The 10^th Sunday after Trinity

SERMON

INI

Text: Ephesians 4:17-24

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, 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; who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.

Recently I was reading an article in World magazine, a newsmagazine written from a Christian perspective. The article sought to explain the troubling tendency of institutions and organizations, such as the church, to drift from orthodoxy (correct teaching) to heterodoxy (false teaching), from faithfulness to unfaithfulness, and from discipline to permissiveness. The author, Joel Belz, quoted the following assessment of American Christians as a way of explaining this drift: “We erect all manner of idols (work, family, diversion, avocations, the pursuit of wealth and success) which we regard as harmless, since they are the hall marks of our American society and culture…. While professing faith in Christ, (we) seek fulfillment in the world. In short: We are an undisciplined, world-enamored, pathetic people who know next to nothing about loving the Lord our God with all our hearts, souls, mind, and strength.” Whoa…those are strong words! Yet, were the author to stand here before us at this moment, what evidence might we offer to prove that those words are not true concerning us? More importantly, were we to stand before God at this very moment, would He find these words to be true in our lives, or not?

My dear friends, our Savior has called upon us, as the thematic verse of our service today suggests, “to walk worthy of the calling with which (we have been) called” (Ephesians 4:1). In view of the sacrifice Jesus made on our behalf, the apostle Paul reminds us that it is our “reasonable service” to present our bodies as “living sacrifices, holy, (and) acceptable to God” (cf. Romans 12:1). Consequently, may we continue to reexamine our faithfulness to God, for as Paul explains in our text, THE CHRISTIAN LIFE IS ONE OF ONGOING SPIRITUAL RENEWAL!

I.

To foster such ongoing spiritual renewal the apostle urges us to put off the old man and all its corruption! Paul writes, “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, 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; who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts.”

Notice, first of all, how Paul’s entire encouragement involves our relationship with Jesus Christ. He begins by saying that his testimony is being made in connection with the will of the Lord Jesus for our lives. He then reminds us of the teachings of our Lord Jesus and assures us that we have heard nothing but truth from His lips, which means that we can follow Him without hesitation and with full confidence. He after all is our Savior—the one whom Paul has earlier said has saved us by God’s grace through faith in accordance with the eternal plan of our heavenly Father.

Notice, secondly, that Paul tells us we “no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles (or unbelievers in our world) walk.” Jesus has rescued us from Satan and the slavery of sin. He does not want us to return to Satan’s control and place his chains of bondage on once again. When writing to the Romans Paul put it a little differently when he said, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (12:2).

While the unbelieving world around us is in constant rebellion against God in virtually every aspect of life here in this world, Paul focuses his warning to us on two aspects of that rebellion—one is an intellectual rebellion against God—rebellion of the mind, while the other is moral rebellion against God—rebellion of the heart. Paul speaks of the unbelievers walking “in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, (and) being alienated from the life of God” because of ignorance and blindness. That is intellectual rebellion. Sinful mankind does not want to submit to the word of God revealed in the Bible. He never has and he never will. To do so would place man squarely under God’s authority, but since the fall into sin mankind has wanted to be his own little "god" dreaming he has full control over his life and destiny. Consequently, he reviles the Bible as being a book filled with errors and dangerous ideas and suggests that anyone who accepts the Bible as God’s word is a fanatic.

While we certainly expect to find such rebellion in the secular world, it might come as a surprise to know that such rebellion is now fully entrenched within the external Christian church. One of our members was relating to me earlier this year an experience of one of his nieces on the campus of St. Olaf College in Northfield. His relative was in class and her professor suggested to the class that there were only two reasons why anyone would still accept the Bible as the inspired word of God and accept its literal truth. Those reasons he claimed were ignorance or stubbornness. May I suggest two alternate and much better reasons—humility and faithfulness. When God speaks, we are wise if we listen and do so with humility, recognizing that He does possess all authority as our Creator God. At the same time He deserves our love, trust, and respect in view of the redemption He has worked out for our souls. Consequently, it is only proper that we remain faithful to Him, as He has always been faithful to us.

