, comes with challenges]
Exodus 20:12 “Honor your father and your mother so that you may have a long life in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.”
Obedience “in the Lord” // “as to the Lord.” [It’s not if they are Christians, but that as Christians, we do… . [A STRONG WORD ABOUT ABUSE HERE!!! UNDERSTAND THAT THIS PASSAGE WILL NEVER BE ACCEPTED AS ‘YOU MUST PUT UP WITH ABUSE.’]
PARENTS [6.4; Fathers]
Bring up your children—in the training & admonition of the Lord [Parents are not to be oppressive overlords (that was the general practice of the day ‘in Rome;’ the emphasis to parents—teach your children the way of wisdom…God’s way…(yes, authority is needed…again emphasis is placed on responsibility)]
Deuteronomy 6:4–7 “Listen, Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart. Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” [“The Shema;” Parents—love God ourselves and then intentionally pass that along to our children (families)]
Parents, provide your family (kids) with the safe space they need to grow up…with godly guidance all along the way.
((Walking Every Day…))
AT WORK [Ephesians 6.5-9]
AT WORK [Ephesians 6.5-9]
[[While the forms of slavery, bond-servitude varied—from conquered peoples (nations) to indentured servitude—and there certainly were injustices in the system…the parallels to a contemporary working environment are the best focus for us today regarding this passage; for the record…chattel, race-based slavery has always been and will be evil in the sight of God.]]
SLAVES/BOND SERVANTS [6.5-8]
Obey masters—as you would Christ [work the same way no matter who is/not watching; set the best example..for bosses AND co-workers]
Colossians 3:22 “Slaves, obey your human masters in everything. Don’t work only while being watched, as people-pleasers, but work wholeheartedly, fearing the Lord.” [Work wholeheartedly…pretty much sums it up]
[HERE, TOO, A WORD…THE COMMAND TO OBEY MASTERS IS NEVER TO BE SEEN AS REQUIRING ACCEPTING, TOLERATING, EXCUSING ABUSIVE, PREDATORY BOSSES; Difficult, arrogant, dismissive bosses are one thing…and should never be used as an excuse to not work wholeheartedly.]
MASTERS [6.9]
Treat slaves righteously—knowing God is the Master of us all [THE LORD is Lord of all; AND all have value to him]
Colossians 4:1 “Masters, deal with your slaves justly and fairly, since you know that you too have a Master in heaven.” [Bosses/Supervisors are to be people of justice…I mean, since God is just]
The warnings of temptations to ‘lord it over others’ as a boss or supervisor do not negate the acknowledgement that bosses/supervisors/owners (of the business) must hold workers accountable.
CONCL—
CONCL—
As we started this emphasis on “walking every day” in my previous message, I want to return to that introduction…
NCS chapel speaker, USAF retired, shared with us the three core values of the Air Force—the first of which was: integrity first (and also included: service before self; and excellence in all we do). He said that when he asked one of his senior officers, “Why integrity first?” The officer said, “Because anything built on a foundation which lacks integrity will fail.”
I still believe that statement to be especially true for us living the Christian life and maintaining our [[public,]] Christian witness to the world. [[A world of watching lost people all around us.]]
INVITATION:
Salvation
Family
Work
And masters, treat your slaves the same way, without threatening them, because you know that both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.