Life in Christ

Text: Eph. 5;15-17

INTRO.- ILL.- There was a New England Patriots’ fan with a really crummy seat. Looking with his binoculars, he spotted an empty seat on the 50-yard line. Thinking to himself "what a waste," so he made his way down to the empty seat. When he arrived at the seat, he asked the man sitting next to it, "Is this seat taken?" The man replied, "This was my wife's seat. She passed away. She was a big Patriots’ fan." The other man replied,"I'm so sorry to hear of your loss. May I ask why you didn't give the ticket to a friend or a relative?" The man replied, "They're all at her funeral." Some people are dedicated football fans. I doubt many would be that dedicated, however.

What is life to you? To some, it may be football or sports in general. To most, however, it seems to be the “good life,” that is, people want a good job, decent wage, nice home, plenty of time off to enjoy life, sports, great vacations, etc.

Ephesians 5:15-17 “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.”

God is the one who gives us life and time and He deserves more of that time than we give Him!

ILL.- Robert Lauer wrote in A Greater Enemy: “Long ago, William Law warned that the world is now a greater enemy to the Christian than it was in apostolic times. It is a greater enemy, because it has greater power over Christians by its favors, riches, honors, rewards, and protection than it had by the fire and fury of its persecutors. It is a more dangerous enemy, by having lost its appearance of being an enemy.”

Lauer is saying that the world with all of its glitter and gold is our enemy! Oh, it’s a nice place to live, because look at the comfort we have and all the luxuries we enjoy! THAT’S THE POINT! Too much money or materialism is a detriment to our faith in Christ, because we look too much at them and not at Him! We take our focus off Him and put it on the fads and fancies of the world!

I John 2:15-17 “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.”

Life in Christ means we have to live in this world but we are not to be controlled by this world. What do we do? How do we live?

PROP.- Paul tells us what we should do in our life in Christ.

1- We put away the former life

2- We put on the new life

3- We put down the devil

I. WE PUT AWAY THE FORMER LIFE –Eph. 4:20-22

Eph. 4:20 You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. 21 Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires.

Your former way of life. What was it like? What did you used to do that you no longer do? What did you used to do that wasn’t a good thing that you no longer do?

ILL.- There was a man who talks about his life that even though he was a Christian and even though he had been raised in the church he would take off Sunday morning with his boat and beer and head to the lake. He would wait until the people were in the church so they wouldn’t see him drive by the church, going to Grand Lake.

Now, what’s so bad about what he did? Here is what is bad. He totally left God out of the picture of his life by ignoring worship. He was not giving God thanks for anything and everything good in his life. He was not praying and praising the Lord. He was not seeking the Lord’s will, but his own will. He was only pleasing himself. And he would admit that.

All of us may have a similar story but not quite the same. It could be better or it could be worse. Many people have been plagued by troubles in the past with drinking, carousing, ignoring God, dishonoring people and parents, etc.

And it doesn’t matter how much of a saint you think you were, because you were not a saint before you came to Christ. Everyone has some kind of checkered past, big or small. We’ve all sinned and come short of His glory. We’ve all done things that we shouldn’t have.

ILL.- One man said to his friend: "Say, you look depressed. What are you thinking about?" "My future," was the quick answer. "What makes your future look so hopeless?" "My past."

Some people think that their future is not very good because they keep looking back to their past sins. You can’t dwell on the past if you want to make progress in the future!

V.22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires.

Is there a part of your former life that still hangs on? Is there something that you once did in the past that you may still give you some trouble now? Or at least, tempt you now? Paul said, “Put off your old self.” Or put off the old way of life. How? Only in Christ can we do this. Only through His power can we get over our past sins.

Romans 8:12-14 “Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.”

There’s the answer of how to overcome our past! We must allow the Spirit of God to help us put to death the misdeeds of the body. And how can God’s Spirit help us to overcome sin, any sin, past or present? We immerse ourselves in His Word and in prayer and in doing His will, which is the will of Christ.

Remember the old saying, “Idle minds/hands are a devil’s workshop”? I have discovered that the busier I am and especially, with the Lord’s work, the less I am tempted to do the devil’s work. READ GOD’S WORD. PRAY. SERVE. God can do a better job taking away our sins than we can!

II. WE PUT ON THE NEW LIFE-Eph. 4: 23-25

23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. 25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body.

Put on the new self. Put on your newer and better self. What’s this? Your better self in Christ. We are better in Christ than we are without Him.

ILL.- You have perhaps said to someone or heard someone say to another person, “You really clean up nice!” It’s the idea that most people do look better when they’ve cleaned up. TRUE?

