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welcome to everyone for our call to worship this evening you can turn to the prophet Micah Micah chapter 4. ah Micah 4 looks forward to the Messianic age it's similar in nature to Isaiah the prophet chapter 2. I'll begin reading in chapter 4 at verse 1 to verse 5. now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established on the top of the mountains and shall be exalted above the hills and peoples shall flow to it many nations shall come and say come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord to the house of the god of Jacob he will teach us his ways and we shall walk in his paths for out of Zion the law shall go forth and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem he shall judge between many peoples and rebuke strong Nations afar off they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their Spears into pruning hooks Nations shall not lift up sword against Nation neither shall they learn War anymore but everyone shall sit under his Vine and under his fig tree and no one shall make them afraid for the mouth of the Lord Lord of hosts is spoken for all people walk each in the name of his God but we will walk in the name of the Lord Our God forever and ever amen well please turn in your hymn books to Psalm 148 Psalm 148 be as in bravo and will stand as we sing together [Music] also together [Music] foreign [Music] like this [Music] is praise us peace songs [Music] foreign [Music] let us pray our blessed God we thank you for this wonderful day we thank you for the the beauty of the created order we thank you for the fact that you are in the heavens and you do whatever you please that all the things that we see in this world all the the lawlessness and the Rebellion the transgression the chaos is nevertheless under the control of the Sovereign God and we know that you are working out your purposes that you govern all your creatures and all their actions and you do so according to your wise plan as well we rejoice in Redemption the salvation of elect Sinners by our Lord Jesus Christ through his life and death and Resurrection there is much to praise you about tonight as we gather together so help us to consider these words that are external to God those things that you have done to demonstrate your power and your majesty and your glory as well to show forth your goodness and your grace and your mercy and certainly in that Gospel of our Salvation we Marvel at what you have demonstrated in the life and Ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ he truly has declared the father that only begotten son that is in the bosom of the father has declared him and we Rejoice that you have given us eyes to see in Hearts to receive these things and tonight as we sing as we pray as we consider Holy Scripture May our hearts be drawn out in worship to our Triune God even Father Son and Holy Spirit we exult in you and we bless you and we praise your great and awesome name and as Paul says in Ephesians 1 we bless you for all of the spiritual blessings that you have given to us in Christ Jesus we rejoice in justification by faith alone we rejoice in the fact that you are sanctifying Us by your truth and by the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit and we look forward to glorification and that realization that we have a a better uh better City that awaits us even the New Jerusalem and Lord God we pray that you would just cause us to be encouraged in the midst of any trials and hardships cause us to reflect upon that that Eternal weight of Glory that does await the people of God Almighty and as we enter into your presence we pray that you'd frame our hearts a right that we'd have a right and proper reverence and a fear of God that is biblical that is consistent with what we find in scripture as well we confess our sin our transgression our remaining corruption to you and we trust not in our good works to sort of outweigh the the bad but we trust in that precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ as John says we have an advocate with the father even Jesus Christ the righteous and in this we Rejoice so God cleanse us now and wash Us in that precious blood of the Lord Jesus and for any and all who've come here tonight that are still dead in their trespasses and sins we pray that by the presence and the power of the spirit you would awaken them and show them their sin and show them that there is a remedy to be had and the person and in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ may you grant The Graces of faith and repentance so that Sinners may come to him and may the joy of be uh and know the joy of being found in him and God we pray for the various needs in our congregation we pray for the new felds and we commend them to you and to the word of your grace and pray that you would watch over them we pray for the various sisters struggling in terms of the the cancer problems we pray for your blessing upon them we ask as well God that you watch over Chloe tonight and just bless her and this little baby in the womb and look with favor upon these two and as well God bless Stephanie who's pregnant and just thank you for the goodness that you have shown Us in the provision of of these little children these gifts we do pray for our children and for our young people that by your grace they would remember their creator and their youth that they would be looking unto the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation and that they would walk in obedience unto you surrounded by and protected by your grace and your mercy and your provision for certainly these are dark times in this in this generation this is a a lawless country a lawless world we see that it is a time when men call good evil and and evil good and in that regard we pray for our governing authorities we pray that you would put the fear of God in their hearts that things like abortion and euthanasia and the celebration of sexual perversion would not would not continue on a beta we pray that you would pour out your Holy Spirit upon the church and Revival and awaken those who are dead in their trespasses and sins we might see a turning unto you Lord God we know that this is not a work of man it's not a work in the political order we appeal to you most high God to send forth your Holy Spirit we pray for churches in our city we thank you that we're not alone here we pray for churches that we have special fellowship and communion with the church in Surrey and in Armstrong and in Dryden we thank you as well for the brethren in Honduras we pray that you would indeed cause each of these places to proclaim the truth as it is in Jesus and may they see the blessing of God upon the ministry of the word and may that word go forth conquering and to to conquer and may you say from every tribe and tongue and people and Nation May bless our Brethren naphtally agallo and in eldoret Kenya may he be with Peter and Myanmar may you be with the Saints in China that suffer for the cause of God and truth and wherever your people gather we pray that you would be there in their midst encouraging and strengthening and causing the kingdom of Jesus Christ to go forward we thank you for that blessed promise that our that our savior spoke concerning the building of the church and the gates of Hades not prevailing against it certainly we see evidence of that we see demonstration of that all throughout this this this New Covenant era and we look forward to hearing more and more about multitudes coming to a knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and what we see written here in the prophet Micah what we see in Isaiah what we see all over the old Covenant all over the Old Testament terms of Gentile inclusion the Covenant promises of God we have great expectation because your word has promised great blessing so God be glorified we pray through the preaching of your word and we ask in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ amen well you can turn with me again in your hymn books to 284 284 will stand as we sing together