Ephesians 5:1-14 | Love Is Pure and Live Like Light

Yes, all right rich, would you mind opening us in a word of prayer brother? Dear Abba father we love you. We love you, and we love Jesus. We just want to see you glorified and always say. And little guy just thank you so much for Pastor Jeff.

I pray that you bless this church with protection for him and for John and for bang. Or protect this church from the heretics that seek to creep in Lord God. Thank you that Jeff teaches the word faithfully.

Please there and knowing him now God with wisdom to instruct us in the word. We'll give you all the praise and glory and thanks in Jesus precious name. Amen. This week we study from Ephesians 5 and if you recall last week We did verses 1 to 7 however bad news the video camera did not work.

So the recording was lost. However, that's okay because I'm going to spend the first 10 or 15 minutes Reviewing that lesson and then we'll go into today's lesson and in total loss. We'll still have all of the passages from 1 to 14.

Cultural Pressure, False Identity, and the Need to Review Ephesians 5:1-7

If you'll recall last week we spoke about Andy Stanley. Only bringing him up because he influences millions of people. One of his Twitter videos now has 2 million views and it is him saying the following a Gay person who still wants to attend church after the way they've been treated.

I'm telling you they have more faith than I do. They have more faith than a lot of you a gay person who knows you know what I might not be except accepted. But I'm going to try it anyway, and as a straight person have you ever where do you go that you're not sure?

You're going to be accepted over and over and over so what Andy Stanley is saying here. Is that there is such an identity as being a gay? Christian a gay person who goes to church and he's allowing that one's identity can be that of a gay man or woman a Gay men or women who grow up in church and the gay men and women who've come to faith in Christ as adults.

Who want to participate in our church rod? I asked you to share just what you heard about what happened in, Philadelphia. Yes I'm watching a video today on YouTube you can go see it, and it's a better camera.

He put a new book out and It's called to grow and it's for little children and what he's doing is he put this book out to help children grow in a grace knowledge of God and Foundationality for God and for the country.

Our country should put the book at me notified a lot of a lot of libraries. He'll come in and do a reading a book study with little kids. He was rejected all over the place. Because that's too offensive, but he but the guy who's presenting this thing back for Cameron said he's doing this to help and yet Dry cleans are allowed except to all replace any and the guy and you go online look at this in YouTube.

I just saw this morning, and he was shown all these dry cleans in different places. And he said and this is okay. They're teaching those kids are dressed up these unbelievable outfits. So he showed one.

He said this is one. He's not gonna show it to you. It's a man dressed in a woman's outfit with all these foreigners stick down his head make up like the weirdest looking thing you've ever seen in Philadelphia and he showed it and the name of this drag queen is A-M-M-I-E Annie Christ.

So this is how far it goes. They got a lot of Letters over here from it probably from believers and people who thought this is this is way of over wine. But the fact that it's permeating our whole culture Just concludes the truth of God's Word when God says that in Romans chapter 1 he gives him over to her own lust and Let them become who they are and every time but whether it was a Babylon media Persia Greece Rome.

It doesn't matter once the culture does this It dissipates and God abandons it and we're seeing our country Collapsing around us and I'm not afraid of it more than anything because I should be excited.

Knowing that our God gave us warnings. And Jesus Christ that they hate you. They're going to hate that they hated me. They're going to hate you also and the persecution against even her camera other people we have to expect that.

And be glad. Yes, our redemption draweth nigh so Jesus said that as in the days of Noah. So it will be before the rapture now in the days of Noah the thoughts of men's hearts were wickedness all the time.

Continual wickedness. So in the apostasy which according to second Thessalonians Precedes the second coming of Christ. There is a great falling away. What you have there is those who once identified as Christians.

Now being given over or falling away from that profession. So what's particularly concerning is not only in a public library?

But in a church an.

Evangelical Church of Andy Stanley. You get him saying I know first Corinthians 6. I know Leviticus. I know Romans 1. So interesting to talk about all that stuff. So he dismisses it. It's so interesting.

