The Distinction of Christian Love

In Scotland, a survey was given to law enforcement officers of their religious affiliations. What caught my attention was that 8 of the officers claimed their religious affiliation to be "Jedi". I discovered that there are an increased number of people who participate in light-saber trainings and meditation sessions to increase their Jedi skills. (Credit: Ty Tamasaka, Sermon Central). The point is that religious affiliation is often equated to something you are a “fan” of or following because it is popular or a fad.

Christianity -or being a “follower” of Jesus is never about the whims of a fad or something popular. In fact, it is something that is quite counter cultural and disassociated from the world. In fact, what we find in the Gospels is that when Jesus found himself being surrounded large crowds, he would often preach a message that would more likely to drive listeners away rather than encourage them to return for next week's message. This is going to be one of those sermons.

Kyle Idelman, who pastors Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, KY said, “there is no believing without following, no salvation without surrender, no forgiveness without repentance, and no life without death.” Jesus was never interested in enthusiastic admirers; he wanted completely committed followers who are willing to die to themselves before following Him.

We are living in time when it seems like God is seperating the wheat from the chaff and burning away the dross in the church. I don’t know of a time in history when the Gospel was under more attack than today. Time is short and it will soon be clear who are the sheep and who are the goats; who are the wheat and who are the tares; who are just the fans and who are the true followers. That’s is my question to you today.

Over the last several weeks, we have gone through the end of Chapter 4 and the opening verses of Chapter 5 in the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. What the Apostle Paul has been doing is constantly building on foundational truths of the evidence that should be apparent in the life of the believer. These are not a list of do’s and don’ts, but rather evidence of the transformative power of Jesus in our lives. If you are truly following after Jesus, there is going to be evidence of that in the manner of your living, your walk, your talk, and your thinking. That is going to transform your relationship with your spouse, how you parent, and relate to other. Even more importantly, it is going to give you a decisive victory over Satan and his schemes.

Have you ever watched an eclipse? When we have a lunar eclipse, the world’s dark shadow blocks the reflective light of the sun. There is a spiritual truth in that for our lives. When we allow the darkness of the world into our lives, then we block out the light of God into our hearts and this is Paul’s point here in Ephesisans. Let’s read Chapter 5:1-6 together:

Ephesians 5:1–6 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. 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.

We Are to Imitate God in Love

Ephesians 5:1 ESV

1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.

The Apostle Paul tells us that we are to be imitators of God as His Children. Just as your children will pick up all your mannerisms, so are we to have such a close relationship with God that we will pickup His attributes. Theologians will tell you there are communicable attributes (those that we can share) and noncommunicable attributes (those that we cannot share).

For instance:

Self-existent means that God has no origins

Self-sufficient means that God has no needs and therefore depends on no one. That is not at all true of us.

Eternal means that God has always existed and will always exist.

Omnipotent means all-powerful.

Omnipresent means being everywhere at once.

Omniscient means knowing all things.

Majesty and holiness also set God off from his creation. They are what make him “wholly other.” (Boise)

We cannot be any of those things, but there are plenty of communicable attributes shared with us by God: Wisdom, faithfulness, goodness, love, mercy, compassion, tenderness, and forgiveness are just a few. We may refer to the Fruits of the Spirit to find those (Galatians 5:22-23).

I don’t think there is any time when we are more like God than when we are forgiving in love. This is what Paul chiefly has in mind when he is telling us to be imitators of God. Indeed, the entire text says, Eph 5:2

Ephesians 5:2 ESV

2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Romans 5:8 ESV

8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Forgiveness is the supreme evidence of God’s love within us.

Romans 5:5 ESV

5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

The bottom line is that the walk of the believer is key and the manner of that walk is demonstrated in our unselfish, agape love to others in the same way God demonstrated His love for us

Jude 21 ESV

21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.

The World’s Perversion of God’s Love

Ephesians 5:3–4 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.

However, whatever God creates and establishes in purity, Satan brings a counterfeit to deceive us and lead us away from God’s perfect plan. This is never more evident than in the world’s expression of love. We are coming to the end of “pride month.” The catch phrase of this movement is “love is love.” In other words, as long as there is an “feeling” of love behind what you are doing, it should be acceptable and any disagreement with that is bigotry. This is the demonic reasoning behind their perversion.

1 John 4:8 (ESV)

God is love.

The reason that is so important is that the Bible defines love as something that is divine and if God is love then God is the definer of what that love looks like and He has done so very clearly in His Word.

