Word of Salvation – Vol. 42 No. 41 – November 1997

 

The Christian Walk – Negative

 

Sermon by Rev. B. G. Aldridge on Ephesians 4:17-31

Suggested Hymns: BoW 497; 389; 431; 182; 240

 

Brothers and Sisters.

Sometimes a book is published which changes the thinking of a whole generation of people.  I am sure you can think of some.  Norman Vincent Peale published one such book about 30 years ago, called: The Power of Positive Thinking.  He declared that the way we think influences who we think we are.  His thesis is simple: “Think well about yourself and you will feel and do good.  Think bad about yourself and you will feel and do bad.”

It is an incredibly powerful idea that has penetrated to every walk of life.  It has spawned a whole industry of motivational experts roaming the world telling people how to improve themselves.  It has become a major plank in movements like the New Age and post modernism.

It now invades every area of your life.  Children’s school reports are not allowed to say anything negative or if they do, they must say it in a positive way.  Also, words no longer mean what they used to.  He is not a good speller becomes: “He needs to be encouraged to put characters together in such a way that it agrees with the generally accepted norms for words according to the Oxford Dictionary.”

I am sure that you can think of many examples of this sort of thing.

Now, contrary to much Christian thinking, this movement is not all bad.  Positive encouragement does encourage us to feel and do good.  We do need encouragement.  In every one of his epistles, except the letter to the church in Galatia, Paul told his readers how much he appreciated them.  He often praised the work that they were doing.  Constant negative criticism will drag us down.  Children who only receive negative criticism will grow up with a negative outlook on life as well as an unhealthy view of themselves.

So why are many Christians down on positive thinking?  The reason is because much positive thinking and self-esteem counselling hold that all negatives are bad and wrong.  They claim that no matter what it is, you must be positive all the time.  So the “it’s bad to be negative” is carried into the religious and moral area of life.  What you get is people complaining that the church always talks about sin.  They complain that there is too much talk about sin in our services.  Let’s just have happy, up-building talks and songs.  Let’s cut out the sin and confession bit and the dirges that speak of human sinfulness.  They do not encourage us so… out they go.

Of course, the problem with many Christians is that they only see the bad side of positive thinking and so throw out the baby with the bath water.  They make no distinction between things that have moral con notations and things that do not.  For example, they will say to a child, “you are a bad speller.”  Now how you spell things is not a moral issue but applying the adjective ‘bad’ to it makes it a moral issue.  There is nothing wrong in saying negative things about spelling in a positive way.  But when you are talking about sin, there is no way you can present it in a positive way.  There is no way that we should not talk about sin simply because it is negative or makes people feel bad.  This is where the ‘positive thinking movement’ and the New Age and the ‘self-esteem gurus’ have got it totally wrong.  They’ve got it wrong because God talks a lot about negative things like sin and evil.  They’ve got it wrong because Jesus talked a lot about sin and evil.  They’ve got it wrong because the Holy Spirit, through people like the apostle Paul, also speaks a lot about sin and evil.  He is not afraid of making his readers feel bad if that is what they need.  Let us listen to some of the negative things:

[Read Ephesians 4:17-31]

There are two major points here:

1.  First: There is a way of life that must be abandoned when we are Christians (4:17-25).

This is the negative of what he says in verse one.  In verse one of this chapter we are urged to “live a life worthy of our calling as God’s people.”  One of the ways we do that is ‘no longer live as non-Christians do.’

What does this mean?  It means that, whether we have had a radical conversion experience or have gradually grown into the Christian life, there comes a time in life when we realise that we must be for real.  There comes a time for all Christians when they realise that they must abandon a non-Christian way of living and start to live like Jesus.  There comes a moment when you realise that you cannot have it both ways.  You must get real.  There comes a time when you realise that certain things are no longer acceptable.  Paul is writing to the Christians in Ephesus to make sure that they realise this.

Paul describes it in terms of being changed.  You put off the old and put on the new (4:22-24).  It goes deeper than putting off old clothes and putting on new.  That does not make a Christian.  It simply produces hypocrites.

What the Holy Spirit is talking about is putting off the old self.  It is putting off the old persona.  The self has nothing to do with personality.  It is the place where the decisions that govern your life are made.  Being a Christian means you take on a new self.  You take on a new persona.  What it means to be a Christian is that you have taken on a new self, created to be like Jesus, in the image of God, after true righteousness and holiness.

