Ethical Christianity
(Ephesians 4: 1-16)
When I got into law school, we were required to take a class on Professional Responsibility which dealt with the issues of being an ethical lawyer. That was kind of a shock to my system as I naively assumed that all lawyers were ethical. I mean, as a police officer I had taken an oath to uphold the law and the Constitution of the United States. Now, that’s not to say that I didn’t see my fellow officers violate their oath from time to time, but it kind of went without saying that we were held to a higher standard. If we stuck to that oath then our chances of falling short were lessened. I guess I was surprised to see that the State Bar had to put some of these issues of ethical misconduct in writing, issues such as not misleading the court, not going into business with clients, and not having sex with a client while you were still representing him or her. It made me wonder if it was that bad, or was it just assumed such conduct was okay because it wasn’t specifically forbidden. Just to underscore the seriousness of ethical misconduct they included actual, real-life examples of some of the stunts some lawyers pulled that got them disbarred, that got their ticket punched. To get licensed, we were required to take and pass an ethics portion of the bar exam. I would hope that if anyone failed the bar exam, which many lawyers did on their first attempt, it wouldn’t have been the ethics portion. FYI: I passed on my first attempt. When I moved to Washington State the only thing required of me to be licensed in Washington was to pass the ethics portion of the Washington State Bar Exam. A few of my Texas lawyer friends cautioned me against selling my house before the results came back. Ha, ha, ha!
Well, guess what? It’s the issue of Ethical Christianity that the Apostle Paul is writing about in his letter to the churches of Ephesus. Paul wrote this circular letter, a letter to be shared with all of the Christian churches in the area, around 60 A.D. from his imprisonment in Rome, decades after the ascension of Christ and the establishment of the church. I suspect that the Apostle may have seen some shady or questionable conduct by some church leaders or fellow Christians that concerned him, conduct that cast the Church and the Gospel in an unfavorable light. And, I guess, an argument could be made that Paul looked two thousand years into the future and was shocked at what his beloved Church had become. I know I am.
Paul begins by stating: Therefore, as a prisoner for the Lord, I encourage you to live as people worthy of the call you received from God. Conduct yourselves with all humility, gentleness, and patience. Accept each other with love, and make an effort to preserve the unity of the Spirit with the peace that ties you together. He’s talking about the ethical implications of these theological truths and to live transformed lives that honor God. The Apostle reminds us that our salvation is not static; it is not a one-time event. Salvation involves living one’s life to honor God, never as a means of trying to earn salvation, but always as a response to the great love that God has already shown in Christ Jesus. He reminds us that as a church we are one body and one spirit, just as God also called us in one hope. He reminds his readers that: There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father of all, who is over all, through all, and in all. He says that God has given his grace to each one of us measured out by the gift that is given by Christ. Yes, we’ve been given an unmerited gift and the best way to show our gratitude for that gift is in how we show our appreciation. In accepting this gift, we are called to walk, to live, in a manner worthy of our calling as Followers of the Way of Jesus Christ. Our walking or living describes for all to see an ongoing lifestyle and not a one-time action, one and done, I’ve been saved and you’re on your own.
Paul then makes a reference to Christ climbing up after also implying that he had gone down to the depths, into the lower regions. Well, that statement has sparked debate among many theological experts, and countless non-experts for that matter, but to me what it says is that Christ has seen mankind at its worst and that he is calling us to rise above the corrupt world and to live a life worthy of our calling as a living and breathing example to those who are struggling in the depths of despair, greed, hate, envy, addiction, jealously, narcissism, or whatever else it is that is stopping them from being their better self, from becoming a child of God and a brother or sister of Jesus Christ.
Paul then goes on to tell his readers how diverse our movement is in that to some of the churches he gave apostles, to some he gave prophets, others he gave evangelists, and some he gave pastors and teachers, whatever they needed at the time. Paul says: His purpose was to equip God’s people for the work of serving and building up the body of Christ until we all reach the unity of faith and knowledge of God’s Son. God’s goal is for us to become mature adults—to be fully grown, measured by the standard of the fullness of Christ. Sounds like Christian ethics to me. So, obviously, that got me to thinking about our little church and where we are in our Christian ethics. Our current church has been in this location since 1960 but was born out of two smaller churches that had been in the Tri-Area, being planted somewhere between 1900 and 1910. During that time the congregations saw many changes with pastors coming and going as they grew in their faith journey. Many of you have told me stories of your favorite pastors and the vibrancy of the church as fondly remembered. Now, I’m certainly not an apostle or a prophet and will never be accused of being an evangelist, and I’m not sure I’ve filled the role of teacher, but I think I was sent to be the pastor that this church needed at the time, a pastor who was focused on missions and walking the talk, building upon what had already been established through the hard work and love of others.
In practicing our ethical Christianity, we speak the truth with love, growing in every way into Christ, who is the head. Our whole body of believers grows in every way into Christ, who is the head. The whole body, Paul says, grows from him, as it is joined and held together by all the supporting ligaments. The body makes itself grow in that it builds itself up with love as each one does their part. He’s saying that all members of the body work together towards the goal of building up the body. And this ministry of ours that we’ve been called to is not solely the work of the leaders. Rather, because grace has been given to each believer, all are expected to work together to achieve unity of the faith and knowledge of Christ for the good of all mankind.
So, instead of concentrating on what divides us, we should remember what unites us: one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one and only one God. And building unity is one of the Holy Spirit’s most important roles in moving us to be the church that God needs for the restoration of his creation. Although the Spirit leads, we have to be willing to be led and to do our part to keep the peace. We do that by focusing on God, not ourselves. Each believer, during their lifetime, has God-given abilities that can strengthen the whole body as it grows and matures. And depending upon where you are in your life, your special ability may seem small or large, but it is yours to use in God’s service. All you have to do is ask God to use your unique gifts to contribute to the strengths and health of the body of believers. He will give you the means, the support, and the help to see it through. With God, all things are possible.
God has given his church an enormous responsibility-to make disciples in every nation, not just here in America, although it does seem as if we could use a few more true disciples. This worldwide mission that began at Pentecost involves preaching, teaching, healing, nurturing, giving, administering, building, and many other tasks. As the body of Christ, we can accomplish more together than we would dream possible working by ourselves. Working together, the church can express the fullness of Christ. But if we don’t practice ethical Christianity then the path we walk, the lives we lead, sends out the wrong message and may turn truth seekers away from their search for the peace that God so graciously offers to all who confess their sins, seek his forgiveness, and proclaim Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Speaking truth in love is not always easy, convenient, or pleasant, but it is necessary if the church is going to do Christ’s work in the world. Speak the truth but do so in a loving manner and your Christian ethics will never be called into question.
Let us pray.
Gracious and loving Father, it is our prayer that as your children we are one in the Spirit and one in the Lord and that through our efforts we pray that all unity may one day be restored. In all that we do may we conduct ourselves with all humility, gentleness, and patience. We pray that we may accept each other with love, the same unmerited love you have shown us. Keep us mindful that there is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father of all, who is over all, through all, and in all. And as we walk this path, we pray that all who see what we do and hear what we say will know we are Christians by our love. In Jesus’ name, we pray, Amen.
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Christ has seen mankind at its worst and he is calling us to rise above the corrupt world and to live a life worthy of our calling.
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