Open your Bibles, first of all,
to the book of Ephesians, chapter 2. I've been preaching from this
epistle for several days now. And I note that in the first,
and you're familiar with the first three chapters of Ephesians. Last Sunday, the message was
from chapter 3. And you're familiar with the
first two chapters. In these first three chapters,
Paul writes concerning the doctrines of God's grace in Christ. Substitution. Redemption. He writes how the
Father chose us, set his love and affection upon us in Christ. made a glorious everlasting covenant
of mercy in Christ Jesus on our behalf. Predestinated us to be
sons. And Paul writes how the Lord
Jesus redeemed us by his blood. He's our substitute. He's our
sacrifice. He's our sin offering. He redeemed
us by his blood. Gave to us forgiveness from sin.
How the Holy Spirit enlightened us, and called us, and quickened
us, and brought us to Christ. Gave us repentance, genuine,
heartfelt repentance toward God, and faith in Christ Jesus. And he sums it up here in chapter
2, beginning with verse 4. But God, who is rich in mercy,
for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were
dead in sin, he hath quickened us together with Christ, by grace
you say, and he hath raised us up together, lifted us out of
the dunghill, out of the mire, and raised us up and made us
sit together with Christ in heavenly places, in Christ, that in the
ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of His grace
in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are
you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. Faith
is the gift of God. It's not of works. No part of
our redemption is of works. Either our choosing or our quickening
or our redemption or our calling or our perseverance, it's of
grace, or the effectual keeping of his peoples by grace, through
faith. It's not of works, lest any man
should both wear his workmanship. Vessels of mercy. The potter
hath power over the clay to make of the same lump vessels unto
mercy, or vessels of wrath. And he's been pleased to make
us vessels of mercy in Christ Jesus, created in Christ
Jesus. Not the old man made over, it's
the new man created in Christ Jesus. Something out of nothing. When you discover something,
you discover something's already there. When you improve on something,
you improve on something's already there. When God created, by his
word, he spoke something out of nothing. He didn't start with
anything in us. The call by his grace, which
God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. Where
his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which
God hath before ordained we should walk." Now, chapter 4. Chapters
4, 5, and 6. Paul deals with the oneness of
believers, the union of believers, the life and character of believers.
and the walk of believers. That's what 4, 5, and 6 is about. Those whom God justifies walk
in the spirit, not in the flesh. Now let's read chapter 4, verse
1. I therefore, the prisoner of
the Lord, I beseech you, I urge you, I appeal to you, that you
walk worthy of the vocation wherewith you are called. The word vocation,
this is the only time it's used in the Bible anywhere, Old or
New Testament. And the word here is calling,
your calling, vocation, your calling. So this is what he's
saying. I urge you that you walk worthy. You walk worthy of the calling
wherewith you call. You're called to be what you
are. We're called with a holy calling, with a heavenly calling.
We're called the call of Christ Jesus. And turn to 1 Thessalonians
chapter 2. 1 Thessalonians chapter 2 verse
11. As you know how we exhorted and
comforted and charged. We exhorted, comforted, and charged
every one of you. as a father doth his children,
that ye would walk worthy of God, worthy of your calling,
worthy of your profession, worthy of him who called you into the
kingdom, his kingdom and his glory." In our homes, at work,
among our fellow workmen, in our social contacts, in public
or private. Let us conduct ourselves in a
way that's becoming the children of God, becoming the elect of
God, becoming to our profession and becoming to the name that
we wear. We're sons of God. Let's dress
like and talk like and walk like sons of God. worthy of the calling
wherewith you are called. Here's another scripture I want
us to read. Titus. Titus chapter 2. Titus chapter 2 verse 6. Young men likewise exhort, tell the young
men to be sober minded, serious, discreet. in all things showing themselves
a pattern of good works, in doctrine showing uncorruptedness, gravity,
seriousness, sincerity, sound speech that cannot be condemned,
that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed having no
evil thing to say of you. He won't make fun of your profession.
