Enduring in the Light
Enduring in Christ • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Follow the Right Example: Ephesians 5:1–2 (ESV)
Follow the Right Example: Ephesians 5:1–2 (ESV)
1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.
2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
· This is a summary of the exhortations Paul gave in the previous passage about the new life that we have in Christ.
o From 4:25-32 particularly.
· Ephesians 4:32 (ESV)
32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
o This sets up the imperative Paul is giving here…holy life requires us to be imitators of Jesus Christ.
· This is the only place in the NT where Paul commands us to imitate God, and his reason is that we should imitate God because we are His family in Jesus.
o Families tend to look alike, not just physically, but culturally.
You can often tell families apart by the way that every member interacts in the same way. The quirks and patterns match.
· The pattern of God’s family is love. Genuine love for one another is what marks the church.
o This is not a call to love only when it is easy, but all the time.
· This genuine love is shaped by self-giving and sacrifice.
o Jesus set the example by giving of Himself.
§ He humbled Himself by taking on human flesh.
§ He humbled Himself to endure a sinner’s cross.
§ He humbled Himself to become the propitiation for our sins.
We imitate this by laying down our lives for the good of our brothers.
· 1 John 3:16 (ESV)
16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.
· Genuine love is sacrificial; it is aimed at pleasing God.
o Jesus set the example for us in doing all to please God.
§ He obeyed the Law for us.
§ He offered the perfect sacrifice for our sins.
In the 17th century in England, the Puritan movement developed around this very idea, that the entirety of Christian life should be lived to the glory of God. To that end, they were active in trying to remove everything from church life which could not be originated in the command of God.
Following the example of Christ, we serve others sacrificially, for their own good. That is what pleasing to God.
· Such is the importance of loving others, that its absence is evidence that we do not love God.
o The gospel transforms our whole lives, so that we become like Jesus Christ.
· The ancient world was a place of pervasive sexual permissiveness…it was the default position in Ephesus, not the exception.
o Artemis of the Ephesians, the central goddess worshipped in Ephesus, was a fertility goddess.
§ Her images are of a multi-breasted woman with exaggerated characteristics…a sign of what kind of religious practices were associated with her.
· Christians, however, are citizens of a kingdom that reflects the righteousness and moral purity of its King.
o We live our lives under the formative influence of His character, not according to what the world thinks and does.
· This means that the church, and its members, are on a collision course with the world and its values.
Because our lives are to be patterned after Jesus Christ, that means a couple of things for us.
A Life that Stands Out: Ephesians 5:3–6 (ESV)
A Life that Stands Out: Ephesians 5:3–6 (ESV)
3 But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints.
4 Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.
5 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.
6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.
· But: Contrasting the commands of 5:1-2 (imitate God/walk in love).
· A triad of sins are listed that Christians must excise from their lives/put off.
o While Ephesus was notorious for every kind of sexual indulgence, Christians were supposed to be different.
o Sexual immorality (porneia)
§ This is a blanket term for any and all kinds of sexual activity outside of the God-ordained pattern of marriage from Genesis 2.
§ Christians are not prudish about sexuality; the Scripture celebrates it in its rightful place.
§ But it roundly condemns all forms that is contrary to God’s revealed will.
o Impurity (akatharsia)
§ This is uncleanness—often connected closely with sexual immorality.
· This is the effect on the sexually immoral person. They defile themselves before God. (The image of God marred)
o Covetousness (pleonexia)
§ Has to do with greed.
· It is rooted in our desire to posses what we do not have.
· Covetousness causes us to seek self-gratification through the possession of others.
· Such sins are not even to be named.
o They have no place in the body of Christ and should be absent from our lives altogether.
o Paul has given us powerful reasons why this should be the case.
· Ephesians 1:4 (ESV)
4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.
o We have been set apart to be holy and blameless before Him.
§ How can we then remain allow unholiness and guilt to remain present.
· Ephesians 2:22 (ESV)
22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
o We are corporately and individually the temple of the Holy Spirit, and His temple ought to be kept holy and set apart from sin.
· Ephesians 4:1 (ESV)
1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,
o We have been called to a high and holy calling and must make our lives worthy of the great cost (Jesus’s life).
§ This means living God-pleasing lives. This is a matter of trust and not just obedience.
DO we trust that God has our best good at the center of His will? He gave his Son for us. He redeemed us by His blood. He adopted us as His children. He blessed us with every spiritual blessing. He promises us all things in Jesus Christ.
He has proven he can be trusted when He commands us to put away all sexual immorality, impurity, and covetousness.
In light of all that God has done for us, it is proper that our lives should be free of any sinful patterns of life that are inconsistent with our new life and new identity.
· Paul offers another triad of sins: filthiness, foolish talk, and crude joking.
o While the first three have to do with activity that we must not engage with, these have to do with our speech. We should abstain from the language of sin.
§ Our conduct and our speech should be holy.
§ Filthiness—this has to do with talk that is in defiance of proper social/moral speech.
