ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE

Remember the old Beatles’ song, “All You Need Is Love”?  That’s true!  The all-encompassing commandment is to love God with all our being, which if truly done means we will also love others—made in the image of God—as we love ourselves.  Easy to say; hard to do. Yet, having received the grace of God, we have the motivation and might to extend that grace to others.  Ephesians 4:25-27 presents this challenge.

1.  BE HONEST. “Therefore, putting away lying, ‘Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,’ for we are members of one another.” (v.25). Understand, that “no man is an island,” as the saying goes. What we do impacts others—and may have far-reaching effects. I am to reject deception and embrace truth. Jesus declared that He was the incarnation of Truth, and since He abides in the Christian, we are to be truth-tellers. Gossip, innuendo, exaggeration, slander, and so forth are deceitful and demonic. Such words destroy relationships.  You cannot have a love relationship without honesty.

2.  BE SELF-CONTROLLED.  “‘Be angry, and do not sin’: do not let the sun go down on your wrath,” (v.26).  Anger is like an alarm system.  It arises when someone’s rights are violated—whether ours or another’s. You cannot stop anger from arising any more than you cannot jerk your hand back when you touch something hot.  It is not a sin to feel anger, but such a powerful emotion that it moves quickly to sin if we don’t deal with anger. Self-control is paramount, so that we respond properly. Yet, neither do we conceal anger, and let it fester. The issues that gave rise to it must be faced, or it will smolder, and ignite at another time.

 

3.  BE VIGILANT. “nor give place to the devil.” (v.27). Satan is always looking for an entry point to assault you, and you must be vigilant. Many times his attacks come through wrong attitudes and wrathful actions as we fail to love others. A lack of honesty in relationships opens the door to Satan who is the father of lies.  Exploding in anger is a manifestation of the Devil, who is the origin of murder—the ultimate expression of anger. Jesus spoke of both in John 8:44.

How we treat others really matters.  If we cannot love those whom we see, how can we claim to love the God we cannot see, Who made them in His likeness?

Sincerely,
Dennis Thurman

GOD’S TOP TEN

Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep all My commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever!  (Deuteronomy 5:29)

If you Google “top ten,” you will find a top ten list of just about everything.   For instance, when I did, it pulled up a top ten list for songs, movies, auto insurance companies, greatest people of all time, best rock drummers, and so forth.  The list of lists goes on.  Did you know God has a top ten list?  We call them the Ten Commandments, and one presentation of those is in Deuteronomy 5.  Deuteronomy means “second law.”  It is not a second version of God’s law, but a second proclamation of it.  The adult generation that came out of Egypt had heard the law stated the first time, but miserably failed to obey it.  The consequence was that they would perish in the wilderness—and by the time Moses speaks here, they had.  Now a new generation needs to know God’s top ten—and that is what you find in this chapter.

These commands reveal the very heart of Holy God.  They are the essence of His law—every other command flows from these.  They span the dimensions of  life in how we relate to God and man.  God was not offering suggestions; He was setting expectations.

• The first commandment (v.6) deals with Who we worship.  Yahweh is to be the exclusive object of worship. He will tolerate no rival.
• The second commandment (v.7-10) sets the way we worship.  Idolatry is forbidden.  We are not to worship a false god, neither are we to worship the true God in a false way.
• The third commandment (v.11) reminds us that the name of God is sacred because His name represents His nature.  Using His name profanely is besmirching Him.
• The fourth commandment (v.12-15) declares that God not only has a sacred name, but a special day.  One day set aside from work to focus on worship is the way of remembering that all of our days belong to God, and we are a stewards of time.
• The fifth commandment (v.16) calls us to respect our parents who are God’s representatives to us.  Honoring them shows we honor our Heavenly Father.
• The sixth commandment (v.17) underscores the sanctity of life.  Human life is made in the image of God, and is not to be taken in murder.
• The seventh commandment (v.18) shows the sanctity of marriage.  Unfaithfulness to our spouse is unfaithfulness to God.  We are stewards of our sexuality.
• The eighth commandment (v.19) tells us about the sacredness of property.  What God has given to us is not to be taken from us in theft.
• The ninth commandment (v.20) sets forth the sacredness of truth.  We are to speak the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth for God is truth.
• The tenth commandment (v.21) is one that deals with attitude and ties all these actions together.  Coveting position leads us to idolatry, where we worship false gods and in false ways, desecrate God’s name, His day, and His representatives—our parents.  Coveting possessions can lead us to kill, commit adultery, steal, and lie about it.  Deny covetousness and you nip other sins in the bud.

