There we go. So we're starting Ephesians 4, 1 through 6. And he starts, I therefore. What's the therefore there for? Right? Why is that there? Why does he start with that? He's saying, I just told you a bunch of stuff. Now, because of that, I'm gonna say some other stuff, right? So it's all related to that. He's not switching subjects. He's just building on what he said. So, I therefore, what therefore? Because of all these spiritual blessings that I told you about in chapter one, reminding you in chapter two that you didn't come into these by your own works. It's the work of Christ. You are no different than all of the pagans that still don't know God. And in chapter 3 it goes deeper into how it was that that was revealed to you. It's a mystery that no one can know except by revelation of the Holy Spirit. Right? So salvation is by God, for God, to God, of Him, through Him, to Him, are all things. Okay? So Therefore, because of that, have that in mind, you haven't saved yourself, you didn't seek God. Romans 1 said there's none who seeks, none who finds, none who searches after God, right? He's the one who came and sought you. He's the one who left the 99 to come and find you, the one in the ditch and bring you back on his shoulders, okay? So in light of all of that, therefore, walk worthy of this calling, of this thing to which you've been called. And as he goes through the entire chapter, in verse 1 he tells them how they should live in light of the knowledge of all that's been preceded in the three chapters. Verse 2 and 3, he gives examples of how to do it. Lowliness, gentleness, long-suffering, bearing with one another, endeavoring to keep the unity of peace. Okay, and then verses four through six, he starts to go into the unity and we see even an expression of the unity of the tri-unity, the trinity, right? In unity of the spirit, one body, one spirit, one Lord, one God and Father of all, right? And so that unity that they enjoy, we ought to enjoy a common unity amongst one another because we all have the same Lord, the same calling, the same faith, the same baptism. Verses 7 to 16, he starts to explain the grace and the gifts of the Lord that are given to us to accomplish this task of walking worthy. And then in 17 to 24, he gives examples of how to and how not to live, and he juxtaposes and he compares and contrasts believers and pagans. He gives detail regarding the change of mind which is required to walk worthy. And then in verses 25 to 32, he gives some examples of what walking worthy looks like. It's not an exhaustive list. That's not a checklist for you to go through and say, okay, I've done these six things, I'm worthy. Right? They're examples. So, believers have always been called to be contrasted over and against unbelievers as examples of the holiness and the character of God. This is not something new that Paul made up. This is not some new thing that he came up with. This is throughout the entirety of Scripture. This is the reason that Israel was called. If you look in Deuteronomy, in chapter 4, Moses explains to the people that their observance of God's law is to cause the other nations of the world to take notice and to acknowledge the wisdom of such living. You say, wow, such a wise people, that they live this way. And that reminds us of this book, Ephesians 2.10 says that we're to walk in the works which God has prepared beforehand that others may see and glorify our Father in heaven. That's the purpose. God's glory, not your glory, not, wow, what a good guy that guy is. What a nice lady she is. That's not the ultimate purpose. People may say that and praise the Lord that they notice that distinction, but ultimately, hopefully, the goal is to point them to Christ. In 1 Kings, King Solomon prayed during the dedication of the temple that God would accept the prayers of the Gentiles who returned to him on account of his reputation. In Isaiah 56, the prophet spoke of the certainty with which foreigners were to pray to God and confidently expect Him to hear them. Ezekiel 36, God reminds Israel that He will, for His own sake, sanctify His name among the Gentiles as His name is hallowed by the Jew. In chapter 47 of Ezekiel, The prophet exhorts Israel to make no distinction between themselves and believers from other nations. They were to be given an inheritance of land within the borders of Canaan. Look at Leviticus 19.33, it shows the same thing. And in Isaiah 66, God even promised to make Levites of Gentile converts. So again, this is not some guy tried to save Israel a certain way, and he just got frustrated and after a while he gave up and said, let me go deal with these other people here, I'll get back to y'all in a little while. This has always been the plan of God. To call certain people unto himself to be examples to others that they might see. And in the Old Testament, here is a slight distinction that you might draw. In the Old Testament, other nations were called to come. and to join themselves to Israel and to her God. In the New Testament, the church is called to go into the world and preach the gospel. So Israel wasn't told, go out into all the world and tell them my good news. They said, you go here, you establish this nation, this country, you live this way, and you're to be a light to the world. Jesus came, he is the light of the world. And he told us to go into all of the nation, the world, and to preach his gospel. So now, walking worthy. The title again is walking worthy of your calling. What is this walking worthy? That's not Paul's way of saying, make sure your conduct makes you or keeps you deserving. What he's saying is, make sure your conduct matches your calling. Here's your calling, now live this way, the two should go together. In Colossians 1 verse 10, 1 Thessalonians 2 verse 12, and Philippians 1 27, he repeats