Be Distinctive! Ephesians 4:17-5:2 Adapted from a Jim Black sermon http://www.sermoncentral.com/print_friendly.asp?ContributorID=&SermonID=55632

2. Ephesians 4:17 NET So I say this, and
insist in the Lord, that you no longer live as
the Gentiles do, in the futility of their
thinking. 18 They are darkened in their
understanding, being alienated from the life
of God because of the ignorance that is in
them due to the hardness of their hearts.

3. 19 Because they are callous, they have
given themselves over to indecency for the
practice of every kind of impurity with
greediness. 20 But you did not learn about
Christ like this, 21 if indeed you heard about
him and were taught in him, just as the truth
is in Jesus.

4. 22 You were taught with reference to your
former way of life to lay aside the old man
who is being corrupted in accordance with
deceitful desires, 23 to be renewed in the
spirit of your mind, 24 and to put on the new
man who has been created in God's image
— in righteousness and holiness that
comes from truth.

5. 25 Therefore, having laid aside falsehood,
each one of you speak the truth with his
neighbor, (Zec 8:16) for we are members of
one another. 26 Be angry and do not sin;
(Psalm 4:4) do not let the sun go down on the
cause of your anger. 27 Do not give the
devil an opportunity.

6. 28 The one who steals must steal no
longer; rather he must labor, doing good
with his own hands, so that he may have
something to share with the one who has
need. 29 You must let no unwholesome
word come out of your mouth, but only what
is beneficial for the building up of the one in
need, that it may give grace to those who
hear. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of
God, by whom you were sealed for the day
of redemption.

7. 31 You must put away every kind of
bitterness, anger, wrath, quarreling, and
evil, slanderous talk. 32 Instead, be kind to
one another, compassionate, forgiving one
another, just as God in Christ also forgave
you. 5:1 Therefore, be imitators of God as
dearly loved children 2 and live in love, just
as Christ also loved us and gave himself for
us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God.

8. Christians are to live worthily of the calling
by being different from the world around us.
Paul‟s challenge calls Christians to holy
living in their minds, speech and attitudes.

9. What is it about American society in general
that has led to the creation of certain sub-
cultures; certain „counter-cultures‟ through
the years? In the 1920‟s there were the
flappers whose outrageous dress and
provocative dancing embarrassed the older
generations.

10. In the 1950‟s there were the greasers who
sought to be different by rocking to Elvis
Presley, riding loud Harley Davidsons,
slicking their longer than normal hair back
with some sort of oil and generally
frightening any man with a daughter old
enough to go out on dates!

11. In the 1960‟s there were the „flower children‟
who sought to be different by sticking
flowers in their hair, tie-dying their brightly
colored t-shirts, sowing American flags to
the seats of their faded blue jeans, listening
to the Beatles, growing their hair even
longer and promoting „love‟ not war.

12. The 1970‟s saw counter-cultural
movements such as disco; the 1980‟s-
break dancing; the 1990‟s gangsta rap, and
on and on and on.
What‟s so interesting about each of those
movements within our popular culture is
that in their beginnings they were extremely
counter-cultural, yet when we look back
over those periods of time, they sometimes
define the culture.

13. Its hard to sustain a purely counter-cultural
movement, because just as soon as it
reaches a certain popularity, it has become
so cultural that it is no longer „different‟ or
counter cultural. Are you with me?
Well, I say all of that to ask this: What has
become the norm in our culture and where
do we as Christians fit in? Are we „cultural‟
or „counter-cultural?‟

14. This is what Paul is interested in, in the text
this morning. We‟ve been looking at Paul‟s
letter to the Ephesians. Last week he turned
from discussing a theology of the church to
its implications for the Christian.
Ephesians 4:1 NET I, therefore, the
prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live
worthily of the calling with which you have
been called,

15. Literally, that‟s “walk worthy of God‟s call.”
In other words, “You are Christians, so live
like it!” And the first thing he mentioned, live
worthily of the calling by preserving unity
among fellow Christians!”
That is SO important for the body of Christ!
There are not hundreds or thousands of
little bodies of Christ scattered all over the
place, NO!

16. There is one body of Christ, parts of whom
meet in different locations because of
geography, but there should be unity among
them, a spirit of love & cooperation!
And in today‟s text, Paul continues the
same train of thought and says, “LIVE
WORTHILY OF THE CALLING BY BEING
DIFFERENT FROM THE WORLD!”

17. 17 So I say this, and insist in the Lord, that
you no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the
futility of their thinking. 18 They are
darkened in their understanding, being
alienated from the life of God because of
the ignorance that is in them due to the
hardness of their hearts. 19 Because they
are callous, they have given themselves
over to indecency for the practice of every
kind of impurity with greediness.

18. What more horrible picture could be painted
of the meaning of life than Paul does here?
“Futility of their thinking”; “darkened in their
understanding”; “ignorance”; “hardness of
their hearts”; “they are callous”; “given
themselves over to indecency for the
practice of every kind of impurity with
greediness!”

