A Stern Warning

Introduction

Read Ephesians 5:3-6 “But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. 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. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.”

When I was in high school, I worked with my father cutting, raking, and bailing hay during the summer.

I would often cut and rake the hay, and my father would follow behind me on another tractor and bail the hay.

One day, we were in a field with three sections. My dad told me, bail the first two, but I don’t want you to go into the third. The reason he didn’t want me to go to the third was because the way to get into the third field was over a little bridge with a ditch on either side.

Once I finished raking those two fields, the third one was calling my name. So, instead of waiting, I cross over into the other field and wrecked the entire tractor into the ditch.

What my dad meant as a warning and a command, I took as a suggestion.

In this text, we may be tempted to think that Paul is simply making suggestions about the life we must live.

Be not deceived; Paul is not making a suggestion. He is issuing a command and a great warning.

Explanation

Ephesians 5:3 “But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints.”

Sexual immorality, impurity, and covetousness are sins that Paul specifically warns against.

Sexual immorality // Instead of sexual immorality, we walk in purity.

In a sexually charged culture, the Christian affirms that sex is a good thing inside the design that God gives.

Sexual conduct outside of a marriage relationship between a man and a woman is sin.

Impurity - akatharsia

catharsis - cleansing // A cathartic experience is one where you are purified by releasing bad emotions, etc.

akatharsis is the unclean/impure in any form.

Lust, greed, idolatry, etc.

God demands that we live in purity. To walk in purity, we rid ourselves of anything that pulls us away from God’s design and calling for our lives.

Covetousness // wanting what belongs to something else, and it is the chief thief of joy.

They must not be named among you, because they are improper for saints.

What does it mean that sin cannot be named among us?

There cannot be a hint of sinfulness among God’s people.

While we know that we are all broken and struggle, the church is a place where we are supposed to grow in holiness.

Paul raises the bar on Christian living, not because we must earn God’s approval, but rather, because the way we live our lives is the visible demonstration of the power of the gospel at work within us.

Saints // Every believer in Christ is a saint.

Now in Mississippi, some people equate loving Jesus with loving the New Orleans Saints. That’s not what I am talking about.

Paul uses the word, “saint” 40 times in the New Testament. It is always plural and never singular, which is important. The only singular instance is the end of Philippians, where he states, “Greet EVERY saint.”

The word “saint” literally means “holy one.” This designation is not because of our works, but God gives this designation because of Christ’s righteousness being placed upon us.

Being a saint is a beautiful reality for us - not because we earn it - but became divine righteousness has been placed upon us.

This is why the command is so significant. Be HOLY.

John Piper, “Sainthood is not a trophy for the spiritually elite to win, it’s a free gift that every child of God receives.

EVERY BELIEVER is a saint. You are no more or less a saint than an Christian in church history.

You aren’t a saint because of what you do.

You are a saint because of the work of Christ in you.

There’s something in the name. Sometimes, you have to realize what you are before you can walk in it.

I agree with the statement, “The church should not be a museum for saints but a hospital for sinners,” in a sense, the pit the designation of saint and sinner against each other.

Saints are sinners who have been clothed in the righteousness of God.

Sinners have been cleansed by the blood of the lamb, and they are now saints.

Ephesians 5:4 “Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.

Filthiness, foolish talk, and crude joking have no place in the household of God.

Paul is reiterating the point he made in Ch. 4. The way we speak matters. Nothing reveals our hearts more obviously than our tongues.

How can we change the way we speak?

I have found in my own life - a direct correlation between what entertains me and what I say.

If you entertain certain speech from others or you watch or listen to certain things, they will come out of your life.

We replace these things with thanksgiving.

Paul rarely tells his listeners to stop without replacing the sinful actions with something Christlike to replace it.

While “STOP SINNING” is a valid command of the Scriptures, ultimately the Scriptures speak to a better way of life.

Paul often provides the better way of living in his teaching.

Replace course language with thanksgiving.

Why thanksgiving?

Thanksgiving and gratitude before the Lord have the ruthless ability to push sinful thinking and talk from your life.

Illustration of filling with something good so that which is bad can be pushed out. *

Sand displacing water.

Nasal irrigation

In the same way, thanksgiving fills you with the knowledge of something good so that which is corrupt and impure is removed from your life.

How to increase thanksgiving to decrease obscene talk.

Thanksgiving

Journal your thanksgiving. Try to be creative.

List five things a day for a month. Use that list to continue to give thanks to God.

Make thanksgiving a vital part of your prayer life.

Ephesians 5:6 “Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.”

What does Paul mean when he says that those who sin in this way have no inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ and God? Is he saying that if we become a believer in Christ, and we sin in this way, are we no longer saved?

In case we think the matter trivial, Paul reminds that all sin has the power to condemn, and God looks lightly upon on sin.

We cannot measure sin as light or heavy in our own eyes, but we look to God and how He views sin.

God condemns ALL sin.

The punishment for sin is death and eternal hell. It always has been, and it always will be.

While we cannot

Probably, someone in the church was attempting to convince the church to live this way.

Paul reminds the church of God’s wrath against such thing.

Conclusion

I want to invite you into sainthood. Not the kind of cultural sainthood that honors the spiritually elite. I want to invite you into the sainthood that only Christ can give. His righteousness for our rags.