this phrase, walk worthy. In 1 Thessalonians 4 and 1, he speaks on the same subject, but he changes the verbiage a little bit and he says, how you ought to walk. That's what that walking worthy is, it's how you ought to walk. And what should flavor the entire thing? In verse two we see here, with all lowliness and gentleness, with long-suffering, bearing with one another, endeavoring to keep unity. That should be the seasoning upon the whole dish. That deflavors the whole thing, okay? And why lowliness and gentleness? Well, number one, because Christ himself. lived this way, lowly and gentle, right? He didn't come in great pomp and circumstance and splendor, so there was nothing about him that we should behold him. He was born in a manger, no great procession. He was attended not by dignitaries, but by shepherds and magicians from a far land. He humbled himself. even to the death of the cross. And so in following after his example, in living lives of faithful obedience and conformity to God's law, as Christ said, I come not to do my will, but the will of my Father who sent me. So, the will of the Father who has called us in doing that, we should do that in lowliness and gentleness. So, it's because we're taking the example of Christ. Secondly, it's because of, again, therefore. It's because of chapters 1-3 that clearly denote to us, there's nothing special about us that makes us called. It's not because, and even in the Old Testament, he told Israel, it's not because you're the biggest nation, it's not because you got the greatest army, there's nothing special about you. What's special about salvation and the restoration of right relationship between God and man? It's not man, it's God who's merciful, who's gracious, who condescends to draw people unto himself, who hated him. What other king goes out after his enemies and seeks to make him his friends? Human kings go out to slay their enemies. And we would have been rightly deserving to be slayed by God. Thankfully, when God slays us, he just slays that old man and he makes us alive to the new. So those are the reasons why we ought to walk worthy in lowliness, gentleness. So the reason why we should conduct ourselves this way, it reminds us we're not only told what to do and why to do it, but God through Christ has equipped us for the task to which he calls us. So again, even in our walking worthy, it's God's word. We can't boast. There's nothing about our salvation, our justification, nor our sanctification that we can pat ourselves on the back about. It's all God. And he, for this reason, receives all praise. And we're happy to do it. Because we're but beggars at the king's table. And we're like that, like the young man who was Jonathan's son, when David went out and slayed all his enemies and yet he told Jonathan, I'll be kind to your household. And so he had a lame son, who in any other nation, any other time, that's the son of the grandson of the former king, would be thought of as a threat to the throne and be the first one extinguished. And yet David had him eating at his table, at the king's table. That's us. We're lame enemies of the king and yet he invites us to his table, to the wedding supper. Chapter two told us who we used to be. Verses 17 to 24 of this chapter tell us where to put that off and put on a new person modeled after Jesus. Our former conduct was based on our blindness to God's mystery spoken of in chapter three. And I'm trying to tie all this stuff together. Our new conduct is solely based on what we have learned about Jesus. This learning comes not from our smarts or our seeking after God, but from revelation of his spirit. So therefore, as an indication of a transition, it's saying now taking in consideration of all that's been said up to this point, here's what you should do. Or in colloquial terms, because of everything I just said, now do this. Let's turn in our Bibles together to 1 Peter. Chapter one. You see a very similar exhortation from Peter to what Paul is saying. First Peter, chapter one, verses 13 through 16. It says, therefore, gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, not conforming yourself to the former lusts, as in your ignorance, but as he who called you was holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, be holy, for I am holy. And if you call on the, oh, I'm sorry, that's it, be holy, for I am holy. So therefore, gird up the loins of your mind. Gird up the loins. Back at this time, they wore one-piece clothing, kind of like a long shirt, right? And they would gird up themselves and their loins and tie up the bottom of their cloth when they got ready to fight, right? So the life of Christianity is spiritual warfare. So gird up the loins of your mind, get ready to fight, and that warfare occurs in your mind, right? We're to be sober, we're to rest our hope fully on grace. We're not to conform ourselves to our former lusts. Think about Ephesians. He talks about what we did formerly in chapter 2. He talks about here in verses 17 to 24, the distinction between our living and walking worthy versus how the pagans walk. And he says, Peter says here, that was in ignorance. Paul says the same thing. This is how you walked before in chapter 2. And then he goes in chapter 3 and he says the mystery of godliness. Right? It's a mystery. It's something that had to be revealed to you. Which means that chapter two stuff he was talking about, you were ignorant. Same thing Peter's saying. He said, as he who has called you as holy, Peter does, you also be holy in all your conduct. In all your conduct. Walk worthy. Be holy, for I am holy, God says. So, there's a whole lot in this passage I could comment on. Let the Spirit work in your mind to see how these two fit together. I would encourage you, read through these after the sermon. When you go home today