foreign [Music] oh Jesus Christ [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] for our scripture reading this evening Numbers Chapter 27. and I'll begin reading in verse 1. then came the daughters of zalafahad the son of hefer the son of Gilead the son of machir the son of Manasseh from the families of Manasseh the son of Joseph and these were the names of his daughters Mela Noah hogla milka and terza and they stood before Moses before eliezar the priest and before the the leaders and all the congregation by the doorway of the Tabernacle of meeting saying our father died in the wilderness but he was not in the company of those who gathered together against the Lord in company with Korah but he died in his own sin and he had no Sons why should the name of our father be removed from among his family because he had no son give us a possession among our father's brothers so Moses brought their case before the Lord and the Lord spoke to Moses saying the daughters of zalafahad speak what is right you shall surely give them a possession of of inheritance among their father's brothers and caused the inheritance of their father to pass to them and you shall speak to the children of Israel saying if a man dies and has no son then you shall cause his inheritance to pass to his daughter if he has no daughter then you shall give his inheritance to his brothers if he has no brothers then you shall give his inheritance to his father's brothers and if his father has no brothers then you shall give his inheritance to the relative closest to him in his family and he shall possess it and it shall be to the children of Israel a statute of judgment just as the Lord commanded Moses now the Lord said to Moses go up into this Mount aberim and see the land which I have given to the children of Israel and when you have seen it you also shall be gathered to your people as Aaron your brother was gathered for in the wilderness of Zen during The Strife of the congregation you rebelled against my command to hallow me at the waters before their eyes these are the Waters of meribah at kadash in the wilderness of Zen then Moses spoke to the Lord saying let the Lord the god of the spirits of All Flesh set a man over the congregation who may go out before them and go in before them who may lead them out and bring them in that the congregation of the Lord may not be like sheep which have no Shepherd and the Lord said to Moses take Joshua the son of nun with you a man in whom is the spirit and lay your hand on him set him before eliezar the priest and before all the congregation and inaugurate him in their sight and you shall give some of your authority to him that all the congregation of the children of Israel may be obedient he shall stand before eliez are the priest who shall inquire before the Lord for him by the Judgment of the urine at his word they shall go out and at his word they shall come in he and all the children of Israel with him all the congregation so Moses did as the Lord commanded him he took Joshua and set him before eliezar the priest and before all the congregation and he laid his hands on him and inaugurated him just as the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses amen we see a link here between Moses and Jesus you'll remember in Matthew chapter 9 Jesus makes a similar statement the Harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few pray that the Lord will raise up laborers for his Harvest and he does so after looking upon the people of Israel and seeing they were like sheep having no Shepherd says he felt compassion for them we see that same emphasis with Moses Moses in verse 15 spoke to the Lord saying let the Lord the god of the spirits of All Flesh set a man over the congregation who may go out before them and go in before them who may lead them out and bring them in that the congregation of the Lord may not be like sheep which have no Shepherd so Moses truly was a man of God he had a heart for the people of God and when God tells said that he's not going to enter into the promised land because of what happened in terms of the water nevertheless he has that compassion for Israel and Joshua has already fared pretty pretty large in the narrative up until this point Joshua has been an assistant of Moses Joshua is certainly a good and worthy delegate Joshua is the man of course whose book uh the uh book Bears his name and he leads the children of Israel on The Conquest in to the promised land so Moses demonstrates that pastor's heart God confirms that and God says set apart Joshua for that work and then as well in terms of these inheritance laws this was big you know the promise to Abraham Isaac and Jacob included a plot of land it included geography it included dirt and so these are not sort of odd things to be discussing in a book where promise looms large in terms of God and his people so these Daughters of zalafahad are granted this particular petition they receive that Land by way of inheritance and then of course God explains how it is to take place in the future and in the subsequent Generations if there are those who are not or there are no sons in a particular family so all of these jots and tittles God took care of in Terms of providing and in terms of fulfilling the promise that he had made to give them a land in which they could dwell so inheritance was a big part of life in Old Covenant Israel and so God speaks authoritatively to that and he speaks in a gracious manner so that people aren't shorted people aren't jipped people aren't given what God had promised to give them so let us pray Our Father we thank you for your word we thank you for this heart of Moses demonstrated in the Book of Numbers we thank you thank you for that Heart of Jesus demonstrated in the Book of Matthew and your response in both instances was to raise up a successor to Moses and then to raise up the apostles in Matthew's gospel those men that would take that message and turn the world upside down for our Lord Jesus Christ we thank you for your goodness we thank you for your graciousness we thank you that you not only promise but you fulfill those promises and you do so with great precision and in every detail and we bless you through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen we can turn again with me in your hymn books to Psalm 119 m s Psalm 119 M as in Mike and we will stand as we sing together [Music] please [Music] forever [Music] foreign [Music] we are free from every Christ [Music] foreign please [Music] well you can turn with me in your Bibles to the book of Ephesians as we work our way through Paul's letter to the church at Ephesus our Focus tonight will be verses 25 to 28 but I'll begin reading in verse 17 and read to the end of the chapter so remember we're in the Practical section it begins in chapter four and it ends at the end of the letter in chapter six so he sets forth the doctrine of the Gospel the way of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ he deals with that in chapters one and two chapter three is a bit of a transition where he explains His function and his role as the expounder of the mystery of Christ which includes or which is about Gentile inclusion in the Covenant Promises of God so as I said we are in the Practical section I'll begin reading in verse 17. this I say therefore and testify in the Lord that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk in the futility of their mind having their understanding dark second being alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them because the blindness of their heart who being past feeling have given themselves over to lewdness to work all uncleanness with greediness but you have not so learned Christ if indeed you have heard him and have been taught by him as the truth is in Jesus that you put off concerning your former conduct the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts and be renewed in the spirit of your mind and that you put on the new man which was created according to God in true righteousness and holiness therefore putting away