Grieving the Holy Spirit

If you're using a physical Bible, will you turn with me to Ephesians chapter 4. The words will also be on the screen, but Ephesians chapter 4. Ephesians chapter 4. Tonight's sermon will be coming from verse 30. Ephesians chapter 4. I'm going to go ahead and read verse 22 through 32. Make no doubt about it. This is God's Word. Let's read it now.

"...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 him 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 might impart grace to the hearers. And then our verse for tonight, 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.

Prayer for Illumination

Let's pray. Father, we thank you for your word. And we pray that as we Look at your word tonight that your Holy Spirit might be working in our hearts. Father, please don't let these be dead words on a page. But Lord, we pray that your Holy Spirit would be working in us, that we would understand these things, that you would be moving us towards obedience, toward holiness, toward love.

Sermon

In Jesus' name, amen. Let's face it. If you've been a Christian for more than, I don't know, maybe five seconds, you know what it's like to be excited about Jesus Christ forgiving you of your sins and be really worked up that you're going to turn over a new leaf.

That you're going to do things right. And then you get home and your wife does that thing that nags you. Your children do that thing that bugs you. Your neighbor annoys you and you sin. You realize that, yeah, God started a good work in you, but he's got a long way to go.

See, the reality of our Christian life is that we struggle with putting off the old man. We've had a whole lifetime to learn how to put him on. Now we've got to spend our whole lives learning how to put off that sin. We gotta spend our whole lives chasing down Christ. Our whole lives, the nice thing is, the beautiful thing is that the Holy Spirit, your entire life, is going to be working in you, molding you, shaping you, changing you more and more like Jesus Christ.

Don't get discouraged by this. But as Christians, we can also, our hearts can just become cold. Sometimes, if you're honest with yourself as a Christian, you can just become accustomed to those sins that once annoyed you, the sins that you were tender against. It's easy to slip back in to old habits. It's easy to justify our sinful thoughts, words, and behaviors.

And God is tonight giving us a wake-up call. And I hope it's a wake-up call for you. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit. He has purchased you for the day of redemption. You have been sealed with the Holy Spirit. So don't grieve the one who lives in you. I don't want you to be disheartened. So instead of coming down heavy at first, I want to talk to you about the good news. Let's look to Christ. Look to Christ. 1 Corinthians chapter 1. 1 Corinthians chapter 1 says this. If I can get there. 1 Corinthians chapter 1 verse 26. For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called.

But God has chosen the foolish things of this world to put to shame the wise. And God has chosen the weak things of this world to put to shame the things which are mighty. And the base things of the world and the things which are despised, God has chosen. And the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in his presence.

But of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us the wisdom of God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, that as it is written, he who glories, let him glory in the Lord. I don't know about you, but maybe you've heard a form of Christianity that calls you out about sin, but tells you, but you're strong enough, you're good enough to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Brothers and sisters, is that what we got from Genesis chapter 6? No, what was the sobering evaluation that the Lord laid upon all humanity in Genesis chapter 6? They looked upon man and saw that every inclination of his heart was only evil continually, and it grieved the Lord that he had made man."

Man, that's a heavy blow. And just in case we thought, oh, but that's Old Testament stuff. Romans chapter 3 butts it up again. There is none righteous, no, not one. Not one seeks after the Lord. All of us do sin. All of us are wrong. All of us, if we're standing before God and we were weighed in the scales with righteousness on this side of the scale and us on the other side of the scale, we'd be found wanting every time. We don't measure up. We fall short of the bar of glory.

He says, here, here's what righteousness is. And if you want to get into my presence, you have to be this righteous. And every single one of us falls short. But that's the point of the good news of Jesus Christ. We don't boast in ourselves. Our boast is in Christ Jesus.

That's what 1 Corinthians 1 was saying, that no flesh should glory in his presence. I don't get to strut into God's kingdom and say, I'm good enough. Not a single person in this entire world except for Jesus Christ has ever walked into the gates of heaven and said, yeah, I measured up and I weighed and I'm perfect. No, no flesh and glory in His presence.