But just oh my goodness a gay man or woman who wants to worship their Heavenly Father. Who did not answer the cry of their heart when they were 12 and 13 and 14 and 15? God said no, and they still love God.

So he's turned everything upside down. Now God is the one who's to blame for sexual perversion and This person is the victim of God in Andy Stanley's worldview. It's Isaiah 520. Darkness for light. Right is exchange for wrong.

Sweet for bitter. Everything is inverted and so this is the reasoning sadly of an evangelical pastor that holds influence across our country. Well, let's turn to Ephesians 5. And again, we're just reviewing for 10 minutes, and then we'll get into the primary section.

But one to seven reads this way. Therefore be imitators of God as beloved children and walk in love. Now what is love. Well? Here's a perfect picture of it as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us a fake a fragrant offering and Sacrifice to God verses 1 2 is a picture of genuine love.

It is pure love and it is to be like Christ in the sacrificing of ourselves for Christ and for the gospel and for one another. So when Paul is stoned and left for dead in Lystra. He's not in that moment consumed with lust.

He's preoccupied with advancing the gospel and his body is being beaten Mercilessly even unto death. Seems like there's a resurrection that takes place there. Three times I was beaten with rods once I was stoned three times.

I was shipwrecked a night in a day I was adrift at sea. This is a picture of love. He's going out for the sake of the name. He's occupied with the gospel. His mind is being refined and conformed into the image of Christ.

He's being transformed and renewed day by day after the image of the Lord. This is a genuine picture of love now the rest of this passage verses 3 to 7 Refute the counterfeit and It culminates with false teachers who are trying to push these counterfeits off as the genuine love so it says in verse 3 but sexual immorality and all impurity or Covetousness must not even be named among you as is proper among the Saints.

That means there's no place for it whatsoever. It's not to be named in the congregation. There's no such thing as a gay Christian now the expression love is love is meant to Obfuscate what they're really saying because they speak as a tautology right love is love.

Who can argue with that? It's it's simply one thing is one thing, but what they mean by love is sexual attraction. Aberrant to the Word of God so whether it be a man attracted to a man or a woman to a woman or a man to a boy or a man to an animal.

Or whatever other group of people who are attracted to the group polyamory and polygamy and things like this. All of these are meant to be described as love, but that's not love. That's a counterfeit version, which is aptly called sexual immorality.

Sexual immorality and covetousness. Impurity covetousness is an interesting word to bring up at this point because it refers to the condition of the heart. One can covet without ever stealing outwardly.

But the theft already occurred in the heart. One can practice sexual immorality in the heart. Even if they never act upon it so the revoice conference with Sam Albury and others who promote that sadly even in our denomination Rebecca McLaughlin and Vaughn Roberts these teachers who have taught that as long as a person doesn't practice sexual perversion.

They're okay to identify as a gay Christian that teaching is against this teaching. Because it says even the covetousness must not be named. There's no place even for that now that would imply that God in his gospel is able to change hearts.

And he is the gospel is powerful not only for the remission of sin as in the penalty the propitiation of God's wrath but also Deliverance from the power of the evil. Yes. There is power in the gospel to change the way a person thinks now the world says that never happens.

But we could line up hundreds upon thousands of people who once were Homosexual in their orientation, but they were delivered in their mind was restored. In fact, Paul says as much in first Corinthians 6, which Andy Stanley says, oh, I know I know we could quibble about that.

But This quote-unquote clobber passage as Andy Stanley calls it is not a clobber passage. It's the hope of the gospel first Corinthians 6 11. In the previous two verses he refers to the Malakoi and the arsonic wait a.

Which is language derived from Leviticus 18 20. It refers to the the one who who go to bed together and one being the active and the other the passive partner in a homosexual relationship, which is translated the ESB as men who practice homosexuality.

There is both the arsonic wait a and The Malakoi which is effeminate the one who's the passive person. So it's it's described that way but look at the hope of the gospel 6 11 and Such were past tense some of you.

But you were washed you were sanctified. You were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the spirit of. Well, he's I don't think he cares much because he says oh I know so interesting to talk about.

