Put Off Pretense and Be Very Careful with Anger

I sent you a text this week that our passage would be Ephesians 25 to 30, but I couldn't get past verse 26. So we're just going to look at Ephesians 25 to 26, two verses. And just, you just, I can't run through something when there's so much there. So let's enjoy these two verses. Then follow me as we look at them together. Therefore, laying aside lying or falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. Be angry and yet do not sin, and do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity. This word lying or falsehood comes from the Greek word pseudo. You've heard pseudonym? It's a made-up name. It's a false name that sometimes a writer will use. It's not his real name, so it's pseudo. It basically means this. The basic meaning of the word is whatever is not what it represents itself to be. That's pseudo. It's false. It's a lie. It's not true. It's the opposite word of truth. And here, Paul is particularly concerned with what is religiously false, what is spiritually false. He's concerned with pseudo-believers, pseudo-Christians, the pseudo-religious. And that's strange to us. We would think, why would someone pretend? Why would they be a false believer or false Christian? We're going to talk about that because it's strange to us. It makes more sense to us to get all in or all out. That's just not the way it is. We are pseudo-believers. So what do you think he meant by this? I'm going to ask you. Laying aside lying. Are you going to lie to one another? What do you think? Anything come to your mind? Laying aside lying or speak the truth to one another? Anybody have any thoughts of what he's saying? Writing to a church, telling the members, can you imagine, hey, you guys need to lay aside lying to each other and start speaking the truth to one another. You'd be wondering, what are you talking about, Pastor? Well, what was he talking about? Any thoughts? All right. Well, maybe it's because I said, yeah, go ahead, Tom. We all speak about lying. We all believe that somebody was out there, that he's speaking the false deliverance to himself. Yes, sir. He wanted the Ephesian church to be Christ-like. He did. This is true. But I'm looking for more specifics. My questions are very specific. Evidently, well, here's a thought. All right, Kathy, go ahead. Very possible. Let me tell you what, of course, you pay me to think about these things. And I do have time to spend in them. And let me tell you what thoughts came to me about this. Do you think he's referring to our ability to learn what we're supposed to say? Don't we kind of learn what we're supposed to say? Like, how are you doing? I'm doing fine. You doing okay? Yeah. Yeah. You're not. Do you think we know how to, what's the answer? What are they talking about in church today? They talked about Jesus. What did the pastor preach about? He preached from the Bible. We kind of learn what we're supposed to say, right? Is this possible? Is it possible to give the appearance that you're part of the family when you're with us, but in your own environment, in your hood, you're just a different person? Is that possible? Is it possible to live a different life out there? But here you're one thing and there you're another? Think that maybe Paul said you speak the truth to one another. Put off lying. Put off pretense. Don't have your church face and your home face. Don't have your church language and your language you use at the job. Don't have your church attitude, all smiles, and you show up to work on Monday morning, Mr. Sourpuss. No, put off. Put off falsehood. Put off pretense. Don't wear a mask, okay? Let's do that. I think this is Paul's concern. We don't seem to understand that people can embrace being religious without really being godly. Isn't that strange? You can choose to be religious somewhat, to have some measure of faith, to follow some morality, to agree that there's God and that he gives commands and Jesus died and he rose again and you agree to that. It's not really all in. It's not who you are. It doesn't control and dominate every facet of your life. That's the condition I believe Paul was warning about. Put off falsehood. Be true all the way. Do that and be that with each other. So let's take a look at a few passages in the New Testament so that you can see this, all right? Let's look together. Matthew chapter 15 verse 8. Tom, I'll pick on you first over there. Read Matthew 15 8. These people draw near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but the heart is far from me. That's a condition that's possible. This is the words of Jesus. He's actually quoting Isaiah. And he's talking about the Jewish people and you know where they're probably at? They're probably in Jerusalem or in the promised land. These are the people who do their tithes and do their offerings and follow the law and say that they're the people of God. But Jesus said, they're not close to me in their heart. I'm not the number one thing in their life. And then there's first John. First John chapter 1 verse 6. Brother Rudy, do you want to read first John 1 6? If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in the