Many people today opt for that rugged, unkempt, unshaved look. Many men, that is. And while that look might be acceptable in many places, clean and neat is also very nice. IT’S ESPECIALLY NICE TO GOD! Of course, I’m talking about inner cleanliness.

We all look better (at least to God) when we have been cleansed from our sin and when we on our best character, which is the character of Christ. BUT HOW DO WE GET THERE? How do we put on the new self?

ILL.- Occasionally, someone will say to me, “Well, you look nice.” Or “You’re dressed nice.” Or “That’s a pretty shirt you’re wearing.” And I generally say, “That’s because my wife dresses me!” Elaine doesn’t literally dress me but she picks out most of my clothes so if I look nice in my shirt or sport coat, etc. it’s because she has good taste in clothing and in matching colors.

God has good taste too! He knows best how to make us look good. He knows what it takes for us to put on the new man, created in Christ and to be like Him!

I think there are at least two good ways for us to put on the new life, created to be like Christ. One way is by imitating others.

I Corinthians 11:1 “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” The apostle Paul was saying, “Imitate me or follow me in the ways that I follow or imitate Christ.” “Follow my best example.”

There is good, there is godliness in many people’s lives and we need to follow or imitate that good. There are so very many Godly people in this world whom we need to follow or imitate in order to put our new self in Christ.

·         And then the other way and the best way is to look to Christ. There is no one better, no one more lovely than He! He is the great lover of the human soul, otherwise, He would not have left heaven for earth and He would not have gone to the cross for us! We need to look to Him and behold His loveliness! We need to be like! We need to put on His sweetness!

Hebrews 12:1-2 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith....”

And what will happen if we fix our eyes on Jesus in scripture? Chances are we will eventually become more like Him. We will put on the new self created to be like Jesus.

Acts 4:13 “ When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.”

Take time to be holy, speak oft with thy Lord;

Abide in Him always, and feed on His Word.

Make friends of God’s children, help those who are weak,

Forgetting in nothing His blessing to seek.

Take time to be holy, the world rushes on;

Spend much time in secret, with Jesus alone.

By looking to Jesus, like Him thou shalt be;

Thy friends in thy conduct His likeness shall see.

III. WE PUT DOWN THE DEVIL Eph. 4: 26-28

Eph. 4: 26-28 “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.”

27 Do not give the devil a foothold. Life in Christ is also a matter of putting down the devil. Don’t give the devil a foothold. Where? How? Don’t allow the devil a foothold in your life. Don’t allow the devil a secure grip or place in your life.

ILL.- The light turned yellow, just in front of him. He did the right thing, stopping at the crosswalk, even though he could have beaten the red light by accelerating through the intersection.

The tailgating woman was furious and honked her horn,screaming in frustration, as she missed her chance to get through the intersection, dropping her cell phone and makeup. As she was still in mid-rant, she heard a tap on her window and looked up into the face of a very serious police officer. The officer ordered her to exit her car with her hands up. He took her to the police station where she was searched, fingerprinted, photographed, and placed in a holding cell.

After a couple of hours, a policeman approached the cell and opened the door. She was escorted back to the booking desk where the arresting officer was waiting with her personal effects.

He said, "I'm very sorry for this mistake. You see, I pulled up behind your car while you were blowing your horn, flipping off the guy in front of you and cussing a blue streak at him. I noticed the 'What Would Jesus Do' bumper sticker, the 'Choose Life' license plate holder, the 'Follow Me to Sunday-School' bumper sticker, and the chrome-plated Christian fish emblem on the trunk, so naturally....I assumed you had stolen the car."

Did that lady allow the devil a foothold her life? Apparently, whether she realized it or not.

V.28 He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need. 29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Wow! What a list of things not to do! We put down the devil in our lives but putting away sin from our lives! Stop stealing. Don’t talk in a rude and crude way. Get rid of bad stuff, rage and anger, bitterness, slander and malice. WHAT A LIST!

Whether we realize it or not, we give the devil a foothold in our lives when we do the things mentioned in our text and more. But to put down the devil is to rid ourselves of as much bad stuff as possible.

How do we put down the devil? By looking to the Lord! By clinging to the Lord in every way possible!

James 4:7-8 “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you.”

The only way to put down the devil in life is by submitting to the Lord. When we know what His Word says, we submit. When we know His will, we submit. There is great power in submission! Power over evil in this world and the evil one!

CONCLUSION-------------------

ILL.- Preacher Dwight L. Moody met a man in his hotel one day and asked him, “My friend, are you a Christian?” The man stiffened up and replied, “Well, what do you think?” Moody said, “Well, not a red hot one.”

Are you a red hot Christian? Are you on fire for Christ? None of us will be until we put away the old life, put on the new life and put down the devil in life.

Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

That’s true life in Christ. We live by faith every day in the Son of God!