Ephesians 4:1-3
Conduct Becoming a Christian
Introduction
Illustration: Conduct becoming an officer:
Nature of offense. Conduct violative of this article is action or behavior in an official capacity which, in dishonoring or disgracing the person as an officer, seriously compromises the officer’s character as a gentleman, or action or behavior in an unofficial or private capacity which, in dishonoring or disgracing the officer personally, seriously compromises the person’s standing as an officer. There are certain moral attributes common to the ideal officer and the perfect gentleman, a lack of which is indicated by acts of dishonesty, unfair dealing, indecency, indecorum, lawlessness, injustice, or cruelty. Not everyone is or can be expected to meet unrealistically high moral standards, but there is a limit of tolerance based on customs of the service and military necessity below which the personal standards of an officer, cadet, or midshipman cannot fall without seriously compromising the person’s standing as an officer, cadet, or midshipman or the person’s character as a gentleman.
a. A gentleman is understood to have a duty to avoid dishonest acts, displays of indecency, lawlessness, dealing unfairly, indecorum, injustice, or acts of cruelty (punitive code, Article 133, of the United States Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), enacted at 10 U.S.C. § 933)
b. British Naval Discipline Act of 10 August 1860, which says; "Article 24: Every Officer subject to this Act who shall be guilty of Cruelty, or of any scandalous or fraudulent Conduct, shall be dismissed with Disgrace from Her Majesty's Service; and every Officer subject to this Act who shall be guilty of any other Conduct unbecoming the Character of an Officer shall be dismissed, with or without Disgrace, from Her Majesty's Service.
“Unbecoming” = improper, unsuitable, inappropriate for someone’s character or position.
Today we are going to look at Conduct becoming a Christian. Is your conduct as a Christian becoming of a Christian? How awesome it is when a Christian’s moral reputation does justice to the reputation of the One he calls Savior and Lord. Too often the name of Christ has been and is being dishonored because people who name His name are guilty of conduct unbecoming a Christian.
…What about us? Are we the kind of people whose conduct is becoming a Christian? But if we would press ourselves for His name’s sake, and taking into consideration the place we have in Christ, we would then find no higher importance than a sincere commitment to Conduct Becoming a Christian.
The word “Therefore” in verse 1 is important. It marks the transition from the first half of the book to this last half. In this transition Paul is going to move his focus now from our position as Christians to our practice as Christians. He has described who we are in Christ and now he is describing how we should live in Christ.
Let us not forget that this is God’s order: He gives us salvation first, and then we begin a life of good works. Rather than living for salvation we live from salvation. Paul speaking of this already in 2:10 said, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
The world believes the opposite, that if one can live a life that is good enough, or not too bad, then God will give salvation. But the Bible is clear, that no one can live good enough. Romans 3:10 says there is no one who is good. Jesus said in Mark 10:18 that no one is good except God alone. Romans 3:23 says “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” We may do good things and think God will accept them as pure in His sight but God Himself said, “all your righteousness is as filthy rags.” No one will be able to stand on their own merit before the Lord. No, our righteousness is as filthy rags before Him, and, what we need is for someone who truly is righteous to make us righteous. Jesus is the One who can do that. He who knew no sin became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God. A righteousness apart from the Law has now been revealed, a righteousness that is by faith in Jesus Christ. And now God commands all not to live a good life to get to heaven, but, to believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ.
When someone has done that their position with God changes from condemnation to one of acceptance. Paul has spent the first 3 chapters describing that new position someone has once they have come to believe in Christ. And if we find from the first half of the book that this describes our position, then we should find from the 2nd half of the book that this describes our life. In other words, if our position is real, then, we should be making that that if this is really our position in Christ, then when we finally come to the last half of this book we see that what is described there should be the practice of our life. It is not any different than when Paul said in Acts 26:20, “I preached to the Gentiles that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds.”
I want to divide our message in half. The first half is The Call to Conduct Becoming a Christian. The second half is the Criteria of Conduct Becoming a Christian.
