SERMON OUTLINE

Not Stealing But Sharing      Ephesians 4.28

Introduction

-Paul is writing this list of moral commands to the Ephesian believers to point out to them how to walk like a Christian.

-Moral behavior is based on the truth of their new life in Christ. (verses 17-24)

-Not just heaven but a transformed life that expresses the character of God in this world.

-The ten prohibitions become the ten promises because of the New Covenant. (Charles Price)

Stealing

-Stealing is taking something that is not yours and using it and calling it your own.

-Ways that we can steal.

-Motive of selfishness and laziness behind stealing.

-Consequences of stealing.

-Most important reason not to steal. God’s character.

Working

-Hard work. Greek word used and physical labor.

-2 Thessalonians 3.6-15

-Instruments of righteousness. Romans 6.11-14, 19

-God purpose for man to work as God works.

Sharing

-Not just to live but also to give.

-Motivation away from selfishness and greed.

-“Trilateral” – “Gain all you can; Save all you can; Give all you can”. John Wesley

Spiritual Transformation

-2 Corinthians 5.17. New but not perfect in all details.

-The need for teaching and spiritual discipline.

-Put off the old life and put on the new life. Vs 22-24

Conclusion

New life in Christ and obedience to God’s Word = transformation into Christ-likeness. Be very careful how you walk in 2010.

SERMON NOTES

Careful Living in 2010   (Ephesians 5.15)

Not Stealing But Sharing        Ephesians 4.17-28

-Paul is writing this list of moral commands to the Ephesian believers to point out to them how to walk like a Christian. In verses 17 to 24, Paul reminded the Christians in the Ephesian church that they were once sinners who were futile in their thinking, darkened in their understanding, hardened in their heart and insensitive in their conscience toward God. They were separated from the life of God and were without hope and without God in the world.

-Paul then reminded them that through the Gospel they came to know Christ. They were taught that in union with the death of Christ they died to sin, and in union with the resurrection of Christ they were raised to a new life in the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul then makes it emphatically clear to them that the new life they now have requires a new walk. In these verses Paul is outlining that new walk.

-No more lying and walking in the lie of this world, but living in truth and speaking the truth. No more personal anger and bitterness, but more righteous anger against sin and evil. Then in verse 28 Paul instructs them that they are no more to steal but rather they are to work with the purpose of having something to share with those in need.

-I find in this verse an instructive picture of the purpose of God in saving me. Focus with me for a few moments on the contrast that is presented in this verse. Here is a person whose regular walk in life is one of stealing but who has come to know Christ. What does God require of them now? God requires that they no longer steal but work, doing something useful with their hands in order to provide for themselves.

-The verse goes even beyond this. Not only are they to work to provide for themselves, they are also to work with the purpose of having something to share with those in need. Working to share with those in need is a much higher standard than the world expects. The world frowns on stealing and promotes working for a living, but to work in order to have something to give to others is over the top.

-The command not to steal but to work in order to share with others teaches me that the purpose of God in salvation is not just to get us to heaven but to transform our daily walk from selfish sin, to a walk of sacrificing love that expresses the character of God. God has called me to salvation in order to put Himself on display through my thoughts, attitudes, and actions. If I claim to be a Christian and am claiming to belong to Christ, I need to live in a way that demonstrates Christ. Just as Christ expressed the image of God to humanity when He walked on earth, so my life is to express the character of Christ to others. The point here is that a true Christian must live a Christ-like life because God has transformed them by His power and given them the Holy Spirit. That is why Paul insists that we no longer walk in the old ways but walk in new ways.

-Stealing is a violation of the 8^th commandment. “You shall not steal”. A fellow pastor mentioned that he heard Charles Price from the People’s Church preach that the prohibitions of the Ten Commandments become promises to the born-again Christian. Let me read to you the Ten Commandments as promises from God because of the transforming work of His Spirit within us. “You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol. You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God. You shall keep the Sabbath. You shall honor your father and mother. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not covet.” Because we are new people in Christ we shall no longer live in sin. Even more than keeping the negative aspect of these commands, Christians fulfill the positive side of these commands with a mind and heart motivated by love to God and to others.

-God’s promise in the OT was that with the coming of the New Covenant God would put the commandments in our minds and write them on our hearts. We are no longer commanded externally but are compelled by the life of God within us which fulfills all God’s commands by faith expressing itself through love.

-Stealing is taking something that is not yours and using it and calling it your own. Stealing is still a common practice today and was even more widespread in Paul’s day. There are many ways to steal, some of which may not even be considered as stealing by the world we live in but is still stealing before God.

-We steal from God when we do not use our lives to worship Him and serve Him. We are stealing because we are taking our time, gifts and resources, which all belong to God and are using them as if they belong to us.

-We steal from God and from others when we sin. We are stealing because we are robbing God of His Glory and we are robbing others of respect and service and love.

-Many of us violate copyright laws and steal from musicians and writers and speakers by making copies of things and keeping them as our own when we do not have the originals.

-We may be stealing time and material from our work by not giving a full day’s work and by taking stuff home that is not ours. As a Christian I was stealing for many years from General Motors when I slept on the midnight shift. That was one of the reasons I was glad to leave.

