Time for an Upgrade
Ephesians 4:25-28
Technology changes a lot over time. When I was a kid, we played music from cassette tapes, watched movies from VHS cassettes, played games on Atari and Nintendo NES, had cell phones in cars with 5-ft. antennas outside, and did our computing with DOS and Windows 3.1. Twenty-five years later, we no longer use these technologies. They’re out of place, out of touch, and incompatible with the way we live right now. That’s why we all make changes, though sometimes reluctantly. No matter how long we hold out to save money, we eventually have to buy a new cell phone and upgrade our version of Windows.
We must upgrade our way of living as believers.
As believers who’ve been joined to God and placed into his family, we also need to upgrade the way we’re living, and this of course is far more important than any technology upgrade that comes our way. Making this upgrade isn’t a matter of convenience or being efficient. It’s a necessity because the way we used to live is not only out of date, it’s corrupt and out of place, completely incompatible with our new identity as God’s children.
Yet, how are we doing? Are we still trying to go about our lives following our old corrupt programming and sinful desires, living as though we’re children of the devil and of this world? Or are we taking serious measures to upgrade our mindset and lifestyle, choices and desires, to be compatible with being children and saints of God?
As believers and saints, children of God and followers of Christ, we need to embrace an upgraded version of life, and not just for our own sake, but for the good of our church, the world, and the glory of God. This upgrade is not something we do through our willpower and determination alone. We must do it in full dependence on the grace of God and with divine empowerment from the Holy Spirit.
We must also be clear in our minds about what this upgrade entails. What does it look like? What does it require? What does it mean to live as children of God, with our hands, our head, and our heart? To get a clear picture of what this upgrade entails, let’s take a close look at Eph 4:25-32. We’ll discover that this updated way of living includes three critical updates. We’ll call them the (1) honesty update, (2) the good anger update, (3) and the hard work update. Let’s take a look at what these updates mean for our lives.
We need an honesty update.
As we take off the “old self” and put on the “new self,” we’re aiming to live like Jesus, in a holy and righteous way (Eph 4:20-24), leaving behind the various versions of immoral and greedy lifestyles we lived before Christ saved us. This is our calling of which we must walk worthy (Eph 4:1).
This in mind, Paul told the believers at Ephesus some details about what this new godly lifestyle includes. First, he said, “Therefore, putting away lying, let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor, for we are members of one another.” In these words, we see the old way of living, the new way of living, and a reason why we should embrace the new way.
In our old way of living, we told lies, gave false impressions, and deceived people into believing false things. This habit describes all of us before Christ. Yet now that we’re children of God, we must make a conscious choice to put an end to this terrible habit of dishonesty and deception. We must take it off as though it were a dirty outfit that is so soiled that it doesn’t need to be laundered; it needs to be thrown away.
According to various studies reported in 2017, 90% of children have learned the concept of lying by age four, and approximately 60% of adults lie at least once in every 10-min. conversation. This matches what King David said, in the Psalms, “The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies” (Psa 58:3). According to this research, most people lie an average of 4 times each day, so that’s a total of 122 lies per week and 1,460 per year. The top two reasons for lying are (a) improving how people view us and (b) getting out of trouble.
Sadly, but unsurprisingly, this is the normal way of life for nonbelievers, of whom Jesus himself said, “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it” (John 8:44). As children of God, we’re followers of Jesus who not only speaks the truth always but is the source and epitome of truth (Eph 4:20).
But there’s a new way for us to live as God’s children. To explain this new way, Paul shows that though it’s a new way of living for us, it’s not a new idea in history – it’s a timeless truth. He said, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” which is a quotation from the Old Testament (OT) book of Zechariah (Zech 8:16). This prophet taught the Israelite people who’d returned to resettle Jerusalem after 70 yrs. of captivity in Babylon due to their sins. This occurred at the end of the OT, 400 yrs. before Christ came into the world. He taught them to speak the truth to one another, from one neighbor and household to the next, as they settled back into the promised land.
We’re not just a group, we’re a body.