He won't make fun of your calling. He won't make fun of your claims
to be a son of God if you walk like a son of God and talk like
a son of God, worthy of your profession. Exhort servants to
be obedient to their own masters, to please them well in all things,
not talking back, answering again, not purloining, that's stealing,
taking things of small value even. not forlorning, but showing
all good fidelity. Why? That we may adorn the doctrine
of God our Savior in all things. Adorn the doctrine. What worthy
of our calling, worthy of our profession, of the name that
we wear, sons of God. But let's turn to the book of
Matthew a moment. Now, our Lord declared that this
walk begins with a work in the heart. This is not a walk that a man
can walk outwardly unless God has done a work inwardly. You
can legislate obedience in a form of godliness for a while. You can organize obedience and a godly walk for
a while. You can promote this sort of
thing for a while, but it won't last. The only way that a godly
walk and obedience to the Word of God will continue is for it
to start in the heart. And that's what our Lord says
here in Matthew 15. Look at verse 10. He called a
multitude to gather. Now back here in verse 1 and
2, Then came to Jesus the scribes and the Pharisees and these legalistic
men, these religious fellows that were outwardly so religious,
so moral, so law-abiding, so outwardly holy. They came to
him, which were of Jerusalem, saying, why do your disciples
transgress the tradition of the elders? They don't wash their
hands before they eat. Evidently, the disciples, being
in a hurry, had not gone to the trouble to wash their hands.
They just ate. But the Jews had a law. They had a tradition. It had to do with the temple. It had to do with the law of
Moses, that you wash before you eat. And they did it, not for
hygiene. purposes, for purposes of hygiene,
but for religious purposes. They did these things to be accepted
of God, these outward things. And our Lord said down here in
verse 10, an answer to these fellows. He called the multitude
and said to them, now hear and understand, it's not that which
goeth into the mouth that defiles the land, it's that which comes
out of his mouth. This defiles the land. It's not just to eat with unwashing
hands. It's not what you put in your mouth that corrupts you. It's what comes out of your mouth,
what comes from the heart. And then the disciples said unto
him, knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended when they heard
this saying? And he answered, well, every plant which my heavenly
Father hath not planted shall be rooted up. Leave them alone.
They legislate morality. They organize outward form and
ceremony and worship and strictness of traditions and conformity
to laws. They promote this sort of thing
outwardly, but on the inside, they corrupt men. So just leave
them alone. Leave them alone. They're blind
leaders of the blind. As the blind lead the blind,
both will fall into the ditch. And then answered Peter and said,
Lord, declare unto us this parable. And he said, Are you also yet
without understanding? Don't you understand that whatsoever
entereth into the mouth goes into the belly and is cast out
into the draft? In other words, moderation is to be observed
in all things, to help consciousness, take care of our bodies. God
created them. Your body is a temple of God.
We'd be careful about what we eat and what we put into our
bodies. But he's saying, what you put
into your body doesn't defile you. That's not where the defilement
originates. That's not where it comes from. He said, listen, those things
which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart. And they
defile the man. Out of the heart proceeds evil
thoughts. act outwardly as they do because
that's the way they are inwardly. A man who is generous outwardly
is generous inwardly. A man who is greedy outwardly
is greedy inwardly. And you may have a greedy man
inwardly for a while can be generous outwardly, but not permanently.
In other words, you follow what I'm saying? Godliness is from
within. And when it's from within, it
continues. When it's a when it's an outward show, when it's to
be seen of men, when it's for certain gain and glory, finally
lend. Out of the heart proceeds evil
thoughts, murders, hate, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness,
blasphemy. These are the things that defile
a man. To eat with unwashing hands doesn't defile a man. Turn to Matthew 23 now. Here's what he says as a continuation
of that same thought to these same men. He says in verse 24 of Matthew
23. Let's read verse 23. Woe unto you scribes and Pharisees,
you hypocrites! You pay tithe of mint And that's
Dill, D-I-L-L, and cumin. Now this was commanded by the
law that they pay a tithe. The tithe was under the Old Testament
law. And they were strict in doing
these outward things. They prayed outwardly in public. They offered sacrifices. They
circumcised one another. They paid tithes. They kept the
Sabbath day. all of these outward forms and
ceremonies. He said, you do that. But you've
omitted the weightier matters of the law, the inward matters
of the law, the critical matters of the law, and that's judgment. Judging ourselves, coming to
a conclusion of what we are. If you judge yourself, you won't
be judged. They judged others and not themselves. They found
fault with others, not themselves. They wouldn't confess their sins.