darkness, we lie and don't believe. I mean, there are people who say that they have fellowship with God, that they're walking with God, that they're a Christian. I'm a follower of Jesus Christ. But they have things in their life they don't want you to see. Things they don't bring to church with them. Yeah, that's what John is saying. It's possible to be that way. How about first John 2 4? Brother Sam, first John 2 4. So it's possible for someone to say, I've come to know him. I know Jesus. I'm a Christian. I've been born again. And yet not keep his commandment. It says, John says, that person is pseudo. That's the word. Pseudo. And if a person says that they have fellowship with God, but they're walking in darkness, they're pseudo. It's a pseudo claim. It's a pseudo believer. The pseudo profession is not real. This condition is very real. Now, a question then for you. Do you think it's more likely, and listen very carefully, do you think it's more likely that this kind of person is being deliberately deceptive or that they've just self-deceived? Or you think they're being deliberately deceptive? Yes. How about the rest of you? Some are deliberately and some don't. So let me, I want to put it in the context of the verses. So someone is deliberately trying to deceive us by saying, I know God. Or someone is trying to deliberately deceive us by saying, but I have fellowship with him. I don't, I don't tend to think it's deliberate. I tend to think they've deceived themselves into thinking that's what they're doing. Is that meant to be saying? No, no. Deliberate? No. To be deceived is passive. They become deceived, or they're intentionally trying to deceive. The deliberate would be, they're trying to deceive us, and I'm more focusing on, but is that because they've been deceived themselves? Yes. Yes. Is the person that is deceiving themselves in thinking that way? Yep. And this says both of you are correct. Both type of people exist. There are those who intentionally use deception to try to get your money. And the favorite, the favorite sermon of a pastor like that is on giving. That's, so they're all, it can be deliberate. But I think the greater concern, and the concern that's more important for us, is the potential we all have to deceive ourselves. Remember this verse, James 1, 22. David, would you read it? James chapter 1, verses 22 to 24. James 1, 22 to 24. Deceives himself by listening and not doing. Has that happened to anybody here? Have you ever said in one of my messages where I talk about, do not let a single unwholesome word come out of your mouth. Even when you're angry, if you're, you be very careful. And it, in doing service, it's like, you're like, LeMire, oh, I should not have said that. Oh, I need to stop saying that. And then you go back home, and by Tuesday, you have forgotten. By Tuesday, you have forgotten what you saw. By Monday, you should be careful. The key is, such a person deceives themselves. So they're not really who they appear to be, and they don't even. That's the condition the New Testament warns about. Now, I'll say this, either way, whether a person is doing it deliberately, or whether they have just deceived themselves, we should think about the consequences. Because whether it's intentional or unintentional, you know, the consequences are quite severe for a pseudo believer, or a pseudo spiritual person, pseudo Christian. Let's look at some of these verses. Revelation 21, 7, and 8. Let me read that for you. It's a little bit lengthy. Revelation 21, 7, and 8. Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God, and they will be mine. Hmm? Yes? It hasn't come. It hasn't come? Well, you got ears. Use your ears. Are they going to get it up there? Is it there yet? All right, just listen. Revelation 21, 7, and 8. Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God, and they will be my children. But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice arts, the idolaters, and all the pseudo people, all the false, all the liars, they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. And this is the second death. It's not a very good end for a person who's false, is it? Revelation 21, 27. The same chapter. Verse 27. Hector, can you read that? Will they get it up there? Okay, so nothing unclean is going to enter. No one who practices an abomination. Now, what's incredible is right juxtaposed to abomination is a lie. God must detest both about the same, because truth is so important. So no one who practices what God detests and who is a liar, who's false, they're not even going to enter into the kingdom of heaven. It's a pretty serious consequence. And one last passage. Revelation 22, 14-15. Ben Serta, can you read that? Revelation 22, 14-15. Everyone who loves and practices falsehood. How do you practice being false? Well, it's pretty easy to practice what comes natural to you. If you forget what you hear and you don't put it into practice, you go back to doing what's natural to you while you think you've listened. So you think you're in a better place than you actually are. And that's what you practice. And you know when you're going to find out? When you stand before the