Iowa RP Family Camp 2019 - Talk 5

Welcome to God's Word for You, from the ministry of Sharon Arpey Church in Southeast Iowa. We want to thank you for listening today, and we pray that you'll be blessed by both hearing God's Word as well as having it applied to your life and your heart.

Alright, we are not going to make it through all of these verses today. We're going to shape this a little bit differently, but we'll still be handling the substance of change as The Apostle Paul has, throughout the course of Ephesians, nudged us closer and closer together, reminding us of the connectivity that we have in Christ, one to another, and how we're to function, and how that begins to change us.

And then, what he does, starting in Ephesians 4.25, is he starts to address specific sinful tendencies in the lives of believers. And so we're going to look at the end of chapter 4 here.

And that'll be the balance of our time together. Thank you for listening so well and responding so well. You've been very gracious, very kind to me in your comments. and things that you've said, except for Ben. He's not been nice at all, but I think we've come to expect that. We know how to pray for his wife and his kids. I think we're going to have a little testimony time here. But seriously, Ben, nobody appreciates you more than Kyle Borg does.

I know I only said that half as loud as he would have. Alright, before we get any more unsanctified, let's press on together in God's Word. I'll read verses 25 through the end of Chapter 4. Let's hear God's Word for us today. Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.

Be angry and do not sin. Do not let the sun go down on your anger. And give no opportunity to the devil. Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor. doing honest work with his own hands so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up. Maybe I should have read this first before I interacted with Ben this morning. Let me repeat that. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up as fits the occasion that it may give grace to those who hear. and do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God by whom you are sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

So we're wanting to take the structure and the schematic and the things that we've been looking at throughout this week and now begin to look at the substance of change. Charles Hodge says of this section that it will be noted that in almost every case there is first a negative, then a positive statement of the duty, and then a motive. We're dealing with the aorist, the imperative, and the indicative. This should be an exciting text for us as believers. Because what this text lays before us is that we really can change. We really can be different. because of Christ and His Spirit and the work that they do in our lives. So I'll deal in a three-fold way, three things in each of these.

Paul's presumption, Paul's imperative, and then Paul's rationalization as he walks through each of these. And as we look at this first one, therefore having put away falsehood, Let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.

Paul's presumption is that the false life is behind us. That's his presumption here. Having put away falsehood. Paul has defined truth and true life for us over the course of Ephesians. That the gospel, Jesus and his redemptive work, that these are the substance of reality. This is true truth, as Francis Schaeffer used to make reference to. And Paul presumes that we are living in that truth, walking in that truth.

We see throughout the Old Testament, Exodus 20, 16, you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. We are to be truthful people. Leviticus 19, you shall not steal nor deal falsely nor lie to one another. Zechariah 8, these are the things that you shall do. Speak the truth to one another Render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace. Do not devise evil in your hearts against one another and love no false oath. For all these things I hate, declares the Lord."

There's numerous aspects there in Zechariah of what it means to have the false life be put behind you, to have it be put off, to use Paul's phraseology. So that's Paul's presumption, is that the false life is behind us. And now we are living and walking in the truth. So then Paul's imperative here is to speak the truth. Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor. Matthew Poole in his commentary, and if you're not familiar with Matthew Henry is Matthew Henry. So in that era of the church, Poole was the guy that people would generally go to for faithful summaries of what the text is saying. And Dr. Poole says to not only speak as things are, but to act sincerely and candidly.

This is not just about words. If you've spent any amount of time in a marriage, you know that communication is so much more than words. One of us in our marriage has very strong non-verbals, and I keep talking to her about that. And she keeps not talking to me about them, but sending very clear messages, right? I mean, all of the halo data around us, the aura that we carry, we can very easily be like that little child who's told to sit in his chair and stay. And he says, I'm sitting down on the outside, but I'm standing up on the inside.

We can tell. when we are, all of our senses, all of our nonverbal communication is flowing with what our words say. So can you run to the store? I'd be happy to. Sure, yeah, I'll run to the store for you. It doesn't really sound really positive, really excited to do that.