The Cost of Conduct Becoming a Christian
First of all, notice the Cost of Conduct Becoming a Christian. Paul says in verse 1, “As a prisoner for the Lord…” It wasn’t so much that Paul was giving them a detailed list of what could happen to them for faithfully following Christ. Neither was he giving them a heads up on the self-denial that came with the Christian life. All he does is mention his imprisonment. But they knew why he was in prison and they would be reminded that because he was faithful to the Lord he was suffering. It was costing him, and they knew it was costing him because his conduct was becoming of a Christian. Paul was the one who said in 2 Timothy 3:12, “Everyone who desires to live a godly life will be persecuted.”
For Paul, the totality of a Christian’s life is to be an offering. The whole life was to be one whole act of worship to the Lord. And an offering is many times not convenient. It involves sacrifice and a cost to ourselves. Yet it was Jesus who said in Luke 9:23, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow me.” It is here too that we can hear the words of King David echoing down to us today from 2 Samuel 24:24 when he said, “I will not offer anything to the Lord that cost me nothing.” David knew that worship meant cost. Paul knew that faithfulness meant cost. Jesus said following Him required cost. Is our commitment costing us?
This isn’t a call to go start looking for things to give up for Christ. You don’t have to go searching. Cost will come when we commit to live for Christ and put His honor first in all we do. The way to approach this is to see everything we do in our lives in light of how the name of Christ is affected ---Asking ourselves: “How does this affect the reputation of my Lord?”
He is glorious, we can’t change that. And yet, there is a great responsibility for us to manage the reputation of His name here on earth. Let us uphold the honor of the name of Christ at all costs, at all costs to ourselves. “He must increase, I must decrease.” (John 3). Let each of us know the cost of conduct becoming a Christian.
The Call to Conduct Becoming a Christian
In verse 1 we see that Call to Conduct Becoming a Christian, “………….” Let us notice 2 points about this call.
First, the call is weighty. And what I mean is that it is urgent. Paul says “I urge you”. The issue is pressing. It is too important to be ignored and made less than a priority in our lives. It is no surprise to us, then, that in the NT we see Paul and others spent a lot of energy urging believers to live up to their status as Christians. To the Church in Rome Paul said, “Therefore I urge you brothers in view of God’s mercy to offer your bodies as living sacrifices…” To the Corinthians (2 Cor. 5:20) he said, “We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.” And in 10:1 he said “By the meekness and gentleness of Christ – I appeal to you…I beg you.” To the Galatians (4:12 he said, “I plead with you brothers…” What was his aim in all this urging? It was another tactic in his ministry to move the believers forward to live lives worthy of their calling. “Conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ” he would say to the Philippians (Php. 1:27). Paul’s goal was the perfection of every believer he ministered to. He said in Colossians 1:28, “We proclaim Christ, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.” He wanted nothing less than for them to go on to the full measure of maturity in Christ, to lack nothing. He said in Galatians 4:19, “My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you.”
Urging is an indispensable element of Church life and Christian living to reach this end. It is necessary to keep us all moving towards the goal. Urging is more than a suggestion, but, less than a command. It is a strong request. Each of us needs to be willing to 1) urge others, and 2) allow others to urge us. If we are not open and willing to urge others and to be urged on, then do we really care about progress in the faith? Do we really care about the condition of the Church before Christ? Do we really care if we ourselves are living lives towards the glory of God?
Now a caution here is in order. And the caution I would issue has to do with the imbalance that is so common in Christians. It is the imbalance where I become so intolerant towards the shortcomings of other Christians but I am entirely unwilling to address my own. It is when I play the hypocrite. The only way to have integrity when we urge others to pursue conduct becoming a Christian is if we are personally have a demonstration of conduct becoming a Christian.
Let us not be hypocrites. Let us live worthy of our calling so that we are qualified to call on others to live worthy of their calling. Paul says in Philippians 3: “Follow my example”. He didn’t say, “Do what I say, not what I do”. He always pointed the believers’ attention to his own conduct because he knew his conduct was worthy of imitating. He had a clear conscience about his behavior and knew that no charge could be brought against him in the things he was urging others to do. He was sure that if they imitated him they would be doing well in the faith.