lying Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor for we are members of one another be angry and do not sin do not let the sun go down on your wrath nor give place to the devil let him who stole steal no longer but rather let in labor working with his hands what is good that he may have something to give him who has need let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth but what is good for necessary edification that it may impart grace to the hearers and do not grieve the holy spirit of God by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption let all bitterness wrath anger clamor and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice and be kind to one another tenderhearted forgiving one another even as God in Christ forgave you amen well let us pray father we thank you again for the written word we thank you now for this time to come to the scriptures we pray the spirit would lead and guide us and direct us and help us to understand these things help us to live in a manner that is consistent with being new Men new women in Christ Jesus we thank you for the grace that you have given to us we thank you for justification by faith alone and this sanctifying work of the spirit in our lives and may you further conform each of us unto that blessed Lord Jesus Christ again forgive us for all sin and unrighteousness and we pray in his name amen well as we come to this particular section we see the conduct of the new man in Christ Jesus so after giving a lengthy treatment on Ministry in the church and what the ministry in the church is supposed to do they're supposed to equip the people of God they're supposed to teach the people of God he then gives subject matter for the ministry to teach the people of God so beginning in 4 17 he gets very practical in terms of how the people of God are supposed to live he first gives a caution in verse 17 that we are no longer to walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk and then he describes how Gentiles walk they're messed up they're depraved they're sinful they're dark they're they have a bat that is naturally downward they are Rebels against God most high and then he makes this contrast in verse 20 but you have not so learned Christ if indeed you have heard him and have been taught by him as the truth is in Jesus and then in verses 22 to 24 he's not giving imperatives not giving commands he's not telling us how we are supposed to be he's rather showing us what has happened as a result of God's Sovereign Grace So notice in verse 22 that you put off concerning your former conduct the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful loss that's not a command that we could comply with that is an action that God has done in terms of bringing salvation to Bear upon us he then mentions in verse 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind that happens beginning or initially at regeneration of course the spirit continues that work as we move and live and have our being and then in verse 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God in Christ uh in true righteousness and Holiness so he describes or he gives the characteristics of the new man in verses 17 to 24. specifically 22-24 we put off the old man we're being renewed in the spirit of our mind and as well we have put on the new man again I think there's an allusion to Covenant mental categories in verse 24 that you put on the new man which was created according to God when we think of the creation of man we think of the Book of Genesis and when we think of the creation a man in the Book of Genesis we understand that it's in true righteousness and Holiness Solomon says that God made man upright but they sought out many devices so in redemption in the New Covenant it's not like God is doing some brand new thing okay I'm going to give you this list of things that you need to do now no he has restored he has brought blessing he has brought that original intention expressed it creation to Bear upon the new creation as new men and new women in Christ Jesus we need to let our conduct be consistent with that and then when we move to the particular applications here in verses 25 to 32 I think this is how we free the apostle from either scolding in terms of preaching or being legalistic in terms of preaching notice that he's not saying put away lying so that you can be saved don't don't be sinfully angry so that you can be saved don't commit theft so that you can be saved now he addresses it under the the guise of the the indicative because you put off the old man because your mind is being renewed because you put on the new man you now have the ability by the power and presence of the Holy Spirit to comply with the law of God again it's not a new law you'll find throughout Ephesians 4 to 6 references to the decalogue The Ten Commandments I was talking to a brother recently and we were musing on the fact that in the New Covenant it's not like Jesus brought the teaching on how we're supposed to live no the teaching on how we were supposed to live is embedded in Genesis one to three everywhere held up in scripture codified at Sinai in the Ten Commandments what Jesus brings is the power for us so that we can live in a manner that is consistent with that he saves Us by his grace he justifies us freely we are forgiven we've received achieve this this righteousness that avails with God and we have a new heart we have a new disposition we have a new orientation thus that we want to comply with the written law of God again codified in the Old Testament Jeremiah 31 31-34 I will put my law in their hearts I will internalize what has been external to that and I will give them a heart to love it and a heart to comply with that so Paul is not scolding here Paul is not preaching legalistically Paul is simply highlighting what is character uh conduct that is consistent with our characteristics of a new man in Christ Jesus so as I said the decalogue or the Ten Commandments are the backdrop in much of what we find in Ephesians 4 to 6 and certainly here in three particular areas verses 25 to 28 are prohibited actions and then verses 29 to 32 is prohibited speech so we're just going to take up the prohibited actions tonight notice lying anger and theft so he deals with the uh uh excuse me he deals with the ninth commandment he deals with the sixth commandment and he deals with the eighth commandment he will deal with other Commandments as we move through this particular section of Holy Scripture and I think turretin is right in terms of relation to the law in relation to Christ he says the law leads to Christ and Christ leads us back to the law the law leads to Christ as the Redeemer and Christ leads to the law as the leader and director of life so the law shows us our sin and our rebellion and it shows us our need for the Lord Jesus and by God's grace we come to the Lord Jesus we're Justified freely by his grace and then where does Jesus point us as a pattern for our sanctification well he happens to point us back to the law but again it's not legalism it's empowered now by the Holy Spirit wherein we want to comply wherein we want to live consistently as new men and new new women in Christ Jesus so let's take up these three particulars first the prohibition against lying in verse 25 and you'll notice with each of these three he does three things so if you're taking notes you have three and then you have three sub points he gives a Prohibition he then gives an exhortation and then he gives a motivation so here he gives the prohibition therefore putting away lying he then gives the exhortation Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbors and then he gives the motivation for we are members of one another he does that in each of these three instances in verses 25 to 28. so in terms of lying we we all know what that is right we're not just supposed to be deceitful we're not supposed to speak in falsehood and if he's operating as I think he is in terms of the decalogue in terms of the Ten Commandments each of these particulars can be Amplified in a whole host of ways now