So this isn't just about words. This is about our entire demeanor toward one another. as believers. It has to do with how we speak, but it also then has to do with the root of our speech, which is our thought life. The life of the mind, as we read in Philippians 4.

Final Point

Finally, brothers, whatever things are true, whatever things are honest, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue, if there is any praise, think on these things. And so it starts with what we dwell on in regards to one another. So young people, if you always think of your brother as my annoying brother, what do you think your words are going to reflect when you speak to him, when you speak about him to other people? So it's about the communication given, but it's also about the things that we receive as well, how we hear, how we listen to one another, how we take in what the other is communicating. We're reminded in Romans 14, therefore let us pursue the things which produce peace and the things that build up one another. We're to seek after ways of communicating, both giving and receiving in communication that builds one another up.

This is exactly Paul's point here in Ephesians. Why? Because we are a body. For we are members one of another. We are not just body parts, we are parts of a body and we must interact with one another honestly and truthfully. That's his rationalization. We are interconnected body parts. And so we need to communicate in such a way so that we are cooperating. In such a way so that we are living in true community.

Paul breaks this out, the consideration we're to have for one another in Philippians 2. Verses 1-11, If there is any encouragement in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any compassion and mercy, then fulfill my joy and be like-minded, having the same love, being in unity with one mind.

Let nothing be done out of strife or conceit, but in humility. Let each esteem the other better than himself. Let each of you look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Let this mind be in you all, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but He emptied Himself, taking upon Himself the form of a servant who was made in the likeness of men, and being found in the form of a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death, even death on a cross.

Therefore God highly exalted Him and gave Him the name which is above every name, that the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord of the glory. of God the Father. We are being Christ-like when we show this humility toward one another, looking out not only for our own interests, but also the interests of others.

If one part of your body says, well that's that body's part's problem. You have a body that is not functioning correctly. and you would go to your doctor and find out what is wrong. But how often do we just simply not care in an apathetic way or even proactively disdain other parts of the body?

And they can do what they want. What we're literally thinking is they can go to hell. I don't care. They are not of my concern. And brothers and sisters, you're part of a body. If that body part can go to hell, guess where you might end up? Because we're connected in Christ. We're to speak to build each other up. Paul has an interesting note in 1 Corinthians 10. He says, all things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful for me, but not all things edify. Let no one seek his own, but each one the other's well-being.

Eat whatever is sold in the meat market, asking no question for the sake of conscience. For the earth is the Lord's and everything in it. If any of those who do not believe invite you to a feast and you desire to go, eat whatever is set before you, asking no question for the sake of conscience. But if anyone says to you, this was offered in sacrifice to idols, Do not eat it for the sake of him that mentioned it, and for the sake of conscience.

For the earth is the Lord's and everything in it. Conscience, I say, not your own, but that of the other. For why is my liberty judged by another man's conscience? If I partake with thankfulness, why am I slandered concerning that for which I give thanks? Therefore, whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God.

We hear that verse used a lot, but we don't use it in connection to our interaction with others and how we communicate. And I love this passage, being a Reformed pastor, because I tend to meet guys who are young and passionate and wanting to reform, and they are dragging their wives and kids from one doctrine to the next, from one conviction to the next, and they're hanging on for dear life, trying to figure out what in the world is going on, and why are we in this church now and that church then, and what is going on. And I tell them, it's okay to stop asking questions. It's okay to let your conscience and the conscience of your wife and children rest for a little bit.

But it's always on to the next. I need all the information. I need all the information. I need every little thing. And really what it is, it's salvation by Calvinism is what it is. It's works righteousness is what it is. I can be reformed enough that God has to accept me. And Paul's word for that is Scebalo. You can look that up. Might or might not be connected to a bull.

Give no offense, neither to Jews nor to Gentiles, nor to the church of God, just as I try to please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of many that they may be saved. So Paul's even saying it's not just the church, it's even the non-believers, either the religious non-believers, the Jews, or the pagan non-believers, the Gentiles, How we interact with them, how we communicate with them should be honest and forthright, but there is a buffer zone that's allowed to be had so that we're able to function with other people. So, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Paul goes on, be angry and do not sin. Do not let the sun go down on your anger and give no opportunity to the devil.

