The Walk of a true Christian
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Gty.org 49-24 and 49-25 (Ephesians 4:25-32)
Gty.org 49-24 and 49-25 (Ephesians 4:25-32)
Be Sure of your salvation
To live in the starkness of the imminence of death changes everything
— You would not want to be not sure of where you were heading
— The church is made up of wheat and tares
— And in the day of judgment the Lord will say depart from me you workers of inequity
— There are people who will be in the judgment moment thinking that they are heading to heaven when in fact they are heading to hell
Anyone who is a believer has faced a doubt. How can I be sure that I’m really a christian?
— Two things to consider SECURITY and ASSURANCE
Security
— Is salvation forever? Yes, it is eternal
— You don’t get it, loose it, and then get it back
— Peter writes to believers who are scattered and it is a hard time; they want to know of the security of their salvation
“ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” ( 1 Pet 1:3 )
— God in His great mercy caused us to be born again
— You don’t see any part of us in our being born again
— And He regenerated us to a living hope which is attached to the resurrection of Christ; we live as He lives
— Peter is talking about the eternality of our salvation, because our salvation is in Christ, Christ lives forever, therefore we live forever and therefore we have a living hope
— Peter expands on this in the next verse, v. 4
“to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you” ( 1 Pet 1:4 )
— Based the regenerating work of God out of His great mercy, we have been given a hope that lives because Christ lives, and when that hope is realized we will receive an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, unfading reserved in heaven for you and for no one else — that is the security of our salvation
“who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” ( 1 Pet 1:5 )
— The full revelation of our final salvation and the receiving of that glorious heavenly inheritance is for us and no one else and we are protected by God for that final revelation
— Peter is affirming the security of salvation; you will one day be in glory ( 1 Pet 1:8 ) and you will obtain as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls
— Security is objective; it is based on scripture and scripture says you have it forever
Assurance
Assurance is subjective
— In assurance you know that you posses that salvation
— Paul says examine yourself to be sure you are in the faith
— Where do we go for the confidence that our salvation is the real thing
“as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” ( 2 Pet 1:3-4 )
— All that awaits us in eternal glory is promised in the gospel
— We have life in God and we have escaped the corruption that is in the world
“But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love” ( 1 Pet 1:5-7 )
— You are secure by the promises of God
— you are secure by the power of God; you have escaped the corruption that is in the world
— But you must add to that reality these qualities
— self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness,
— 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love
Why? verse 8
“For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” ( 2 Pet 1:8 )
— If these things are characteristic of you life, you possess the true knowledge of Christ
— Your salvation is the real thing, on the other hand (v.9)
“For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins” ( 2 Pet 1:9 )
— You can be a real believer and forget that you truly are a real believer
— You can lose your assurance
“Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble;” ( 2 Pet 1:10 )
— Practice what things? The things on the list
— Where you have virtue in your life, you have assurance
— If you want to make your choosing sure, be diligent that these things are characteristic of your life
How do you know you are saved? Not by a past event or prayer, but by looking at your life
Assurance can be hard
— We can lose assurance
— Assurance can be hard to experience and hard to hold on to!
— Why is it hard to have assurance? Some reasons
Convicting Preaching — you sit under the word of God, it is sharper than any two edged sword, it reveals your heart. If you are sitting in a church that deals with the Word of God superficially, you probably will not be convicted.
Guilt and a high understanding of holiness — When you have vivid memories of your sinfulness and you have a clear view of God’s holiness, you can struggle
Misunderstanding of the gospel — some think that the gospel is God’s plan to save you and then you do your part to keep yourself saved
Not accepting full and complete forgiveness — Some say that when you are saved God forgives all your sins of your past ( that’s true); but not the present and the future (that’s not true)
No memory of the time of your true salvation — Some cannot remember the time of their salvation. This is true for most people; you’ve probably prayed to be saved a thousand times. Salvation is God’s work on His schedule not ours
Strong impulses of the flesh — you keep going back to the same old sins. Have you noticed? You don’t come up with a new sin. They are ingrained in you. You have sins that you prefer. You have past carnal fulfillment in those sins.