Lord and He says, depart from me, you workers of iniquity. I never knew you. And you're shocked. I was in church all my life. I taught Sunday school. I gave my offerings. I read the Bible. And suddenly, He shows you a replay of your life. And you see that you were this one way at your church time, but you were major this other way the rest of your life. And there's a serious consequence. That's why Paul said, hey, for us, put off falsehood. No pretense among us. We follow Christ here. We follow Christ at home. We follow Christ on the job. He's all the time. We're always aware that His eyes are upon us. We bear His name. And we live in such a way that He is honored and glorified by our lives with true, true, and true. That's what we're called to be. And this is not even a distinctly New Testament truth. David understood this even in the Old Testament. Listen to this verse from Psalm 15. Lord, who may dwell in your sanctuary and who may live on your holy mountain, the one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from their heart, whose tongue utters no slander, who does no wrong to a neighbor and casts no slur on others, who despises a vile person but honors those who fear the Lord, who keeps His oath even when it hurts and does not change their mind, that person will dwell where the Lord dwells. Amen. That's a true, true, and true believer. That's no pseudo person. So now we're going to go into the next part that Paul talks about. Put off falsehood. Speak the truth to one another. And then he says, be angry and do not sin. Okay. So what does that tell us right away? Anger must not be sin. It's not a sin to be angry. Have you thought about that? Because God himself is angry. But God is angry for the right reason and in the right way at the right time. In Psalms, someone read for me, Brother Larry, can you read Psalm 7, 11? Every day. Same word. God is angry every day. And you know why? He is so good, He's angered by the things that are harming people. He's angry when He sees people being abused. He's angered at the crime. He's angered at the corruption because He's good. But anger is not sin. But what we need to remember is anger is only one letter away from danger. But a D in front of anger and you have danger. And it's a dangerous thing because it's a strong passion and we need to be careful lest we ourselves fall into this. Just look with me at James chapter 1, 19 and 20. Let's see, Brother Mario, can you read James 1, 19 and 20? Here's a key. The anger of man. Anger that originates in man does not produce the righteousness of God. Well, men is a group term like in Spanish, when you use the masculine form to speak to the group of both. So yes, men or women's anger. If it originates in mankind, it does not produce the righteousness of God. And it's an important distinction. And actually, even in this verse, it says, I'll show you how the original language makes it clear. But before we go there, I want to see, did we get in Matthew chapter 5, verses 21 and 22? Is that up there? Matthew 5, 21 and 22? Then Yolanda de los Santos, would you read that for us, please? Wow. How about that? You've heard that it said, don't murder. Let me tell you this, don't be angry. Because you're one step away from killing someone in your head, and with your words. There's a speaking, the Bible says, there is a speaking that's like the thrusting of a sword. And it usually happens when we are hot in our head. Words get hot. And they become dangerous. But like I said, in Ephesians 4, 26, let me give you a little insight from the original language. In our English translations, it says, be angry, do not sin, do not let the sun go down on your anger. Well, there's two different words in the Greek for anger. The first word is ergizo, which means that the word anger, in be angry and to not. But the second word adds the preposition para. It means alongside or close at hand. So don't let the sun go down on your para ergizo, the right beside you. And you know what it speaks to me? Beware the anger that's personal, that's in your heart. That you're nursing. It's walking there right beside you. It's in you. Don't let the sun go down when it's personal. When that anger is so close, you can feel the heat right there. Yes. But a person gets angry because of a reason, because of a motive. Right. And that's appropriate as long as you handle it in the right way. If you can handle it, you're okay. But if it handles you, if it overcomes you, it can cause you to do what you didn't plan to do. So that's why Paul adds this. And do not let the sun go down when it's that personal to you, when you're dealing with it. Now, why did he say that? I gave you a hint in my text to you. Why would Paul use the term when the sun goes down? Why that part of the day? What's different? What's different about the way the Jewish people count a day and the way we count the day? From the evening. The evening is the beginning of their day. Yes. Oh, so you know what Paul's saying? Don't take your anger into tomorrow. Deal with it now, today. But for the next day, deal with it now. Yes. Now, I found this in the Old Testament. Not today. From loving the scripture and