Paul's presumption here is that there will be friction in life. It's not a matter of if. It's a matter of when. Be angry and do not sin. There will come moments in life when we respond with our emotions. Now, our emotions are to be reactions to reality. not the definers of reality for us. Here, being angered, being made angry, however you want to look at it. They make me angry.

You're choosing to respond. It's an opportunity to respond in a godly way to a sinful situation or a difficult reality. Matthew 5, But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, Rachah, shall be in danger of the Sanhedrin. But whoever says, You fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. Intentionally, actually insulting someone with no moral basis for calling them a fool. What is a fool? A fool is one who ignores God's Word.

There are appropriate times to use that phraseology, but not just because we're angry with someone. In Matthew 18, you have the master who is angry and delivers his servant over to the jailers until he pays all of his debt. That anger was in response to misunderstanding grace. Jesus responded emotionally. Mark 1 41, then Jesus moved with compassion, extended his hand and touched him and said to him, I will be clean.

Be angry and do not sin. Psalm 4 gives us the wise counsel to spend time alone to cool our jets, not to rush into conflicted conversations and adversarial interactions. Commune with your own heart on your bed and be still. Tremble in awe and do not sin, Psalm 4 tells us.

Be still and know that I am God. Romans 12 commands us to give place to God's wrath in situations. How do we give place to Him? How do we give Him opportunity to work? We chillax. We rest. We wait. Psalm 37 tells us to let go of anger and forsake wrath. Do not fret. it surely leads to evil deeds. That worry, that anxiety, that stress that we impose on ourselves.

We know in Scripture that the Lord experiences righteous anger. The Lord was angered against Moses when he didn't want to go back to Egypt in Exodus 4. At the second giving of the commands on stone, doesn't let himself be controlled by anger. It says, "...the Lord passed by before him and proclaimed, The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in goodness and truth." There were times when The fire of the Lord and His anger destroyed portions of the people of God. Numbers 11. In Psalm 6, we cry out to God to not discipline us in His anger. O Lord, do not rebuke me in Your anger, nor discipline me in the heat of Your anger. We may experience righteous anger, and we can read that in Scripture.

But brothers and sisters, we need to remember our frame, our weaknesses. We tend in our self-deception to presume every anger we experience is a righteous anger. I have the right to be angry about this, because this is a really big deal. Remember, the heart is more deceitful than all things, and desperately wicked. Who can understand it? John Calvin, who thought a couple things about a couple things, had this to say, There are three faults by which we offend God in being angry.

The first is when our anger arises from slight causes, and often from no cause whatever. or at least from private injuries or offenses, meaning they didn't mean to hurt us and offend us. We just take it on as that. The second is when we go beyond the proper bounds and are hurried into intemperate excesses. I'm sure none of you have ever experienced intemperate excesses in your lives.

The third is when our anger, which ought to have been directed against ourselves or against sins, is turned against our brethren. Most appropriately, therefore, did Paul, when he wished to describe the proper limitation of anger, employ the well-known passage, Be ye angry and sin not. We comply with this injunction if the objects of our anger are sought not in others but in ourselves. if we pour out our indignation against our own faults. With respect to others, we ought to be angry not at their persons, but at their faults. Nor ought we to be excited to anger by private offenses, but by zeal for the glory of the Lord.

Lastly, our anger, after a reasonable time, ought to be allowed to subside without mixing itself with the violence of carnal passions. Paul's presumption is that there will be friction. Opportunities in which we will be tempted to respond in angry ways.

But he gives this first prescription here against that. Don't sin in that moment. Paul's imperative is to act now. Don't let the sun go down. Don't hold on to anger and coddle it, feed it, grow it, justify it, allowing it to become the pet that soon has you in its cage. Because that's what happens with anger. The first prescription is don't sin. The second prescription is if you do get angry, don't stay angry for long. And some see the next section of this verse as a separate command. I don't. I think it's Paul's rationalization. Paul's rationalization is because if we don't act, the devil will. The devil will use that opportunity.

Be angry and do not sin. Do not let the sun go down on your anger and give no opportunity to the devil. When you are angry, and even sinfully so, and do not deal with the situation that is in front of you, the devil will work in that moment, in that reality. So don't stay angry for long.