Listen, the scripture isn't just interesting to talk about. It is the authoritative Word of God and it is powerful for the deliverance of sinners unto godliness. So then in Ephesians 5 We said in verse 4 let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking which are out of place.

But instead let there be Thanksgiving. Even our speech needs to be reverent. We talked about how the The filthiness or foolish talk is like the joking of a sailor, you know or a construction worker, you know as the stereotype goes and the The word here for crude joking Conveys the idea of like a late-night talk show host who can turn everything into a sexual innuendo.

It's more clever but it's still crude and Even that is something that we should be turning the TV off. It says instead Let there be Thanksgiving our mouths should be used to give thanks to God. Rod you were sharing that you raised your kids that every meal you would eat you would have each of them say a word of Thanksgiving to God and that's why I think you have eight grandkids in the church praise God.

That's it. It's a that's the fruit of that the speech bless blessing the Lord. That is and it's it's the sovereignty of God you owe the credit to the to God's grace. Verse 5 for you may be sure of this.

That everyone who is sexually immoral or impure or who is covetous? So here again, it could even just be at the level of the heart. That is an idolater. Has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

And in Revelation 22 will hear outside of the dogs and the sexually immoral. Now does this mean that any Christian who practices any sexual sin or has a sexually sinful thought. Has lost their salvation.

There's differently committed practice practice is key there. It's owning it as an identity becoming a pattern of life. It's not a cart blog for Christians to just sin and then repent. It's saying that the Christian yes.

The Christian might stumble into sin, but they're not going to own it and live there. They're going to turn back in confession and repentance before God. And this is what first John 1 9 says the blood of Christ will cleanse from all unrighteousness.

The problem here is that it's describing a person who is covetous and immoral and Sexually immoral so that that sexual identity of a gay Christian would by definition make that their identity they're identifying.

That way and as such they're demonstrating they're naming themselves as being outside the kingdom of God. Yeah. To flee from the flea. Because once you give in to something even if it's not you don't think it's that bad.

It becomes a habit and hard to walk away from it and the Lord tells us that that's why Joseph Did what he did and yes the consequences for being faithful to God? Does the Bible say struggle against porn?

No, it says flea. Pornia all forms of sexual morality. We can't allow this. Oh, I'm in this struggle and it's going to be this pattern from my whole life. I'm just a struggler. It's the wrong way to think we discussed this in the renewing of the mind in Ephesians 4 you are to consider and reckon yourself dead to sin doesn't mean you're perfect or will be perfect, but you are to reckon yourself as dead to sin and Consider that those works of the past are in the past.

I'm not struggling against porn or struggling against sexual immorality. I flee it. I have no pardon. I don't walk as close to the line as pot flee it. You run in the opposite direction in your mind. You consider yourself consecrated to Christ and knew.

What verse is that 2nd Corinthians 5 17 all things are gone. 22 flee. Flee. Yeah, that's the right way to approach it. Yes flee so it says No inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God now, honestly Paul loves people for saying this this this is loving exhortation.

That's a loving warning what Andy Stanley is doing here in coddling and The quote I read is hateful. It's a hateful lie. That leaves people in the bondage of their sin, but Paul here is loving let no one deceive you.

And here's why we brought up Andy Stanley again. Because the thrust here of the passage is the false teacher. Who's going to say that and especially in the last days when this is now rampant through all the churches?

Apart from the faithful Bible churches you have an apostasy that are saying this very thing. Let no one deceive you with empty words. For because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.

Therefore do not become partners with them. Okay, so now let's get a reader to read let's just read it through 8 through 14 and I'll say this I'm glad that we lost that recording because a short summation of it does does the point and because I want Today's message to be seen as an analogy.

For last week's lesson namely for the lesson. I just retaught the analogy to light is Meant to intensify and give an image to underscore what he's already saying. Light here represents this purity and darkness represents sexual immorality impurity and.