reading the Greek Septuagint, from this passage in Deuteronomy. I love God's law because it's so rich. In Deuteronomy chapter 19, there is a section about the cities of refuge. And they were designated cities where a person who committed some terrible sin, but it wasn't intentional. He didn't mean to do it. He didn't plan to do it. He could literally flee there. And he could live in that city and not lose his life. But he had to live in that city until the high priest who was on duty died. And then he could return home. But if he left that city, he could be killed by a family member seeking vengeance. And that person would be held unaccountable. Because he left the city of refuge. And as I was reading about the city of refuge, it related a story because even in the scriptures, they knew it was possible for two men or two women, for brotherhood's sake, two men or two women to get into it and to get in a fight and one kill the other. But it wasn't thought before. It just happened. But when a murder took place like that, it had to be investigated. And this is what I found reading in Deuteronomy chapter 19, one through four. I'll read the English version. And then I'm going to read to you what I read in the Greek, which is the Septuagint, which is even more specific. This is that when the Lord your God has destroyed the nation through the land he's given you, and when you have driven them out and settled in their towns and houses, then set aside for yourselves three cities in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess. Determine the distances involved and divide it into three parts, the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, so that a person who kills someone may flee for refuge to one of these cities. This is the rule concerning anyone who kills a person and flees there for safety. Anyone who kills a neighbor unintentionally without malice, a forethought. What does a forethought mean? You were thinking about it before. Okay. So they were to look into it, and if someone was killed, they were to see, they were to make sure that this person had not been thinking about it before. And then I read this in the Septuagint, even more specific. This, and I don't have it up here, because I don't put the Greek up there for you, just because it'd just be Greek to you, that's why. But here's what it says for a forethought, instead of it, or without malice, a forethought. Here's what it says, and if anyone kills a neighbor, and this one was not hating him before yesterday and the day before. How many days is that? Can you see why Paul said, don't let your anger go, don't let the sun go down on your anger. Don't even go to the second day. Don't even go to the third day. Now, question for you. If you're like me, and I think most of you are, I'm thinking, well, let's see, if you were charged to investigate whether a person was thinking about it before, how would you do that? How would you know whether a person was thinking about it for a couple of days before you did? How would you know? He was talking about asking for family members, anyone that could help him. Yeah. You know what would give it away? Euboca. Your mouth would give it away. All you had to do to find out was talk to people he'd been around. Because if he's been talking about it, he's been thinking about it. So you just ask around. Has he said anything about this person? Has he had an attitude for a couple of days? Or she had an attitude? Or she had an attitude for a couple of days? Think about it. Yes. Don't get ahead of me. Yeah. You're on track. Remember what Jesus said? Remember I said, how are you going to know this is going to come out of their mouth? Remember what Jesus said? It's out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. So whatever's in your heart is eventually going to come out of your mouth. And actually he said this in Matthew chapter 15 verses 17 through 20. Matthew 15, 17 through 20. Read along with me. Don't you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and out of the body? That's talking about food. But the things that come out of a person's mouth come from the heart. And these defile them. For out of the heart come evil thoughts. What comes out of the heart? Murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, pseudo-testimony, slander. These are what defile a person. But eating with unwashed hands does not defile them. So this is the danger of nursing a grudge in your heart, even for a short period of time. That grudge will become a cancer that eats away at your insides. And it can be a cancer in the body of Christ and cause great problems. So what we need to learn to do, because Rudy is right, there are reasons we can become angry. And the anger itself is not sin, but how we deal with it and is, can become sin for us. We must learn to release anger when you have it. How do you do that? How do you release anger? Well, at least two ways you can do it. Commit a person over to the mercy of God by remembering how much mercy you yourself have received. Remember the parable of the unmerciful servant. Remember? The servant who was forgiven such a debt that he could never even possibly repay it in many