We see, even amongst the apostles, as Judas, as Scripture says, Satan entered into him. And we see the seething, simmering frustration of Judas. Remember when the woman came with the alabaster flask of perfume and breaks it open, and Judas, that could have been sold to help the poor. I know none of you have people like that in your congregations, who are always offended at how money is being spent. No matter what's going on, because there's always something better that could have happened with the money. Judas was frustrated.

And it shows his heart. Notice, he wanted it to come through his purse strings, right? He was the treasurer. I'm not going to draw some analogy of how the apostle that betrayed Jesus was the treasurer. Peter says to Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart When Ananias and Sapphira come and they're deceptive about a financial matter, Satan was deceiving them. It filled their heart to deceive the Holy Spirit.

Do not give a place. That's a tapas. It's a spot, a geographical region. Make no room for the devil. Romans 12, we're reminded, repay no one evil for evil. Commend what is honest in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as it depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to God's wrath.

For it is written, vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. Therefore, if your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him a drink. For in doing so, you will heap coals of fire on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Vengeance is mine. I will repay." I grew up with a number of Gloria-isms that my mom would give us when I'd be frustrated about something. One of the phrases she would say is, Joel, remember, God keeps the books. God keeps the books. He knows what they're doing. He knows why they're doing it. He knows what they're trying to do to you or to us in doing such a thing. God keeps the books. And He will make all the wrongs right someday.

Calvin again said, we feel every day how impossible or at least how difficult it is to cure long-continued hatred. What is the cause of this but that instead of resisting the devil, we yield up to him the possession of our heart? Before the poison of hatred has found its way into the heart, anger must be thoroughly dislodged."

Again, what are we doing? We respond properly in our emotions to situations. We do not let our emotions define reality for us. This makes me feel mad, therefore this must be a situation worth being mad about. Not necessarily the case. Do not be governed by how you feel about situations. Be governed by the truth. be regulated by the truth.

Paul goes on, let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor doing honest work with his own hands so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. So you can probably read that then and find Paul's presumption, imperative and Paul's rationale. Paul's presumption is this, kleptomaniac Christians, that there were those who were stealing rather than working honestly.

Brian Chappell, former president of Covenant Theological Seminary, now pastors in Peoria, not too far away, We find it shocking that those in the church would be stealing in the present tense and need the instruction to stop, stop it. Commentators usually remark that the theft was so common in the ancient world that Christians of that day, unlike today, needed such instruction. Of course, such comments fail to recognize how common stealing is in our day among Christians. Unauthorized software usage, file-shared music, and pirated videos are only the tip of the iceberg of a culture whose retail prices can be afflated by a third due to shoplifting, whose employers budget for employee theft, where corporate scandals are so regular as to bore us, and where the government taxes us on the assumption that we will hide resources. Christians are not immune to all this.

We too can lie to landlords, or employers to avoid financial responsibilities. When we feel that we have been taken advantage of, it is easy to rationalize doing personal work on company time. Yet, however soft we may be on our own sin, Paul reminds us that we dishonor the Savior whenever we steal by taking pay for time that we did not spend doing what our employers were compensating us to do.

Which is the eighth commandment? The eighth commandment is, thou shalt not steal. Now part of the putting off and putting on can be helped by reviewing particularly the larger catechism on the Ten Commandments. Think, well what am I to put off and what am I to put on? There are the positive duties required of each command.

And remember, the law has a place in the life of the believer. The law sends us to Jesus to be saved, to be justified. And then Jesus sends us to the law to be sanctified. What does it look like to be conformed to the character of Christ? To be conformed to His image? We begin to live in all God's ways. How are those presented to us? That moral law is summarized for us in the Ten Commands. So we don't obey to be saved. We obey because we are already saved. We've been released from our Egypt of sin. And so now we are free to live holy lives.

What are the marks of holiness? It's God's law. What are the duties required in the 8th commandment? The duties required in the 8th commandment are truth, faithfulness and justice in contracts and commerce between man and man, rendering to everyone his due, restitution of goods unlawfully detained from the right owners thereof, giving and lending freely according to our abilities, and the necessities of others, moderation of our judgments, wills, and affections concerning worldly goods, a provident care and study to get, keep, use, and dispose of those things which are necessary and convenient for the sustenance of our nature and suitable to our condition, a lawful calling and diligence in it, frugality..."

