"Spring Cleaning Gungey Souls"
Eph.4:22-5:2
Spring Freshness and Neglected Nooks
Ah, spring - warm sunny breezes, the sweet scent of lilacs - time to open the windows and let some fresh air in! Let's see, now, where did we put those screens last fall? Oh, look at that, how dirty they are - all covered with dust. We'll have to take that outside and brush that off.
Another aspect of spring cleaning involves getting into those spots you don't normally clean. Usually under the fridge or underneath the kitchen stove are two of the gungiest parts in the house. Encrusted spills have turned a tough brown and resist removal. Delinquent dust-bunnies have grown to monster size and defend their selected sizeable turf. Spring cleaning is hard work, but satisfying because you know that all that crud which didn't belong has been taken away, now you can inhale the air from that window without worrying about that dust in the way.
Ephesians 4-5 suggests God's renewal of believers in Christ gives our sin-hardened souls a much-need "spring cleaning". The Bible offers us help through the Holy Spirit to be freshened and transformed so we come to resemble our Saviour more and more as the yeast pass.
Hardened Hearts, Calloused Consciences
The long section starting at 4:17 contains a whole catalogue of areas in which our lives need the Lord's regeneration, a spiritual "make-over". 4:17-19 describes briefly the lifestyle of the lost. The results of unbelief are captured in the typical lifestyle of the Gentiles (non-Jewish world) in Paul's day. Such people, he writes, are futile in their thinking, "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." They have "lost all sensitivity" (crucial point - we'll come back to that) and become slaves to sensuality. He says they "indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more". They are the worst form of consumer society, indulging and catering to their appetites of every kind, only to wake up the next day or next weekend and do it all over again. They're never truly satisfied. 4:22 refers to the "old self...being corrupted by its deceitful desires": the parties and pleasures are deceitful, they trick us, because the temptations never quite deliver what they promise. The real thing is never as much fun as it looked like on the commercial!
One indulgence leads to another, we get bored with what formerly gave us a high, and gradually we experiment with things that are further and further from God's will. We become less and less proud of our behaviour and resort to secret places, private hideaways; 5:11 calls sinful activities "the fruitless deeds of darkness". Eventually we've wandered so far we're afraid of someone we know finding out. Paul acknowledges in 5:12, "it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret."
A few years ago Focus on the Family produced a media awareness video to help parents know what their kids might be seeing and listening to. The video was a bit shocking because it contained actual scenes from current horror and other movies, along with actual lyrics from popular music. A real eye-opener because, as the apostle acknowledges, what's done by the disobedient seems shameful to those with an active conscience.
Discipleship: Deliberate Daily Deliveries to the Divine "Dump"
In 4:20 Paul changes direction and notes, "You, however, did not come to know Christ that way." The Greek verb behind "come to know" is the same root the gospels use to refer to "disciples"; we could re-phrase it, "That's not how you were discipled..." The verb means "to learn by use and practice, to be in the habit of". In this section, Paul's about to delve into what it means to be a disciple or follower of Jesus; and if our Lord's Great Commission is to "Make Disciples", if our congregation's Vision is "Making Disciples for Jesus - in our homes, our community, and our world," we'd do well to listen up! Discipleship is about much more than just coming to believe in Jesus Christ and receive Him as Saviour. Discipleship is a lifelong growth process by which we are trained in godly habits. Being a disciple, like playing a musical instrument well, takes constant practice, day by day, until we become accustomed to thinking and acting like Jesus, we resemble Him.
Paul uses teaching and learning terms in 4:21: "you heard of Him and were taught in Him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus." The "truth" here means more than optional information: truth in the sense of ultimate reality, Jesus is the core Fact of the universe, the "I AM" that bowls us over (Jn.18:6). We can spend the rest of our lives and on into eternity unpacking the richness of His truth, which is vital and livable. Unfortunately the NIV breaks the sentence here, but in the Greek it continues into vv.22-24: this "truth" has to do with "putting off" the "old self", being "made new in the attitude of your minds", and putting on the "new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness." The Lord's Pygmalion Project, making us over into the beautiful creature He'd intended us to be before we became depraved. Jesus is about helping people change for the better, not just saving them from their sins and giving them new birth but abandoning them in the cradle! God's growing us to be recognizable adopted brothers and sisters of His unique Son. It's not just a Sunday thing, but Monday-Saturday too, an endless sculpting and pruning and prompting of our decisions in the direction of righteousness and holiness, or as 5:9 describes it, "all goodness, righteousness, and truth" - what conforms to Christ's character.