Walking as Children of Light

So he's not going to say something different he's going to give an analogy to light that carries on what was said. Would somebody mind reading? Ephesians 5 8 to 14. Thank you. For you were formerly darkness, but now you are late in the Lord.

Walk as children of light for the fruit flight to assist and fall goodness and righteousness and truth. Trying to learn grace pleasing to the Lord. Do not participate in any unfruitful deeds of darkness.

But instead even expose them for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light for everything that becomes visible is light.

For this reason it says awake sleeper and Rise from the dead and Christ will shine on you. Amen. The injunction to walk in purity and to avoid sexual immorality and covetousness this is now illustrated by the analogy of light and the idea here is the one is Darkness and the other is light.

Your entire existence Can be described as walking in the light and that is over against walking in the darkness now. Obviously that is meant to illustrate a stark Contrast in fact we still use the expression.

It's like night and day right. I Named my daughter day for this reason. Her middle name Abigail. And it comes from from Thessalonians where Paul says you are children of the day you're in the light. Isaiah John especially and then also Paul here in Thessalonians.

Use this metaphor of marvelous light coming out of darkness into marvelous light. Peter uses that as well. This expression is all through the scriptures the picture of a Christian. The analogy of a Christian life is one who walks in the light.

Light makes all things visible, so let's look at it a little bit more carefully in verse 8 for at one time you were darkness by identifying the unbeliever prior to conversion the believer prior to conversion or the unbelievers still in the state as Darkness indicates, it's ontological.

It's their very nature. It's who they are it is a picture of the unconverted person they are darkness and. Therefore the verse here is about conversion and the difference that conversion makes its regeneration.

You you change states entirely darkness to light. But now and we've emphasized in our teaching over and over again the importance of that phrase, but now It's there in Romans 3 verse 21 as the transition hinge point of that book.

It's so important in Ephesians Chapter 2 verse 4 after describing those who are dead world flesh in the devil. But God or but now here again this expression, but now it's God's interposing and Changing everything and here the transition is from darkness to light.

Your very nature changes now you are Light in the Lord, that's how we should think of ourselves as being light in the Lord. Next expression next sentence walk. It's children of light so Conversion was a radical change from counterfeit love to genuine when we were darkness all we could do is covet and Break the law and be enslaved to sexual immorality and all kinds of impurity.

Now that we are light we can walk a different way and that is pictured. That's a picture of genuine love. Sacrificing in the church love. Genuine love in the church is a pure hug. It's a motive for the good of a person not to exploit them for their body.

It is a genuine love that is expressed in the body of Christ that is what it means to walk in. The light walk as children of light now verse 9 Says for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true.

When the Bible speaks of fruit. What is it referring to? Behavior attitude. Worse yeah now is fruit what saves you. No fruit is the evidence of being saved and so this is how you know that you actually are light.

What happens to a plant? When it's healthy and exposed to the Sun. It grows and produces fruit right. My raspberry bush flowers in June. Late in June and that produces the raspberries. The fruit comes out of the raspberry.

Of course it only flowers for two weeks. When we happen to be in Florida. Our one harvest each year. But you know it produces because it's the light that brings life into it. So here We're told the fruit of light the fruit of light.

Light produces fruit and it as in nature. So it is in the Christian life because this is the analogy to the Christian life. In the Christian life what fruit comes? From light. Three things. Where are they?

Well, that's nine things, but just here in verse nine. Yeah, and it would be similar to that. Yeah. It produces. What is good and right and true all that is good and right and true. This is the fruit or the evidence of genuinely being regenerate.

Somebody read for me in verse 10. And try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Okay, so if light. Here is a metaphor for purity right because we've been talking about sexual morality versus pure genuine love.

There is a second Analogy to light that's that characterizes, and it really flows out of that word true right and good and true and. That is light is a metaphor not only for purity and morality. But it is also a metaphor for truth.

You walk in the light as he is in the light. John will use this metaphor regularly. Some of you could probably quote the prologue right to John's gospel. The beginning was the word the word is with God.

When you get to verse 5 and said 5 through 7 the analogy is to light. That Jesus the Word of God in him is light and that light is the life Of men though that life is the light of men so the analogy is light.