This is why you have now become so negative about some things that you were previously positive about.  Things like lying, stealing, foul language and gossip.  Once these things did not matter.  But as a Christian you no longer think that way.  As a Christian you have a new self.  Your life has a new direction and motivating force.  You now have a self, created to be like God in righteousness and holiness.

When that happens, you become very positive about some things and very negative about other things.  There is a way of life that you find you want to abandon.  This way of life has five characteristics:

– Life characterised by futility in thinking.

– Life characterised by darkness in understanding and which has no connection to God.

– Life characterised by callousness.  It exhibits a lack of compassion and caring.

– Life characterised by sensuality.  The ruling emotion is, “if it feels good, do it.”

– Life characterised by continual striving for more.

Basically, it is a life anchored in the here and now.  It is a life in which the wants, feelings, desires and fears of the here and now have control of our life.  One illustration:

(Note to the reader:
In order to make this illustration effective, you will need to adapt it to something familiar to you congregation.)

On Friday, a football match was player at the MCG and Collingwood won.  How long will that win be remembered?  One week?  One year?  Even 100 years?

But on Friday, somewhere in this world, a Christian offered a cup of cold water to a starving refugee in the name of Jesus.  How long will action be remembered?  According to Matthew 25, it will be remembered in eternity.

The life that has its priorities anchored only in the desires, the needs, the feeling and the fears of the here and now, is not a Christian life.  It leads to a life of futility, a life which lacks true understanding, a life which is not in touch with God, a life of sensual pleasure seeking and a life of never being content but constantly striving for more.  As the Holy Spirit said to the Ephesians: “You did not come to know Christ that way.  You were taught to put off the old self…!”  Is it happening for you?

Sometimes I am asked: How can you tell a person who is a Christian?  It is often difficult to tell, but one thing to watch for is this: Is the person constantly seeking to put off the old self, the old way of life and put on the new?  Are they daily being renewed in the image of God after true righteousness and holiness?

2.  Secondly: There are certain specific things that are not compatible with the new self (4:25-31).

The Holy Spirit now becomes very specific about the way of life of the person who has put on the new self.  Do you ever feel uneasy when people deride Christianity because they claim that it is a religion of ‘don’ts’?  You want to say that it isn’t, but you know that there are a lot of don’ts about being a Christian.  Of course our gospel in not just a gospel of don’ts.  It is good news about Jesus.  It is freedom and light and peace.  It is Jesus Christ dying on the cross to pay the penalty for our sin and being raised from the dead to give us victory over sin and death and hell.  This is indeed Good news.

But there are also a lot of don’ts and we should not be ashamed about the don’ts.  The don’ts warn us about things that bring us into bondage, things that destroy relationships, things that create fear, and things that bring turmoil, war and strife.  The don’ts are warnings about things that can destroy us as people made in God’s image.  These are negative things, but only a complete and utter fool ignores these negatives.

The Holy Spirit, through the apostle Paul, is not afraid to warn us of these negative things.  If they make us feel bad then perhaps it is because these things have not been given the ‘heave-ho’ and we are still harbouring them in our lives.  If we feel guilty when we hear these things, then perhaps we need to realise that God hates them.  We need to realise that they are sinful and we need to seek the forgiveness of God.

Let us look at them briefly:

