Download Zion—Gainesville

Zion—Gainesville
8/23/2009
Rev. Roger Rockhoff
Sermon # 967
Ephesians 4:30-5:2
“Live Your Life of Faith”
I. Avoid what grieves the Holy Spirit
II. Strive to be like God
Hymns: 580, 361, 306, 616
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One of the first things that you are taught in English class is to recognize the difference
between a noun and a verb. Nouns are words that represent a person, place or thing, we were
told. Verbs are action words. So with that quick review of your elementary English studies, tell
me, is “faith” a noun or a verb? Fundamentally we would say that “faith” is a noun. It is a set of
principles that one possesses, and we often use the word in referring to our religious principles.
So let’s think about that for a moment. If you have “faith,” won’t that affect what you
do? Aren’t all of your actions based on what you believe? If you say that you “have faith,”
doesn’t that mean that you live in line with what it is that you “have faith” in? Of course it does.
While it is correct to classify the word “faith” as a noun, as Christians when we use that word to
define our religious beliefs, we understand that it implies action. To “have faith” doesn’t simply
mean to “possess something”, but more accurately to “be something.”
Our text today points out what it is that we are “to be” because we “have faith” in God
and in Jesus as our Savior. It begins with a warning against what threatens what we have, and
encourages what will protect what we have. Looking at these verses we will hear Paul’s
encouragement to
“Live Your Life of Faith”
I. Avoid what grieves the Holy Spirit
II. Strive to be like God
OK, so I know that “faith” is a noun. But I still maintain that a person who has the
“Christian faith” is compelled to action. That’s not a principle that I developed while sitting in
my boat one morning. It’s a principle that God has set before us in his Word.
It’s one of the principles that is set forth by the verses of our text for today. It is found in
the first verse of our text, “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were
sealed for the day of redemption.” You will recall that the Holy Spirit is the one who brings
faith into people’s hearts. He does that through baptism and through God’s Word. That faith
seals or marks a person as God’s property which he will claim for all eternity on “the day of
redemption,” on Judgment Day. Until that day, our command from God is to “not grieve the
Holy Spirit of God,” who has given us that faith.
The next verse of our text explains how that happens. Paul wrote, “Get rid of all
bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.” In
order to “Get rid” of these wicked emotions and actions, we have to look to their source. While
we might be tempted to look at the external factors that might bring them to the surface (what
others have done to us) the real problem as pointed out by God is an internal problem. Jesus
once said, “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immortality,
theft, false testimony, slander.” (Mt. 15:19) In short, we were born sinful We inherited from
our parents the sinful nature that was handed down from Adam and Eve to each succeeding
generation. WE were the problem! We may not want to admit it but in our natural state we
were on the road to becoming murderers, thieves, rapists, and violent criminals.
But that is not what God wanted us to be, so he sent his Holy Spirit to “create in me a
clean heart.” (Ps. 51:10)
He sent his Holy Spirit to bring me to faith, to make me his child
again, and to allow me to benefit from the work done by his Son, Jesus Christ. He sent the Holy
Spirit to call me to faith and to create in me a New Man, a challenger to my sinful nature, an
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ability to stand up to the Devil and his temptations and to follow the will of the Lord. That New
Man is strengthened and equipped by the gospel and enables me to do what God desires.
So if I take the easy road and I listen to my sinful nature, it will grieve the Holy Spirit to
see me throwing away what he has given me. The words of Paul suggest a progression, or
should I say a regression, deeper and deeper into the captivity of the Devil. Feelings,
“bitterness, rage and anger” give way to actions, “brawling and slander,” which corrupt who
I am, turning to “every form of malice.” Understand that the Holy Spirit would not just be
grieved because his efforts would have been wasted, but because of what we would be forfeiting.
For the temporary gratification that we might get from unleashing a harsh word or a slap across
the face, we would lose the eternal joy of life with God in heaven. Paul wrote to the Romans,
“The mind of sinful man is death.” (Rom. 8:6)
The Holy Spirit does not want us to lose what God sent him to give us. He wants us to
live in the “peace of God that transcends all understanding.” (Php. 4:7) He wants us to live
in the comfort and assurance that comes from being children of God. He wants us to be able to
face life with all of its challenges with our loving heavenly Father at our side. In short, he wants
us to live in faith.
Our text shows us today that God doesn’t just tell us what to do and then sit back to see if
we can do it. God also gives us the ability and the means to do what he commands. Using the
strength that he provides, he tells us to
II. Strive to be like God
God sent his Holy Spirit to us through the Word and through the sacrament in order to
change who we were. We were children of the Devil, perfectly happy and content to follow him,
deceived by his lies and promises. But God knew the danger that we were in and sent his Son to
put us on a different path by calling us to be his “dearly loved children.” The love that he
showed in giving up his Son for us is the love that will motivate us and enable us to do what he
desires.
Paul wrote, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as
in Christ God forgave you. Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children.” The
commands given in these two verses would have been impossible for us to do on our own. We
were not equipped or capable of imitating God. But God does not ask us to do them on our own.
He asks us to do them as “dearly loved children,” as people who have been made a part of his
family. “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus,” (Gal. 3:26) Paul wrote to the
Galatians. Faith, given to us by the Holy Spirit, moves us out of the family of Satan and a duty
to follow him, into the family of God with an opportunity to serve him.
That opportunity is shown in the words “—and live a life of love, just as Christ loved
us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” God calls us to
action—faith enables us to act. God loved us--we can respond by loving others. In place of
“bitterness, rage and anger,” there can be compassion, patience, and understanding. Where
there had been “brawling and slander,” there can be kindness and encouragement. Although at
one time inclined toward “every form of malice,” we can now be “imitators of God.”
In your pursuit of that goal, remember, though, that you will be opposed every step of the
way by the one who lost you as his possession, the Devil himself. He will not make your “life of
love” easy to live. He will not allow you to ignore his temptations or be immune to his lies. He
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will distract you, harass you, frustrate you, and discourage you. But, in the words of the famous
Reformation hymn, he cannot “overpower you.”
“Faith” is a noun. It is a thing—a gift that God gives you by his Holy Spirit. It is a belief
in what he says and what he does. It is an enabling, motivating, and directing force that guides
us in all we do. And it is that faith that calls us to action—to “live a life of love” evident as we
show kindness and compassion and as we forgive one another as we have been forgiven. May
your faith, strengthened and renewed by the Word and Sacraments, guide you throughout your
lives to live for the Lord. Amen.
“The peace of God….”