There's the RP one. That's the only word in the RP edition of the Eighth Commandment. Frugality. We can do that. Right? Unnecessary lawsuits and suretieship, or other like engagements, and an endeavor by all just and lawful means to procure, preserve, and further the wealth and outward estate of others as well as our own." Young people, when you reach that point in life when you're able to be gainfully employed, but you're like, you know, if I just hang out in my mom and dad's house a little bit longer, I can, you know, they'll feed me and they might even take me shopping once in a while for clothes, and I don't really have to do that much. You're breaking the 8th commandment. You're stealing. Stop it. Get a job. Work hard at it. Be a contributing member of your family, if not society. Just because you're not taking out of the till at work, doesn't mean you're not stealing.

You've got to understand all the ways that the Lord views these things. What are the sins forbidden in the 8th Commandment? The sins forbidden in the 8th Commandment, besides the neglect of the duties required, are theft, robbery, man stealing, and receiving anything that is stolen, fraudulent dealing, false weights and measures, removing landmarks, injustice and unfaithfulness in contracts between man and man or in manners of trust, oppression, extortion, usury, bribery, vexatious lawsuits, unjust enclosures and depopulations, engrossing commodities to enhance the price, unlawful callings, and all other unjust or sinful ways taking or withholding from our neighbor what belongs to him, or of enriching ourselves, covetous, inordinate, prizing, and affecting worldly goods, distrustful, and distracting cares and studies, and getting, keeping, and using them, envying at the prosperity of others, as likewise idleness, prodigality, wasteful gaming, and all other ways by which we do unduly prejudice our own outward estate, and defrauding ourselves of the due use and comfort of that estate which God has given us."

So when you're out working on the fence row, and you're tempted to just move that fence a few more inches, the larger catechism dealt with that. When somebody gives you something and you think, oh wow, where did you get this? I was able to take it from work. I don't want to hold on to it, I don't want my boss to see it with me, so you have it. There's so many ways. that our hearts can distract and fool ourselves. Paul says, let the thief no longer steal. What's the answer to that? What's his imperative?

Work. Work with your own hands. Do what you are skilled to do. Trades education in the United States is getting ready to explode. Training people to work with their own hands because people have forgotten how to do it. And companies need people who know how to do it. And you can make a great living doing that. Work things that are good. Good callings, the larger catechism references. Things that are helpful to society and the church. Not scandalous. God-honoring. You know, we can easily have a laissez-faire attitude when people are talking about legalizing things like prostitution. And there are some countries where there are impoverished women who the government denies benefits because prostitution is legal. And you could go do that, but you refuse to. You could work, but you won't. So we're not going to help you.

Calling is not just ministry. We do the church a huge disservice when any young man comes along showing spiritual interest and we think, you've got to go to seminary. You should be a minister. You like the Bible. There's a whole lot more that goes into ministry than liking the Bible and enjoying theology.

And we end up with men and callings to ministry that are frustrated because they are wired for something different than that. And perhaps then there are men who might be called to the ministry, but because they don't look, sound, feel in a certain way, we think, no, it's not for you. And they end up frustrated in their calling. There are callings to what we would call secular work as well.

I have friends that are doing work that they are obviously called to do that work. I say they have the Midas touch. Everything they touch turns into something successful because they are wired to be doing that work. God has made them and called them to fund the church, to make a good living. And young people, there is nothing wrong with making lots of money.

Enjoy it and give lots of it to the church and enjoy what God has created you to do. You do not have to be in ministry or married to someone in ministry to be a successful Christian. Be successful at what you are wired and called to do. But stay faithful to Christ and His church in doing it. What's Paul's rationalization here? Lest you think Pastor Joel was just fundraising for the church.

So you can give to others. Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need." Now, that doesn't say everyone in need. You can't address all of the financial concerns in the world around you. Christ Himself said, the poor will always be with us. That's an offensive phrase in this generation, because we think we can fix it so that nobody's poor. Usually in trying to fix it so that nobody's poor, we make it so everybody's poor. but we should work so that we have enough to share with those who have need.

