Children of Light and Children of Wrath
Notes
Transcript
Call to Worship
Call to Worship
O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you; I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure.
Prayer
Prayer
Adoration: God, worthy of a kingdom of priests to proclaim your excellencies; whose justice has no flaw; whose wrath against evil is pure; whose wisdom is perfect; whose love is unstained by corruption; whose mercy is our delight//
Confession: Called to proclaim your excellencies, we forget them/live contrary to them/shrink away from declaring them…
Thanksgiving: for bringing us out of darkness and into light, erasing the debt of our sins and giving us unspeakable honor…
Supplication: pure hearts + courage to proclaim your excellencies; mercy for our pregnant mothers/grace for family discipleship; CTC Uganda + Hendersons; comfort for Jeffery family; believers in Afghanistan: suffering + gospel.
Family Matters
Family Matters
Fellowship Dinner Wed;
Benediction
Benediction
To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
Sermon
Sermon
Text Main Point: Walk like the Father’s children, not children of disobedience: our destiny and nature are completely different because we aren’t part of them anymore!
What is the text doing? Exposing the works of darkness…
Main Point of Sermon: When Allured by Deceptive Sin, Remember its Destiny/Nature and Yours
Read: Eph. 5:1-10, but focus on vs. 3-10
Question: What can we do against the allure/deception of sin?
Illustration: Battle of Savo Island—
Three US + one Australian cruiser sunk
Cruisers had been at G.Q. ready to fight for days… hard position to maintain… stood down from G.Q., relief for the crew…
Japanese had fired first salvo before allies even realized they were there/knew what was going on.
One of the worst defeats in U.S. naval history… how? Cover of darkness. Allure of seeming safety.
Except not facing the bravery/honor/skill of Japanese Navy, but the persistent darkness of a crafty enemy consumed with hatred for us and our King…
Craftiness… of our own hearts!
Question: What can we do against the allure/deception of sin?
Problem: The Deceptive Allure of Sin
Problem: The Deceptive Allure of Sin
***Indeed, is sin really even that bad?***
FIRST, The Incongruence of Sin
But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints.
Why so strong here? — “but… [they] must not even be named among you”
Just reminded us (vs. 1-2) of:
Our status: beloved Children!
Our task: safe in God’s love, to walk in love = what we’ve been designed for
These… utterly incongruent/w love = oil + water
YET, The Reality of Sin in Our Lives
But… if we are beloved children… why even need to mention these things?
Reality: truly born again/adopted—but full inheritance = future:
Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.
Reality of adoption = true/unlosable, but not yet complete
= why Paul still has to warn about unrighteousness = sin is both:
a part of who we are, though also
alien to who we are
So: we are open to the allure/deception of Sin
SECOND, The Contrast Between Sin/Love
Love = seeking the best for the other person, even to your own hurt = example of Jesus “loving us and giving himself up” for us (vs. 2)
Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.
Sexual immorality = all sexual activity outside of marriage = let me use you for my own fulfillment— (dig into this in a bit…)
Covetousness/greed (vs. 3) = I WANT MORE stuff for ME = trigger toward selfish/loveless action (…we’ll look into this later)
So: these things are utterly incongruent w/ who we are as God’s beloved children => opposite ‘walk in love’
YET, The Allure of Unrighteousness
Incongruent, yet powerful in temptation/allure!
They love to present themselves as something other than the gross violation of God’s law and love (what they really are)
Sin doesn’t usually walk up to you and say, “Hi. I’m a temptation to betray Jesus, and I’d like to be your new best friend!”
Famous theologian of a couple generations ago, wrote this to his adulterous love interest, about their intimate relationship: “It cannot just be the devil’s work, it must have some meaning and a right to live, that we, no, I will only talk about me: that I love you and do not see any chance to stop this.”
From a man of towering theological brilliance, among dumbest things written...
Sin is incredibly deceptive—what is hideous in God’s sight, beautiful in his...
So Paul says,
‘don’t even let them be named among you’
Doesn’t mean, “don’t talk about them”
He’s bringing them up…
We are supposed to understand sin in one sense…
Doesn’t mean, “don’t have compassion on people trapped in these sins”
Doesn’t mean, “pretend sin in the congregation doesn’t exist…”
Seems: ‘be named’ = something like, “to give something consideration or legitimacy or recognition” = do not give these sins a hint of legitimacy in your conversations… much less your actions!
Either by:
Living out these sins, so that they can be named as a defining part of the congregation’s life, OR
Beginning to giving these sins even a hint of legitimacy in words/conversations
Next verse he says,
Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.
Again: don’t give sin any legitimacy in the way you talk!