"Put off" and "put on" is the same language we'd use to describe taking off shabby old clothes and dressing in a brand new seasonal outfit. It's a conscious act, in co-operation with God's leading. The imperative tense abounds in this passage, things we're to do; 4:31 says "get rid of all bitterness" etc.using a verb that means "to pick up and carry away, to make a clean sweep" -- just as we'd haul some old rubbish off to the dump. So Christian discipleship involves learning holy habits, deliberately and daily placing in the trash heap those former customs and quirks that get in the way of God's goodness shining through in our lives. This takes conscious effort because sin so easily besets our "natural" selves.
Concerning grumbling, Charles Spurgeon wrote, "When one's flesh and bones are full of aches and pains, it is as natural for us to murmur as for a horse to shake his head when the flies tease him...but nature should not be the rule with Christians, or what is their religion worth?" In other words, our faith frees us from the bondage of "doing what comes naturally" but is contrary to God's ways. Disciples are called to be different.
The "new self" is partly a one-time instantaneous new birth at the moment we believe, partly the assembly of constant choices made in obedience through our life. With the "new self" comes a new sensitivity: 4:19, the wicked have "lost all sensitivity"; in v.23 though believers are "made new in the attitude" or spirit or controlling influence of our minds. This disposes us to "find out what pleases the Lord" as 5:10 puts it, or in 5:17, "understand what the Lord's will is". A loving husband or wife may be hesitant to commit to something until they have checked with their "other half"; a committed Christian is constantly checking decisions with the Lord, prayerfully determining as best they can if such-and-such an action is what God wants.
So Paul urges the Ephesians in 5:18 to "be filled [literally, keep on being filled] with the Spirit", and in 4:30, "do not grieve [that is, sadden or cause sorrow for] the Holy Spirit of God" by which we are sealed, tagged as belonging to Him. The Spirit is given to us to be our Counselor or guide, helping us know moment by moment God's path through life, through the endless maze of decisions and choices that confront us each day.
There's an old saying, "Sow a thought, reap an action; sow an action, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a destiny." The cumulative effect of our decisions shapes our futures, through the good or bad habits we develop. Educator Horace Mann said, "Habits are like a cable. We weave a strand of it everyday and soon it cannot be broken." A teacher wanted to show her pupils the power of habits, and how they are formed through repeated acts or thoughts. Taking a roll of thread, she wrapped it one time around a student's wrists when placed together. She said, "That represents your doing something one time. Can you break the thread?" The student easily did so. Then she wrapped the thread around his wrists, 2,3,4,5 or more times. The effort to break the thread became more and more difficult until finally the child was unable to free his hands at all. The teacher said, "That is what happens when acts are repeated until they become habits." William James commented that by allowing separate acts to reoccur until they become habits "we are spinning our own fates, good or evil, and never to be undone...As we become permanent drunkards by so many separate drinks, so we become saints in the moral, and experts in the practical and scientific spheres, by so many separate acts and hours of work."
Discipleship is about continually finding out what pleases the Lord, each time we're about to wrap one more thread toward a habit. It requires an ongoing consciousness or awareness of Christ, in happy times and our hardships. Paul, whose sufferings listed in 2Cor.11(23-28) seem more than one person could survive, still writes here in 5:19-20, "Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything [did he really mean, EVERYTHING? how?] in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." That "in the name of" is significant: we bear Jesus' name as His ambassadors, His bond-servants, He identifies with us. In the midst of the suffering, in your attitude mentally re-locate yourself IN Christ, who dwells in our hearts through faith (Eph.3:17). You're not separated from God any longer, you're His dear child; let the pressure draw you closer to Him rather than coming between you.