So we can show that hospitality and that care and that concern for others. And guess what? The church has needs. We don't just have pastors to fund, we have missionaries to fund. And I'm thankful for our system in our church of fully funded missions.

If the Allens start to think today, we might be called to go to South Sudan. And everybody confirms that tomorrow. Well, the next day is the Lord's Day, so they'd have to wait. But Monday, they could leave. Why? Because we don't believe in parading our missionaries around like a dog and pony show to raise money. We raise the money so that we can send them to be our ambassadors and Christ's ambassadors to other parts of the globe. And if you pay attention to your synod reports, which I know you all do. I know you all read the docket and digest and the minutes as they come out. You're so excited by these things. Great reading cures insomnia on a regular basis.

The number of fields that our little tiny Reformed Presbyterian Church are being called to interact with are growing at a great rate. It is mind-boggling that this little group of psalm singers is being asked to, in certain ways, be cutting edge in some of the ministry that we're doing around the world. So young people, if you feel called to ministry, pursue it with all your heart. You don't have to be called to ministry to be a successful Christian. Do what God has called you to do. and catch a vision for the gospel at work around the world.

So I would make the point here that we find balance in the law, in the Ten Commands. We find out how do we put off, how do we put on. And this one of theft is just such an example. Alright, 29 and 30. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

This text cuts a little deeper than we might initially think that it does, because it gets at the heart of who we are but also the how and why we operate in our communication, our conversation with one another. It shows that the fulfillment of the law really does center on our interpersonal reactions and interactions with one another. In Galatians 5, Paul says, you brothers have been called to liberty, only do not use liberty to give an opportunity to the flesh. but by love serve one another. For the entire law is fulfilled in one word. Even in this you shall love your neighbor as yourself.

But if you bite and devour one another, take heed that you are not consumed by one another. And how is it that we bite and devour one another? Is it not with the words that we speak? And not just what we say, but how and when we say it. The Holy Spirit is at work in us. The Holy Spirit is at work as we have seen to renew the imago Dei, the image of God, in one another. That we acquire true knowledge, righteousness, and holiness. And Paul here applies this to our mouths. Paul's presumption here is that we have powerful mouths. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths. Filthy talk. Unwholesome talk.

Proverbs 18.21 says, Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit. A few chapters before that in Proverbs 15-4 we read, A wholesome tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it crushes the spirit. Where the Apostle Peter quotes Psalm 34 in his first letter in 1 Peter 3-10 where he says, For he who would love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil. and his lips from speaking deceit." The ongoing biblical connection to the heart and the mouth is undeniable.

Even here we recognize that this isn't just about not swearing or not telling dirty jokes. But here, as Gordon Clark references in his commentary, here of course, Logos could refer to a single curse word, but on a more important level, it includes sentences and communications in general. Why? Well, we see this in Paul's imperative.

We're to give encouraging grace to one another. that which is good for the building up. Only such as is good for building up as fits the occasion that it may give grace to those who hear. The New American Standard Bible says it this way, Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment. so that it will give grace to those who hear. So how do we give encouraging grace to those who hear us?

Well first, we don't say what is blatantly harmful. We just don't say it. When the mother is on the verge of tears because her child has been acting up in the worship service all morning, being a distraction to the whole congregation, you don't walk up to her after worship and say, you know, you really need to work with your kids on how to sit still in a worship service. How stupid do you think she is that she doesn't know that already? A corollary, when your pastor's just preached a horrible sermon, nobody is more aware of that than he is. Nobody. You don't need to say it. We don't say that which is just blatantly harmful.

Secondly, we do say what is good and needed. We do say what is good and needed. But thirdly, and this is hard for those of us with anxious mouths that like to talk, We don't say those good and needed things whenever. Fourthly, we do say those good and needed things when they will have the greatest impact. And then lastly, we do say those good and needed things, then taking into account the timing, setting, the state of the person to whom we are speaking, and consideration of those also listening around us, etc., etc., etc. As believers, we don't get to just say whatever we want, whenever we want, to whomever we want. No, we must say only those things that have the potential to build up at a time and in a way that can deliver the most grace to those who hear us.

