Gospel Gossip

  • Jake Chambers
  • Aug 1, 2010
  • Series: Ephesians

Ephesians 4:25-32

Therefore: What is this "therefore" there for? Last week, what did we learn? Preaching the gospel to your self! Now that your mind is not confused and not believing lies, speak the truth with your neighbor. Speak as if you believe the gospel.

Why "members of one another" ... what has Ephesians taught us that means? How is that changing your life?

Our text today is two-sided. It is crystal clear that there are two contrasting lifestyles that battle one another and these lifestyles are lifestyles lived in community.

On one side is falsehood, sin, unrighteous anger, devil, thief, stealing, corrupting talk, grieve, bitterness, wrath, clamor, slander and malice. On the other side we have members of one another (community/fellowship/family), speak truth, honest work, share with those in need, Holy Spirit, building up, give grace, kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, God, Christ.

On one side we have the devil and on the other side God in three persons.
 
Speech: Slander, corrupting talk, lies or truth, building up, giving grace to one another.

Now according to this list do you think our speech, our tongue can be neutral? No. It is building up or tearing down. It is gospel-centered or self-centered. Examine your words. Truth in love or lies in hate? It is one or the other. Motivated by Jesus and empowered by the Holy Spirit or led by the devil and his team? This is big deal.

Spiritual warfare: Speech is not middle of the road because our hearts are not middle of the road, and there is a war going on for our hearts. Slander and encouragement are both contagious. Which will we spread?

How are we doing on this? Who are you encouraging? Do we speak to one another as if we believe the gospel? As if we believe that Christ died for us? As we believe they are image bearers of God? What about how we talk about each other behind each other’s back? Are we building up, praising God and encouraging? When you gossip the gospel you encourage everyone. Christ’s work builds up.

Gossiping about God. Sharing evidence of God’s grace on hikes, during chores, drives etc. What if instead of complaining we just thanked God for all he is doing. Think of your roommates and your MC and think of an evidence of God’s grace in their life. Tell it to them at dinner. Build each other up. Don’t let devil have a foothold. There will always be the temptation to criticize, nitpick, complain and tear each other down. We are sinners, so there is plenty of sin to be seen but God is gracious and has been gracious to us, so there is even more grace to be seen! Speak of grace and your conversations will be missional. Nobody is attracted to or feels safe in a community that gossips, slanders and tears down. Every community does that ... what about one that builds up? In a community that slanders you are always worried about being slandered, but in a community that speaks truth, grace, love and encouragement you begin to grow a rock solid trust and feeling of deep safety in that family. Everyone wants that type of safety. For example, Olivia is a great encourager. Take a minute and share an evidence of God’s grace with someone here.

Thieves that steal, or honest laborers that share: Steal or share? Two choices here. We can either steal or share. There is either a generous Spirit or a greedy one. Are you greedy? Do you see everything as mine or as God’s? Does it give you an ulcer to give money, time, or service and not get anything in return? Are you controlling over your money even after you give it because you still believe it is yours, or do you have peace that it was never yours to begin with? Check your heart. A greedy heart is a dangerous foothold to give the devil. If you are not generous, you are actually a thief - stealing from what God would have you to give.

Instead we should be scandalously promiscuous givers.  The puritans used to be known for being promiscuous with everything but their beds. Is our generosity a scandal? Or is it pretty average?  If we are identified with Christ, who gave everything, then our generosity should shock the world. Let us be promiscuous with our homes, money, cars, and everything. Let us be laborers that share and not thieves that steal.

KCA (Kaleo College Area) I want us to prepare our hearts for even more scandalous generosity. Chances are as we grow this year our needs will grow and we will grow with consumers. Will we step up our generosity and count it as God’s grace that he is bringing sponges that will hopefully sponge up the gospel and then be the church or will we get bitter and grow stingy with them? Go with your most generous instinct. Blessed to be a blessing. Ask the Spirit for three people to bless this week and bless them.  

Bitterness, malice or tenderhearted compassion and forgiveness:

Cain and Abel. Bitterness. Something must die with bitterness. If bitterness doesn’t die something else will. Satan comes to destroy. The Serpent is still bitter while Christ has forgiven. We are aligning with one or the other. Choose your side wisely. Cain was not scandalously generous with his crops and his greed fueled jealously, bitterness, malice and murder. How did this happen? Sin was crouching. Satan is always crouching when we allow anger, greed, lies or bitterness to set in.  Cain was filled with malice and was led by the devil to steal, kill and spill the blood of Abel.

But God has compassion for Abel. He has a tender heart and hears his blood crying out to him. God even forgives Cain. He punishes him and has righteous anger but ultimately protects him and gives him grace. In his grace he gives him a mark of protection. There is no reason God should protect Cain but he does. KCA, are we compassionate towards one another? When sinned against, frustrated or miscommunication comes, is our first instinct compassion and forgiveness? If there is anyone you have not forgiven, not worked towards reconciliation with or you have bitterness with, you must deal with it. Forgive them and pray for them. You see malice wishes evil but a tender heart is praying that even enemies will be given grace. Imagine a community that loved was quick to forgive. One that didn’t hold on to bitterness but spoke the truth in love to one another and worked things out.

Do you see how this is a pattern of not just putting a stop to the negative, but replacing the negative with positive. Not just to stop lying but to speak truth. Not stop slandering but gossip the gospel. Not just stop stealing but give generously. Not just don’t be bitter but have compassion and kindness towards one another. Imagine the rock solid communal trust we would have if we lived this way. It sounds like a community built on Christ, does it not? It sounds like a community that would be missional to the watching world.

The golden rule? What is it? Everyone hates being slandered. So why slander? Forget the golden rule, we now have the platinum rule. Do unto others as Christ has done to you. What has Christ done for us, church? Imagine if in the moment we interacted with others we believed the gospel. Think of how Jesus could speak about us if he wanted. Tons of truth could be shared. But he builds up his church. We are the ugly bride that Jesus calls beautiful until we are beautiful. Build each other up with the gospel. Gossip the gospel about each other. Share exciting stuff the gospel is doing in one another’s life with one another. This is speaking the gospel. Jesus calls us his beloved children. Jesus writes Ephesians and calls us his family.  Incredible.

Jesus didn’t take from us, but in fact all we have was given from him. He gave himself - the greatest offering of all.

Jesus has every reason to have hostility and bitterness towards us. We have mistreated him. We have slandered, stole and sinned against him. Jesus hated our sin with a righteous anger. But Jesus did not give the devil a foothold but instead in the ultimate step of kindness he became our substitutionary atonement. Jesus who was at one with God took the Father’s righteous wrath on himself for us. He is our great substitute. He substituted his life for ours and our death for his to atone for our sins.has set the platinum standard. Jesus, in his righteous anger finds a way to justly punish sin and forgive the sinner by taking the punishment for us. And Jesus Christ builds his church. Jesus hates sin and defeated it on the cross. Jesus is the one who crushes Satan’s head. Jesus is once again the hero. More than WWJD, but do we believe the gospel? If we believe it and believe we are a community formed by it then we will live out of that gospel formation. Do we believe the gospel regarding speech, generosity and forgiveness?

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