with reference to the specifics of the ninth commandment is we're not to bear false witness against a neighbor and in Old Covenant or biblical Redemptive history it's not neighbor somebody that lives right next to you it's somebody in your proximity it's somebody that you may come into contact with and perjury is the deliberate willful giving of false misleading or incomplete testimony under oath and if you notice the connection here verse 25 putting away lying we've already seen that same word used in verse 22 that you put off concerning your former conduct lying is consistent with the old man lying is consistent with our former conduct lying is not supposed to be consistent with our new man with our New Covenant conduct rather we're to live in a manner that is consistent with the Lord God of truth that's how he's addressed in Psalm 31 and we know that the devil is the father of Lies the originator of lies and a murderer from the beginning we know that lying is a characteristic of sinful man Psalm 58 3 says the wicked are estranged from the womb speaking lies as soon as they are born now lying as bad as it is is not the unpardonable sin Jesus speaks concerning the fact that we are forgiven of all sin except for that blasphemy against the Holy Ghost in Matthew 12 31 but if we are unrepentant and we don't forsake sin and we don't come to our lord Jesus then hell is ultimately the punishment for lying for liars in Revelation 21 8 but the Cowardly unbelieving abominable murderer sexually immoral Sorcerers idolaters and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire in Brimstone which is the second death and then again in Revelation 21 27 but there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles or causes an Abomination or a lie but only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life Gill says it is a sin exceeding sinful it is a breach of God's law an aping of the devil it is against the light of Nature and is destructive of civil society and very abominable in the sight of God that's not an understatement if we are not true tellers in the most basic relationships that we maintain then we're going to have big problems all throughout the world I don't think it's a an exaggeration to perhaps kind of Identify some of the issues that face us going forward in terms of our relation to civil government that there's a lot of deception there's a lot of lies hard to build Society on anything other than honesty hard to build Society on anything other than truth-telling hard to do anything family wise Church wise Society wise when there's a bunch of liars and a bunch of deceivers and a bunch of people that are aping the Devil Himself he's a liar he's a murderer unrepentant Liars will end up in the Lake of Fire that is the promise of God most high it is characteristic of the old man it is characteristic of the Gentiles who have their understanding dark and who are alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them because of the blindness of their heart who being past feeling have given themselves over to lewdness to work all uncleanness with greediness it's symptomatic of them but in the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ The People by Grace who've put off the old man are being renewed in the spirit of their mind put on the new man we're not supposed to lie it is simply in a reprehensible for the people of God to engage in lying he says therefore putting away lying the act of lying itself we're told to speak the truth in all areas of life but probably way more particular in the context of the church and as we move through this particular sack chat when he yet say oh to verse 31 let all bitterness wrath anger clamor and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice we can also see that uh backbiting and slander these are condemned these are violations of the ninth commandment this is to transgress the holy law of God so backbiting and slander is simply false and malicious statements about another person don't do that Brethren if you hear things don't repeat things we have a two-fold duty when it comes to backbiting and slander and then with reference to gossip and tail bearing gossip and tail bearing is rumor or talk of a personal Sensational or intimate nature our twofold responsibility is one to keep our mouths shut and two to keep our ears shut if somebody comes to you gossiping you are not obligated to listen to that you are not Duty bound to give them their 30 seconds so they're 30 minutes where they run down a brother or a sister in prayer meeting we're not supposed to say can we pray for brother so and so he's so messed up I I feel sorry for the poor job but let's go ahead and pray for him he said all these things go don't reveal those things if he doesn't want it revealed in a public prayer meeting rumor gossip backbiting slander these are the sorts of things that kill churches that decimate churches that destroy the people of God this is why Paul says with reference to the conduct imperative for the new man in Christ Jesus therefore putting away lying we could go through scripture we have gone through scripture when we go through Proverbs you go through Leviticus 19. you go through the New Testament passages you see that God puts a premium on Truth tell it God puts a premium on speaking the truth in love we see that that's what is corrective in terms of the church with reference to the Teaching Ministry notice in chapter four at verse 15. this is the corrective to verse 14 that we should no longer be children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of Doctrine by the trickery of men in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting but speaking the truth in love may grow up in all things into him who is the head Christ you know what the best thing for the Church of Jesus Christ is it's truth it is the accurate Exposition and application of God's Holy Scripture that's why he spends the time that he spends in Chapter 4 verses 3 to 16 to establish a faithful Ministry so that the word of God can be taught and that the people of God can prosper so that they can grow so that they can guard against lying in general so they can guard against backbiting and slander and gossip in particular so they're not obnoxious specimens of human beings that are absolutely miserable to be around that only ever talk about everybody else that only ever talk about everybody else and run them down that is unacceptable behavior for the new man and the new woman in Christ Jesus so that's the prohibition thereby therefore putting away lying notice the exhortation Let each one of you speak the truth speak truth with his neighbors this is a quotation from the prophet Zechariah Zechariah Chapter 8 and verse 16. why would Paul go there I mean come on there's all these passages in the Bible about speaking the truth and love Zechariah an obscure Prophet that a lot of the people of God probably haven't even read why go to Zechariah Chapter 8 to sort of ground your position here to try to corroborate what you're teaching well I'm not like bar explains Stephen Barr in his commentary it's he says the Zechariah quote talks about speaking truth with one's neighbor who in context is a fellow Israelite brought back as a Remnant to the New Jerusalem Zechariah 8 1-15 Paul applies this prophecy to the New Covenant Community because the church is this eschatological people consisting of the remnant Jews Roman 11 Romans 11 1-5 and Gentiles like Paul's audience brought into one new house as a new human race it's an absolutely appropriate text for this particular contact where he has made much of the fact that Jew and Gentile now are the temple of God it is the people of God it is the corporate dwelling of God wherein we come to the father through the son in the spirit so it's most appropriate so the prohibition therefore putting away lying the exhortation Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbors and then notice the motivation for we are members of One one another we are members of one another what does he mean by that well I think what he's