Do you have that kind of confidence? Look at your brothers and sisters around you right now. Look them in the eyes. Can you say to them, “Follow me”? Can you look them in the eye with confidence and urge them to follow your example and imitate what you do as a Christian? I pray that each of us is an example for others to follow and that we are actually calling on others to follow. I pray that the weight of this call on us to conduct becoming a Christian
The call is weighty, and, second, the call is worthy. Paul says, “live a life worthy…” The word for “worthy” is a great one. It means to weigh as much as another thing. It is the idea of striking a balance on a scale, where the weight of both sides is equal. If one side weighs more than the other than they will be out of balance, they will be unequal.
When Paul uses the word here he is saying our practice as Christians should be in balance with our position as Christians. “Live up to your calling.” “Be careful that your conduct corresponds to your calling.” Don’t let the weight of the glory of your standing in Christ outweigh the glory of your living for Him. It is a high and royal station you have been lifted up to – and by all means make sure you uphold the dignity of your calling. Do your calling justice.’
We know what this is like in other areas. It’s like in sports when we yell at incompetent refs or players or coaches because the caliber of their performance doesn’t match the caliber of their position. You’re in the majors pal, you get paid millions, you should have made that play! Or, it’s like an incoming politician who wants to do honor to the office he holds. Or, it’s a reputable business that wants to provide a quality service or product because of its long-standing good name. It’s a child who is expected to do the right thing for the sake of the family name. You’re a Smith, boy, so act like one! In all of these scenarios there is the idea of living up to the expectations that come with the position you hold. What you are determines and compels you in what you do.
Here I remind us that we are: 1) blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ, 2) chosen to be holy and blameless before God, 3) adopted as His children, 4) forgiven our sins and redeemed by the blood of Christ, 5) indwelt by the Holy Spirit, 6) united to Christ in such a permanent and intimate way that we are called the Body of Christ, and the Bride of Christ, 7) raised to life and seated in the heavenly realms with a future destiny of being presented as trophies of God’s grace, 8) a holy temple being built whereby God lives by His Spirit, 9) given access to God the Father through our faith in Christ and much more. How then, if all this is ours, if all of these unsearchable riches have come to us by God’s abounding grace, how then could we not be inspired to live a life worthy.
The reality is none of us in our living is yet fully in accord with the glory of our station in Christ. How could we when Paul describes it as “unsearchable riches”? Certainly the value of what we’ve been given in Christ will outweigh the value of what we do for Him. Yet, it is not so much the issue of whether we are yet perfected in Christ. That will come when Christ comes. The issue I would say for us is better put into this question: “Am I closer today than I was yesterday to the perfection of Christ?” Am I closer this year than last year? The point being that it is progress towards perfection right now that matters because the actual attainment of it can only come when Christ comes. So as we wait for His coming we are to keep coming closer to the likeness of His character with each passing day.
Conclusion
Let us finish with this: Is our conduct becoming a Christian? Really the question is: Is our conduct becoming of Christ? Is His honor upheld in our lives? We should pay all costs to ourselves for Him to be honored. We should feel the weight of our call to conduct becoming of Christ.
Perhaps you are here today and you’ve thought that you can live a life that God would look on and say is acceptable. Perhaps up until this day you have believed that God will accept a life well lived and grant salvation to someone like that. I want to tell you that God does not command us to live a good life in exchange for salvation. None of us can do that. No one has ever been good enough to go to heaven. But because God is rich in mercy and grace and because He loves you, He sent His One and Only Son to die on the cross. And when that perfect Son of God died He died not for His own sins but for yours. And God raised Him up 3 days later to life so that now Christ can give eternal life to all who would believe in Him. God does not command us to live a good enough life to go to heaven. His command is to believe in the name of His one and only Son. Do that and you will be saved.