Paul makes a similar point here for why we should speak the truth to each other as Christians. Not only are we neighbors in a social, national, and community sense, but we’re even more closely and intimately connected as a church. We’re not just a collection of people in a larger group, we’re a collection of important parts on the same body so to speak. (“We are members of one another.”)
Why is this a crucial point? Imagine with me that your body parts failed to communicate properly – your brain sending mixed signals to various parts of your body, your senses withholding important information from your brain, and your nervous system behaving erratically. In the world of physical health, these kinds of problems classify as nervous disorders like seizures, neuropathy, arthritis, Alzheimer’s, and more. Disorders like these make it very difficult to function in life. The same is true for the church, the body of Christ.
If we view ourselves only as individuals who are members of a larger organization, we can easily rationalize our absence from gatherings and our withholding of information by assuming that the rest of the group will be able to do fine without us. But we’re not just interchangeable parts, individuals in a group with insignificant roles to play. We’re vital members of the same body. When we don’t speak honestly with one another (or actively participate), we contribute to various spiritual and functional disorder in the church. That’s why we need to be honest with each other. We need to be “on the same page.” We need to be in sync.
As members of Faith Baptist and followers of Christ, let’s upgrade our lifestyle to match our status as children of God and to get in better sync with each other. Let’s swap lying for honesty. Let’s not deceive each other, because we’re working closely together in the family of God.
We need a “good anger” update.
The next update we need to embrace concerns our anger. Paul says, “’Be angry, and do not sin’”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil.’” In these instructions, we see (1) what to do, (2) how not to do it, (3) a time limit, and (4) a warning.
What should we do? Be angry. Does this sound odd to you? If it does, you should know that Paul is actually quoting from Psalms again, in a place where David shared perspective on how to feel and respond to opposition and dishonesty of wicked men.
In Psa 4:2 David said, “How long, O you sons of men, will you turn my glory to shame? How long will you love worthlessness and seek falsehood?” Then in Psa 4:4 he said, “Be angry, and do not sin. Meditate within your heart on your bed and be still.” Like David, we should definitely be angry at wickedness. Our heavenly Father hates wickedness and so should we. I like Fords and Hondas, but I don’t like Chevys, so you won’t be surprised that my sons feel the same way. In a much more serious way, we should hate wickedness and injustice like our heavenly Father does since we’re his children.
How should we not do this? Though we should be angry – even furious and irate – at wickedness, we should never let our anger cause us to sin. In other words, we should never respond to sin with sin. As we’ve watched our nation respond to the brutal, unjust treatment of George Floyd in Minneapolis over the past two weeks, we’ve witnessed a perfect example of what Paul is teaching us. For instance, it is entirely appropriate for us to be outraged over the death of George Floyd. It is also appropriate to express that outrage in a measured, self-controlled way that is concerned for justice.
Yet how have many nonbelievers (and perhaps even believers) responded? They have allowed their anger to spill over into sinful actions of their own, going beyond peaceful protests to engaging in vandalism, theft, and physical violence. We can expect this kind of behavior from nonbelievers who may even feel justified in their violent response. Yet as children of God, we need to learn how to be angry without sinning.
How long should we be angry? This is another important qualification for our anger as Christians. Though it is right to be angry against wickedness, we should ensure that our anger is short-lived. James says, “Do not let the sun go down on your wrath” (Eph 4:26). We shouldn’t interpret this in a wooden, literal way as though we should always release our anger before the sun sets each day, or before midnight, etc. After all, we might get angry in the morning, afternoon, or evening. And what happens if an injustice occurs just before sunset? Must resolve our anger in seconds?
Paul is using an illustration from the natural world to teach that just as the solar system provides us with 24-hour cycles with a beginning and end, we should bring an end to our anger as well. It should run its course (the shorter the better) and then go away. It is un-Christlike and unhealthy to allow our anger to wear on forever. That’s why Paul gives us an important warning.