Irony: certain ways of talking about sin which actually hide/cover it
Filthy speech/crude joking/foolish talking = love to talk about sin, but in a way that pushes the boundaries to subtly normalize it…
make the monster of human darkness seem tame…
The way that we speak shapes our hearts…
Sin is sly! Loves to cover up its true nature by making itself look harmless…
None of us are immune!
Question: How can we defend ourselves against the allure/deception of sin?
Answer part 1—Flipping on the light: These are the works of the children of wrath!—utterly at odds w/ God’s love and kingdom
Answer part 1—Flipping on the light: These are the works of the children of wrath!—utterly at odds w/ God’s love and kingdom
For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.
What’s Paul doing?
Flipping on light switch.
Deception needs darkness, fog/confusion—needs us to look at God’s law and say, “Well, I don’t know. I’m not sure…”
4 allied cruisers… different if sun had been up! Terrifying truth of approaching Japanese force = readiness
Into haze of sin’s deception: “You may be sure of this”… what? These sins belong to a class of people who have NO INHERITANCE in God’s kingdom!
Point # 1: Antithesis Between Kingdom and Sin
Point # 1: Antithesis Between Kingdom and Sin
(in vs. 3-4) Not proper… out of place… Why?
Saints = citizens of kingdom
Kingdom = defined by love + holiness => now consider these sins:
Sexual immorality = all sexual activity outside of marriage = let me use you for my own fulfillment—
I WANT a casual encounter w/ him/her… what could be the harm? Indeed, what harm could possibly come from treating another human being like an object, like a piece of bread to be consumed? Don’t worry. Treating each other like objects will have no twisting affect on your soul//treating another human being in that way will certainly not bring the wrath of a God.
Well, we’re truly in love with each other, so it’s different. I WANT HER/HIM. It’s more holistic… No: this just means that your selfishness—using of the other person—has an emotional/relational attachment in it. Asking someone to practice the physical/sexual sign of unity, without first covenanting with that person in marriage, is USING that person for your own romantic fulfillment…
Well, I don’t do any of those things. I just shape my own body to match my own felt gender. Friend, you’ve been sold a lie. Your gender/sexuality does not exist for the sake of establishing an identity which is all turned in on your self. You were never supposed to build your own identity. Perhaps you have a genuine, painful struggle with your identity in these matters. If so, God has a gentle wisdom and a boundless mercy for you in his Word, if you will entrust your struggles to him. But seeking to find fulfillment by establishing your own gender identity from your own feelings is a selfish use of your gender, your sexuality! —a kind of idolatry against which, like all other sins, the wrath of God is coming.
Contrast: the love of Christ for his bride… (vs. 25) he loved her, “and gave himself up for her” to die for her—utter self-denial—to save her with a wondrous salvation.
And so for our sins of sexual immorality he offers mercy… even for every kind of lovelessness!
to believers => power to overcome
to unbelievers => turn from sin/surrender to king Jesus, and be forgiven + adopted
Covetousness/greed (vs. 3, 5) = I WANT MORE stuff
Desire that places hope in stuff rather than God…
Desire that cannot be filled, no matter how much is accumulated…
Theft = I WANTED that stuff… besides, how much would they really miss it? But to steal from them, you had to ignore their human dignity. You had to despise them… the opposite of love! BUT, it was a big-box store. It’s just some big company somewhere that looses a bit of money. No: you are engaging in an activity that tears down the entire community… destroys trust and drives up prices. You are despising and robbing the entire community!
Well, I’m glad you said that, because I’m tired of these terrible shoplifters! I only hoard the wealth that I’ve earned. But you were only able to gain those possessions in the first place b/c God gave you life and breath and strength… praise him for his provision! But you are to use those things in love, and to abhor greed.
What does love look like?
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.
= receive the inheritance…
And so for our sins of greed he offers mercy… even for every kind of lovelessness!
to believers => power to overcome
to unbelievers => turn from sin/surrender to king Jesus, and be forgiven + adopted
Part of Answer: When allured by sin’s deception: remember how opposite it is to everything you are and are called to be in Christ.
And yet:
Believer: lulled to sleep? Don’t think sin is a big deal?
Unbelieving Friend: hard heart? Don’t think salvation is urgent?
Point # 2: The Sobering Destiny of Those who Live in Antithesis to the Kingdom
Point # 2: The Sobering Destiny of Those who Live in Antithesis to the Kingdom
What did verse 5 say about those who practice these sins?
“no inheritance”
=> inheritance = family word
=> we have a “glorious inheritance” from God precisely because we’ve been adopted
=> “no inheritance” = not God’s children
Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.