Conduct Becoming a Christian
Introduction
Illustration: Conduct becoming an officer:
Nature of offense. Conduct violative of this article is action or behavior in an official capacity which, in dishonoring or disgracing the person as an officer, seriously compromises the officer’s character as a gentleman, or action or behavior in an unofficial or private capacity which, in dishonoring or disgracing the officer personally, seriously compromises the person’s standing as an officer. There are certain moral attributes common to the ideal officer and the perfect gentleman, a lack of which is indicated by acts of dishonesty, unfair dealing, indecency, indecorum, lawlessness, injustice, or cruelty. Not everyone is or can be expected to meet unrealistically high moral standards, but there is a limit of tolerance based on customs of the service and military necessity below which the personal standards of an officer, cadet, or midshipman cannot fall without seriously compromising the person’s standing as an officer, cadet, or midshipman or the person’s character as a gentleman.
a. A gentleman is understood to have a duty to avoid dishonest acts, displays of indecency, lawlessness, dealing unfairly, indecorum, injustice, or acts of cruelty (punitive code, Article 133, of the United States Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), enacted at 10 U.S.C. § 933)
b. British Naval Discipline Act of 10 August 1860, which says; "Article 24: Every Officer subject to this Act who shall be guilty of Cruelty, or of any scandalous or fraudulent Conduct, shall be dismissed with Disgrace from Her Majesty's Service; and every Officer subject to this Act who shall be guilty of any other Conduct unbecoming the Character of an Officer shall be dismissed, with or without Disgrace, from Her Majesty's Service.
“Unbecoming” = improper, unsuitable, inappropriate for someone’s character or position.
Today we are going to look at Conduct becoming a Christian. Is your conduct as a Christian becoming of a Christian? How awesome it is when a Christian’s moral reputation does justice to the reputation of the One he calls Savior and Lord. Too often the name of Christ has been and is being dishonored because people who name His name are guilty of conduct unbecoming a Christian.
…What about us? Are we the kind of people whose conduct is becoming a Christian? But if we would press ourselves for His name’s sake, and taking into consideration the place we have in Christ, we would then find no higher importance than a sincere commitment to Conduct Becoming a Christian.
The word “Therefore” in verse 1 is important. It marks the transition from the first half of the book to this last half. In this transition Paul is going to move his focus now from our position as Christians to our practice as Christians. He has described who we are in Christ and now he is describing how we should live in Christ.
Let us not forget that this is God’s order: He gives us salvation first, and then we begin a life of good works. Rather than living for salvation we live from salvation. Paul speaking of this already in 2:10 said, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
The world believes the opposite, that if one can live a life that is good enough, or not too bad, then God will give salvation. But the Bible is clear, that no one can live good enough. Romans 3:10 says there is no one who is good. Jesus said in Mark 10:18 that no one is good except God alone. Romans 3:23 says “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” We may do good things and think God will accept them as pure in His sight but God Himself said, “all your righteousness is as filthy rags.” No one will be able to stand on their own merit before the Lord. No, our righteousness is as filthy rags before Him, and, what we need is for someone who truly is righteous to make us righteous. Jesus is the One who can do that. He who knew no sin became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God. A righteousness apart from the Law has now been revealed, a righteousness that is by faith in Jesus Christ. And now God commands all not to live a good life to get to heaven, but, to believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ.
When someone has done that their position with God changes from condemnation to one of acceptance. Paul has spent the first 3 chapters describing that new position someone has once they have come to believe in Christ. And if we find from the first half of the book that this describes our position, then we should find from the 2nd half of the book that this describes our life. In other words, if our position is real, then, we should be making that that if this is really our position in Christ, then when we finally come to the last half of this book we see that what is described there should be the practice of our life. It is not any different than when Paul said in Acts 26:20, “I preached to the Gentiles that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds.”
I want to divide our message in half. The first half is The Call to Conduct Becoming a Christian. The second half is the Criteria of Conduct Becoming a Christian.