lifetimes. And yet, having just been forgiven, he went out and found a fellow servant and demanded to be repaid. It wouldn't even take no for an answer. Remember what happened to that servant? The master who forgave him called him back in, reassigned the entire debt to him, threw him into prison, and said, you'll never get out until it's fully paid. And then Jesus said, that's how my Father is going to treat every one of you who does not forgive his brother and his heart. That's one way to release the anger, is to realize you had better not hold on to it, lest you want God holding on to his for you. The other way, there is another way, is just leave room for the wrath of God. Ultimately, no one gets away with anything, do they? No. Payday is someday. And someday, they're going to stand before the Lord and he is going to deal with them in accordance with their works. Vengeance is God. So you can leave them to the wrath of God, and you can go on in peace. God has got this. They'll answer for it. If they don't come to repentance, which we should hope they do, they'll come to judgment, one way or the other. That's how you can let go of the anger yourself, okay? Now, and then it says this, and then we'll, as we get into, we're wrapping up this message. So we're to put off falsehoods, speak the truth to one another. We're to be angry and not sin. Don't even let the sun go down on your anger. And do not give place to the devil. And this is what Tom was making reference to, because remember, the devil roams about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. And you know what? I wonder if the devil has a heat sensor. He can sense when we're a little hot under the collar. Oh, oh, Brother Rudy's kind of upset right now. I think I want to visit with Brother Rudy. I think he's open to having a conversation with me. All right. I mean, do you think Paul would make a connection here? Do we need to be careful with our anger? Because if we hold on to it too long, Satan might just come along and find, oh, what an opportunity I have here. To use this, because you know how this kind of works? In this way, anger almost works like a date rape drug. If the devil can nurse that anger in you and get you to swallow it deep, it's like you can begin to do things, think things, say things that you're not fully aware of. Yeah. It's like he temporarily takes possession of your mind and your mouth, and he turns your mind and your mouth into a weapon. And he gets you to say what words that he offers you. How many of us know what I'm talking about? Having those private conversations in our mind, when we are just wrapped in fire. We are putting that person in their place. We are letting them know what they did, what they said, how we feel. Have you ever thought that someone might be offering you ammunition? Here, reload. Here, reload. You're almost out. You hear that? Thunder, I'm going to get the rain. What Satan himself is going to give you, throw and get. Aren't we grateful? Yeah. Now, this is, don't give place to the devil. I have a question for you. I don't know if you've ever been asked. Why do you think Paul used the term the devil here and not Satan? Why did he say, do not give place to the devil? Why didn't he say, do not give place to Satan? Paul chose the word for a reason. Both are his names. He's the devil and he's Satan. But why did Paul use the devil here? Because it has to do with the meaning of the name. In the Greek, the word for devil is diabolos. Diabolos. It's from the preposition dia, which is through in the word ballo. Do you hear an English word in there? Ballo. What English word do you hear? Ballo. You hear an English word? Ballo. Ballo. B-A-L-L. What's a ball? What do you do with a ball? You throw it. You throw it back and forth or you throw it at someone. The idea of this word is to throw something through someone. And what do you think Satan, the devil, diabolos, what do you think he tries to throw through us? What does he like to throw? Accusations. Now the Bible calls them fiery darts. And fiery darts come from tongues of fire. When the emotions are superheated, words become a flaming arrow shot straight from the mouth to hit the mark to try to spread the fire around. Oh, and it really works well when the conditions are real dry like it is now. And some churches are sadly in a red, a red alert. They're so dry that it just takes a little spark from the devil and a flame will just burn through. And suddenly everyone's on fire and we get so confused. Remember what the, what, what James says about the tongue? It's a world of evil among the parts of the body. It's itself is set on fire by hell. And it sets the whole course of nature on fire. Can you see why Paul says do not give place to the person who's the accuser, the slanderer, the defamer. And how does he do it? He finds a person nursing anger. He senses the heat and he comes alongside and he provides ammunition and the person becomes his secret agent. And the person does not even realize he's doing it. He's firing away, hurting people with their words. You know, I have a picture of this. You know, you could take a letter and you could put it on a, a long