19. Isn‟t this an accurate picture of life without
God? And it may as well have been written
today instead of 2,000 years ago. It looks
just like a snapshot of the 21st century.
It strikes me that a lot of Christians get up in
arms about the current state of affairs in our
world.

20. Prayer has been taken out of our schools,
the ten commandments aren‟t allowed on
the walls, a sixteen year old girl has to have
a permission slip to go on a field trip with
her class but in some states can get an
abortion without even informing a parent,
schools can give kids condoms or teach
Islam, but can‟t mention Jesus or give them
Bibles.

21. SURE, all of these things are bad . . .
they‟re horrible! Our world is really messed
up! No doubt about it! But my question is:
why are we surprised that the world is
behaving like the world? Aren‟t we told in
the Bible that the world is in the control of
the evil one? We‟re even warned that while
we have to live in the world, Christians are
not to be OF THE WORLD!

22. Why not? Because we‟re supposed to be
DIFFERENT! Folks, the world is going to be
the world! Now, I don‟t mean that Christians
shouldn‟t do what we can to change that
with our influence, but it‟s a reminder of just
how desperately our world needs Jesus!
The bottom line: this horrible picture is a
typical picture of a people that don‟t know
Jesus!

23. Paul‟s message is clear: Life without Jesus
is just meaningless! The thinking of the
Gentiles was „to no end‟; futile, pointless,
meaningless! The wise old teacher of
Ecclesiastes understood this thought well.
Ecclesiastes 1:2 NIV "Meaningless!
Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Utterly
meaningless! Everything is meaningless." 3
What does man gain from all his labor at
which he toils under the sun?

24. 4 Generations come and generations go,
but the earth remains forever. 5 The sun
rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to
where it rises. 6 The wind blows to the
south and turns to the north; round and
round it goes, ever returning on its course.
7 All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea
is never full. To the place the streams come
from, there they return again.

25. 8 All things are
wearisome, more than one can say. The
eye never has enough of seeing, nor the
ear its fill of hearing. 9 What
has been will be again, what has been done
will be done again; there is nothing new
under the sun.
He seemed to make it his life‟s ambition to
seek meaning for his life.

26. As you flip through the pages of
Ecclesiastes you see that he looked in
many places: he sought meaning in
wisdom, in pleasures, in work, in riches &
on and on. But, in the end, this is how he
concludes. Ecclesiastes 12:10 NIV The
Teacher searched to find just the right
words, and what he wrote was upright and
true. 11 The words of the wise are like
goads, their collected sayings like firmly
embedded nails—given by one Shepherd.

27. 12 Be warned, my son, of anything in
addition to them. Of making many books
there is no end, and much study wearies
the body. 13 Now all has been heard; here
is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God
and keep his commandments, for this is the
whole [duty] of man.
In the end, the wise old teacher could only
find meaning in God! Where are you
seeking to find meaning for your life? We
look in all kinds of different places even
today, don‟t we?

28. Wisdom of men? Doing what makes us
happy? Our jobs? Status? Wealth? That‟s
still where the world is looking. But as
Christians perhaps our reaction to things
like this in the world, shouldn‟t be “Oh my,
the world is going to hell in a handbasket!”
as much as it should be “Oh, how sad that
someone would live this way not knowing
Jesus. What can I do to live counter-
culturally & to share with them the good
news of a better way?”

29. Because, as Christians, we know...
20 But you did not learn about Christ like
this, 21 if indeed you heard about him and
were taught in him, just as the truth is in
Jesus. 22 You were taught with reference to
your former way of life to lay aside the old
man who is being corrupted in accordance
with deceitful desires,

30. 23 to be renewed in the spirit of your
mind, 24 and to put on the new man who
has been created in God's image — in
righteousness and holiness that comes
from truth.
Now, we‟ve got to understand that knowing
Jesus is more than knowing „about
Jesus‟, about just knowing the facts! Its
about RELATIONSHIP; about knowing him
personally!

31. That‟s why he came to Earth in the flesh.
God had already given us the facts about
himself through the Old Law, but in Jesus
we have the opportunity to actually know
him first hand! The “truth” is not facts about
Jesus rather the truth is Jesus. Jesus
replied, "I am the way, and the truth, and
the life. No one comes to the Father except
through me. John 14:6 NET
We CAN know truth by knowing Jesus!

32. Knowing Jesus makes all the difference! It
is transforming; life-changing! We put off the
old, cast it aside to put on the new! We no
longer walk in the ways we used to
walk, that path led to death & destruction!
Paul said it this way to the Romans, Do not
be conformed to this present world, but be
transformed by the renewing of your
mind, so that you may test and approve
what is the will of God — what is good and
well-pleasing and perfect. Romans 12:2
NET

33. Some years ago, young kids were going
crazy for a group of teenage super-heroes
called the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.
The TV show was a hit based on a
Japanese series. Their appeal was that,
while ordinary teenagers by day, when
called upon, they could transform
themselves into powerful martial arts
experts for justice.

34. They would cry, “It‟s morphin time!” By the
way, a form of that word “morph” is the very
Greek word (Metamorphoo) that Paul used
in Romans which mean transformation! It‟s
not just kids who want to „morph‟ is it?
We, too, are to be changed, to be
transformed, to “morph” from our former
way of life into something new, something
different! Servants & representatives of
Jesus Christ!