The Cost of Conduct Becoming a Christian
First of all, notice the Cost of Conduct Becoming a Christian. Paul says in verse 1, “As a prisoner for the Lord…” It wasn’t so much that Paul was giving them a detailed list of what could happen to them for faithfully following Christ. Neither was he giving them a heads up on the self-denial that came with the Christian life. All he does is mention his imprisonment. But they knew why he was in prison and they would be reminded that because he was faithful to the Lord he was suffering. It was costing him, and they knew it was costing him because his conduct was becoming of a Christian. Paul was the one who said in 2 Timothy 3:12, “Everyone who desires to live a godly life will be persecuted.”
For Paul, the totality of a Christian’s life is to be an offering. The whole life was to be one whole act of worship to the Lord. And an offering is many times not convenient. It involves sacrifice and a cost to ourselves. Yet it was Jesus who said in Luke 9:23, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow me.” It is here too that we can hear the words of King David echoing down to us today from 2 Samuel 24:24 when he said, “I will not offer anything to the Lord that cost me nothing.” David knew that worship meant cost. Paul knew that faithfulness meant cost. Jesus said following Him required cost. Is our commitment costing us?
This isn’t a call to go start looking for things to give up for Christ. You don’t have to go searching. Cost will come when we commit to live for Christ and put His honor first in all we do. The way to approach this is to see everything we do in our lives in light of how the name of Christ is affected ---Asking ourselves: “How does this affect the reputation of my Lord?”
He is glorious, we can’t change that. And yet, there is a great responsibility for us to manage the reputation of His name here on earth. Let us uphold the honor of the name of Christ at all costs, at all costs to ourselves. “He must increase, I must decrease.” (John 3). Let each of us know the cost of conduct becoming a Christian.
The Call to Conduct Becoming a Christian
In verse 1 we see that Call to Conduct Becoming a Christian, “………….” Let us notice 2 points about this call.
First, the call is weighty. And what I mean is that it is urgent. Paul says “I urge you”. The issue is pressing. It is too important to be ignored and made less than a priority in our lives. It is no surprise to us, then, that in the NT we see Paul and others spent a lot of energy urging believers to live up to their status as Christians. To the Church in Rome Paul said, “Therefore I urge you brothers in view of God’s mercy to offer your bodies as living sacrifices…” To the Corinthians (2 Cor. 5:20) he said, “We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.” And in 10:1 he said “By the meekness and gentleness of Christ – I appeal to you…I beg you.” To the Galatians (4:12 he said, “I plead with you brothers…” What was his aim in all this urging? It was another tactic in his ministry to move the believers forward to live lives worthy of their calling. “Conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ” he would say to the Philippians (Php. 1:27). Paul’s goal was the perfection of every believer he ministered to. He said in Colossians 1:28, “We proclaim Christ, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.” He wanted nothing less than for them to go on to the full measure of maturity in Christ, to lack nothing. He said in Galatians 4:19, “My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you.”
Urging is an indispensable element of Church life and Christian living to reach this end. It is necessary to keep us all moving towards the goal. Urging is more than a suggestion, but, less than a command. It is a strong request. Each of us needs to be willing to 1) urge others, and 2) allow others to urge us. If we are not open and willing to urge others and to be urged on, then do we really care about progress in the faith? Do we really care about the condition of the Church before Christ? Do we really care if we ourselves are living lives towards the glory of God?
Now a caution here is in order. And the caution I would issue has to do with the imbalance that is so common in Christians. It is the imbalance where I become so intolerant towards the shortcomings of other Christians but I am entirely unwilling to address my own. It is when I play the hypocrite. The only way to have integrity when we urge others to pursue conduct becoming a Christian is if we are personally have a demonstration of conduct becoming a Christian.
Let us not be hypocrites. Let us live worthy of our calling so that we are qualified to call on others to live worthy of their calling. Paul says in Philippians 3: “Follow my example”. He didn’t say, “Do what I say, not what I do”. He always pointed the believers’ attention to his own conduct because he knew his conduct was worthy of imitating. He had a clear conscience about his behavior and knew that no charge could be brought against him in the things he was urging others to do. He was sure that if they imitated him they would be doing well in the faith.
