Walking Wise on the Discipleship Trail

Ephesians 5:1–17 NASB95

1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; 2 and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. 3 But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints; 4 and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. 5 For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not be partakers with them; 8 for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light 9 (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), 10 trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; 12 for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. 13 But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light. 14 For this reason it says, “Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you.” 15 Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, 16 making the most of your time, because the days are evil. 17 So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

INTRO: Have you ever been in a situation where you did not fully realize the dangers around you?

ILL: I remember going on a hiking and camping trip at Old Fort Mountain. As we were hiking, we heard this weird sound… me not knowing what it was chalked it up to a bird or chatty squirrel. Soon enough, we came across an area where the noise stopped. Looking around, and then finally up, we noticed a bear cub in the tree not 30 feet from us. To our left, a noticeable path that mama bear had taken just moments before we arrived. We didn’t see her, but we suddenly realized that we were in danger and needed to retreat from that area.

We’ve been talking about the Discipleship Trail for a few weeks now. And, having already covered 3 of the 4 trail markers, I wanted to spend today looking at some dangers that we face as we walk this trail. You see, just because we are on the right trail does not mean that there won’t be challenges, temptations, and pitfalls. But the most dangerous hurdles we will face are those that do not appear harmful.

You see, we tend to be on guard when we can see the danger… you might be on high alert if you see a rattlesnake or if you ascertain that you are in a high-crime area. However, we can sometimes let our guard down and feel safe, not knowing that real danger lurks near. That’s why today we are going to look at some dangers that can easily escape our notice, but can absolutely wreck our walk.

But this is not simply a message of warning. Rather, it’s a message of provision, for God has given us everything we need to walk wise on the Discipleship Trail. In our time together, we will identify the dangers of apathy or carelessness in our walk. These are areas we can ignore or be ignorant in and thus be vulnerable to the attacks of the enemy. Once we identify the danger, I will point you to the necessary action to guard against it.

The sermon is titled, Walking Wise on the Discipleship Trail. I encourage you to take you bulletin out and use the sermon guide as we explore God’s Word together this morning. The first danger we need to see is the danger of:

Apathy Towards Self-Examination (3-5)

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ILL: How many of you have a mirror at home? I can tell. Can you imagine if you never looked in the mirror? If you never checked your hair? I mean, you could walk out into public with wild nosehairs, boogers hanging loose, hair that looks like you stuck your finger in an outlet, makeup smeared, clothes wrinkled… it could make for an interesting church gathering!

So, we make sure that in our house- especially in bathrooms, we have mirrors. I bet you have more than one mirror- maybe you have a full-length mirror, a magnifying mirror, or maybe one of those pocket mirrors for regular checks throughout the day.

Yet, when it comes to our spiritual walk, we are less intentional- maybe even lazy. And look, it’s really easy to get glimpses of our life and ignore sins. Right? We noticed that urge that was ungodly, but we write it off because it’s seen as ‘normal behavior’ in our society. It’s easy to justify crude language because we were mad and that bicyclist should not be on the road anyway. It’s even easy to get sucked into bowing to false gods when you don’t stop to think how much devotion and energy you give to something in comparison to your devotion to Christ.

But listen, Paul says these sins and impurities “must not even be named among you.” IOW, they should not be detected because we have examined our life and ensured we are not walking in sin. Therefore, we must be wise. Here’s the solution: Employ standards of living to be like Jesus.

Remember the saying in the 90’s, “WWJD?” Look again at v. 5 (READ)

YOU, brother and sister who has surrendered your life to the Lordship of Christ are a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven. You have a constitution that is set apart from this world! You have been called a child of God, and therefore you must live as one who is indeed bearing the name and identity of the Most High God! And look, you might say, “this is sounding legalistic” - No, legalism says we earn our salvation through works, what I am saying and what the Bible teaches is that we lay aside the ways of the world and embrace the ways of God. Let me just point you back to the previous chapter in Ephesians:

Ephesians 4:17–23 NASB95

17 So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, 18 being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; 19 and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. 20 But you did not learn Christ in this way, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, 22 that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, 23 and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind,

You cannot call yourself a Christian and not live any different than your old life.