35. Well, what does this new life look like? It is
COUNTER-CULTURAL!
25 Therefore, having laid aside falsehood,
each one of you speak the truth with his
neighbor, (Zec 8:16) for we are members of
one another.
Truth DOES matter, especially to a people
living in community like the people of God!

36. Why should we be truthful? Because Paul
says, we are members of one another! That
makes sense, doesn‟t it? Communities are
built upon mutual reliance. How can we be
community, be unified, if we can‟t trust, rely
on, be there for one another? How can we
lean on each other for the spiritual
encouragement that we need as Christians,
if we can‟t trust each other?

37. 26 Be angry and do not sin; (Psalm 4:4) do
not let the sun go down on the cause of
your anger. 27 Do not give the devil an
opportunity.
Anger, in and of itself is not
wrong, sometimes we need to get angry!
Christians need to be angry at some of
those things I mentioned that is going on in
the world.

38. Paul knows that anger is one of those
emotions which can take hold and
overcome us if we let it, like a cancer that
infects our soul, and if not removed
immediately can spread and overtake other,
healthier parts of our souls, eventually
rotting our spirits from the inside out! So,
Paul says, take care of your anger
BEFORE you give the devil this foothold in
your life! Don‟t let it fester!

39. 28 The one who steals must steal no
longer; rather he must labor, doing good
with his own hands, so that he may have
something to share with the one who has
need.
Notice WHY Paul says a person is to work.
Not just so he won‟t be a drain on
others, but so that he might be able to help
provide for others!

40. That‟s certainly counter-cultural: the thief is
to become the philanthropist! But a
transformed life no longer lives in total
dependence upon others; but seeks to give
to others.
29 You must let no unwholesome word
come out of your mouth, but only what is
beneficial for the building up of the one in
need, that it may give grace to those who
hear.

41. Like James also says, our mouths, our
tongues, our words, are indeed powerful
weapons. James 3:8 NET But no human
being can subdue the tongue; it is a restless
evil, full of deadly poison.
The word “unwholesome” is also used to
describe spoiled fish (Mat 13:48) or rotting
fruit, (Mat 12:33) it is “Bad”, “foul” and we may
understand it in terms of foul language.

42. I think it may be better understood as
DESTRUCTIVE language; words that hurt.
Why? Because Paul‟s concern is that our
language is beneficial for the building up of
the one in need; that it give grace to those
who hear us! How many of us consider how
our words might hurt, BEFORE we say
them? James says that while men have
tamed lots of wild beasts, “no human being
can subdue the tongue.”

43. Notice that this whole list has been about a
people living in Christian community with
one another! Our lives affect others & our
transformed lives should build up others!
30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God,
by whom you were sealed for the day of
redemption. 31 You must put away every
kind of bitterness, anger, wrath, quarreling,
and evil, slanderous talk.

44. These things hurt the Spirit of God! They
grieve Him! They cause him to weep over
our sins; over the way we treat one another
with bitterness. etc.!
32 Instead, be kind to one another,
compassionate, forgiving one another, just
as God in Christ also forgave you.

45. Seems to me that this is a key component,
not only of living in Christian community, but
of preserving the unity that we talked about
last week.
We‟re not only to be kind to one another,
not only to bear with one another, or “put up
with one another,” we forgive one another.
Given what God has forgiven us of, how
could we NOT forgive each other?

46. 5:1 Therefore, be imitators of God as dearly
loved children 2 and live in love, just as
Christ also loved us and gave himself for
us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God.
Our character is to be modeled after our
Father. Leviticus 19:2 NIV “Speak to the
entire assembly of Israel and say to them:
‘Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am
holy.

47. And again, Paul mentions the underlying,
foundational motivation for it all: LOVE. We
live this way because of what God has done
for us in Christ. He loved us so much! For
this is the way God loved the world: He
gave his one and only Son, so that
everyone who believes in him will not perish
but have eternal life. John 3:16 NET
That‟s Certainly A Counter-Cultural way of
life. Life with Jesus is to be Distinct from the
world!

49. Is your life TRULY DISTINCT from the
World? Truly Christlike? Do you promote
truth & integrity in all that you do, in every
area of your life like Jesus did? Are you a
person others can trust?
Do you treat others differently, like Jesus
did? Do you use your words differently, like
Jesus would have you? Do you readily
forgive,
like Jesus does?

50. Do you show love, not hate in your
actions, like Jesus did? Do you give rather
than take, like Jesus does? Do you walk to
the beat of a different drum, that of Jesus‟?
The truth is that for all of us, if we put our
lives side by side with Jesus, we all fall way
short! But God is transforming us more and
more into the image of His Son, or at least
that is his goal. Have you been letting him?

51. If you don‟t know Jesus, or have a personal
relationship with him, you need to. Will you
to come to him this morning, turning away
from your former way of life and wanting to
put on the new man by being baptized into
Christ for the forgiveness of your sins!
If we can encourage or pray for you in any
way, please let those needs be known by
responding & coming forward during this
invitation song.