But of Him you are in Christ who have become for us the wisdom of God. It is Christ who is what in verse 30? The righteousness and sanctification and redemption. You see, your salvation is all about Jesus. The righteousness that you have is a righteousness that Jesus has given to you. There's a great swap that happened on that cross. When Jesus was hung upon that cross gasping for air, this was a perfect man with righteousness. And on that cross, God was judging him.

And he took the wrath for our sins. And that wrath of ours was placed on him. And the righteousness that he deserved was imputed to us. He became sin for us. And God has clothed us in his righteousness. It is Jesus Christ who is our righteousness. It is Jesus Christ who sanctifies us, who makes us holy, who makes us more like God. And it is Jesus Christ who has redeemed us. And that is why it says in verse 31, and that it is written, he who glories, let him glory in the Lord.

If you're gonna boast, if you're gonna stand before God's presence, what are you gonna boast in? Think about how prideful and how audacious that would be. You come before the throne room of God. You go there where the angels fly with their six wings. With two, they cover their eyes. With two, they cover their feet. With two, they fly. And every single day, they cry out all hours of the night, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. And we're going to walk into his presence, and we're going to say, I'm good enough to be here, God.

That's right. You know that pride is what Satan did and will damn you to hell. Our boast is in Christ. We go before the throne of God and we say, I'm not worthy, but worthy is the lamb who was slain before the foundation of the world. I don't have righteousness, but Jesus Christ is righteous. So look to Christ for your righteousness. Don't look to yourself. Secondly, when we look to Christ for our righteousness, we also look to Christ to know we're saved.

Our assurance is in Christ. And Jesus, when he's talking about him being a good shepherd in the book of John, John chapter 10, I want to read those words with you real quick. John chapter 10, verses 28 through 30, Jesus says this, and I give them eternal life.

Do you see this as a gift? Eternal life is a gift. It's not something we earn, but it's a gift. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. Neither shall anyone snatch them out of my hand. My Father who has given them to me is greater than all. And no one is able to snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one.

Do you see the beauty of what biblical salvation is? We're the ones who messed it up. And it's God who earned salvation. It is God who saved you. It is Christ who redeemed you. It is the Holy Spirit who has sealed you for the day of redemption. It is Jesus who has forgiven you, and it is the Father who will keep you. There's no being a Christian and not being a Christian stuff. Either you're in Jesus's hand or you've never been in his hand. Because he says here that no one can snatch you out of his hand because the Father won't allow it.

I don't know about you, but that gives me a whole lot of hope. Gives me a whole lot of hope. Why? Because Jesus Christ came to save sinners of whom I'm the worst. Man, if we're honest with ourselves, and we know that we have to be absolutely perfect every single moment of every single day, and if that's the standard by which we have to stay saved, we might as well throw in the towel. We're goners. We're done for. Because we can't do it. I couldn't save myself, and we can't keep ourselves saved. It is only God who can do this.

So let me encourage you, as we start getting into Ephesians chapter four, this has all just been the preface to it. It is Jesus Christ who saves you, and it is Jesus Christ who keeps you saved. But just because Jesus saved us, and Jesus kept us saved, the logical conclusion isn't, oh, okay, then I can do whatever I want. I can sin as much as I want because grace will abound. Jesus would just keep loving me. God would just keep being happy with me. That's a lie from the pit of hell. And I feel in good company when I go along this train of thought because that's exactly what Paul gets to in the book of Romans.

When he speaks of these same things, he says, when he gets to the extravagant grace of God, he says, so what does it mean? Should we go on sinning that grace might abound? I love the King James Version here, God forbid. Those words shouldn't ever come out of our mouths, shouldn't ever cross our minds. Because if we're truly saved, what does Paul said in Ephesians chapter 2? For by grace you were saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, and as a gift of God, not a result of works, lest anyone should boast. And then what does verse 10 say? For we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus. Why?

That we might do the good works which He prepared in advance for us to do. God has not called us as Christians to be saved, lie on the couch, and be passive about our faith. No. He's called us to an active faith. He's called us to a faith that bears fruits.