· It has to do with the kind of talk that would bring shame, embarrassment, and shame.
§ Foolish talk
· Casual/non-sensical talk. Frivolous speech common to one who is drunk—lacking inhibitions.
§ Crude joking
· Malicious and vulgar joking that is designed to scandalize and invite others into the unholiness.
o Our world is saturated with crudeness and vulgarity as much as it is with sexual immorality.
§ There is no shame anymore, it has been replaced with pride.
We are all tempted to explain away the way we talk as “just words.” In these moments, it is important to remember the words of Jesus:
· Luke 6:43–45 (ESV)
43 “For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit,
44 for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush.
45 The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
What we speak often shows what is inside of us.
· Colossians 3:2 (ESV)
2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.· We aren’t called to hide away from the world, but to endure and shine in the midst of a broken and twisted generation.
o But how will we do this?
· Paul doesn’t just tell us what not to do; he tells us what our speech should be shaped by—thanksgiving.
o Thankfulness to God for His many blessings, and thankfulness for one another.
I remember when I was in basic training going to the mess hall. There was all kinds of food there, including some very delicious looking chocolate cake. The drill sergeants reminded us that we were free to eat whatever was available in the dining facility. However, they reminded us that it was their duty to prepare us for service, and so, if they saw us eating chocolate cake and drinking soda, they would be compelled to assist us in preparing by giving us extra PT after dinner in order to counteract the extra caloric intake. This was a warning in the form of a motivation.
· Paul, similarly, offers the reason for the strong prohibition against unholy behavior and speech is offered in the form of a warning designed to motivate the reader.
· Our lives should be marked by “true righteousness and holiness” (Eph. 4:24).
24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
o This doesn’t just happen though; we have to pursue it.
o Being holy is never a passive things.
· Philippians 2:12 (ESV)
12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,
· Heed Paul’s warning in light of the calling of God.
5 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.
· The warning is clear: a failure to avoid sin is to reject inheritance.
o No holiness = no heaven.
§ New birth must be accompanied by a new life with new desires informed by a new hope.
· Now, he is not saying that to commit a sin like these is to forfeit salvation/lose salvation.
o What he is saying is that the person who persist in giving over to sinful patterns of life demonstrates a lack of spirit-empowered, regenerate life.
§ It’s an indication that we have not been saved at all.
· He identifies such people as unrepentant idolaters.
o The sexually immoral, impure, or covetous person has a strong desire to acquire for themselves more and more.
§ More money, more possessions, more experiences, etc.
o They show that they love, trust, and obey wealth rather than God.
· Paul then offers a second warning meant to motivate pursuit of holiness.
Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things, the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.
· The warning—wrath/judgment is coming upon the sons of disobedience. Paul previously identified those who are unsaved gentiles this way. Unholiness = under wrath.
o Empty words are a message without substance.
· There are those that proclaim a message, clothed in the language of Christianity, but without substance.
o Proclaiming “peace, peace” when there is no peace, they would lead people astray from the truth and into ungodly passions.
· Paul warns that the time is too short to not take sin seriously.
o Jesus warned that the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads down to destruction.
Don’t be like the ones who travel that road or you will end up proving that you are one who travels that road.
People who live their lives contrary to the will and command of God are not immature, they are unsaved. (Sons of disobedience)
“Be killing sin, or sin will be killing you.” —John Owen
· Rather than live as one destined for destruction, Paul calls upon the Christian to live a different way.
A Life that Shines Forth: Ephesians 5:7–14 (ESV)
A Life that Shines Forth: Ephesians 5:7–14 (ESV)
7 Therefore do not become partners with them;
8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light
9 (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true),
10 and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.
11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.
12 For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret.
13 But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible,
14 for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
· Do not become partners with them (those headed for destruction).
o This isn’t a no contact rule, but rather a call not to embrace the pattern of life that the sons of disobedience.
§ Don’t embrace false teaching and the immoral lifestyle that comes along with it.
· The call is to be imitators of God rather than be partners with the wicked.
· The rationale for this is that such behavior is inconsistent with our new identity and calling in Christ.
o At one time…but now…
· We were darkness—full of moral degradation and spiritual deadness.
o Alienated from God and without hope.
· Now we are light—illuminated by the power of the Holy Spirit for a godly life in fellowship with God.
· It is a change of nature (were darkness/are light) in the Lord (the agent of identity change)
o Who called us to this calling.
· So, we are now to walk as children of the light.
o To become what we already are.
§ The Christian faith is one of inaugurated eschatology.
· The kingdom began in Jesus’s coming, but it is still in the process of becoming complete (already but not yet).
Our work is to live toward the new reality through the power of the Holy Spirit (to live a spirit-empowered life).
· Verse 9 is a parenthetical statement in support of verse 8.
9 (For the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true).
o When we do good works, it is evidence that we have been redeemed—byproducts of a redeemed life, not merit.
o Good—the quality of godly character.
o Right—moral uprightness/right living.
o True—What corresponds to God and His revealed Word.
