Darkness and Light - Tewantin

Ephesians 4:17 to 5:20 Gospel of Grace Darkness and Light Rev’d Chris Johnson Pew Bibles p1175 This morning we come to a very practical section of Ephesians in Chapters 4 and 5. Paul gives long lists of the things that make for good Christian living and the things we are to put aside if we are to call ourselves Christians. So - do this, don't do that! Simple isn't it! But the question is where do we get the power to live this way? We may well know what is the right way to live, but it's another whole question doing it! So before we look at the practical exhortations I want us to look at the power. And for Paul the power is in the Gospel, the Gospel that he has set out in the first three chapters of this book. In Chapter 3:7 he says “I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God's grace given me through the working of his power”. The Gospel gives power to one’s life. It gives a new motivation to want to live a holy and righteous life. Probably the best summary of this gospel is in our memory verse from Week One, Ephesians 2:8&9, “For by grace you have been saved, through faith and this is not from yourselves it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast.” Grace is the unmerited gift of God to us of Jesus Christ. Accepting this gift is what faith is all about. Our natural inclination is to think we can be a good person apart from faith in God. This means convincing yourself your good works are enough, that you don't really need faith in Jesus. Ephesians 2:8,9 says, that it is not from ourselves, but the gift of God, not by works. And the gift is the cross; that's the grace by which we are saved. This is the Gospel message. And when you realise the truth of the Gospel it puts a new power in your life to live for Christ, to love God and love your neighbour after the pattern of Christ. Paul also briefly alludes to this Gospel in the centre of our passage this morning at the start of Chapter 5, where he says, “Follow God's example, therefore as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant oCering and sacrifice to God”. Where is the power to live the Christian life? It is in the love of Christ who “gave himself up for us as a fragrant oCering and sacrifice”. So as we look at these practical exhortations make sure you also understand where the power comes from to perform them. Paul says at the beginning of Chapter 4, “I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.” This is the calling of grace, the calling of the cross. Paul says live a life worthy of this calling. The world says any behaviour is OK, as long as you don't hurt anyone to the best of your knowledge of hurt. ‘You don't have to follow an external set of rules. Work out the set of rules that are right for you, as long as you don't hurt anyone.’ Paul says NO, there are some universal truth's about 1 • • • Godly and ungodly behaviour. Wise and unwise living. Embracing the light or remaining lost in the dark. The grand image here is of light and darkness. Paul says to put o^ the darkness and put on the light. But more than that in Chapter 5:8 he says for you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. This is not just saying you once did some things which belonged to darkness, now you're doing things which belong to the light. No, it's saying your inner-being was darkness but now your inner-being is light. The inner being that is in darkness is the soul that is in rebellion to God's rule in one’s life. On the other hand, the Christians in Ephesus are now ‘light in the Lord’. Their inner being has been turned to want to love GodWho they essentially are, are God's people bought with the precious blood of Christ. Paul goes on in v9 to say so live as children of light, the fruit of which is goodness, righteousness and truth. Paul uses the idea here of putting o^ and putting on. So in Ch4:22 he says, “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put oC your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; And to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” So we have to put o^ the works of darkness and put on the good works of the light. What are some of the works of darkness we have to put o^. Ch 4:18 says, “The Gentiles are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.” When I read this verse this week my mind couldn't help but go to ‘that scene’ in the Olympic Opening Ceremony. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality. This sort of exhibitionist sensuality used to only happen in night clubs and behind closed doors but now it is celebrated openly in the mainstream. It is just one of many signs of the darkness that is now celebrated as a good thing. Paul says we need to recognise it as darkness and put it o^. In v20 he goes on to say, “This is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ.” What are some other works of darkness? V25 “Put oC falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbour.” Lying to save your skin is commonplace, but we are to be people who only speak truth. V26 Paul looks at the issue of anger. Feeling angry with someone, in itself is not a sin. Anger is a natural human emotion and to pretend it isn't there, is a form of lying. We should always be honest about whatever we feel, but it is what we then do with those feelings that counts. We can let feelings of anger fester, and Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount this can lead to murder. Or we can take those feelings of anger to the Lord. We can process them in terms of the Gospel. 