They wanted to stone the woman found in adultery. You've neglected
judgment. You've neglected mercy. You've
neglected faith. These are inward things. Now,
these ought you have done, you two have done. In other words,
you ought to pay your time under the law. These men were under
the law. They ought to be circumcised.
Christ did not die on the cross. These types were still in effect.
These laws were still in effect. The Sabbath day, you ought to
keep the Sabbath day. Christ did when he was on this
earth. Before he died on the cross,
he's our Sabbath. He kept the Passover while he
was here on the earth, but he ended the Passover when he died.
He paid tribute. All these things. He was circumcised. You ought to have done these
things, but not to leave this undone. You see, outward legislated
morality won't last. And he says, let's read on there,
verse 23. Verse 24, you blind gods which
strain at a gnat and swallow a camel. Woe to you, scribes,
Pharisees, and hypocrites! You make clean the outside of
the cup and the platter, and on the inside you're full of
extortion. evil thoughts, excess, selfishness,
wickedness. You blind Pharisee. That's strong
language speaking to the reverends and the Pharisees of that day. But you're blind, he said. Cleanse
first that which is within the cup and the platter. that the outside may be clean
also. If you spend your time fixing
up the outside, it won't last long. If God by his grace enables
us to be born again, redeemed, sanctified,
justified, born again inside, the outside
will grow in grace, in maturity, in obedience, in faith, and love,
and meekness, and gentleness, and kindness, and temperance,
and patience, maturity. Those things will come in due
time if we're right in here. But you do all this fixing up,
and God looks on the heart, not on the outward countenance. And
he condemned praying, you know, to be seen of men. He condemned
giving gifts to be seen of men. He condemned fasting to be seen
of men. Now look at verse 2 in my text,
Ephesians 4. Therefore, verse 1, the person
of the Lord urged you that you walk worthy of the calling wherewith
you call. And here are four things he talks
about here, and every one of them are inward work. Because
if the inward man is godly, and the inward man is in love with
Christ and believes, the outward man will follow suit. That's
right. Now, here are the four things. With all lowliness and meekness,
This is a genuine humility before God and men. A genuine humility
in the heart. Low thought, lowliness. What
does that mean with lowliness and humility? Lowliness, that's
low thoughts of ourselves and the best thoughts of others.
A natural man thinks highly of himself and low thoughts of others,
but the believer has low thoughts of himself and best thoughts
of others. Boasting excluded. Pride I obey. I'm only a sinner saved by grace. Be willing to be instructed.
Be willing to be corrected. Be willing to serve. Be willing
to take the low seat. Turn to Philippians 2. Philippians chapter 2, verse 2. Listen to this. Fulfill
ye my joy, that ye be like minded, having the same love, being of
one accord of one mind, and let nothing be done through strife
or vain glory. But in lowliness of mind, let
each esteem the other better than themselves. That's where
it starts, lowliness and meekness. Loneliness of mind. Let each
esteem the others, not just as good as I am, better. And look
not every man on his own things, but every man on the things of
others. We'll be able to look on the things of others when
we quit looking primarily on the things of ourselves. Low
thoughts of ourselves and high thoughts of others. And let this
mind be in you which was in Christ. who thought it not robbery to
be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, took on himself
the form of a servant, was made in the likeness of the
flesh, became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Secondly, verse 2 of Ephesians 4, lowliness and meekness, long-suffering,
what's that? bearing patiently the faults
and infirmities of one another. Paul told us over in Galatians
6, the best way to look with patience upon the faults and
infirmities of others is to be convinced of our own faults and
infirmities. Look at Galatians 6, verse 1. If a man be overtaken in a fall,
ye that are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness,
loneliness, and meekness, considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. That's the way to consider him,
by considering yourself. And we are bare patient with
the faults of others when we consider our own faults and infirmities. You see, love is not easily offended. Love is not easily provoked.