If we abide in Jesus Christ, if we remain in Jesus Christ, if we are loving Jesus Christ and the outgrowing of that faith is going to look like love for God and love for our neighbors. And this is where Paul leans into in Ephesians chapter four, verse 30. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

This is where I want to lean in with you a little bit and I want to point out, I know this is a heavy sermon, but I need you to get the point across that God hates sin. He hates it in my life. He hates it in your life. God cannot stand sin. The Bible says that God is so holy that He cannot even stand to look upon sin.

He didn't come and save us and redeem us so we could just live in our filth. He came and He saved us to take us out of the kingdom of darkness and bring us into His kingdom of light. He brought us to come out of our filth and to walk in purity and holiness and in light. He called us to a life of sanctification, a life of putting to death the sinful desires of the flesh, a life of putting off the old man with his deeds.

See, because when we as Christians sin, when we just get, well, let's just talk about sin for a moment in the Christian life, right? There are times where Christians sin because they're bold in their sin. There are times like King David where it's like you don't know what happened to their heads. It's just something when it's screwy and they do disastrous and horrible things. Outright sinning. And we look at King David and things like that and we go, obviously that's sin. But there are so many sins in my life and in your life that we've just become accustomed to.

Notice the list of things that he was bringing up in the book of Ephesians. Many of these are just respectable stuff. Look with me again at Ephesians chapter 4. Notice the stuff that he said. It's none of it's, you know, stuff you'll go to prison for. He says, but you have not so learned Christ, and if indeed you have learned of Him and been taught by Him, you'll be putting off this form of conduct. And what's that form of conduct? Lying. Being sinfully angry. stealing, letting corrupt words come out of our mouths, bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, evil speaking, malice. Not a single one of those things are going to land you in jail for long term.

I mean, maybe if you commit grand theft auto or you rob a bank, maybe then, you know, You're a little bit more than what Paul is thinking about here, but the reality is that every single one of us, when we continue to live our lives marked by the old man, we grieve God. We grieve God. It's a burden to his heart. Every time I finish worship, it's a blessing for me to pronounce the benediction about God's face smiling down upon us. But I'd like to suggest to you that there are times where our sins make it as if he turns his face from us.

There's a story I read one time of a little boy. His father deeply loved him. And then his father stood in the doorway. He watched his son play with his baseball in his bedroom. And as the son was playing with his baseball in his bedroom, he took the ball and he threw it out the window and it crashed through the window. And he heard his father at the door. He didn't know he was there. And he looked at his father. And his father had become downcast. The smile was gone. He knew that he had grieved his father's heart, that his father had given him a safe home, his father had given him good blessings, and instead he was throwing a baseball at the glass.

How many broken windows are there in your house, in the house of your heart? How many times are you picking up baseballs and stones and throwing them at your family, throwing them at your friends? Every time we lie, every time we steal, every time we cheat, every time we get sinfully angry, we're throwing baseballs at those planes of glass. And we're grieving the Holy Spirit.

Now, I don't know about you, but I'm not going to stop loving my son because he throws a baseball at a piece of glass. Now, kids, I'm not telling you to go around the house throwing baseballs at a pane of glass. But that doesn't mean he stops loving us. But it can mean that he's displeased by us and he's going to discipline us for it.

And so Pastor Paul is writing to the church in Ephesus and he's telling them, don't grieve the Holy Spirit. You know what it was like to walk in that old life, so don't go back there. Don't be like a dog going back to your vomit. Don't go back to that filth. Don't go back to those days of darkness. If you've noticed they're encroaching back upon your heart, put them away and put on holiness.

See, our motivation isn't that we're worried about losing our salvation. Why does a Christian, why would you do good works? Because you want to see your dad's face smile on you. You want to see your father rejoice in the good works that you're doing.

Every single one of us, when we do good works, what does Jesus say? God marks that. Maybe we might be a little bit like, oh, I don't know about this, you know, because maybe that sounds too health, wealth, and prosperity stuff. Every single time you do a good work, the Lord takes notice of it, and you lay up for yourself treasures in heaven where he will reward you for them.