What important warning does Paul give about anger? If we let our anger cause us to sin or if we let our anger linger too long, then we “give place to the devil” (Eph 4:26). This means that we give him a foothold in our lives, a special opportunity to leverage our lives for his evil and destructive influences. When our anger results in sinful behavior or prolonged anger, we reflect our old, devilish nature and not the nature of our heavenly Father. We should be angry with injustice, but we should also let our anger go before it takes a nasty, devilish turn. As God’s children, we know that our heavenly Father is sovereign and just and that he will make all things right. For that reason, we can let go of our anger and trust him with our future.
We need a “hard work” update.
About this new way of living as God’s children, Paul says, “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” (Eph 4:28). This instruction, of course, repeats what Moses wrote in the Ten Commandments, “You shall not steal” (Exo 20:15), and it also offers the proper alternative, that we should work hard instead.
Regarding stealing, you might say, “Pastor, I’ve done some bad things in life, but I haven’t really stolen anything.” Well, we’re probably safe to assume that this isn’t true for all of us. However, there’s a variety of ways to steal, robbing other people of what is rightfully theirs and taking it for ourselves. Beyond the stereotypical forms of theft, such as break-ins, smash-and-grabs, pickpocketing, and ID theft, other forms of stealing include:
- Refusing to report your income to evade paying taxes
- Filing for bankruptcy when your debt is the result of wasteful, irresponsible spending
- Reneging on a debt
- Exaggerating your work hours so you get paid for more time than you actually worked
- Using work time as personal time, even though you’re getting paid
- Keeping the change when a cashier gives you too much back at the bank or store
- Taking work supplies home for personal use without your employer’s permission
- Reporting personal expenses as business expenses
- As an employer, refusing to pay your employees a fair wage
- Choosing not to leave a tip (or leaving a pathetic tip) for a waiter or other service worker who should rightfully receive one
- I could even add refusing to contribute to your church’s financial needs when it’s in your ability to do so
More examples of stealing may also be offered. We may even have other examples in our minds right now. As we can see, stealing occurs in a variety of ways and is the result of our fallen, sinful natures. Without a godly perspective of life, we naturally look for ways to avoid paying our fair share, working hard, and meeting the needs of others. Instead, we want to accumulate as much as we can for ourselves by whatever means necessary, but without any work. Yet the child of God needs to update this behavior to reflect the hardworking, generous nature of their heavenly Father.
The word labor here refers to hard labor and painstaking toil and is related to our English word copious, which means to produce a lot of something, as in writing “copious notes,” meaning taking lots of detailed notes, or storing “copious supplies.” It describes someone who grows, harvests, and stores up an abundant supply of food for the winter. The assumption here is that the abundant notes or stockpile of supplies are the result of diligent effort and lots of hard, laborious work.
Well, if you’ve been around for any length of time, then you know that the people of this world are all about getting something for nothing. Free money, free handouts by any means possible, and not just because they need it. And let’s be honest, we know the feeling, don’t we? We’re born with the same fallen nature and made of the same stuff. After all, it takes just as much effort to teach young children to work hard as it does to teach them to tell the truth! That’s because our old, selfish, sinful nature is dishonest, deceptive, and lazy.
We must embrace a diligent, dedicated work ethic.
Yet as children of God, we must embrace the fact that a diligent, dedicated work ethic is supposed to be a defining quality of God’s children. In fact, this is not an isolated tip from Paul tucked away in this letter to the Ephesians. This was a major teaching point in both of his letters to the believers in another city called Thessalonica. Evidently, that church had some members who refused to work and gave pseudo-spiritual reasons to excuse their laziness.
In his letters to the Thessalonian believers, Paul had this to say. “Aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you” (1 Thess 4:11). Then in a second letter he said, “We hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are busybodies. Now those who are such we command and exhort through our Lord Jesus Christ that they work in quietness and eat their own bread” (2 Thess 3:11-12).
Hard work with good returns is rarely easy and doesn’t always bring good returns either! It’s often unfair, repetitive, physically uncomfortable or painful, and uninspiring, too (though not always). Yet this has been the case since Adam sinned (Gen 3:17-19). Despite all these factors, God has made us in his image and is restoring that image in his born-again children.