saying is that Unity the unity that we have as the people of God together necessitates honesty in other words we don't have relationships built on lies we don't have relationships built on Deception we don't have relationships built on falsehood that's not the way to build Brethren the way that you build relationships is by speaking the truth by encouraging one another by speaking those things that are for for necessary edification we'll see that when he speaks to that specifically in the following verses but here specifically the motivation is that we are members of one another so the unity of God's people necessitates honesty from God's people and then I would suggest even outside of that the stability of the civil and familial order depends on or necessitates honesty you're not going to have a good family built on lies you're not going to have a good Society built on lies we do this right some of us are interested in politics and we say well I wonder how we got here really you you wonder how we got here we do nothing but lie we do nothing but kill we do nothing but destroy what do you mean how did we get here it's pretty pretty obvious we hire absolute morons and incompetence to lead us men that are so bent and so so Twisted ethically that of course they're going to run the ship right into the ground for their own you know aggrandizement for their own Prestige for their own pocketbook whatever the case may be it's very simple if you look at life speak the truth in love I'm not saying all your problems are going to go away but that's the way you're supposed to live putting away lying and it's interesting the verbs the the tense of the verbs it's almost like he assumes it's going on and he's telling you to stop now your new man in Christ Jesus the Lord you're not supposed to be doing this this is not conduct that is consistent with new men and women in Christ Jesus again he's not scolding he's certainly not using the law in a off away stop lying so you can go to heaven no you're going to go to heaven on your way there you're supposed to put away lying so that you live in a manner that is consistent with our blessed savior now notice secondly the prohibition against sinful anger I connected that to the sixth commandment for a purpose notice first the prohibition be angry and do not sit this is not something confined to the New Testament Psalm 4 4 says be angry and do not sin Psalm 37 8 says cease from anger and forsake wrath now this isn't a command to be angry but it is a concession in case you are angry it's not saying be angry go out and be angry he's not commanding that he's not saying you know Mean Mug everybody you know when you're driving home tonight you just look at everybody with that attitude and that that face I've shared with you before I'm always a afraid that I'm going to Mean Mug somebody on their way to church and they just happen to be visiting our church that Sunday that's the guy that mean mugged me over on First Avenue that's going to be a very embarrassing thing got to work on that whole mean mugging thing Paul's not commanding to be angry he's making a concession that if you are angry don't sin if you are angry don't sin why do I connect this to the sixth commandment well because Jesus does notice in Matthew 5. Matthew chapter five you can turn that Matthew Chapter 5 Sermon on the Mount Jesus is not giving a new law Jesus is expounding the Old Law and the Old Law encompassed not just murder but the Old Law encompassed the sinful heart attitude that would lead to murder and so in Matthew 5 at verse 21 you have heard that it was said to those of old you shall not murder and whoever murders will be in danger of the Judgment but but I say to you now every time I preach this I feel the need to qualify what Jesus is doing here and what he's not doing he's not making a contrast between himself and Moses he's not saying well Moses told you this but but I'm telling you this Moses was you know not it was good but it wasn't great but now I'm really elevating and I'm I'm really bringing it into that spiritual realm now the contrast isn't Jesus and Moses the contrast is Jesus and Moses interpreters Jesus and the Pharisees Jesus and the scribes Jesus and the tradition that place the law or breaking of it simply in the externals if you didn't cut somebody's throat if you didn't stop their heart from beating you weren't guilty of the law of breaking the law well the old Covenant doesn't demonstrate that the old Covenant demonstrates that you're not supposed to hate your neighbor in your heart again Leviticus 19 sounds like New Covenant ethics when you read through that section so when he says you have heard that it was said to those of old you shall not murder and whoever murders will be in danger of the Judgment but I say to you again not a contrast with Moses because Moses taught the same thing but I say to you whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the Judgment so you see he connects this unwarranted anger and I think that's important this unwarranted anger that's without a cause Nas and he says that if anybody does that they're guilty of violating the sixth commandment so it's not just a matter of stopping somebody's heart it's not just a matter of putting a bullet in somebody's head you can be guilty of the sixth commandment by being angry with somebody without a cause or by giving vent or expression to that anger such that you see then such that you're so miserable and you're so embittered against that and you want to connive and plot their demise you may not actually carry it out you may not cut their brake lines but boy if that were to happen it sure wouldn't bother you because they deserve that sort of thing Paul says put the kibosh on that you need to restrain yourselves you need to guard your heart the Without a Cause is a necessary qualification and as I said the Old Testament taught this listen to the dedicate it was an early Christian manual probably you know a conservative date is about 8110 so not long after the apostolic Minister Apostolic period and dedicate 3 2 do not become angry for anger leads to murder do not be jealous or quarrelsome or hot tempered for all these things braid murders so he's discounting insane he's discouraging this kind of hot-headedness this this temper that is driven by wanting the demise of your fellows now certainly that shouldn't obtain in any church man I hope we don't get it you know anybody's so angry at each other within the context to the church man if they drove off a cliff tonight again I you know I I shouldn't celebrate that but I wouldn't be you know necessarily pained about it that should never happen so this is the point be angry and do not sin there is an anger that is symptomatic of Holiness God is angry with the wicked every day according to Psalm 7 and verse 11. When Jesus is flipping over those tables and driving out the money changers from the temple I doubt he has a big cheesy smile on his face hey guys I I just want you to take your wares down the street and go sell them there no he's flipping tables over he's making a Scourge he is whipping the animals he's driving them out of the temple The Interpreter or the interpretation of zeal for your house has has consumed me Mark 3 verse 5 specifically Jesus heals a man on the Sabbath day and all of the Pharisees and scribes are upset about it it says that Jesus is grieved and angry at them so you can be angry bro there is such a thing as righteous anger but by way of caution and encouragement for us the line is very slim in terms of when we cross over the sinful region okay God is able to be angry with the wicked every day and not sit I don't know that we have that confidence level or that ability or that that equipment in which to compose ourselves in such a way that we don't go nuts or that we aren't inflamed with bitterness toward other people so there is this demonstration of righteous anger but with reference to the text be angry and do not sit now notice the exhortation do not let the sun go down on your Wrath I like to think that every husband and