Paul addresses the whole concept of the moral rebellion man by stating that many “have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.” It does not take long does it to find evidence of this very thing when one sits down with a remote control in front of your television. There is very little on television these days, which is not lewd and immoral. Homosexuality is presented as perfectly normal and acceptable. Happily married couples, who are committed to each other for life, are the rare exception within the media today. The latest census figures reveal that there has been an explosion of couples simply living together without marriage. Pornography is rampant on the Internet and in bookstores of all kinds. Our society has literally given itself over to unbiblical sensuality and this at great cost to our society as we see both homes and individuals fractured by the consequences of sin.

The question we want to ask ourselves is, are we living our lives in such a way that we are flirting with such rebellion. What types of books are we reading? What kinds of movies to you attend or permit to be viewed in your home? What types of websites are you visiting in the privacy of your homes? Do they nurture your faith, or will they lead you down the paths of the unbelieving world? Should you foolish assume that you can become involves with such flirtation, because you are strong, give heed to the Scripture’s warning, “Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12). Dear friends THE CHRISTIAN LIFE IS ONE OF ONGOING SPIRITUAL RENEWAL! The apostle Paul urges us to put off the old man and all its corruptions!

II.

He urges us, as well, to put on the new man created in righteousness and holiness! Paul goes on to write, “be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.”

Earlier is his epistle Paul had outlined for the Ephesians God’s eternal plan for mankind’s salvation. He spoke to them of the fact that God in eternity had predestined them, even as He has us, in connection with Jesus Christ and His work of redemption, to become His children and heirs of eternal life. He pointed out to them even as he does to us that by nature we were dead in sin, but have been made alive through the working of the Holy Spirit in our hearts by means of the gospel. He declared that we were God’s workmanship, created in connection with Jesus Christ to do great things for God and for our fellow men. He spoke of how God has united all believers into one body with one head, Jesus Christ, and that we are all called upon to use our special gifts and abilities to build each other up in the faith.

It is within this context then that Paul urges us to be “renewed in the spirit of (our) minds and…put on the new man.” That new man is the life we know in Jesus by faith. It is the life that God’s Holy Spirit has created in our hearts, for as the Scriptures testify, “No one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:3). Consequently, this new man is a very special life—a life to be prized and to be nurtured, for it connects us directly to our Savior and assures us that God will keep all of His promises to us.

How are we to be “renewed in the spirit of (our) minds”? How do we “put on the new man”? That is done my dear friends in only one way—through the Spirit’s power as He works through the means of grace—the gospel in word and in sacrament. God has promised to work in our hearts, as we remained connected to His word and His sacraments. “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17) the Scriptures testify. Jesus promises that as we abide in His word, we will know the truth and that truth will make us free (cf. John 8:31-32). Jesus urges to us to “make disciples of all nations” by baptizing them and instructing them in everything Jesus has commanded (cf. Matthew 28:19-20). He urges us to come regularly to receive His supper in remembrance of Him (cf. 1 Corinthians 11:24-25). It is in these ways that the Spirit works repentance and faith within our hearts, giving us new hearts and spirits so that we desire to live in accordance with God’s will and follow His guidance.

Our God urges us to be good examples in our earthly lives—to be a salt and a light in this world. May I suggest in closing this service that we all follow the example of our late, dear friend—Carl Doering. Carl was in church regularly even when getting here became troublesome. Carl’s Bible and prayer book were literally in pieces when I visited his home recently, and when I was privileged to spend a night together with Carl in the Storm home some years ago, I could hear him praying his evening prayers out loud in the room next to mine. Day by day Carl was renewed in the true righteousness of His blessed Savior Jesus. He possessed a holiness, which only Jesus could give him, and which will stand before God on the last day. He humbled himself before God and has now received the blessing of such faithfulness—a crown of life (cf. Revelation 2:10). Dear friends, THE CHRISTIAN LIFE IS ONE OF ONGOING SPIRITUAL RENEWAL! Let us not live our lives in rebellion. Let us not become weak by living on a steady died of this world’s wickedness. Rather, may we put on the new man and experience such renewal every day of our lives! Amen.

—Pastor Paul D. Nolting