Why? What is Paul's rationalization? The person and work of the Holy Spirit. That's why. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. We already referenced 1 Corinthians 3 this week. Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and you are His temple.

So generally, due to the person of the Holy Spirit, we can be reminded that all we do as believers, every single thing that we do is done coram Deo, in the face of God. Because God is present in each of us. That which we do or say against a fellow believer is doubly so. Because not only is God's Holy Spirit in us, God's Holy Spirit is also in them. The work of the Holy Spirit challenges us not only that, but also how the Holy Spirit is at work in us. The Spirit is constantly working to build us up in Christ.

To make us more like Him. To apply His person and His work to our lives. At our conversion, He has taken up residence in us. He is laboring, conforming our hearts and minds. to that of Jesus Christ. He is our counselor. He works to bring information, counsel, pertinent reproof, or the like to mind as we go throughout our day.

So what does it do when we, having the Holy Spirit do that for us, approach a brother or sister in Christ who's having the Holy Spirit do that for them? and we speak that which can tear down and destroy. Our motivation here, brothers and sisters, is the Spirit at work in me and the Spirit at work in you.

Let's hit 31 and 32 quickly and then we will be done. Paul seems to just create a basket here and start throwing dirty laundry in it. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving one another as God and Christ forgave you.

This seems to be a catch all, but once again, Paul pinpoints our hearts in how we live as Christians, especially in relationship to one another in times of potential or even outright conflict. Remember, he's given us the foundation for change. He's given us the structure for change. We know how God is working at changing us. And how do we see that here in these two verses?

Well, in verse 31, we're reminded that sin flows from the inside out. From the inside out. Bitterness. Bitterness resides deep in the heart. We see in Numbers 5, a bitter water given to suspects of adultery. In Exodus 15, the people couldn't drink of the waters of Merah, for they were bitter. And that's the whole reason the place is named that. It's named Bitter.

When bitterness is the root, wrath or rage takes over the mind, which is the seat of the emotions. Anger then is the emotion itself, the passion, as it manifests the wrath rooted in the bitterness. As that wrath has taken over the heart and mind after bitterness has corroded away any thought of the graces of God in one's life. So we have bitterness, then wrath, then anger, then clamor, or outbursts as some translations say.

This isn't quite what we might think in the English typical usage. This isn't simply emotional explosions. This points more to almost a droning way of life, that clamoring, that communication that is constant, sometimes exuberant, this constant overflow of the heart.

It's used to describe demonic utterance as Jesus casts out demons in Mark 5 and 9. It's used to describe the cry of those desiring healing. It's even used of the Lord Himself calling out Lazarus and His cry out on the cross as He yielded up His spirit. The Scripture uses the Greek term here to describe our prayer life, which should be constant. It's used to describe the worship of the heavenly angels in the presence of God, as in Isaiah 6, which most definitely is constant. So this clamor is a great use here, a great translation.

When we think of someone who clamors for attention, We might draw a picture in our minds of the frenzy of activity. Of even being quiet and withdrawn and seemingly disturbed when it works to their advantage. Bursting forth if need be in the spotlight. At the center of attention. Whatever they need to do to have all eyes on them. That's what's happening here. The bitterness of the heart. The wrath that has filled the mind. with strategic means, the anger that bubbles forth and finds sunlight in the clamoring for conflict.

I'm just going to pick a fight wherever I go. Clamor and slander, the literal word here is blasphemies. We can blaspheme more than God. This moves beyond the strife of clamor and outbursts into the realm of harm, we become willing to say wrong things, or even write things at the wrong time to the wrong people, all in order to hurt.

Well, if people knew this, they would feel the way I do. That I'm justified in my bitterness, and my wrath, and my anger, and my clamor. And then they do this with all malice along with any other kind of toxic heart condition that manifests itself in disordered passions and ongoing conflict and hurtfulness. Paul in this phrase takes what he spells out about bitterness to blasphemies and applies it to all other disordered heart conditions that leads to the same end.