We would do well to make God’s top ten ours also!

CONNECTED THROUGH WORDS: Honest Speech

 

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 him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. (Ephesians 4:25-28)

Our Triune God is a God of truth: God the Father speaks truth (Isa.45:19); God the Son declared Himself to be Truth (John 14:6); God the Holy Spirit is described as “The Spirit of truth” (John 16:13).  Therefore, His children bear His likeness is speaking the truth.

Deception is of the Devil, who is “a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44).  Those who belong to him are marked by an habitual nature of lying, and the end is judgment in the Lake of Fire (Rev.21:8).

It isn’t that a believer is incapable of lying, or else Paul would not warn us about it, “putting away lying” (Eph.4:25a).  The one who is regenerate might lapse into telling a lie, but he or she will not have a lifestyle dominated by lies.

Yet, it is not enough in the church to exclude deceptive talk, we must embrace honest speech, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor” (Eph.4:25b).  Words that are faithful and true build connection, “for we are members of one another.” (Eph.4:25c)  A person’s commitment can be counted on because they are people of integrity.  We do not lie to others because we do not want them to lie to us.

Honest speech is helpful and hopeful, therefore, it is not ultimately harmful.  That doesn’t mean it is always painless.  Truth may demand reproof and rebuke, but then adds a word of encouragement and instruction (2 Tim.4:2).  Think of it as a surgeon’s scalpel that hurts in order to heal.  Confronting error and sin with truth, however, is not for condemnation, but compassion.  It doesn’t drive people down in despair over their failure, but lifts them up with hope for their future.  We have a responsibility to help make the body healthy because we are members of that body—each of us affecting the others.

Connection can be disrupted by deception and disloyalty, and a congregation can also be divided by angry words.  There will be times that anger rises as an emotion—the response of righteousness to injustice.  That, in and of itself, is not wrong.  God becomes righteously indignant toward evil and its horrible cost.  Anger can move us to promote that which is good and stand against what it wrong.  The problem is that if anger is not expressed in a righteous way, it is such a powerful emotion that it becomes a corrosive force poured out on another in a sinful way. “Be angry, and do not sin” (Eph.4:26a). Sadly, that is typically how anger is unleashed in the church, as people bite and devour one another.

You cannot just hold anger inside, and let it become bitterness either—for then it eats away at you, “do not let the sun go down on your wrath” (Eph.4:26b).  It can become like a volcano, with pressure building and building, until one day we explode with destructive force.  That’s why we find the source of anger and ask God for grace to overcome.  We do it right away—and do not let the sunset with it smoldering within.  If we need to meet with someone, and settle the matter, we do it as soon as possible, to speak with honesty and yet not brutality—the object being reconciliation.  If that doesn’t work, then there is a process of the involvement of other godly people in mediation, and that failing, the church as a whole calls for reconciliation (Matt.18:15-19).  If that strong medicine doesn’t cure the issue, then the member may have to be excluded as a diseased member of the Body which can kill that local church.  Even so, the discipline is in hope that it brings repentance that leads to reconciliation.

Some people are like a stick of dynamite with a short fuse, ready to blow up at the slightest spark of provocation.  They walk around with a chip on their shoulder, daring someone to knock it off.  We are warned, “nor give place to the devil.” (Eph.4:27).  When this is permitted in the congregation, it is like going to the front door of the church, and inviting the Devil to come in and destroy the church!

Speaking the truth in love is our goal—and when we do, we give a treasure that enriches another spiritually.  “Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.” (Eph.4:28). When we speak in slander or in rage, we rob others of their reputation and their joy.  The former strengthens our connection with other Christians, while the latter severs it. 

You have a choice about what you say and how you say it, and your words will make a difference.