“sons of disobedience”
=> “children of wrath” from 2:3 = who we once were = who all people are by nature
=> Goes back to Gen.—are you a child of Eve (mother of all living) or a child of the snake (father of lies, murder, death)
=> “because of these [sins] the wrath of God comes” upon them = same family group as “children of wrath”
= statement of God’s heart right now toward evil, sometimes judgement in this life
= especially the coming final judgement of all his enemies
= because God’s justice is pure + good, he will bring all sins (not erased by Christ’s death) into an eternal, terrifying judgement of wrath
“let no one deceive you with empty words”
=> culture:
= racism/genocide deserves severe justice!
= sexual sin/greed/idolatry/self-centeredness… not so bad…
= certain kinds of sexual deviancy even put on a pedestal/made a protected class of sins
=> “empty words” =>
= work very hard to portray sex outside of marriage as normal, even healthy
= same thing w/ homosexuality, trans…
= how glamorizes wealth => all the subtle signaling in ads to get you to think, “if only I had one of those, then I’d be happy”
=>doesn’t have to be mainstream culture:
= habit of guys in culture to degrade women behind their backs by rating them as mere objects…
= empty words which subtly teach boys and men to think about women in ways that are hateful to God, and which bring his wrath…
Ultimate truth which cuts through the deception of the empty words?
“because of these things, the wrath of God is coming”
God is just—
Nothing capricious, unmeasured, foolish, unjust in his wrath
Wrath applied with perfect wisdom, purity, truth, justice; infinite power; unstained love for what is truly good.
How bad is your sin? Measure it according to God’s perfect and terrifying wrath.
Friend, if your life is defined by these sins, the wrath of God is coming. Whether…
You made a commitment/prayed a prayer at one time, then walked away…
Never claimed to know Jesus in the first place…
But HE OFFERS YOU MERCY TODAY… how?
What if someone faced the terrifying wrath of God in your place?
Drank the terrifying cup of God’s wrath in your place, so there was simply none left for you?
Was condemned in your place, for your sin, that you might receive forgiveness instead, and boundless eternal love?
What if you didn’t have to earn this mercy, but simply throw yourself with all your helplessness and guilt into his arms, strong to save?
Guilty, vile, and helpless we;
Spotless Lamb of God was He;
“Full atonement!” can it be?
Hallelujah! What a Savior!
But: fellow believers, what do we do when allured by sin?
Answer: When allured by sin: remember how hideous it is in God’s sight, and thus its terrifying destiny! = let the light switch be flipped on, so that sin’s true nature is exposed. Based on this, Paul says:
Answer part 2—You were Darkness, but You Aren’t Anymore!
Answer part 2—You were Darkness, but You Aren’t Anymore!
Therefore do not become partners with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light
If you’re a true believer, these sins no longer define you—but you still struggle w/ them (or others)!
Paul says, “Do you see how ugly these sins are compared to the love of Christ? Do you see hideous they are to God, that he brings his wrath against them? How could you become partners-in-sin with those who practice them? It’s true: that is who you used to be—darkness. But now, in Christ, you are light! So don’t walk as sons of disobedience, but children of light!”
Note: extremely important—Paul DOES NOT SAY:
“Walk as children of light, so that you may become children of light”, OR
“Walk as children of light, so that you can maintain your status as children of light”, BUT
“Walk as children of light, because that is who you are”
But if you are not yet a child of light = child of God, rescued and redeemed from sin by him, here is his Word for you—what true faith looks like:
Hosea 14:3
“Assyria shall not save us; we will not ride on horses;”
=> we will stop trusting in our own strength//even our efforts to be better people!
“and we will say no more, ‘Our God,’ to the work of our hands.”
=> we will turn away from everything else that we might hope in—
“In you the orphan finds mercy.”
=> not yet saved = spiritual orphans
=> what is the cry of saving faith? Turn to God and say, “In you the orphan finds mercy.”
=> he will clean off the filth of your sin through the blood of the crucified Son, and bring you into full membership in his family—a true child, cannot lose your inheritance
Then you will be a child of light = person able to walk in light:
Thanksgiving, instead of filthy talk
Selfless love, instead of selfish greed/lust
(vs. 9) all that is good, right, true
And when allured by sin, to expose it by flipping on the light switch, by remembering:
Sin is the poisonous weed that sprouts from hearts of the sons of disobedience—and because they embrace it in their hearts, the terrifying wrath of God is coming against them. It is that hideous in the sight of my Holy God. How could I want to have anything to do with it?
Sin is the ugly opposite of the love with which Christ saved me and which I’ve been designed to imitate. How could I do that?
The battle will be fierce. Sometimes we will fail. But as we seek to grow as children of light, his mercy/forgiveness/love will hold us fast in his arms, mighty to save.