Needlessly wounding our brothers and sisters in Christ. Sin flows from the inside out. But, verse 32, so does sanctification. Verse 32 takes us from the outside and works our way back in. Verse 31 starts in the heart and comes out. Verse 32 starts on the out and goes in. showing the difference that's made in a sanctified life.

Be kind to one another. That means exactly how it's translated. Being good, kind, benevolent. This is how we are to act. This is how we are to respond toward one another. I've sat with many, many families on many, many occasions and heard many, many stories about the life of their parent or spouse that is about to or just has passed on to glory. I've heard good, bad, horrific, even humorous stories. But the one descriptor that always stands out, and this is one even that would apply to our dear brother John Wilkie, who just recently went to be with the Lord, is when one person can say of another They were kind. They were kind. Where does kindness come from but having a tender heart towards others? This tender heartedness stands in contrast to the callousness of verse 19.

Being callous, they have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice. of every kind of impurity with greediness. Remember, those who have allowed the scuffs of life to build up calluses to the point that they no longer feel the pain of others or pretend to no longer feel the pain of others, the frustration of others, even the joys of others.

How does that happen? How can you go through life and retain that baby-like skin of love and care in your heart and mind? You do it by the next step. by forgiving one another. But Pastor Joel, you don't understand what they've done. You don't understand how it's hurt. You don't understand how long it's gone on, how long this has dominated my life. You don't know the pain, the stress, the discomfort, the alienation, The isolation I felt because of what they've done.

Pastor Joel, could you forgive that? Could you allow yourself to stay soft and forgive in light of this? Friend, be joyful that I am not the standard. It's a good thing that the standard for forgiveness and walking in newness of life with one another isn't Joel Wood. And it isn't your elders or deacons. It isn't even the most upright and pious among us. Praise God that the standard for our life together is none other than how our Heavenly Father has treated us in Christ Jesus.

Charles Hodge said, this is the motive which should make us forgive others. God's forgiveness towards us is free. It precedes even our repentance and is the cause of it It is exercised despite the number and enormity of our sins and the long period of time we have sinned our sins. He forgives us far more than we can ever be called on to forgive others. We're called to forgive others just as God and Christ also forgave us.

This is the change that makes living in kindness toward one another possible. When the tree of Calvary is applied to the embittered waters of our hearts, it is healed and out pours fresh, sweet water, ready to live in sweet peacefulness with our Heavenly Father and to refresh our brothers and sisters in Christ. Hodge said, out of Christ, out of Christ, he is in virtue of his holiness and justice a consuming fire. But in him, in Christ, God is long-suffering, abundant in mercy, and ready to forgive. And brothers and sisters, so should we. We should forgive one another.

Our time is up, but I hope that you've seen that real change is possible. When you understand it in light of all that Christ has done, all the Holy Spirit has done, what God is doing for us and in us and through us by connecting us to the body of Christ. When we get down to the real situations of life and we begin applying those things, real change, it isn't just possible, it's probable. As you begin to see rightly your life and the life of others around you, you will change. You will be conformed to Christ's image.

Closing Prayer

Let's pray. Father, thank You for the time together in Your Word this week, time to rebuild old friendships and establish new ones. Lord, I praise you for the saints here in the Midwest Presbytery. I thank you for the ways that they have loved and cared for me and my family over the years and even over this week. Lord, I pray that you would bless them immensely as they labor in what at times can seem like barren fields.

Lord, I pray that you would add to their number, that you would strengthen them, Lord, that You would establish Your church in this region in a way that is undeniable to those who are watching. Lord, I pray that we would understand rightly You and all that You have done for us in Christ and all that You do through Your Holy Spirit to apply that person and work of Your Son to us. And Lord, that we would understand our place in the body of Christ and how that directs how we act morally and see that real moral change is possible. And Lord, that indeed it is probable as we are aligned with you and your gospel.

Lord, bless your saints, I pray in Christ's name. Amen. Amen. Thank you for listening to God's Word for You, a ministry of Sharon R.P. Church in Morning Sun, Iowa. We pray that you would be blessed as you grow in your love for God, your love for His Word, as well as your love for His people. Until next week, God bless you.