• Falsehood.  This is more than just not speaking the truth.  It is also saying things in such a way that, though you do not say anything untrue, an untrue impression is left with the person you spoke to.  It is concealing the truth by telling only half of what happened.
• Anger.  Not all anger is bad.  We should be angry about sin and evil and unrighteousness and injustice.  But the anger that leads us to abuse others is sin.  The anger that ends up in verbal or physical or sexual abuse is sinful and destructive.  It is so destructive that the Holy Spirit says that it must not be kept in our lives any longer than 12 hours.  It must be dealt with.
• Allowing the devil a foothold.  If we speak falsely or give place to anger then the devil gains a foothold in our lives.  Once he has his foot in the door, then trouble is sure to follow.  Are you in trouble at the moment?  Is your relationship with God or others in trouble?  Think back to when it first started.  You will find there is an incident in which you allowed the devil to gain a foothold.
• Stealing.  How many kinds of stealing there are!  People say, “but it’s only a pen.  The company has hundreds of them.  They don’t care if I take one home.”  Again, “It is only a few minutes.  What does it matter if I come to work late?”  Again, “the tax man will never know that this deduction was not a work related expense.”  And remember, that God has given us work, not only to help us supply our needs but also that we can share with others.  We steal from God when we do not share our wealth with others in need.
• Foul mouthed speaking.  What about the swear words?  What about the smutty jokes?  What about the gossip and nasty innuendo?
• Grieving the Holy Spirit.  We grieve the Holy Spirit when we do not listen to him speaking to us in God’s Word.  We grieve the Holy Spirit when we do not follow Jesus’ ways.
• Bitterness.  Bitterness grows from things that have been done against us and we have not truly forgiven the person who hurt or offended or sinned against us.  It is the chief reason why we have no real peace in our lives.
• Rage.  Rage is an extension of anger.  We may be angry and do nothing about it, but rage always lets anger have its way and seeks to destroy the one in its path.  Rage will cause us to destroy people and things that we love.  It often comes from something deep seated in our lives.  It is almost impossible for us to deal with by ourselves.  If you have a problem with rage, you will need the help of a Christian counsellor or pastor to help you.
• Brawling.  Among Christians?  Never!!!!!!!!!
• Slander.  How often do we hear things about another person and simply repeat it without checking if it is the truth or not?  Much trouble in the church would be avoided if we followed two basic rules:
              (1) If you are told something bad about another person, always ask if the one who told you has first-hand knowledge of the facts?  If they have not then ask them if they have checked the story with the person concerned.  If they have not, tell them to go and do so before they repeat it to anyone else.
              (2) if it is first-hand knowledge, ask them why are they telling you?  Offer to help them go and sort the matter out with the person concerned.
• Malice.  Malice is the fruit of envy and jealousy.  It is also very hard to deal with and you may need to seek help if it is eating away at you.

These things are wrong and evil and sinful.  They destroy relationships.  They do not build up and encourage others.  They do not allow us to be generous.  They grieve the Holy Spirit.  And worse, they are the very things that sent Jesus to die on the cross.

They entered our world as the result of Adam and Eve’s rebellion against God.  They continue as a result of our rebellion against God.  They result in broken relationships and eternal death.  The penalty that God rightly imposed upon humanity is eternal separation from God….. eternal enmity between God and humanity and between male and female and people and people.

Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for human rebellion.  He died so that our relationship with God could be restored and we could be reconciled with one another.  The Holy Spirit came to make us new in the attitude of our minds.  He created a new self for us after the image of God.  He restored the image of God in righteousness and holiness.

As a Christian you become very negative about some things.  You become negative because God hates them.  You become negative because they sent Jesus to the cross.  You become negative because they grieve the Holy Spirit.  You become negative because they destroy relationships.  You are never able again to feel comfortable about them.  When you live like this, you live a life of darkness.  You live a life that is futile and has no future.  You live a life that has lost all sensitivity to the needs of others.  You live a life controlled by the lust of the flesh.  You live a life that is never content but is constantly striving for more.

Conclusion

So what do I do?  It is good to be negative about these evils but that’s not enough.  You must become positive about Jesus, about the truth and about walking in the light.  If the things that go with the old self are the darkness, how do you avoid the dark?  You can only avoid the darkness by walking in the light.

You are walking along the street at night.  It is fairly dark and you are slightly afraid.  The street lights are far apart.  In between each is a large patch of darkness.  You are afraid of the dark.  Then you notice that the light of each street light meets on the other side of the road.  You breathe a sigh of relief and cross over and walk on the other side of the street.  You avoid the darkness by walking in the light.

The Holy Spirit says to us: “…if we walk in the light as he, God, is in the light, we have fellowship one with another and the blood of Jesus, his son, cleanses us from all sin.”  Jesus said: “I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me shall never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

You walk in light and avoid the darkness by walking in obedience to Jesus and his Word.

Are you walking in the light or in the darkness?  Do you want to walk in the light?  Ask Jesus to come and give you light.  Ask the Holy Spirit to give you a new self, created after God’s image in righteousness and holiness.  Seek the forgiveness of your sins and cleansing in the blood of Jesus shed on the cross.  Start to obey Jesus’ words and you will be walking in the light, and the works of darkness will have no hold on you.

Amen.