Remember, You Are A Christian :: Ephesians 4:17-32

Therefore, I say this and testify in [the] Lord: No longer are you to walk as the Gentiles walk in the vanity of their minds, being darkened in their imagination, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that [exists] in them. [And] because of the hardness of their hearts, which have become callous, they gave themselves to debauchery, into the practice of impurity, all in greediness.

But you did not, in this way, learn Christ, if indeed you heard him and were taught in him — as the truth is in Jesus — to set aside your former behavior, the old man which is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new man, which has been created according to God in righteousness and holiness of truth (vv 17-24).

[Prayer]

Heavenly Father, through Holy Baptism, You called us to be one of your very own. Grant us your wisdom that comes from above, that your Word may not be bound, but have free course to guide and direct our lives so that we will always walk according to the image of your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. In his name. Amen.

4. Has it ever occurred to you that you have actually been born twice? That you have eternal life right now? 

The first time, you were probably born in a hospital ... [perhaps Ellett Memorial]. That’s the day you received the breath of life. Your second birth came a few days later ... or maybe it was a few weeks, months, or even years later. In baptism, God gave you the new birth ... rescuing you from death and the devil. You were born again so to speak ... or as Jesus says more precisely in John 3[:3], you were born from above. That’s the actual expression our Lord uses in describing your new birth ... being born from above. 

For most of you, this new birth from above probably happened in that very font. God poured out the Water with the Word into you that day ... not just onto you. He united himself with you. He gave you a new name ... Christian. He sealed you with his Gospel promise, a promise that he cannot revoke or change. He made you one of his very own ... a Christian.

As Saint Paul says to open his epistle to the Ephesians, [He] blessed us in every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ ... to be holy and blameless before him (Eph 1:3, 4b). As a Christian, you are holy and blameless. In this baptism, we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of trespasses ... or you could say rebellion ... alienation from God ... in accordance with the riches of his grace, which he [gave in abundance] into us ... again, not just onto us (Eph 1:7-8). God has thoroughly cleansed you ... making you a Christian ... one who is holy, just as he is holy. When you heard the Word of Truth, the Gospel of your salvation, in whom we also have believed, you all were sealed in the Spirit of Promise in Holiness (1:13). 

3. Therefore, now you are a Christian.

I can’t reiterate this point enough. This is the starting point from which Paul is preaching and teaching today. Whereas you were dead in the sins and trespasses in which you once walked, according to the age of this world ... God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us ... made us alive together with Christ (Eph 2:1-2a, 4). 

So we must not continue living like Gentiles. We are Christians.

You have been baptized into Christ, who was born without sin and lived without sin ... who became the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Jesus shed his blood for you and died for you ... on a cross, no less. Jesus suffered the death we deserve for our sin ... for our hard hearts and impurity. Jesus died for our iniquity ... our former behavior that is corrupt with overwhelming lust (v 22). Jesus died for our rebellion, our refusal to repent. As we heard last week, his blood ... which he continues to give us even today ... has set us free. 

And because God is just and the justifier of the one who has faith ... he raised Jesus from the dead. He is now risen! ... He is risen, indeed! ... Hallelujah! Christ’s life, death, and resurrection changes everything for you. He makes you a Christian. 

He himself is our peace, Paul continues in Ephesians 2:[14-16a] ... He has broken the dividing wall of hostility in his flesh, abolishing the law of commandments in decrees, so that he can create in himself one new man [in the place] of two, making peace and reconciling us to God in one body through the cross. Whereas you could not by your own reason or strength believe in Jesus or come to him, he has reconciled himself to you, communion with him. In his communion with you, he has given you the trust that you were actually crucified with Christ, and raised into eternal life. 

That brings us to today’s reading.

2. Since are now a Christian, stop behaving like a Gentile.

No longer are you to walk as the Gentiles walk in the vanity of their minds (v 17). We need to hear this exhortation more often. Too often we walk along, droning on in life, acting like Gentiles ... acting like our sin doesn’t matter ... acting like we have no sin to actually confess ... acting like we can control our sin or minimize our sin ... as if minimizing our sin is something to boast about. ... It’s not! ... The wages of sin is still death (Rm 6:23). That’s what the Gentiles will learn the hard way. That’s the way Gentiles live because of the ignorance that [exists] in them.

So don’t be like them. Gentiles will say they have no sin that needs forgiveness. Gentiles will say they have not sinned, and therefore have no need to receive the blood of Christ. Gentiles will say they walk in the light ... that they know God, but they refuse to keep his commandments ... or better yet, to embrace his instruction, as we are learning in our midweek Bible study ... (won’t you join us?) ... They refuse to share the forgiveness of sins, seeking reconciliation with one another. Gentiles refuse to God’s communion with them and with one another.

But you are Christians. Therefore, since you have been called by the Gospel, enlightened with the gifts of the Spirit, and sanctified, Paul is calling each and every one of you to repent in the name of Jesus ... that is, to set aside the old man or woman within you ... to be renewed ... and to put on the new man, which has been created according to God in righteousness and holiness of truth (vv 22-23). The Holy Spirit is urging you to speak truth with one another (v 25) ... to stop gossiping with each other ... to do good work ... the work God prepared for you to do (2:10) ... in order that [you] may share with anyone in need (vv 27-28) ...  giving grace, which is the forgiveness of sins, to one another (v 29) ... being kind people, compassionate (v 32). Brothers and sisters in Christ, you can do all of this! 

REMEMBER, YOU ARE A CHRISTIAN!

[Catechism]

Please now open your [Lutheran Service Book] to page 325, and join me in confessing our faithful doctrine from the fourth article of the Sacrament of Holy Baptism. ... As the head of the family should teach it in a simple way to his household ... What does such baptizing with water indicate? ... Where is this written?

1. The Christian life is a response to God’s Divine Service to you. 

There is no reason now we should ever desire to return to the old way of life ... rejecting the divine gifts. God has shared with you the new nature that he created through his Son. He did so by bringing us into fellowship ... communion ... not only with one another ... but first, and more importantly ... with himself through his Divine Service to you. God has provided us with bright, clean clothes to replace the old way of life. 

Let today’s Service of the Sacrament remind you of this ... of who and what you are. This is the way you learned Christ (v 20)! As you come to the Lord’s Table to receive the Holy Supper today, recognize that the entire company of heaven joins you for this feast of forgiveness that never ends. This truth is in Jesus (v 21). This is our prayer of the proper preface (LSB 161) every time we celebrate the sacrament. 

More than that, recognize it is Christ who gives himself to you, who unites himself with you and therefore, by extension, who unites you with one another. It is Christ who empowers you to live a different life, according to his standards. Now you can practice truth, not deception (v 25) ... now you can love, not hate ... Now you can cherish and not despise one another ... Now you can exercise mercy, not judgment (vv 31-32). 

[Conclusion]

The old man is still with you, and he still wants you to continue in sin. But you have been baptized into the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Therefore, be Christians, who have been given new hearts full of love that will move you to give yourself in service to each other and all who have need. Be Christians, and continue hearing God’s Word and receiving his sacraments in communion with God and one another. That’s what Christians do. Be Christians, who rest in the forgiveness we receive in baptism. Be Christians, and continue listening to the call to live in ways that are true to God’s will. Yes, be Christians ... putting on the new man who was created according to God in righteousness and holiness of truth ... in Jesus’ name. Amen.