This divine image in all of us includes the capacity and ability to work and achieve hard things. When we work hard, we glorify God. That may be what Paul is getting at when he says, “Working with his hands what is good.” He may also be emphasizing the importance of doing good work as opposed to bad or dishonest work. As Paul mentioned before, nonbelievers often work in inappropriate, ungodly ways, doing things for money in the name of “work” and engaging in industries that earn their profits from immoral activity and for covetous, greedy motives.
Hard work increases our ability to meet others’ needs.
When we work hard doing good things, something else happens besides glorifying God and earning an honest living. We also increase our capacity to help those in need. Paul describes this motive as “that he may have something to give him who has need” (Eph 4:28). This word “have something to give” means “to share,” or to transfer part of what you have to someone else who is in need (and who is not being lazy or is not living or spending wastefully what they already have).
Do you have this mindset? Do you work extra hard during the week at whatever job the Lord has provided, no matter how uninspiring it may be? And do you put in that work for more reasons that just meeting your needs and the needs of your family? And even more, do you work hard so that you will be able to meet the needs of others, too? We shouldn’t rely on the generosity of a few. We should do what we can to all contribute to the needs of others, esp. within our church, so that we all learn the joy and blessing of giving.
This is what the “hard work” update makes possible. When we embrace what it means to be a child of God, we will do all that we can not only to work hard to earn a living but to work even harder so that we may be able to give generously, too. This approach reflects the hardworking, generous nature of God and so it should be reflected in the lives of his children, too.
What kind of lifestyle are you wearing today?
Have you updated your wardrobe to reflect what it means to be a child of God and a member of Christ’s family? Perhaps you’ve heard the motto, “You are what you wear.” Let me phrase it the other way around, “You should wear what you are.” And that’s what Paul is teaching in this letter to the Ephesian Christians – and us.
John Stott, a thoughtful British preacher who died in 2011, had this to say about Paul’s teaching in Eph 4 of “taking off” our old, unchristian behavior and “putting on” a new Christian lifestyle:
“The kind of clothing we wear depends on the kind of role we are fulfilling. For example, when we go to a wedding, we wear one kind of clothing; when we go to a funeral, we wear another. I realize of course that some young people in the West wear blue jeans at all times. Nevertheless, the custom of adapting our dress to suit the occasion still stands as a general principle. Many people’s dress is also determined by their job. Soldiers and sailors wear different uniforms. Lawyers have special clothing, at least when they appear in court. So do some clergy. So do prisoners and convicts. But when we change our role, we change our dress. When prisoners are released from custody and become free people again (putting off one role and assuming another), they change what they are wearing (putting off prison garb and putting on ordinary clothes). Similarly, when a soldier leaves the army and becomes a civilian, he gets out of uniform into [“regular clothes”]. Just so, since by a new creation we have put off the old humanity and put on the new, we must also put away the old standards and adopt new ones. Our new role will mean new clothing, our new life a new ethical lifestyle.”[1]
As believers, I urge us to adopt this mentality. We must all embrace our new identity, not just as individual Christians, but as a community of believers, a family of brothers and sisters, a fellowship of saints, and the members of one body who each play a vital, intimate part in the church where God has placed us.
Can you envision with me a church in Queens who truly functions like a body, whose members all rise to this challenge together like a mountain climber who scales Mt. Everest? To accomplish this feat, she needs more than her feet, doesn’t he? She needs every body part to cooperate. Every muscle, every ligament, every bone, both feet, both hands, both lungs, both eyes, and every part, zone, and function of her brain but work at max performance and health, with sharpness and skill.
For us, the challenge before us isn’t Mount Everest – it’s growing our church and reaching our community with the gospel for the glory of God. It’s “loving God and making disciples.” To do this, we need to embrace the upgraded lifestyle Paul teaches us here in these verses, committing ourselves to honesty (not lying), good anger (not sinful anger), and hard work (not laziness and covetousness). Are you as a member up to this challenge in the week ahead? Let’s pray to that end and make the necessary choices in full reliance upon the grace of God.
[1] John R. W. Stott, God’s New Society: The Message of Ephesians, The Bible Speaks Today (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1979), 183.