God’s love is eternal - Man’s love is emotional

God’s love is selfless - Man’s love is selfish

God’s love gives sacrificially - Man’s love takes greedily

God’s love gives life - Man’s love condemns us

God’s love is pure - Man’s love is perverted

God’s love understands - Man’s love demands

God’s love is personal - Man’s love is objective

God’s love is unconditional - Man’s love is conditional

At it’s core, the world’s love says, “I need you to fulfill my desire for self-satisfaction.” We find this evident in our music, movies, entertainment, and culture. Paul tells the church there must not even be a hint of this perversion among us. That’s a clearly defined contrast that should be evident. Sadly it is not, especially today. More and more denominations are caving to cultural pressure to gay marriage and ordaining gay pastors. In Ontario, Canada, “The Meeting House” a so-called mega-church discovered it’s entire pastoral staff was engaged in sexual misconduct after 38 people came forward with sexual abuse allegations.

The first word used by Paul to describe this demonic counterfeit of love is immorality - porneia. It refers to any sexual activity outside of the covenant of marriage. Porneia is a broad term for sexual sin and greediness, homosexuality, premarital sex, prostitution, adultery, pedephilia, transgenderism, pornography. This is where we get our word pornographic. Pornographic, means sexually immoral writing.

But what is wrong with pornography viewed in the privacy of one’s own home? Besides demeaning people by viewing them as sex objects, pornography destroys by staying in the mind; it structures the brain in an illegitimate way. This is not just appreciation of beauty, but the feeding and embracing of lust. It gears the mind in the direction of inappropriate acts. It is both the first step to sexual sin and is sin itself. As Jesus pointed out strongly, what you do with your mind matters (Matt. 5:27–30), especially with regard to sexual sin. Furthermore, pornography is a devious monster that entraps men especially and becomes an addiction.

A recent study revealed there are over 4 million active pornographic websites receiving traffic from 80 million users at any particular time. More traffic that is received by Netflix, Amazon, or Twitter combined. Our world is obsessed with destructive and demonic fulfillment that may offer gratification, but in the end leave one darkened and spiritually bankrupt. It should be completely absent in the life of the saint.

1 Corinthians 6:19 ESV

19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,

The other word Paul uses is impurity - Akathansia. It is even more general than porneia. It is used to describe the rottenness of decaying bodies in a tomb. It refers to immoral thoughts, passions, fantasies, and ideas. The lesson here is that we are to be in control of your mind and your thoughts. We are to dwell on the things of God instead of the perversions of lust. That’s why Jesus said, Matt 5:28 “28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

The last word Paul uses is covetousness in the ESV or sensuality. It refers to a state of desiring to have more than one’s due. It is greedy insatiableness. It is idolatry and substituting what is sacred by God for sexual fulfillment. None of these things are to be in the life of the saint, he concludes verse 3.

The Language of Worldly Love

Ephesians 5:4 ESV

4 Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.

Paul takes this even a step further by telling the church we don’t commit to immoral behavior, we don’t cultivate it in our thoughts, and we don’t even let it characterize our talk.

“Foolish talk” is derived from the word morolagiai. It means “silly talk” and it where we get our word “moron.” It is gutter talk and the language of the drunkard. Our hearts should be so transformed by Christ that we don’t even allow coarse language to come from our lips.

“Crude Joking” -euthrapelia- means a crude wit. It has the idea of “clever talk.” It is taking something innocent and quickly turning it around into something crude or perverse. Using innuendos to bring perverseness.

None of these things should be a part of the language of a saint. Instead, Paul tells us there should be “Thanksgiving.” As I looked and considered this more deeply the heart of the matter comes into more perfect light.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 ESV

18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Why is this important? Well, if sexual immorality is rooted in discontentment and greed, then the response of this would be contentment with the Lord’s blessings and thankfulness. In that, the heart of the believer will not be coarse joking, but instead language of graciousness and thankfulness. Immorality is a sin of ungratefulness against God and the image of God in which you were made. Recent research shows that people who are thankful are less likely to suffer from heart disease, the sleep better, and have healthier relationships and habits.

1 Corinthians 6:18 ESV

18 Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.

Thankfulness turns that all around. Are you going to fail. Sure you will. But you cannot be the temple of the Holy Spirit and live in persistant, unrepentant sin. Thanksgiving is evidence of Christ’s atoning and sanctifying work in you.

Colossians 3:5 ESV

5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

Conclusion

Ephesians 5:5–6 ESV

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.

CS Lewis said, “We may give our human loves the unconditional allegiance which we owe only to God. Then they become gods, then the become demons. They will destroy us.”

A little boy’s mother had just baked a fresh batch of cookies. She gave the usual instructions, “Don’t eat the cookies until after dinner; but it was not long until she heard the lid of the jar move, and she called out, “What are you doing”? To which he said, “My hand is in the cookie jar resisting temptation.” Too late. The fact is no one can resist temptation when your hand is already in the cookie jar.

The good news is that we are not left to fight our own vices and temptations. The work of Christ through the Holy Spirit is stronger and greater than all of Satan’s schemes. Immorality is Satan’s snare of the human heart to destroy us. Jesus reminds us that we can take heart, because he has overcome the world, sin, and our temptation (John 16:33).

1 Corinthians 10:13 ESV

13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.