· So, we are to live lives that show the change in identity, and the example given is:
10 And try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.
· It is the ongoing effort, in which we test what we think say and do against the criteria of what is good, right, and true. What would be pleasing to God?
o What is an acceptable and pleasing offering to God (5:2)?
We often fail to do this; at least as often as we should.
We don’t question/examine our conduct as we should.
What pleases God is the most important reason for doing anything and our goal should always be to do what pleases Him. This requires practical wisdom, that is, applying the criteria of what is good, right, and true in any and every circumstance.
Good—does this match God’s character?
Right—does this conform with God’s Law?
True—does this advance the cause of God’s truth in the world?
· This means that we need to be Bible-saturated.
· Consider Jesus’s temptation in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11).
o He answered Satan’s barbs with Scripture every time.
o How was He able to know God’s Word so well?
o The answer is found, unsurprisingly, in Scripture.
· Isaiah 50:4–5 (ESV)
4 The Lord God has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary. Morning by morning he awakens; he awakens my ear to hear as those who are taught.
5 The Lord God has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious; I turned not backward.
o Jesus, set the example for enduring temptation, by the daily discipline of hearing from and applying God’s word to His life.
Be assured that there are no shortcuts to Bible-saturation. We must work hard to store up God’s word in our hearts (Ps. 119:11).
11 I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.
· Rather than do what bears no good fruit, we should live in a manner which shows the darkness for what it is. We must be actively opposed to evil to our very core. Everything about us should be an opposite measure of evil.
· The works of darkness are unfruitful; they don’t work.
o They lead to unrighteousness and falsehood…always.
· The works of light/of the Spirit demonstrate themselves in a consistently whole life…it works.
o These works please the Lord and build up the church. (imitate God and walk in love)
· By living this way, we actively and passively expose evil for what it is.
o We don’t expose people so much as their deeds.
This requires us to speak the truth in love by calling sin and falsehood what it is…sin and falsehood.
We call people to come to their senses and see their folly and peril, and ultimately to turn away from it.
12 For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret.
· An argument from lesser to greater.
o Words often expose deeds. Deeds done in darkness. We need to see the signs and offer opposition.
13 But when anything is exposed by. The light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light.
· There are positive effects to our light-diffusing lives.
o Non-verbally, we shine light through the purity of our lives.
§ We expose the darkness by the fact that we abstain from sinfulness.
§ We expose the darkness by conducting ourselves according to the standard of goodness, righteousness, and truth.
o We also shine through our speech; by bearing witness about the truth of Jesus Christ and the gospel.
§ We shine when we give the reason for our hope. (1 Peter 3:15)
15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,
§ We shine when we acknowledge Him before men. (Luke 12:8-9)
8 “And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God,
9 but the one who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God.
§ The truth, spoken in love, builds up. As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:6 (ESV)
6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
· There is a double virtue of Christians being light diffusers.
o Sin flourishes in the dark, where it can hide and fester.
Christians being Christians makes wayward believers and unbelievers alike feel uncomfortable because they see their own darkness exposed by the holiness of Jesus Christ.
o But when the gospel shines into the darkness, and sin becomes visible, a way out of the darkness appears.
§ The light of the gospel leads to salvation and sanctification.
· Paul then offers what appears to be some kind of early Christian hymn, a poetic statement drawn from Isaiah 26 and 60.
Awake, O sleeper,| and arise from the dead,| and Christ will shine on you.
· Two imperatives (awake and arise) and a promise.
o A call for the church and to those who are asleep (dead in sin), who are lost in moral and spiritual darkness.
o The promise is the presence of Christ with us.
§ To provide us strength for the journey in a dark world: His direction (word), his sustenance (life), his help (the Spirit).
Conclusion
Conclusion
· We have been called to be salt and light.
o We shine in the darkness and we stand against moral decay and degradation.
· We need to take sin seriously. We must avoid, and even flee, from ungodly behavior in our lives.
o John Owen said, “be killing sin or sin will be killing you.”
o We must never let it have a foothold in our hearts, in our minds, in our actions, and even in our words.
· Further, we must not let sin have a place in our church.
o To the best of our ability we must seek always to purify her and keep her holy from sin and error.
§ Because a pure church is the surest possible word to a lost and broken world.
· But no amount of zeal on our part will purify our hearts, much less anyone else’s…only the gospel can do that.
o The light of the Gospel, regularly applied to our hearts and minds, is the only hope we have to resist the temptation to sin.
· We must recognize our need for and rely on the help of the Holy Spirit, who has been provided as a seal of our salvation.
o For apart from Him, we have no sustaining power against or desire to overcome the temptations that come our way.
· The gospel is also the only hope for our wayward brothers, and so we should follow after our Savior’s example, and shine the light of the gospel upon them.
o Confronting them, so that they awake from their stupor and see their situation for what it is.
· Let us do it in gentleness, understanding our own weakness, as Paul said.
· Galatians 6:1 (ESV)
1 Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.