or throughout the week, read Ephesians 4 and then read through 1 Peter 1 and see that similar message that's being proclaimed there. Verse 15 of this passage, it says, We're to think, speak, and act holy. Why? because God is holy. The word translated holy here is the same one used in chapter 1 of Ephesians where he says, Paul an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God to the saints who are in Ephesus and faithful in Jesus Christ. He's talking about holy ones. Chapter 4 Again, I spoke of in Ephesians in chapter four, we're switching to imperatives from indicatives. So in chapter one, when he's calling us holy, that's imperative, that's what it is. We are positionally holy. We've been called and set apart and boom, you're holy. Now he's saying be practically holy in how you walk and how you conduct yourself. Right? And what does that mean? Those two need to match. They need to go together. They need to follow. They need to be in harmony with one another. Which who you are and how you are should match. If they don't, then you know better than the Pharisees, who proclaimed to be one thing, but Jesus said, well, you're not bearing fruit. It's not matching. You're a whitewashed sepulcher. On the outside, it's pretty. On the inside, it's full of dead man's bones. You've done nothing to make yourself a saint. Rather, it's an indication of what has been done for you. When you are a rebellious, God-hating, utterly spiritually incapable child of wrath. Ephesians 2, four through five. In light of this gracious work, you ought to conduct yourself appropriately as is becoming one who has been called for this purpose. There's a saying in the black church, Govern yourself accordingly. Right? Walk the way you say you're saying, you're in the house of God right now. They say it a lot of times to the kids when they're cutting up. Hey kids, we're in the house of God. Govern yourself accordingly. Right? Act right. You're not on the playground. There's a certain way you ought to conduct yourself in light of where you are. And spiritually, there's a certain way we ought to conduct ourselves in light of where we are. Seated in heavenly places with Christ Jesus. Let's look at Romans 12. Another apostle, another epistle of Paul, Romans 12. Now in this one, in Ephesians, one through three are the imperatives or the indicatives, four through six, the imperatives, kind of half and half. In Romans, you got 11 chapters that he goes into before he says in chapter 12, verse one, I beseech you therefore. Brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Again, we see the same thing. Therefore, in light of all that God has done for you in Christ, Now, act this way because you're holy and it should be acceptable. It's just reasonable and be transformed by the renewing of your mind. You saw Peter talking about be sober, gird up the loins of your mind. So, here, reasonable service. The Greek word that's used for reasonable can also be translated rational or logical. It's like saying it just naturally flows or it just makes sense that this is what should be. Proving what's good and acceptable. The Greek word used for prove here is also translated test. So it's like a mathematical proof. You kids that take trigonometry or advanced mathematics, you know what a mathematical proof is. Right? What is it? In mathematics, a proof is a deductive argument for a mathematical statement. In the argument, other previously established statements, right, so I got all this stuff, so therefore. Other previously established mathematical statements, such as theorems, can be used. In principle, a proof can be traced back to self-evident or assumed statements. In theology and apologetics, we call those presuppositions. In principle, a proof is traced back to these. They're known as axioms. and along with accepted rules of inference, proving is not making it so, but simply demonstrating the truth of that which has been declared. So, because we know this mathematical formula is true, we know this one is true, we've already accepted and established this is true, now when we look at this problem, well we can just take these theorems and plug the numbers in and do the sequence of events. And then you come out with the right answer. You can trust that you come out with the right answer. Right? It proves it. It doesn't magically make those two numbers equal the other number. They always did. It just proves by logical deduction that they are what they are. And by logical deduction, based on everything Christ has done for you, then this should be, you just plug it in. And you live this way. The Greek use for acceptable is also translated fully agreeable. appropriately, as becometh, after a godly sort, or worthily. In our catechism, take your hymnals and turn in the back to page 670, sorry, 680. We read this morning how many things are necessary to know that we may live and die happily in the comfort afforded us in the gospel. Three things. First, how I am the greatness of my sins and misery. Second, how I am redeemed from all my sins and misery. Third, how I am to be thankful to God for such redemption. And this here is the first question and answer in the third part of thankfulness. How we're to be thankful. How we're to live before God. How we're to walk worthy. And it says, since then we are redeemed from our misery by grace through Christ, without any merit of ours, why must we do good works? Answer, because Christ, having redeemed us by his blood, also renews us by his Holy Spirit after his own image, that with our whole life we show ourselves thankful to God for his blessing, and that he be glorified through us. Then also that we ourselves may be assured of our faith by the fruits thereof, and by our godly walk when also others to Christ. Flip now to page 685. So that starts thankfulness, and