Well it is the truth is revealed in him. That's why he is the Word of God. It's the logic of God the the revelation of God is in the Sun as in Hebrews 1. He's the radiance of God's glory and What's that.

And wisdom and so that's where we're going with this. So now the Christian who has? Come to saving faith and is walking in the light. Their mind has been renewed. It's like the light switch has been turned on and now they see things differently.

They've come to the truth. They know things but look what it says there in verse 10 try to discern. What is pleasing to the Lord. Why do we have to try if we already know everything maybe we don't know everything.

So our eyes have been open to discern truth, and we recognize it as we read it. But it doesn't mean we have the Bible memorized. And it doesn't mean that just by a magical gift of discernment we'll always get it right.

So we must grow in grace and knowledge of the truth. The prayer that Paul had for the Philippians in Chapter 1 verse 11 is that their knowledge their discernment would increase as Well as their love that they would grow in knowledge and in love.

So here what Paul said the reason he says try is because having come into the light now you're able to see and We must train our discernment the way the author to Hebrews puts it in chapter 5 verse 14 is That you should train the powers of your discernment to distinguish right from wrong.

Take some effort, right? How did the Bereans make an effort to discern what's true. They compared what was being said when a teacher today. I'm the teacher. I'm teaching the Word of God. Your job as a Berean is to compare everything that I say to what's written in the Word.

And that's how the power that's why you have to try if you don't come sit in a Bible study. You're not going to be grown right unless you're sitting there opening the Bible yourself and and reading yeah.

Obvious to all of us that the Lord gave you yes. Sit here. We're hearing things and it's Filling us. It's food. It's spiritual food. Yep, and we're getting that so that encourages us to go back more. Yeah in Ephesians 4 11 It says that he gave some to be apostles and prophets and evangelists and pastor teachers pastors and teachers it's Doesn't have the definite article in both cases which connects pastor and teacher does have the Chi the end.

So that pastor teacher is referring to the same person. The apostolic office has ceased because the last Apostle died and and John being the last. There's some question about what's meant by a prophecy and it seems like evangelists still exists in the body.

But all agreed that Pastor teachers are a gift from God. The person is a gift. God puts pastors into the role of a pastor teacher in a local church and John Morrow was pointing out. He thinks that that's the star of Revelation 2 3 to the messenger of the church to the angel of the church.

I don't think so there but I think it actually referring to the spiritual angel because of how Angelus is used through the book of Revelation. It's always an angel but the point being that there are pastors that God puts in churches to help us understand the Word of God and That doesn't diminish the responsibility of every individual Christian to try to discern.

Because there's a lot of false teaching. I just heard one today. It was a guy down in Georgia leading the so-called North Georgia revival and The title of his sermon was prayer. Semicolon no colon prick colon.

God is limited. God is limited. Well, he took it from Genesis 1 and he teaches that taking dominion over the earth is Not so much related to the animals and man Tending and keeping the earth but man having the stewardship and God is essentially a deist God.

Where he's separate and he only interposes sometime, but he's not responsible for the earthquakes and the atrocities and the wars he has nothing to do with it, but that's because man is the steward and man Has the control and God really can't do anything.

He can kind of whisper and prompt you along these things. It is it is a form of days. Yeah. Yeah deism. Yes, so that pastor's name is Todd Smith and he's leading this revival kind of gaining Gaining steam in North Georgia.

It's classic Pentecostal theology as you read from the word that faith movement. Yeah. Just to be planets teaches the same. They're saying that God created the animals don't put them there and then Adam he said add me name and I'm upset.

Oh, this is a horse. God. What? Yeah, he never knew until man gave the name horse. It's such a small view of sovereignty and it's really a dismissal of Psalm 33 and him. Yeah, many passages that directly teach God not only is sovereign in knowledge and power.

But this teacher says that he he has the capacity but then he doesn't have a decree or he doesn't have a plan or a purpose over these things as the author in that sense, so. Yeah, it's it's a false teaching and you see it in the word faith movement.