What keeps the imperatives in this passage from becoming a tedious long list of "dos and don'ts"? Along with the command, God has already given us the capacity; He empowers us to carry out His directions. Note 5:1-2, "Be imitators of God, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us..." We're not the initiators, but the responders, God has "paid it forward" in Jesus' death on the cross so we know we are loved from square 1. His previous giving of Himself for us empowers us through His Spirit to love others as we have already been loved.
Deking the Devil in the Details
(name of section) For those who don't know what "deking" is, it's what happened when I was goalie in soccer at the church picnic and an opponent drew me out of the net then quickly snuck the ball around the other way and scored. He or she "deked the goalie". The rest of this passage suggests a variety of ways we can avoid the snares the Devil sets in order to trap would-be disciples in sinful habits. 4:27, "Do not give the devil a foothold" - we're not at Satan's mercy, as if we can use the excuse "the Devil made me do it"; Paul says, DON'T GIVE him a foothold. Don't allow the Enemy that place, that territory, that turf in your life. Don't let him hang those lustful pictures in the gallery of your mind; turn away. He'll just use those burned-in brain cell images to tempt you again and again. Our actions have spiritual consequences, they either give the Enemy an icy toe-hold or reclaim territory for the Holy Spirit to inhabit.
Generally, Paul's admonitions deal with 4 areas: our Talk, Temper, Talents, and Touch.
a. Talk
Our words are a fairly obvious reflection of who we are inside. Jesus said to His earthly opponents, "You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks." (Matthew 12:34) So Paul seems to pay most attention in this section not to what we'd consider "gross immorality" but to the way we talk. 4:25, we're to "speak truthfully" and "put off falsehood"; 4:29, "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit [edify, build up] those who listen." Want to be a real "hunk", not in the Charles Atlas sense but a HNK? Before you open your mouth, ask yourself, "Is it Helpful? Is it Necessary? Is it Kind?"
Dirty jokes apparently were a problem back then as now, but they just don't belong in the mouths of those who claim to be Christ's. 5:4 says, "Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving."
A little ditty confesses the unfortunate transmissibility of what's not fitting among saints:
"I lost a very little word
only the other day.
It was a very nasty word
I really had not meant to say;
But then, it was not really lost
as from my lips it flew,
My little brother picked it up
and now he says it too."
Much better for our conversation to be like 5:19, "Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs" - an overflow of our ongoing internal praise to the Lord. Keep humming our praise choruses, let the rich imagery of our classic hymns spill out to encourage someone you're talking to. Keep your internal CB set to God's channel, He'll give you things to say that build up others.
♢ Temper
Temper - now here's an area most of us could use some work on! If you're the flammable type, remember the gas can advice - vent BEFORE opening! Then there are those of us who are very controlled and don't rant but instead stuff the anger down inside to a long slow burn, charring our attitude and poisoning relationships with bitterness. How long is your fuse?
4:26, Paul counsels, "In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry..." The Bible recognizes there is such a thing as legitimate anger - 5:6, "God's wrath comes on those who are disobedient" - but we're to handle anger appropriately, not in a way that damages, and we're to deal with it before the day ends. Paul continues in 4:31-32, "Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." How can we hold a grudge against another person after all God has forgiven us? The word "compassionate" here means tender-hearted, literally good-bowelled, as in letting your "guts" be "wrenched" as we'd say these days. Not giving in to "compassion fatigue" but seeing the person in need through Jesus' eyes.
♢Talents
We each have 24 hours a day at our disposal. But some people put their time and effort into depriving others of hard-earned goods. This week's Blyth Citizen carried a letter from an area woman who reports her 13-year-old's son's dirt bike, valued at over $5,000, was stolen. Insurance doesn't cover the loss. To purchase the bike, her son cleaned chicken barns, picked stones, cut grass, raked leaves, and any other job someone would give to a child. The lady describes the thief as "obviously a very lazy person as they felt they did not deserve to work for something - rather the world owes it to them to have this bike for free." If caught, she suggests suitable punishment for the thief would be: "work in a chicken barn, pick stones, rake leaves, cut grass - for 40 hours a week for the next 25 weeks, rain or shine, and all the pay you earn would go towards replacing the stolen bike." Perhaps some justice in that!