Like Jesus taught in the parable of the virgins, we are to be diligent. Our lamps must remained filled and trimmed so that we are brightly shining the light of the Gospel until Jesus returns.

Here is a practical way you can do this: Set aside regular time in God’s Word. Maybe you have a devotional guide or a reading plan. As you do, ask God to examine your life through His word. Psalm 139:23–24 “23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; 24 And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.”

A couple questions you may add: Am I tolerating sin I once resisted? Am I treasuring Christ more than anything else today?

Walking wise on the d-trail means that we apply God’s standards to our lives, examining ourselves and choosing to live like Jesus. The next key to walking wise is to avoid the danger of:

Apathy Towards Accuracy (6-10)

What I mean by this is that we must be careful to test what we are hearing or reading to ensure that it is accurate and true.

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There are a lot of voices speaking a lot of words. In fact, with the advent of AI, it’s even more difficult for folks to determine what is real and what is not; what is good and true, and what Paul refers to as “empty words.” And we must recognize that we both self-sort and are sorted by online platforms based upon our habits. For instance: If you have a social media account, there is an algorithm that sorts your feed to be made up of posts, images, and videos that match your interactions. In a very real way, it is easy to be in an echo-chamber of sorts.

Now, here’s the danger: All it takes is an article or post that presents a truth claim that seems to agree with your notion, but is actually baseless. Thousands upon thousands of videos and voices of people claiming to be experts or theologians are making claims that have no basis in truth. They might appeal to emotion or a political ideology and might even assert that they have special insights. Friends, this is nothing new. False teachers have been peddling lies for generations. The early church dealt with it, and we must deal with it as well. Listen to me: God is truth and He hates lies.

Lies are intended to deceive and the thing about being deceived is you don’t know you are deceived! That’s what makes being apathetic or lazy about accuracy so dangerous.

ILL: How many of you like to fish? The trick to being a good fisherman is that you have to deceive that fish into thinking your bait is real. You might use some powerbait that smells like… well, I don’t know what it smells like- nasty, but the fish seem to like it! And the thing is, that fish has no idea that what you are dangling in the water is dangerous.

I wonder if any of you are already being deceived. Let’s do an experiment. I am going to make some truth statements that are clearly supported by Scripture. Some of you may struggle with these personally or have loved ones who do. My heart isn’t to condemn but to point us all to the truth that sets us free.

The Bible is clear that God created the world, man, and all things with intention and design (Gen. 1–2; Ps. 19; Col. 1). Any worldview that denies God as Creator—whether secular evolution or materialism—leads to deception.

Abortion is murder. Life begins at conception, and ending that life is objectively wrong.

There are only 2 sexes/ genders. Male and female. And you cannot pick and choose which one you want to be.

Marriage and sexual acts are to be confined to biblical marriage between one man and one woman. All other expressions are sinful.

These are hot topics in our culture, but listen: I am not speaking inflammatory language. Not hate speech. No, I am simply speaking truth. And I am not saying that people who are deceived by the false teachings of the world are not valuable. Look, if you are someone who struggles with this, I want to tell you that Jesus came to rescue us out of this darkness. He is the way, the truth, and the life! You don’t have to stay deceived. God loves you and wants you to see truth!

So, church the solution to this apathy towards accuracy is this: Demand Truth. Speak Truth. Stand on Truth.

Listen, you don’t have to be mad about it; Do so in love. But we cannot entertain empty words. We cannot just allow people to excuse evil because they scream really loud, have lots of money or influence, or call us names. I am sure that there will be folks calling me names like bigot or transphobic, or whatever. But these too are empty words based upon lies. Lies are the tool of Satan who the bible calls the father of lies, the deceiver of the whole world, and promotor of deception and confusion.