2 We can look again at Jesus on the cross and the injustice he su^ered. We can ask the Holy Spirit to apply the cross to our lives and give us fresh perspective. Applying the Gospel to anger is about, “Not letting the sun go down while you are still angry, and not giving the devil of foothold.” V26,27. The next work of darkness Paul deals with is stealing. V28 “Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.”Stealing is about putting all of your hope in this life and not thinking about eternity. It's based on the premise that if I get all this wealth now, by whatever means, I'll be happy… It is a vain hope. True hope is found by getting on with the work God has called you to do, earning an income with the work of your hands, and sharing generously with those in need. This is living in the light, and the way to true happiness. The next work of darkness in v29 is ‘unwholesome talk’. Paul has more to say on this in Ch5:4, “Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place.” People think • dirty jokes are a sign of being adult, • coarse language is cool, • obscenity is fun. Paul says this belongs to the darkness. He says our speech should only be, “what is helpful for building others up according to their needs”. More than unwholesome talk, Paul goes on to look at the underlying causes of unwholesome talk. In v31 [Ch4] he says, “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.” If you are your own boss, this is the way your heart will naturally respond when someone does you wrong. Let them have a bit of rage and anger. But if the Gospel has touched our hearts then we will be ready to forgive as v32 says, “just as in Christ, God forgave you.” We will “be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other”. This is our memory verse for this week. Ch4.32 “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” As Christ is formed in us, we will walk in this way of his light. As we move into Chapter 5 we find many themes similar to what we've been talking about in Chapter 4. V3 “But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity or greed because these are improper for God's holy people.” \V5 “No immoral, impure or greedy person - such a person is an idolater - has any inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ.” And then Paul goes on to talk about the light and the darkness, which we've already mentioned, and letting the light expose the fruitless deeds of darkness in your life and transform you into a child of the light. We are • to be wise v15, • make the most of every opportunity v16, • to not be foolish but understand the Lord's will v17, • to not get drunk but be filled with the Spirit v18. 3 Finally, Paul says children of light love music. Even if you're not musical, we are to sing and make music from our hearts to the Lord.V19 And we are to give thanks in all things. Music brings joy and thanksgiving. The truth of the gospel, the truth of light overcoming darkness should stir us to sing God's praises. This is what it means to live in the light. Jonathan Haidt has written a book the “Anxious Generation”. In it he looks at how social media is dragging our young people down and causing all sorts of mental health issues. He says this, “There is a hole, an emptiness in us all, that we strive to fill. If it doesn't get filled with something noble and elevated, modern society will quickly pump it full of garbage. That has been true since the beginning of the age of mass media, but the garbage pump got 100 times more powerful in the 2010’s” And he's referring there of course to the rise of social media. So we do have to make a choice. • Either the darkness or the light. • The way of the world or the Gospel of Christ. The way of the world says that if everybody is doing it, it must be right. Go with the flow. The Gospel of Christ says live by the standards set out here in Chapters four and five of Ephesians. Paul says take o^ and put on. Take o^ the old lifestyle, like stripping o^ a shabby, worn out suit of clothing. And put on the new suit Christ wants to give you. Sometimes the old clothes feel comfortable and you've got quite used to them. Sometimes new clothes feel a bit uncomfortable at first. That's why we have to look to the power of the Gospel and the work of the Holy Spirit to take o^ the old and put on the new. It is an act of our will, yet we do it in the strength God gives. So to express our need for God’s strength in making these lifestyle decisions I want to conclude in prayer. And I'm going to use a prayer that comes from the Book of Common Prayer. So it is in very old fashioned, formal language, but I think sometimes that can be helpful so that we approach God in the right manner. BCP collect for the first Sunday in Advent Almighty God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armour of light, now in the time of this mortal life, in which thy Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty, to judge both the quick and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost now and forever. Amen. 4