Love, Paul said, beareth all things, believeth all things,
hopeth all things, and endureth all things. That's where this
godly walk starts, inside. And we don't pass out
cards to get people to agree not to drink, not to smoke, not
to do this, not to do that, and not to do the other. God changes
the heart. And that's where lowliness of
mind and meekness and kindness and love and generosity is born
in the heart. Here's the third thing. Look.
Chapter 2. Lowliness and meekness. Patience. Now, verse, the next line. Forbearing one another in love. Forbearing and forgiving one
another in love. Or forbearing and forgiving one
another because you love. Because you love. It's not hard
to forgive somebody whom you really love. Making allowances
is something we do all the time for those whom we love. We make
allowances. He didn't mean to. A little story. My first grandson, Robbie, he's
now 29 years old, but when he was just a little guy, somebody
in the church had given to us a beautiful blue plate, one of
those plates you don't eat out of, your plates you show off,
you know. On a stand, on a stand now, in
the living room, in front of the window where he opened the
drapes, there was that plate, expensive, on that walnut stand. And I came in one day, and it
was in ruins. It was broke into many pieces,
not able to repair or to glue. And I said, who did that? Darcy said, Robbie. I said, well,
bless his heart. She's never let me forget that.
Something happened now, she said, bless his heart. Forbearing and forgiving one
another because you love. Ain't that right? We do it all
the time. All the time. All the time. Never continuing
a quarrel, no reason for it. Nothing to be gained. Never holding
a grudge. never seeking to repay, because
love will cover a multitude of sins. It will. Love will cover a multitude of
failures and faults. See, this goes on here. This
is where this is all done. Religious, outward religious
people are abomination. Outwardly legalistic so-called
reforms. They're tough, they're mean.
And meanest people on earth, religious people, without Christ.
That's right. And the finest folks in the world
are those who have Christ in their hearts, but know their
failures and infirmities and faults and so forth. But it's in here. God looks here.
That's where he looks. Because that's where he works.
Because that's where we live. This old carcass with its Do's
and don'ts and shall and shall not is going to go to the grave.
Dust, that's where it came from. But this heart, born again, created
by God, a single heart, a loving heart, a gracious heart, a kind
heart, God gave it. It'll live forever. That's right.
And then endeavoring, verse three. Here's the fourth thing. Endeavoring
to keep the unity. of the Spirit and the bond of
peace. This new nature, this heart of
God, will strive earnestly to keep and preserve the unity and
harmony and oneness of the body of Christ. That's right. Unity, striving to keep that
unity, that oneness of the Spirit, that bond of peace. That's the
gift of God. That's the gift of God. Believers
and their Lord are one. Our Lord Jesus prayed, Father,
that they may be one as we are. And they're not only one with
Him, they're one with one another. That's the reason He said in
verse 4, look at it, because there's one body. There's one body and one Spirit.
Even as you're called in one hope of your calling. One Lord. One faith, one baptism, one God
and Father. We endeavor to keep that unity
and that oneness of the church, of the body of
Christ. Now, well-meaning people, and
you young people listen to me, I'm going to let you in on a
little, a little lie, give you a little lie here and let you
in on something you need to hear. The old folks have heard me say
it many times, but I haven't said it in a long time. Well-meaning
people have endeavored for centuries to bring all religious faiths
together under one name, ecumenical movements, one organization,
one name, worldwide churches, one worldwide
church, one effort to enlist the world. And they say we believe
in God. All religions believe in God. We believe in life after death.
We all read the Bible. We all claim to be Christians.