A practical way you can guard against apathy in accuracy is to engage with helpful bible resources. If you don’t have a good study bible, that’s a great start. Take and measure sermons, podcasts, music, etc. against Scripture itself. Also, there are free tools to help you examine Scripture- Logos and Blue Letter Bible are great study helps. Another great resource is a website called GotQuestions.org.

As we walk the Discipleship Trail, we must not let our guard down. We must be diligent to examine ourselves and stand upon truth. Finally, as we look to walk wise on the Discipleship Trail, we must guard against:

Apathy Towards Evil (11-14)

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How easy is it to look around and think it best just to mind our own business? We can see wickedness all around, but truth be told, we’d rather not engage at all. “To each his own,” we say. Or maybe we just shake our heads.

We tend to think that as long as I don’t partake in that sin, that’s really all I can do. In fact, we might quip or have someone else quip to us, “Do not judge...”

But you see, the context of this verse is that we must apply the same standard in our judgements- on both ourselves and others. And folks, that judgment is the will and ways of God Almighty! He has told us what is good and evil. And one day He will judge perfectly. But we are given the command in Rom. 13, that we should create governments to restrain evil, not to permit it. Not to simply look the other way or to excuse it.

ILL: I am reminded of the book of Judges. In Judg. 19, we see a horrible tale of wickedness, with the recurring theme: and each men did what was right in his own eyes.

We are not free to do what is right in our own eyes. We are called to do what is right in His eyes.

R. C. Sproul

Paul here is urging the Church in Ephesus not only to avoid partaking in the sinful actions of those around them, but more than that, to expose these actions as sin. It’s a call to wake up and let Christ shine! You see, the danger for us is that if we fail to expose sin, then we invite the demise of our church, our community, and perhaps even our nation upon our heads.

Have you not read of the many kings of Israel who, putting aside God’s word, invited in sin which led to division, destruction, and captivity? Sin is knocking at the door! (Gen. 4:7)

Church, the solution for this danger is to Expose Sin. This is an everyday issue for believers. When we hear gossip, we must stop, gently call it what it is, and refuse to take part. When we see dishonesty in our workplace, lovingly correct and remind them of the importance of integrity. Even in our homes, we need to expose selfishness or impatience in love.

Practically, this happens through church discipline. Now, if you are not familiar with that, let me explain: Matt. 18, Jesus lays out the process. If a brother sins, go to him in private and call him to repent. If he doesn’t listen, bring another person and go again. If he still doesn’t listen, tell the elders of the church and they will go to him. If he still doesn’t listen, tell the church. And if he refuses to repent still, he is to be treated as an unbeliever because he has not surrendered himself to the Lordship of Christ and the authority of God’s Word in this area. Thus he needs the gospel.

How many folks have needed their sin exposed, and yet we have refused. We don’t want to hurt feelings.That takes boldness… but listen here- it’s done in love. We must love one another enough that we don’t let each other fall off the trail! When sin is brought to light, it loses its power. When we name it and subject it to the name above all names, it is defeated.

Practically, you can guard against this apathy towards evil by joining a small group. If you are already in a small group, practice accountability- seek be authentic and gentle as you go.

As we walk the Discipleship Trail, let us walk wise. Let me read Paul’s words in v. 15-17. (READ 15-17)

Friends, there are a number of dangers that we will face as we walk this trail of becoming like Jesus. But God has provided everything we need to remain steadfast. His will; His desire for you and me, is for us to live as citizens of heaven.

Will you commit to walking wise this week, not alone, but with Christ and with your church family on the trail?

[PRAY]

Discuss: Paul warns us to “walk as children of light.” What does this image communicate? How is it different from walking in darkness?

Discuss: Paul calls us not only to avoid darkness but to expose it. What does this look like in everyday life? How can we do this with both courage and compassion?

Discuss: This week, what is one concrete step you will take to “walk wisely” (e.g., daily Scripture reading, asking accountability from a friend, confessing sin, practicing discernment)?