He's a good father. We don't do it because we want the rewards, but we do it because we want his face to smile on us. So don't grieve the Holy Spirit, but live your life knowing that he loves you and that you want his face to smile upon you. And so build up what the Holy Spirit is building up. How do we do these good works? How do we not grieve him? Well, we do exactly what the Holy Spirit says He's doing. He's building up the church.

And so I'm not going to read this whole passage for you, but I'm going to just read these sins that are listed here in Ephesians chapter 4. Lying, sinful anger, stealing, corrupt words, bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, evil speaking, malice, fornication, uncleanness, covetousness, filthiness, coarse jesting, idolatry.

See, every single one of these sins has both a vertical effect and a horizontal effect. See, when we commit these sins, some of them that are listed here in these verses, we affect our relationship with God vertically. But every time we sin with one of these sins, we also affect our relationships horizontally with one another. You can't lie without hurting your relationship with people. You can't steal without harming someone. You can't become sinfully angry with someone without that other person being the object of your wrath.

Every single one of these sins has an impact on those around us. the Holy Spirit is dwelling in you. If you are in Christ Jesus, the Holy Spirit is dwelling in you because he's building up his church. And by church, I don't mean a physical building, I mean the body of Christ. And so if he's building up the church, but we're sitting here lying, stealing, slandering, gossiping, Angry with one another? It's like the Holy Spirit is putting one brick upon another and we're coming behind with a hammer, trying to knock it out of its place.

Don't grieve the Holy Spirit. When we put off these sins, it's because we love God and we love one another. So build up what the Holy Spirit is building up and live with eternity in view. 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 verses 4 through 5 says, but you brethren are not in darkness so that this day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. The Holy Spirit has sealed you for the day of redemption. The Holy Spirit is impressed upon your soul. You are His. And Jesus is going to come back again. The day of redemption is coming when Jesus Christ will come again to judge the living and the dead.

Are you ready for it? Are you building up your house with costly stones? Or with stubble and straw? Is your house built upon the rock of Jesus Christ? Are you investing in your holiness? Are you trying diligently to follow after Christ? Or are you asleep at the wheel? How's Christ going to find you when he comes? Will you be slumbering? Will you be sleeping? Or will he find you awake and busy about the work of holiness? Will he find you as one who's been given talents? And have you been investing them well?

It's not legalism. The enemy would love to convince you that everything I've said tonight is nothing but legalism. God is passionate about holiness. And without holiness, no one will see God. So take comfort, Christian. He who has begun a good work in you will complete it unto the day of perfection. You're gonna fight for it your whole life. And I don't know about you, but I long for that day. I can't wait for that day when I will be holy. When I'll know what true love actually looks like. When I'll know what selflessness actually looks like. When we'll know what servanthood actually looks like. When we'll know what holiness really is.

Because we'll be conformed to the likeness of Christ. There's hope for the Christian. Because our King is coming back. And the resurrection is real. So I leave you with the question tonight. Do you care about holiness? You got a choice. You're going to walk out of here tonight. And you're at a fork in the road. It's up to you.

I don't know what the Holy Spirit is going to do in your life, but I'm praying that he pushes you on the right road. You're going to walk out of here and you're just going to stay on autopilot, continue walking in a mediocre way, flirting with the deeds of darkness? Or will you be serious about your sanctification? Will you be serious about putting to death the deeds of the flesh and putting on the works of Christ? Which road will you choose? the way of mediocrity, or the way that gets you rewards in heaven, knowing that God's face smiles upon you.

Closing Prayer

Let's pray. Father, I pray for my own heart, for every single one of us here tonight, that we would follow after you. Lord, we pray that we would walk after you. Father, we can't muster up enough courage to do this on our own, so Father, I pray that your Holy Spirit would be working in our hearts, transforming our, renewing our minds and transforming our wills, that we would live our lives as a sacrifice to you. It's our reasonable service, Lord. So Father, we pray that you would renew our minds. We pray that we would not grieve you. But we pray that when we come to the fork in the road tonight, that we would follow the way of holiness and not the way of the old man. In Jesus's name, we pray. Amen.