Why don't we all get together? And there are times when we feel
guilty because we don't get together with all the people in the world
who are religious. who use the name Jesus, Bible,
God, Heaven, Blood, Cross, Calvary. And we feel a little bit guilty
because we don't cooperate when we get together for Thanksgiving
services and sunrise services and all these things. But there's
one major problem which they will not confess to
or admit. There's one major problem and
that is All of these people do not agree in heart or doctrine
on the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. There's where
the problem is. Who is Jesus Christ? Now, our
Lord didn't get together with the Pharisees. The Pharisees
and the scribes and the Sadducees with their temples and synagogues
all over this known world when He walked this earth as a man. He did not cooperate with them.
He did not meet with them. He did not get together in name
with them. He said they're blind leaders
of the blind. He told his disciples to leave them alone. These men
believed in one God. They did, the Pharisees. They
said, God, we have Moses, we have Abraham, we have God. They
believed that Israel was the people of God. They kept the Sabbath day. They
tithed. They offered the Passover. They
did all these religious things. Our Lord went outside the gate. He did not preach in their synagogues. He preached out in the courtyard. Because they hated Him. They
didn't know who He was. And this world today doesn't
know who He is. Who is Jesus Christ? Our Lord asked these
Pharisees one day. They wanted to argue with Him
about religious things. One of them said, which is the
greatest law? One of them said, is it lawful to give tribute
to Caesar? One of them said, we believe in the resurrection.
If a man, a woman has six husbands, who's going to be her husband
in the resurrection? They just argued about all these
doctrines. He said, what think ye of Christ? Whose son is he? Who is Jesus
Christ? And they said, well, the son
of David. Quote their scripture. He said, yes. But David called
him Lord. David said, the Lord God said
to my Lord, the Christ, sit on my right hand. How can Christ
be David's son and David's God? And they never said a word. They
never answer. How can I get together with a
fellow and worship God who doesn't know God? And preach Christ who doesn't
know Christ? Who is He? He's very God of very God. Anointed
Redeemer, Christ Messiah. What did He do? He redeemed His
people. He didn't try to redeem them.
He didn't make a down payment on redemption. He didn't come
do all He can do and that's up to them. He didn't try to save
anybody. He saved his sheep. He gave his
life for his sheep. He said, oh, let my father give
his milk. She'll come to me, and I won't lose a one of them.
I'll bring them to God. Why'd he do that? So that God
can be just and justify us. God's law has to be satisfied
either by us or by him. that God may be just and justify. His justice has got, sin has
got to be paid for in full. That's what Christ did. It's
finished. Where is He now? Where is Jesus Christ? He's at
the right hand of God, the one mediator between God and man,
the one advocate, the one high priest with the one sacrifice. That's where He is now, interceding.
Now then, that's the reason we can't get together. Those who know the Son know the
Father. Those who do not know the Son
do not know the Father. You say you upset people when you're
so dogmatic. My Lord upset them too. They walked off and left him.
He turned to his disciples and said, will you go away? And if
you read John chapter 8, you'll see why he upset them, talking
just about the things I'm talking now. He said, God's not your
father. Your father's the devil. If God were your father, you'd
love me. That's what he said. Christ said that. If God were
your father, you'd love me. If you were Abraham's children,
you'd do the works of Abraham. Abraham never rejected the Christ.
Abraham loved the Christ. It's just so. And you weren't saved and redeemed
by hearing something that wasn't so. You heard something that
was so. It gave you assurance, didn't it? And people who do
not know the Son do not know the Father. No man knoweth the
Father save the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him.
Men who do not know the Son cannot come to the Father. They cannot
come to the Father. Christ said, no man cometh to
the Father but by Me. Is that correct? Those who do not know the Son
are not Christians. They do not have eternal life. This is the record God has given
us, eternal life. This life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life. He that hath not the Son hath
not life. These things are written unto
you that believe on the Son that you may know you have eternal
life. Is that too dogmatic? Narrow is the gate, straight
is the way that leads to life. Few there be that find it. Broad
is the road. Broad is the gate. Broad is the
compromise. Broad is the changing of the
word, inconsistencies. Broad, the broad road. Here's
the broad, this is the road everybody can walk. The narrow way is only
walked in Christ, by Christ, through Christ, because of Christ. Don't make the road broader than
God made it. Don't make the way different
than the way God made it. Broad is the road, broad it leads
to destruction. Believers are one. They know
it, and they show it. Let me just look at this now
briefly. There's one body, the church. There are many local
churches, but there's one church of the Firstborn. There's one
spirit. Try the spirits, he said, whether
they be of God. There's one Holy Spirit by which
you're baptized into one hope of your calling. One hope. Brother
Scott Richardson said, my resume is this. I'm a sinner saved by
grace. My standing is in Christ. My
objective is to know Him. And my hope is to be like Him.