-When you knew you were given too much change by the cashier, did you keep it? Then you were stealing.

-Have you owed money to someone for a long time and do not intend to pay it back? You are stealing from that person.

-Have you sold a car without disclosing a major problem to the buyer? Or sold an inferior item for a high price? That is stealing.

-Here is one to think about. Debt that is the result of our desire to have what we want now even though it is beyond our budget, steals from God and from our family the future that God has planned for us.

-The motive behind stealing is selfishness and laziness. I want to fulfill my desires without the effort that would be required to get what I want.

-Stealing disrespects other people and does not value their hard work. Stealing hardens the conscience, and reinforces selfishness and laziness. Stealing can lead to a criminal record, a bad reputation, low-esteem, and poverty.

-Apart from all the negative consequences of stealing, the most important thing about stealing is that it does not reflect the character of God and the person of Jesus Christ. So the Word of God says to the Christian “You must steal no more”. Stop all stealing. For most of us here the command not to steal anymore will be very specific to one or two things. In response to this sermon I had to remove two songs from my mp3 because I did not own the originals.

-As Christians we are to do useful work with our hands. Paul emphasizes in two ways that we are to give ourselves wholeheartedly to our daily work. First of all the Greek word Paul uses for work means to labor with strenuous effort, to toil. It is the word used by Peter to describe a night of fishing without success, “Master we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything”. Second, Paul mentions working with our hands. Physical labor is hard work. We are to give ourselves wholeheartedly as unto the Lord in our daily work.

-Christian teaching on work in the NT is practical teaching. Listen as I read 2 Thessalonians 3.6-15. [Read]

-So work hard at what God has given you to do and if you want something then work for it.

-The mention of working with our hands in this verse reminds me of Romans 6.11-14, 19 [Read]

-The hands of the Ephesians were once instruments of sin and wickedness as they were stealing, but now that they have come to know Christ, their hands are to become instruments of obedience and righteousness by hard work, showing the transformation of God into the image of Christ.

–God created man to work. In Genesis chapter 1 we see God at work in creation. Then in chapter 2, before man fell into sin, God created man in His image and planted a garden and “put man in the Garden to work it and take care of it” (2.15). After Adam’s sin God cursed the ground and man’s work to provide for himself increased. God at the same time worked in the redemption of mankind. In the new kingdom when man is fully redeemed, I believe he will continue to enjoy work, even as God has worked to create a new heaven and earth. God works and it is God’s purpose for man to work and when we work we fulfill our function and God’s purpose for us.

-This positive view of work as God’s purpose and as giving glory to God is what has commonly been called the Protestant work ethic. Hard and honest work honors God and brings prosperity.

-One motive that Paul gives for work is sharing with those in need. We are to provide for ourselves and for our families but we are also to work to give to those in need. I rejoice that we as a church family are willing to give at least 10% of all we receive to missions. We are giving toward the building of the kingdom of God all over the world. Paul writes “work that you may have something to share with those in need”.

-God asks His people to give to Him and to others because He knows our tendency is to greed and to selfishness. When we work with the motive that we are going to help someone in need, it motivates us to think beyond ourselves and not just about ourselves. John Wesley taught his converts what he called the “Trilateral” – “Gain all you can; Save all you can; Give all you can”.

-Remember that Paul is writing to a local church which he is encouraging in love and unity for the sake of their Gospel witness in the city of Ephesus. A fellowship of thieves does not promote love and unity, but a fellowship of hard working givers that love Jesus and want to obey Him is powerful, and that is what Paul wants to promote.

-I want to close with a short teaching on how God transforms sinners into saints. In 2 Corinthians 5.17 we read, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” The KJV says, “behold, all things are become new.” When a person sees their sin and chooses to turn from their sin and calls upon God to save them in Jesus Christ, a supernatural change takes place in them. The Holy Spirit comes to live in the believer and brings new spiritual life, a desire for holiness, spiritual power over sin, a longing for God’s Word, love, and a new outlook on life. But that does not mean that the person is perfect in every detail of life. The person is truly a new creation with new spiritual life and direction but that life still needs to be taught and disciplined in how to walk as a Christian. Sinful habits, old thought patterns, emotional hurts, learned protective behaviors, reactive anger, fabricated reputations, prejudices, bitter resentments, trust and control issues. All these things and many others still remain in the new life. That is why Paul is giving these instructions to Christians. Paul is not giving them direction on how to become a Christian but how a person who has become a Christian should now chose the way they walk. Spiritual transformation is the result of the new birth first and then the application of Bible truth to the life. As the new Christian spends time with God and studying God’s Word the old life begins to fall away and the new walk begins to take over. Choices need to be made, and disciplines needs to be applied, and perseverance is required to become what God has made us new creatures to be. As Paul writes in verses 22-23, believers are to put off the old life and put on the new life. Paul compares the Christian’s new walk to removing their dirty clothes and putting on a new suit of clothes appropriate to their new status in Christ.

-So recognize what God has put into you through the new birth and then recognize what God is calling you to change in your life, and let both the Holy Spirit’s power in you and your obedience to the Word of God work the transformation that will Glorify God in your Christian walk.

-If you are truly a new person in Christ, then learn to walk in that new life. Be very careful how you walk in 2010.