wife knows this verse I like to think that every husband and wife invokes this verse they get a problem at the dinner table it lends itself into later on in the night it's time to go to bed not sister we call each other not sister that'd be kind of weird uh honey honey just Escape me there for a minute honey honey let's let's let not the sun go down on our wrath we need to fix this because there's nothing like trying to get a good night's sleep when your heart is bitter and when you're just yeah upset and when you haven't dealt with things what's the point he is saying deal with it in an appropriate Manner and time frame because of the nature of the sin it will just grow it it is the cage in fact look back at Leviticus 19. there is a passage there that seems so counter-intuitive that I don't know that that any of us ever live this way but notice in Leviticus 19 the the love chapter in the Old Testament look at verse 17 you shall not hate your brother in your heart you shall surely rebuke your neighbor and not bear sin because of him what what does that mean it means if you have a problem with somebody be a big boy be a big girl and deal with the problem why would you be to cowardice what happens when you don't deal with the plot Problem does it go away I mean perhaps you've had a car where the check engine light comes on and you think if I ignore it long enough maybe it'll just turn off on its own or you hear a fresh new Rattle and you think maybe if I just ignore that fresh new rattle for long enough it'll disappear it usually doesn't there are problems involved when we don't deal with our sin or in the case of anger our propensity to sin be angry and do not sin there is a fine line dividing that what's the point of Moses under the inspiration of the spirit in Leviticus 19 17 you shall not hate your brother and your heart you shall rebuke him why because then you fix whatever problem there was outstanding and you guys reconcile and you resume your relationship it's pretty obvious and pretty Elementary but it does require a degree of guts and typically that's why God's people don't always employ that so the emphasis here is do not indulge your anger with time as it will only grow be angry and do not sin Hodge says eat anger even when justifiable is not to be cherished the wise man says anger rests in the bosom of fools Ecclesiastes 7 9. Stephen boss says a righteous indignation May flare up leading to vexation over evils Believers May encounter but it must be swiftly dealt with before it leads to sin if you give it vent if you give it space if you give it opportunity what happens it runs it runs as fast as it can and it will end in all kinds of set there's a bit in John Owen in volume six he says that every lustful thought would end in full-on adultery if given the opportunity the smallest doubt would end an absolute Atheism in the rejection of God most high you give sin a little bit of space a little bit of room and what's it going to do it is going to run and that's why Paul says be angry and do not sin do not let the sun go down on your wrath now notice the motivation nor give place to the devil there is a liability he involved if he is a murderer from the beginning and a liar then what is it that he wants to entice people toward lying in Murder oh yeah you're right to be angry oh yeah that person has it coming oh yeah they're messed up oh yeah that bitterness that's perfectly appropriate in terms of a response you deserve that you're such a great person and they offended you how dare they offend you of course the devil is going to whisper this in your ear don't give place to the devil don't give him an inroad into your heart he's going about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour don't say well come on in I'm angry I'm bitter I'm upset and I just want to be taken over and led to the place of absolute murder no don't do that Paul says don't give place to the devil don't give opportunity to the devil John Edie said the idea indicated by the connection is that anger nursed in the heart affords Opera opportunity to say to anger nursed in the heart now Brethren as we move through these passages you will see how intensely practical they are you may not be a liar you may not be a thief but most of us at some level get angry and most of us at some level slip into the sinful expression of that anger most of us at some no no that's a generality you could be the nicest guy or girl in here oh no I get along with everybody great great more power to you you may just steal or you may just you know commit commit uh those sorts of things I'm just joking that was a just a little humor there but but the point is is that most of us have this inclination to a sinful anger and so the Apostle says don't give don't give room to the devil and then notice thirdly the prohibition against theft let him who stole steal no longer again these are acts that are inconsistent with the new man in Christ Jesus these are stuff for these are things that characterize the old man these are things that are associated with Adam and not with Christ if we're speaking in those covenantal categories now again I think the Apostle is working with the Old Testament in his mind and so when the Apostle says in verse 28 let him who stole steal no longer in terms of prohibition he's got quite the list he's got quite a comprehensive list of what the Old Testament says we're not supposed to do when it comes to other people's property there is the act of burglary that's entering a dwelling with the intent to steal Exodus 22 2-3 it it legitimizes self-defense in that instance up to and including the death of the burglar insofar as it occurs in the evening secondly the act of robbery taking something from someone by the use of violence or intimidation again it's kind of unconscionable to think that this would happen in churches but it's not unconscionable to think that this would happen in churches Brethren I mean it may not be the case that you're standing on the corner you know holding a big you know blunt force trauma instrument to you know whack people over the head and steal their wallets or their purses but there might be intimidation that you you you you utilize with people and your business dealings there might be coercion there might be those those Crossings of the line that are not respectful to other people's property and the act of kidnapping to seize a human being and detain unlawfully and usually for ransom This is highly discouraged in the Old and New Testaments it's capital offense it's a capital crime most likely It's associated with slavery not so much not the kid over the head put them in the trunk and you know ask the the rich parents for ransom it was man stealing to take somebody from their home and put them into another environment and to make them slaves it was a capital offense the act of fraud again I think this comes a lot closer to where it might actually actually obtain in the New Covenant Church notice he says let him who stole steal no longer fraud the old tough Testament you see the moving of a landmark the case of unjust weights God abominates unjust weight see the idea of social justice is not bad it's just that God needs to Define our social justice and not Karl Marx the social justice Warriors are marxists that's their problem the fact that they they they the crier denounce you know Wicked Behavior it it that that's a legitimate thing God abominates the the unjust scales that's over Proverbs over and over again as well the exploitation of hired workers Deuteronomy 24 and James 5 the exploitation of hired workers don't don't steal don't don't do that the act of extortion acquiring property by undue legal power or undue influence remember Jesus upgrades the the scribes and the Pharisees why they they exploit widows they take widow's money how do they do that well the Widow's husband dies and she needs some counsel and some help and she doesn't have an Edward Jones so she goes to a rabbi and the Rabbi says I've got a perfect plan for you I got a bridge to sell you it's beautiful it's wonderful