And that's our hope. One hope. To be like Him. There's one Lord. He's Lord by
creation. He's Lord by decree. The Father
hath made this same Jesus Lord in Christ. He's won by purchase. He died that He might be Lord
of the dead and the living. He's Lord by exaltation and God
hath given Him a name above every name that the name of Jesus every
knee shall bow and every tongue confess He's Lord. Lord, by creation,
decree, purchase, exaltation, is Lord. Worthy is the Lamb. That song is a song of ages,
a song of angels, and a song of redeeming. And we've got to
learn it. There's one faith. That's the
faith of Abraham. Abraham believed God. It was
imputed to him for righteousness. Not by works. One faith. There's
one baptism. We're baptized by the Spirit
into the body of Christ, but there's one baptism confessing
Christ. That's baptism in water by mercy. One baptism. And there's one
God. One Father. Listen. He's above all. He's not above
the Son. They're one. He's not above the
Spirit. They're one in essence and nature. but He is above all angels and
all men and all creation. The Lord thy God reigneth. Glory to God. He is through all,
that is, He is omnipresent. He is taking care of all. His
providence and purpose uses all to perform His work in all things. Whither shall I flee from thy
presence? If I ascend into heaven, thou art there. If I make my
bed in the grave, thou art there. If I take the wings in the morning
and dwell in the othermost parts of the sea, thou art there. He's
through all. Paul said on Mars Hill, He's
not very far from any of us. For in Him we live and move and
have our being. God's not in the universe. The
universe is in God. That's right, it's in God. He's
above all, He's through all, and listen, and He's in you all,
in believers. I and my Father will come and
take up our abode in you. In you. Let me close with these
remarks. Kindly and tenderly, Preaching
the truth and love. Those who love the Father love
Christ. If you were of God, he said,
you'd love me. That's just so. Love him, adore him, give him
the glory. Worship at his feet. Say with
Thomas, my Lord and my God. Those who love the Father love
the Son. And those who love Christ love the Father. His will and
His way and His work. And those who love the Father
and the Son love each other. They do. Christ said, by this
shall all men know you are my disciples if you love one another.
They do love one another in here. Oh, they have their disagreements
and conflicts, but they get over it. because love covers a multitude
of sins. Accommodations are made because
of love. Those who believe, listen to
me, those who believe were predestinated to believe. As many as believed were ordained
to eternal life. You know what Scripture says?
They were predestinated to believe. You don't believe Him because
of something I did, or something you did, you believe him because
of something he did. That's right, that's right. Those who were ordained to life,
they believed. They were predestinated to believe. And those who are
predestinated to believe, everyone will one day believe. What a
wonderful experience it is to see our Lord call out his flock,
call out his sheep. Some the most unlikely. The most
unlikely. Who would have ever thought that
Saul of Tarsus would be a believer? Who would have ever thought? And maybe that's true of somebody
here this morning. Who would have ever thought?
Who would have thought it? Isn't that what they used to
say? Who would have thought it? But he said, other sheep I have,
which are not of this foal, them I must pray. They shall hear
my voice and there'll be one foal and one shepherd." There's
one foal and one shepherd. And you can't make a foal where
you don't have a shepherd. You can't have a kingdom without
a king. Ain't that right? So we got to decide before the
foal gets together who the king is, who the shepherd is. That's Christ. And if you're
willing, Him to be the shepherd. The Lord is my shepherd. Who
He is in His glory, that's to be regarded above my considerations
or my thoughts or my well-being. If I perish, He's still King. If I'm saved, it's because He's
King. Isn't that right? I'm glad it's so.