metal rod with the handle on the end. And if you stick that metal rod with a letter in a fire long enough, it'll heat up and it can, and if it heats up long enough, it'll begin to glow. And then what can you do with that? Yeah, you can, you can take that and you can, you can, you can permanently brand something. How many, how many of us have been branded by someone's words? They branded your reputation. They were angry at you for what you did and they branded you to this person and this person and that person. And every time that person sees you, they see the brand they put on you. That's, that's the danger of words. When the devil gets a hold of us and we're not aware, we can become the Avalos itself. Accusers, slanderers, defamers. And you know, Paul actually uses this same word for people in the church, not even for the devil. And this, and he uses it in the right sense. There's certain people that we need to make sure that they're not like this. Follow me. First Timothy chapter three. The first person that, that he uses this, this word Diabolo is a deacon's wife, a deacon's wife. That makes you happy, doesn't it? Yeah. In the same way, first Timothy 311, follow me, in the same way, the, the women, the women are to be worthy of respect or the deacon's wives are to be worthy of respect. Not Diabolos. Not malicious talkers. Isn't that interesting? Now, why would Paul even say this? I want you to think, Paul doesn't use words carelessly. Why would Paul caution that if you're going to be examining a deacon, make sure his wife is not Diabolos? Obviously it's because you ladies have the power to literally take someone's reputation out. Yeah, you do. Yeah, you can take it out. All right. And if you don't like something, your words are so powerful, you can put a stop to it. You're dangerous. Now, I know we're really, really can aim at this section. It just, it, I think men, men can even go beyond words. It's not like we're not vulnerable to this either. But, but this is the danger because you sweet ladies, you are gentle and you're mean and you are harmless, but you, but you carry a weapon. You carry a weapon that Paul says, you make sure they know how to use their speech. Yes. Well, it's not me. It's Paul. Yeah. Yeah. And you know, they use the, since you use the term gossip, you remember what the Bible describes gossip as? Choice morsels. At the time, it sure seems to taste good, but it's just dangerous. And then Paul uses, so not to pick on deacons wives only, he uses the term again in Titus chapter two, verse three. And this, he just uses it with older women because, all right, as you mature in Christ, as you become more aware of this, then you need to make sure that this is an area where you, you know, you don't, you've made spiritual progress. Titus two, three, likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be diabolos, not to be slanderers. Okay. And, and defamation, don't, don't be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. So for all of us, the power of a destructive tongue should never be underestimated. Slander, accusation, gossip, defamation have destroyed many lives, many marriages, many businesses, and many churches. Wow. Devastating. So let's review again today. Put off falsehood. No pretense. We should be Christians here in the car, at home, at work, in our neighborhood, 24-7, 365 days. That's who we are. In anger, aware. Certain things will make us angry. Be careful that it does not lead us to sin. Don't nurse it. To get back to what we've said, if, if you have thought on it for a day, yesterday, today, even the day before, you've meditated on it prior. You've thought on it before. If you have meditated on it before, and then you do something, having thought about it for several days, what you do and say is premeditated. Yes. More serious. Yes. How could you keep track unless you're meditating on it? That's why words like you always, and you never. That sounds like meditation words. I feel like you're keeping track. Can you see how the Apostle Paul is trying to help his church? Isn't it amazing how practical this is? This is not just some spiritual theory. This is life. Life and death are in the power of the tongue. And the Apostle Paul recognizes that, man, with our inability to deal with anger makes us extremely vulnerable to become Satan's secret agents. And we need to be very helpful. And let me say this on both sides. This is where is safety for us as a church. You know, if someone is under attack, they've taken Satan's state rape drug. They don't even realize it. They're angry. And of course, that anger is pent up in them, and they're going to want to talk about it. How can you help them? How about this, by not listening? Thinking you're just doing them a favor? Or listening in such a way as helping them wake up lovingly? This is not full of grace. This is not edifying. This is not Jesus. Because if you don't lend them an ear, devil can't accomplish his work, can he? Instead of just listening to them, rescue them. Rescue each other. Create here an environment where this is safe. This is a sanctuary. This is an area where we are here for each other, to help each other. Okay?