you're gonna love it give me all your money and we'll make this deal well Jesus says that's wicked that's vile that is reprehensible that is a transgression of the law the destruction of property through negligence and through wickedness we've been going through this in the book of Exodus there's a lot of clarity in those judicial laws of Moses there's a lot of General Equity mind abiding for us today in terms of applying biblical law in our current society and situation and then the act of religious theft in Malachi chapter 3 the Lord God denounces those who rob God those who don't bring their tithes and offerings to the church now Brethren God doesn't need money God's not saying you know what you got to Pony up you got to bring the dough you got to make sure you keep the lights off no the money is not the object the the heart of the worshiper is the object the the cheerfulness the the giving back the acknowledgment that God the Lord owns everything the Earth is yahweh's and the fullness thereof and he gives us blessings and he gives us resources and he gives us a stewardship and it's a great way for us to express our love for him and our praise to him and our worship of him by bringing to his house I always quote Gary North men want religion but they want it cheap the Lord Jesus says for you pay tithe of mint and anus and cumin and have neglected the weightier matters of the law Justice and mercy and Faith these you ought to have done without leaving the others undone he's not saying don't pay the tithes he's saying pay the tithes but don't forget Justice mercy and Faith this was the condemnation in that particular curse so the particular prohibition is that we are not supposed to steal but notice the exhortation but rather let him labor working with his hands what is good there is a corrective afforded by the fourth Commandment the fourth Commandment bids us six days you shall labor and do all your work so notice that there is this Dynamic involved in the Christian Life of sanctification that is similar to the Christian Life of conversion so in conversion God by Grace puts off the old man God by Grace puts on the new man and then in terms of our Christian Life and sanctification we by his grace put off lying and put on true telling we by his grace put off sinful anger and speak the truth in love we by his grace put off theft and we work the way God intended for us to do it's a two-fold dynamic in terms of sanctification put on put off you see it encapsulated in Romans 13 14 but put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lust see people try to put off sin but they haven't put on Christ they have moral reform they don't smoke crack anymore that's somewhat commendatory but that's not godliness that's not Holiness that's not biblical righteousness that twin Dynamic is supposed to be in the heart of God's people so there's this corrective afforded by the fourth Commandment and then of course the corrective afforded by the eighth commandment live off of your work not your thievery live off of your work and not your thievery turn to first Thessalonians 4. first Thessalonians 4. we'll just confine our attention here to the New Testament not that there's nothing in the Old Testament about this because there surely is but notice in first Thessalonians 4 at verse 9. but concerning brotherly love you have no need that I should write to you for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another and indeed you do so toward all the Brethren who are in all Macedonia but we urge you Brethren that you increase more and more that you also aspire to lead a quiet life isn't verse 11 just beautiful don't we all just want verse 11. don't you want to just tell your government just leave me alone I want first Thessalonians 4 11 that you also aspire to lead a quiet life to mind your own business and to work with your own hands as we commanded you that you may walk properly toward those who are outside and that you may lack nothing notice in II Thessalonians 2 Thessalonians specifically at chapter 3. second Thessalonians 3 Verse 6 but we command you brethren in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which he received from us for you yourselves know how you ought to follow us for we were not disorderly among you nor did we eat anyone's bread free of charge but worked with labor and toil night and day that we might not be a burden to any of you not because we do not have authority but to make ourselves an example of how you should follow us for even when we were with you we commanded you this if anyone will not work neither shall he eat for we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner not working at all but are busy bodies now those who are such we command and exhort through our Lord Jesus Christ that they work in quietness and eat their own bread and then turn to First Timothy Chapter 5 and a passage that is highly charged in terms of the church's support for widows those widows who are destitute those as widows who have fallen on Hard Times their husband their man their love their Breadwinner is no longer there well they didn't just go down to local government agents and say put me on the money you know give me give me give me they didn't have that and so Paul has a strategy for the church to care for the widows but guess where that strategy begins it doesn't begin in the church it begins in the home it begins in the family it begins with the persons that were intimately connected to that woman or to that man as the case may be but then notice the principle that he lays out in first Timothy 5 8 if anyone does not provide for his own and especially for those of his household he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever so going back to Ephesians 4 we see that the Apostle is all about diligence he's all about industry he's all about hard work Thomas Watson said the bread that tastes most sweet is obtained with most sweat a godly man would rather fast fast then eat the bread of idleness vain professing Christians talk of living by faith but do not live in a calling they're like the Lilies of the Field they toil not neither do they spin an idol person is the devil's tennis ball which he bandies up and down with temptation till at last the ball goes out of Play What a corrective to this stealing no longer but rather let him work but then the motivation continues so in verse 28 let emu stole steal no longer but rather let him work working with his hands what is good that he may have something to give him who has need that he may have extra that he may have an abundance that he may have a surplus so that he may be able to alleviate the the downtrodden and the poor with whom he comes into contact now in the Westminster larger catechism we see that corrective uh this corrective through charity is enjoined what are the duties required in the eighth commandment and an Endeavor by all Justin lawful means to procure preserve and further the wealth and outward estate of others as well as our own now there is a necessary qualification here and I'm going to steal it right out of Charles Hodges commentary he says no one is entitled to be supported by others who is able to support himself let me just read that again because I refer to this as tan staffel there ain't no such thing as a free launch this text does not legitimize free lunches for lazy people this tax does not legitimize living off the surplus of others while you are unwilling to obey God and embrace the fourth Commandment and six days do all your labor and all your work Hodge says no one is entitled to be supported by others who is able to support himself the text that he's espousing he's got this one as he's commenting on it but second Thessalonians 3 10 the reality that if a man does not I'm sorry second Thessalonians 3 10 if a man does not work neither shall he eat so the corrective remedy in terms of us working hard is to build a surplus so that we can Aid others now those others ought to be those who demand or rather require Aid because they're unable to provide it for themselves again flip over