A failure to see God’s goodness in your trials — You find out that you have cancer and you ask, Why is God doing this to me? Or a child denies the faith, or you have girl that you want to marry and she shuns you. Or, you had career plans that don’t work out. If God is my father and is supposed to bless me, we ask why is this happening to me. Rom 8:28 God orders all things to work out for good for those that are called. We fail to see God’s providence
Sin and disobedience — if there is in your life the appearance of sin and disobedience on a regular basis, you will forfeit your assurance. If you are walking in disobedience, the HS will withdraw that assurance. if you are not walking in the Spirit you will not experience love, joy and peace
Evidence
— The only accurate evidence that you are true believer is righteousness and godliness of life
— Not as a perfection but a direction of your life
But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus ( Eph 2:4-7 )
— This is a description of our salvation and our security
— God out of His mercy and love
— We have been raised up with Christ and seated with him — a place in heaven, which is what Peter meant when he said we have an inheritance
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.” ( Eph 2:7-8 )
— God predetermined our justification
“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. “ ( Eph 2:9 )
— As surely as He predetermined your justification, He also predetermined your sanctification
— God prepared before hand your good works
— Our lives are dramatically changed, He transforms us
“This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind,” ( Eph 4:17 )
— Paul and the Lord agree
— We are to no longer walk as the unsaved. How did they walk?
“having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; 19 who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.” ( Eph 4:18-19 )
— Their minds are darkened
— Their hearts are darkened, calloused, hard hearted
— They have given themselves over to every kind of lust, they walk like pagans
— This is a description of the unbeliever, look at the unrestrained world we live in today. We wonder how people can live in such sin? The last part of v. 19 provides the answer, they pursue sin with greediness, they never have enough. Their appetite is unsatiable
— We may sin, but we are greedy to sin, or lusting to sin. We don’t have this lusting to go from one sin to another — how do we know? verse 20
“But you have not so learned Christ” ( Eph 4:20 )
“But you did not learn Christ in this way” (NASB)
Truly Converted
—You don’t live like that, you don’t function like that
— You can fall into sin and forfeit your assurance, but if you are true believer those are the exceptions to your righteousness
— And you don’t pursue sensuality and every wicked thing with intense greed; you didn’t learn Christ in that way
“ if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.” ( Eph 2:21-24 )
— This is what 2:10 says, God has ordained that we walk in good works
— God has created us in righteousness and holiness; we are dramatically different
“ If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” ( Col 3:1-2 )
— This is exactly what Peter said ( 2 Pet 1:3-4 ), add to your faith moral excellence which is virtue
“For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.” ( Col 3:3-4 )
— You have died and hidden in Christ, you are a new creature
— When Christ comes in glory you will be there — that is security!
“Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, 7 in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them. 8 But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, 10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, .” ( Col 3:5-10 )
— You have been transformed and you see the reality of that in your virtue even when it falls short
Walk worthy of this calling
“I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called” ( Eph 4:1 )
— Walk worthy of your calling
“This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind” ( Eph 4:17 )
— Don’t walk like you used to, like the gentiles
“2 And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.” ( Eph 5:2 )
— Walk in love as Christ loved you
“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light” ( Eph 5:8 )
“See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise” ( Eph 5:15 )
— Walk wisely
— This is a call for obedience, this the definition of the christian life — it is a walk
— We live the christian life one step at a time
This is what Paul says in Ephesians 4
— Since you have laid aside your old self ( 22 )
— Since you are being renewed in the spirit of your mind ( 23 )
— Since you put on the new self that is already created in righteousness and holiness and bears the likeness of God ( 24 )
— Therefore, this is how you live ( 25 ff)
“that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. 25 Therefore, putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another. 26 “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, 27 nor give place to the devil. 28 Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. 29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. 32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” ( Eph 4:22-32 )
— This the key
— It doesn’t say that if you do these things God in Christ will forgive you
— It says, you do these things because God in Christ has FORGIVEN you
— You don’t earn your salvation but this is how it is manifest
True Salvation makes a dramatic change
— There is a complete change in our nature, salvation makes a dramatic change in our nature
— If you have truly learned Christ ( 4:20 ) and truly taught by Him ( 4:21 ) that is the Gospel, if you have truly embraced the truth that is in Jesus, than you do not function in your old manner of life, you have a new self ( 4:24 )
Conversion
— You no longer live in an unbroken pattern of sin ( 1 Jn 3:9 )
— Still broken by sin because we are not yet perfect, but the power of sin is broken and you are a slave of righteousness
— Righteousness, holiness and truth mark the believer
— Our transformation has consequence ( therefore )
— therefore … walk worthy of the calling with which you were called ( 4: 1 )
— therefore . . . that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk ( 4: 17 )
— Therefore . . .putting away lying ( 4:25 )
— As a consequence we are remade internally by God by the Holy Spirit so that we have been recreated in righteousness and holiness
“For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.” ( Eph 5:5 )
— If those things are part of your life, wrath will come upon you
“(for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth)” ( Eph 5:9 )
— If the gospel light has shined upon you, you are marked by goodness, righteousness and truth
Stark Transformation
“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light” ( Eph 5:8 )
— You were dead and now you are light
— That is stark transformation; this is the work of salvation
— Salvation redefines are heart, our mind and conversation
— new affections
— new motivations
— our speech changes
— the focus of our life moves from worship of self to the true God
An Exchange takes place: Telling the truth
— You exchange lying for the truth ( 4:25 )
— You exchange unrighteous anger for righteous anger ( 4:26 )
— You exchange stealing for sharing ( 4:28 )
— You exchange unwholesome vulgar language for edifying works ( 4:29 )
— If you are a believer it shows up how you walk, you walk differently
Our Default Position
— As children we naturally lie, we try to deceive our parents
— Small children will scream and shot if you take their toy away
— This is our default position when we enter the world, to lie and be angry
— This is consistent with what Jesus said about Satan, He is a liar and a murderer ( Jn 8:44 ); and murder is the end result of anger and hate
— We enter the world as little liars and little haters, and discipline is drive those qualities out of children, to make us tell the truth and have affection and love towards others
— That is why verse 27 says “and do not give the devil and opportunity” you are playing into his hands if you lie and are angry
Another Exchange takes place: Be angry but do not sin
“Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath”
( 4:26 )
— Borrowed from Psalm 4:4
— There is a category of anger that is not sinful
— Ex 32:19-29 is an example of God’s righteous wrath ( cf. Ps 69:9; Jn 2:13-17)
— Jesus was angry ( Mk 3:1-5 )
—Righteous anger is that anger against evil or against the glory of God; always in the cause of someone else
— God is angry with the wicked all the time ( Ps 7:11 )
We are to be slow in anger like Him, but our anger should be tempered with mercy
— God is angry with sin with slow to anger
“The Lord is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.” ( Ps 103:8 )
“He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor punished us according to our iniquities.” ( Ps 103:10 )
“For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;” ( Ps 103:11 )
— God is angry with the wicked every day, but God has compassion that is infinite
— How can we tap into that compassion and forgiveness? By fearing Him, believing in Him, trusting in Him, and committing our lives to Him, and that is the message of the gospel. The anger will still be punished but it will not be punished in the person who was angry but it will be and has been punished at the cross
— If you are angry, all of your anger was laid on Christ and punished at the cross
— Since God has mercy in His anger, even His righteous anger has mercy on those who fear Him
— We are instructed to be slow to anger and should be tempered with mercy and lovingkindness
— You are never more like God when you forgive your enemies
— The transformation means we have shifted in being angry in a righteous way that gives more mercy and grace to those who deserve judgment