Ephesians 4:25-32

(Ephesians 4:25-32)

Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.  Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:  Neither give place to the devil. Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

Temptation is deception. Old and new cannot exist at the same time. When you take off the old man, the Lord puts on a new man. In "Your Spirit Is New," the word "spirit" is the expression "spirit of thought." In English, niv and kjv are different. 『in the attitude of your minds』(niv) 『in the spirit of your mind』(kjv), spirit is not attitude but spirit. In 4:24, 『And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. ' This is rebirth.
In Ephesians 5:6-9『 Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them. For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) 』 The children of darkness are old, and the children of light are new. There is no middle. The old man does not become a new man by effort, but the old man must die. Darkness does not turn into light by effort, but darkness must disappear. Today, most people think of rebirth as a change of heart. They are trying to be converted into new people through all kinds of efforts without taking off the old people.

The Old Testament is the shadow of the New Testament. During the Exodus, the Israelites crossed the Red Sea. And the wilderness appears. They cross the Jordan River in the wilderness and enter Canaan. To enter Canaan is to enter into Christ. The people of the covenant receive Christ. The covenant people are those who died with Christ. Crossing the Red Sea is coming out of the world. It is a metaphor of four fields to come out of the world. Roadside fields (the word of God is taken by the devil), stone fields (trying with the word and throwing away the word), thorny field (the seed of the word cannot grow)

So, "speaking in a saved way as long as you don't deny yourself and believe without repentance" belongs to three types of fields. People say that after they believe, they can repent. Like a stone field, Peter believed in Jesus for three years, but in one day this faith collapsed before the cross. Peter was the most experienced miracle among human beings. Because of the revelation, Peter also believed that Jesus was the Son of God. Peter had many experiences: the dead Lazarus was alive, and Moses and Elijah were seen directly on the earth. But Jesus said, "Tonight you will forsake me." The gospel is the realization that everyone is in this state. Good news for those who realize.

At the time of Jesus, no one but one responded to the saying that Jesus was dying. Even today, no one knows how to respond to Jesus' death. When Jesus was in the home of Simon the sick of Bethany, a woman came and poured perfume on her head. Then Jesus said, "Commemorate this woman wherever the gospel is preached." Because this woman prepared for Jesus' burial with tears. Jesus' death came into her mind. Peter stressed, "Even if they betray Jesus, I will never betray them." That night, Peter denied Jesus three times.

The gospel is the news of how sinful humans are. Even if we are happy and successful, the Bible tells us that everything that man has built up is of no use before death. The absence of Jesus tells us that there is no use. The difference between the presence and absence of Jesus is the difference between being united with Jesus who died on the cross. Those who know that I am a sinner to die are associated with Jesus' death. Otherwise it cannot be united. It cannot be united, nor will it be. Only one person who realizes, “I am the dead in the eyes of the Lord, and must be dead,” can be united with the crucified Jesus."You can deny yourself.

That is, most people today want to Jesus while ignoring their total corruption. They sing in the hymn, "The Lord God who says you can," and you will be saved if you believe in the Lord God. Repentanceless faith that does not hold the cross is not salvation. Faith without repentance is something like "Tonight you will betray me." In Luke 22:31, he said, ``And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:''. This is mercy. And in verse 32 『But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. 』

This saying is, "Be born again." Through the twelve disciples, what the Bible shows us is that all humans are fallen. No one can follow the Lord of the Cross on their own. This was the old man, "You were dark before." We have to say this like Noah. It must be said, "Everyone is totally corrupt and can only live by repenting."

Even if you say that you have been blessed by the Word through some experience, you are not saved unless you are born again. Being born again means that the old man dies. Old man is never saved. Even if you build up the knowledge of the Bible, experience Heaven and Hell, and receive the revelation of God, the old man cannot be saved. The old man must die. In Romans 6:6『 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. 』

Repentance is not fear of death, it is fear of God. Repentance is the way to unite with the crucified Jesus. When we repent, we are born again with water and the Holy Spirit. Because repentance is the way of self-denial. Without repentance "to deny self," it is false to say that you have repented. Repentance and regeneration are stuck together. When repenting, the old man dies and becomes the new man. It is a way to be forgiven and justified. When you repent, you will receive the Holy Spirit as a gift. The fruit of repentance tells us if we are born again. The fruit of repentance is carrying my cross. Everything is my fault. Is Jesus the Master or Am I the Master?