to First Timothy 5. just so you can see that the church is not an ATM Brethren look at First Timothy chapter five so after grounding this particular responsibility let's just back up a little bit verse 3. honor widows who are really widows the honor there means to give them money it doesn't mean to esteem them as the right Reverend misses whoever it means to give them money you see the same word used in first Timothy 5 17. honor Elders who rule well especially those who labor in the word and doctrine that doesn't mean you call them right Reverend sir it means you give them money so that they can purchase Goods so that they can live so that their children can have shoes well in the same vein honor widows who aren't really widows but if any Widow has children or grandchildren let them first learn to show piety at home and to repay their parents for this is good and acceptable before God now she who is really a widow and left alone trust in God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day but she who lives in pleasure is dead while she lives and these things command that they may be blameless but if anyone does not provide for his own and especially for those of his household he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever okay we've we've established that so Paul says okay there's this duty this responsibility you don't just say too bad for you lady uh you know hopefully everything goes well for you go go down to the local government agents maybe you can get some handouts no the church has a responsibility the church's primary responsibility is to point them to their family that doesn't seems so calloused it seems so cold it seems so hard it's biblical it's the way it's supposed to be I think most of us are constructed that way when when we're younger and we're cared for and fond over by our parents when when we grow up and they're old it seems like the reflex to want to take care of them doesn't it you just want to care for that so so he's established that the family should do it but if there's no family to do it then it is the church's responsibility but notice how he speaks to this in verse 9 do not let a widow under 60 years old be taken into the number and not unless she has been the wife of one man well reported for good works if she has brought up children if she he has lodged strangers if she has washed the Saints feet if she has relieved The Afflicted if she has diligently followed every good word wow Paul you mean we don't just cough up all the money that we have oh we cough up but there's a certain requirement on their part too this isn't a one-way Street where we just throw God's money at that that everybody who's downtrodden in poor so back to our text in Ephesians the motivation is to build the Surplus so that you're able to assist others but sometimes assisting others might not be with your Surplus it might be with a bit of Bible study on the doctrine of labor on the doctrine of work on how to find a job on where to go to make your own money that could be one of those strategies that you employ to truly alleviate the downtrodden and the poor now in conclusion we see the instruction for Christian Living I think this is a a necessary reminder the purpose of God at creation he embedded in man certain responsibilities he embedded in man certain things in fact our confession links the giving of the law at Sinai with what God does with Adam in the garden it's not a brand new law these things were embedded even prior to Exodus chapter 20 it was wrong to murder people prior to Exodus chapter 20 it was wrong to commit adultery prior to Exodus chapter 20 there were those things hardwired in man vis-a-vis the law Romans 2 14-15 speak to this specifically that are not brown obliterated and brand new things take place now no what the New Testament brings or what the New Covenant brings is a redeemer who forgives us a redeemer who confers upon us a righteousness whereby we have acceptance with God and a redeemer who provides the holy spirit to guide us to instruct us and delete Us in keeping the law not for salvation but because we have been saved again Jeremiah 31 but this is the Covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days says the Lord I will put my my law in their minds and write it on their hearts in that context nobody would have scratched their heads and say what law what's he talking about of course he knew of course they would know and then it says and I will be their God and they shall be my people no more shall every man teach his neighbor and every man is brother saying no the Lord for they shall All Shall know me from the least of them to the greatest of them says the Lord for I will forgive their iniquity and their sin I will remember no more so we've got the old Covenant giving of the lot Sinai and then again on the plains of Moab we have this old Covenant prophecy that in the New Covenant that law is going to be internalized it's going to be taken from those external tablets and embedded into the heart of man there's going to be a love for the law you're going to be able to say that the Commandments of God are not burdensome they're not Grievous it's not something that oh I hate the law it's my consternation day and night no it's my meditation day and night I love the law we have the spirit in enabling us to comply with that blessed law so it's not some new ethic that we find but it is restorative to what God candidate creation secondly the power of God in our Salvation it's seen in justification to be sure uh Ephesians 2 8-10 but it's also seen in this section as well you're not saying stop doing these things in your own strength and in your own power no you do these things by the power of the Holy Spirit turn to Philippians chapter 2 verses 13 and 14. you see that emphasis Philippians 2 verse 12. uh therefore my beloved as you have always obeyed Philippians 2 12 not as in my presence only but now much more in my absence work out your own salvation with fear and Tremblay we only work out what God has placed in it's not saying work for your salvation but work out your salvation and then notice in verse 13 4 it is God who works in you both to Will and to do for his good pleasure so we've got the power of God evident and demonstrated in our sanctification obviously as well as in our justification and then finally the obvious import of this action is simple the old man lies the old man has sinful anger that comes to the point of murderous rage and the old man is a thief that old man has been put off you are being renewed in the spirit of your mind you by Grace have put on the new man and in new man ethics you're supposed to speak the truth if you do get angry don't sin and certainly don't be a thief don't go down to Walmart and steal whatever it is you want for dinner rather go get a job at Walmart and get a paycheck and then buy what you want to eat for dinner now in terms of our Salvation we don't just make it because we act like new men we must be born again we must be saved by grace through faith and that not of ourselves it is the gift of God lest anyone should boast we are to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ when we do so we are forgiven of our sin we are given that righteousness and we're given the Spirit by which we comply with the law of God as a pattern of sanctification so that we can march to Zion in a manner that is consistent with the conduct that is becoming a new man in Christ Jesus well let us pray Our Father in heaven we thank you for your word we thank you for its Clarity and for the ethics that we find here we pray that you would give us that desire give us that love for the law and give us graciously the holy spirit so that we may comply and so that we may honor you that we may conduct ourselves in a manner that is consistent with our High Calling in the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ thank you for this day we pray that you would go with us now that you'd watch over us in this coming week and we pray through Christ the Lord amen we'll close with a brief time of meditation