then it goes through all 10 commandments, and then it gets to the end after question 113 states what the 10th commandment requires. Now question 114 asks, can those who are converted to God keep these commandments perfectly? Answer, no, but even the holiest men while in this life have only a small beginning of such obedience, yet so that with earnest purpose they begin to live, not only according to some, but according to all the commandments of God. Why then, question 115 asks, does God so strictly enjoin the Ten Commandments upon us, since no one in this life can keep them? First, that as long as we live, we may learn more and more to know our sinful nature, and so the more earnestly seek forgiveness of sins and righteousness in Christ. Second, that without ceasing, we diligently ask God for the grace of the Holy Spirit, that we be renewed more and more after the image of God, until we attain the goal of perfection after this life. walk worthy. The Belgian confession in article 24 snippet says, these works proceeding from the good root of faith are good and acceptable to God since they are all sanctified by his grace. Yet they do not count toward our justification. For by faith in Christ we are justified even before we do good works. Otherwise they could not be good any more than the fruit of a tree can be good if the tree is not good in the first place. In Canons of Dorton, the fifth head of doctrine in the rejection of error states, the true doctrine concerning perseverance having been explained, the Senate rejects the errors of those who teach that the perseverance of true believers is a condition of the new covenant. That gets rid of them silly new perspectives on Paul, doesn't it? I've heard it said that theology should always lead to doxology. It should be added that doxology should always lead to praxology. What's theology? The study of the word of God. Doxology is an expression of praise, often in song, especially a short hymn which we sing at the end, we'll sing at the consummation of our services today. Praxology is the study of human behavior, right? That's just the general definition. Specifically, when you're talking about proxiology in spiritual terms, it presupposes, well, general, let me give you. Proxiology is a study of human behavior and it presupposes purpose in behavior versus reflexes such as sneezing or coughing. So, proxiology is not the study of why you kick your knee up when the doctor pokes you with the little triangle thing. It's not the study of why you rolled over in the middle of the night. It's the study of why people do things with purpose. Why did that person get into a fight with that guy? Why did that guy, why do these people live this way? So in Christian theological terms, Praxeology is the study of how we ought to live, how we ought to walk worthy of our calling. And so theology, the study of God should always lead to dox, I praise for his goodness and his works and his kindness. And then that should lead to praxeology of living worthy of the calling to which we've been called. Amen. Christ has accomplished everything which is necessary for the salvation of believers. Never confuse what is required from you for your justification with what is required from you for your sanctification. Please believe there is something required of you for your justification. And please believe you can't do it. Jesus did it. Place your faith, your trust, your hope in Him and not yourself. Not in your trying. That's where the Pharisees went wrong. They thought if they checked all their I's and dotted all the E's and crossed all the T's, if we do this stuff, we're good. No, Christ is the only one who's perfect. We see only, even the holiest of men in this life have but a small beginning of obedience. Paul, at the end of his life, said, I'm the chief of sinners. I'm not looking behind. I haven't arrived, but nevertheless, I look forward and I press for the mark of the prize of the apple car. He was still pressing. He didn't say, I'm slowly but surely gliding across the finish line. I've pretty much done it all. Never confuse what's required of you for justification with what is required of you for sanctification. Rest in the declared works which are sure and complete. Evidence of this rest will manifest itself in actions which match or prove or are worthy of this new reality. discontentment about what you find to be evident about your failure to do that which is required should producing you godly sorrow leading to repentance which drives you to remembering again Christ in the cross and thankfulness and it brings forth such a surge of God. I'm so sorry and I'm so thankful. that I'm not judged on account of this sin that I commit in my heart, in my mind, with my lips, with my hands. The things I think on, the things I say, the things I do, the things I don't think on, the things I don't say, the things I don't do. Never forget, it's not just the things you do that condemn you before God, it's the things you don't do. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, all thy soul, all thy mind, and all thy strength. You never for a moment do that. And so your only hope before God is Christ. So in remembering this, in remembering the greatness of our sins and misery, even still we struggle with these things. Positionally, they are no longer against us. The court records, It's been expunged, but we still struggle. We still, righteous man falls seven times when he gets up, and so let that drive you to the foot of the cross, and let that then invigorate you with strength and with desire, with fervor to live holy in the God and to walk worthy of that calling, which you've called, because God is worthy of our lives. It's but our good and reasonable service, amen? Amen. Let's pray. Father in heaven, Thank you for your work. Thank you so much.