Do you have that kind of confidence? Look at your brothers and sisters around you right now. Look them in the eyes. Can you say to them, “Follow me”? Can you look them in the eye with confidence and urge them to follow your example and imitate what you do as a Christian? I pray that each of us is an example for others to follow and that we are actually calling on others to follow. I pray that the weight of this call on us to conduct becoming a Christian
The call is weighty, and, second, the call is worthy. Paul says, “live a life worthy…” The word for “worthy” is a great one. It means to weigh as much as another thing. It is the idea of striking a balance on a scale, where the weight of both sides is equal. If one side weighs more than the other than they will be out of balance, they will be unequal.
When Paul uses the word here he is saying our practice as Christians should be in balance with our position as Christians. “Live up to your calling.” “Be careful that your conduct corresponds to your calling.” Don’t let the weight of the glory of your standing in Christ outweigh the glory of your living for Him. It is a high and royal station you have been lifted up to – and by all means make sure you uphold the dignity of your calling. Do your calling justice.’
We know what this is like in other areas. It’s like in sports when we yell at incompetent refs or players or coaches because the caliber of their performance doesn’t match the caliber of their position. You’re in the majors pal, you get paid millions, you should have made that play! Or, it’s like an incoming politician who wants to do honor to the office he holds. Or, it’s a reputable business that wants to provide a quality service or product because of its long-standing good name. It’s a child who is expected to do the right thing for the sake of the family name. You’re a Smith, boy, so act like one! In all of these scenarios there is the idea of living up to the expectations that come with the position you hold. What you are determines and compels you in what you do.
Here I remind us that we are: 1) blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ, 2) chosen to be holy and blameless before God, 3) adopted as His children, 4) forgiven our sins and redeemed by the blood of Christ, 5) indwelt by the Holy Spirit, 6) united to Christ in such a permanent and intimate way that we are called the Body of Christ, and the Bride of Christ, 7) raised to life and seated in the heavenly realms with a future destiny of being presented as trophies of God’s grace, 8) a holy temple being built whereby God lives by His Spirit, 9) given access to God the Father through our faith in Christ and much more. How then, if all this is ours, if all of these unsearchable riches have come to us by God’s abounding grace, how then could we not be inspired to live a life worthy.
The reality is none of us in our living is yet fully in accord with the glory of our station in Christ. How could we when Paul describes it as “unsearchable riches”? Certainly the value of what we’ve been given in Christ will outweigh the value of what we do for Him. Yet, it is not so much the issue of whether we are yet perfected in Christ. That will come when Christ comes. The issue I would say for us is better put into this question: “Am I closer today than I was yesterday to the perfection of Christ?” Am I closer this year than last year? The point being that it is progress towards perfection right now that matters because the actual attainment of it can only come when Christ comes. So as we wait for His coming we are to keep coming closer to the likeness of His character with each passing day.
Conclusion
Let us finish with this: Is our conduct becoming a Christian? Really the question is: Is our conduct becoming of Christ? Is His honor upheld in our lives? We should pay all costs to ourselves for Him to be honored. We should feel the weight of our call to conduct becoming of Christ.
Perhaps you are here today and you’ve thought that you can live a life that God would look on and say is acceptable. Perhaps up until this day you have believed that God will accept a life well lived and grant salvation to someone like that. I want to tell you that God does not command us to live a good life in exchange for salvation. None of us can do that. No one has ever been good enough to go to heaven. But because God is rich in mercy and grace and because He loves you, He sent His One and Only Son to die on the cross. And when that perfect Son of God died He died not for His own sins but for yours. And God raised Him up 3 days later to life so that now Christ can give eternal life to all who would believe in Him. God does not command us to live a good enough life to go to heaven. His command is to believe in the name of His one and only Son. Do that and you will be saved.
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