In 4:28 Paul writes, "He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need." We're not to use our talents perniciously, but constructively. Note the work ethic here: the "doing something useful" is not just to support oneself, but in addition to "share with those in need" - to have a surplus, make a positive contribution to society. Similarly, in 5:3-5, Paul warns that greed is "improper for God's holy people"; a greedy person is an idolater, foregoing any inheritance in Christ's Kingdom. We're to use the things of this world without being engrossed in them, without worshipping them as all-important (1Cor.7:31).
♢Touch
And, as this passage began by describing the way of the lost as given over to sensuality, impurity, and lust, it guides believers in 5:3 that among us "there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality..." Think about the implications of that: it doesn't just mean that we guard ourselves from actually committing sexual sin; church folk need to take care not even to give the appearance that anything questionable might be going on. What does it take for a "hint"? Unfortunately, the criterion is whatever observers could imagine might be happening in a situation - and people usually jump to the worst possible conclusion! So we need good "hedges" to protect the reputation of Christ's church - perhaps even things like driving in separate vehicles to a meeting if it's a man and woman going who aren't married. As an ecclesiastical officer once put it, "The church must not only do right, it must be seen to do right."
Careful what we touch physically, we'll also be vigilant when it comes to touching strong drink. 5:18 commands, "Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery." Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, so believers will not intoxicate themselves or abuse drugs or other substances. "Instead, be filled with the Spirit": don't be under the influence of alcohol, but the Lord's influence.
The Holy Ghost Habit-Buster
The Lord's purpose in all this is not to spoil our fun, but lead us into enjoyment of healthy and holy pursuits. Through the Spirit's "spring cleaning", renewing our lives, Jesus is in the business of helping people change for the better, even where harmful habits have developed over the years. One woman, Beverly Bush Smith, was helped overcome her habit of grumbling. She was shocked when one day her husband finally spoke his mind. He said, "It's hard to come home from work and listen to you complain." "Me? Complain?" thought Beverly. She had never thought of herself as a complainer. But her husband continued: "I listen to you grumble that you were caught in traffic, or that your editor trashed the lead on which you worked so hard, or that my mother demanded your time, or that the washing machine overflowed." Beverly replied, "I thought I was just telling you about my day." He responded, "But it comes through in your tone of voice and body language."
For several weeks Beverly tried very hard to utter no grumbling sounds, but at length on a particularly bad day, the complaints poured out like a torrent. The next morning in her Bible study she looked up the word "murmuring" - which means to grumble. She read of how the Israelites had grumbled in their wanderings, and how it was displeasing to God. She read Philippians 2:14 which says, "Do all things without complaining and disputing." All things. Later Beverly wrote, "Now evening conversations with my husband are more pleasant. I hear a lot more about his concerns by encouraging him to tell me his feelings before I leap in with my problems. When I am tempted to launch into a monologue of the day's woes, I remind myself that I do not want to quench the Holy Spirit with my complaining. And I pray that God will help me reflect His love."
Yesterday, May 31, was officially "World No Tobacco Day" - which brings up another hard habit to kick. we're told that "secondhand smoke is the third leading cause of preventable death" - and firsthand smoke is an even bigger problem. But God's power can help us overcome habits that pollute His walking "temples". After Franklin Graham committed himself to Christ, he was surprised to find his taste for cigarettes was strong as ever. He determined to quit smoking, but three days later, he awoke, he recalls, with "an absolutely overwhelming - almost terrifying - desire for a cigarette. I wanted to smoke so badly that I couldn't think of anything else. It intensified with each passing minute. Throughout the day, the yearning for a cigarette grabbed me like the jaws of a junkyard dog."
He finally shared his struggle with his friend Roy Gustafson. "Roy, I quit smoking, but I don't think I can hold out. I just don't think I have the power to say no any longer." Looking up from a hamburger, Roy replied, "Oh, you don't, huh? Why don't you just get down on your knees and tell God He's a liar?" "What? I can't do that!" Roy quoted 1 Corinthians 10:13 to Franklin, which says, "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man.And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." Then Roy added, "You need to tell God He's a liar. You claimed that verse and it didn't work." Franklin said, "I'm not going to call God a liar.Besides, I haven't claimed that verse yet!" "You haven't?" said Roy, sounding shocked. "Why don't you, then?" Franklin did claim that verse. And it did work! Let's pray.