It's very prominent there Jesse Duplantis, I've heard Benny Hinn teach it. I've heard many others. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, and in fact the only logical way to approach that is to just become an open theist.

Open theists actually don't believe he knows the end from the beginning. They've rejected Omniscience that he's sort of learning process theology. These things are unfolding because man's will can't be determined.

And so therefore God is subject to that and he learns as things unfold and he makes the best of it kind of. But remember in Genesis 50 20. Yes. There was a real responsible will in the brothers who sold their brother into slavery and they meant it for evil.

Using the same construction in the Hebrew God meant it for good. Meaning God had a purpose in the action itself. God had a plan for that. He holds man responsible for sin and yet he is the one who actively Meant it the Bible says for good.

So do you see that this is what's called compatibilism that God's decree that these things would happen including sin including the crucifixion of Jesus. He's not the author of sin. He holds the one responsible who does it the brothers who throw their their brother into slavery.

But God is still purposeful in everything that happens. It was his plan and his purpose his decree according to Psalm 33 and Daniel 4 yeah. And Job is another perfect example of that God called Job and said to Satan.

Have you noticed my servant Job is no more upright or righteous than he is? Well that's because you have the heads around him. I can't do it so go ahead. Everything that happened to Job 100 The Lord gives, the Lord takes away.

How do you get around that? That's exactly what it teaches. So the scripture is clear and our part is to discern and that's what's the idea of light here. The metaphor is growth in the truth. We should be growing and being challenged to think through these things and to grow deeper and deeper in the Lord.

As it said here try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. So part of our actions toward one another come from our discernment. How we think about what we should be doing. How should we spend our day?

Should I go to this place or to that place? Where should I be this evening? All of these things are a matter of discerning truth and walking in the light. Making good decisions that impact people in a way that's loving.

It's a part of iron sharpening iron. Sharpening each other. Yes absolutely. So Sandy would you mind reading the next verse, verse 11. Sure.

Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness But instead even expose them. Good.

So again do you see the connection with last week's lesson? Light is a metaphor for what we were already talking about. Don't participate but even expose them. So there is a sense in which we have to talk about it.

Right. Because we have to expose things to protect the sheep. We have to do that and all through the New Testament 26 of the 27 books talk about warnings against false teachers. Paul will actually name people by name.

Which is why we would name Andy Stanley when he begins to teach false doctrine right? Not because we don't love him. It's because we don't want people to listen to him and be led astray. It's because you love him.

Yeah you want Andy Stanley himself to repent. Amen. But notice the very next verse. So we are told we are to expose them. Yeah it's sad with Charles. But verse 12 says. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret.

We have to be careful not to go into detail. You know you'll hear preachers who are drawing an audience. Because they're so detailed in description of sexual sin. And they use that as a way of like seeker sensitive.

Oh they're just relevant to the culture. No in speaking of these matters we need to have a level of discretion. It's shameful even to speak. You don't need details. You don't need to go into all manner of sin and describe.

That's error itself. We have to understand that what God has created in genuine love in marriage. The marriage bed undefiled and pure Hebrews 13 Is an honored and a cherished thing that we hold in respect.

We don't just speak flippantly and crassly and jokingly. Even if you're telling the truth. You need a level of modesty. So remember when Mark Driscoll was famous for this. Back in the 2010's very famous preacher.

And then his whole empire kind of crumbled out in Seattle. Well he was famous for this. Just constantly talking graphically. And it was meant to I think attract the younger generation. Right? But what does it say here?

Yeah it's shameful even to speak. Shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. Yeah. As I'm reading this I'm looking and even exposing them. And the importance of the church that were pushed back on it.

And are telling us you know that's church you have no right to say anything. And yet as important as Peter was In Galatians Paul confronted him in front of them all. Because of what his sin was. Yeah.

Yeah there was a public teaching. That was implicit in the fact that Peter would only eat with the Jewish people when they were around. And he treated the Gentiles as lesser Christians. And therefore he was chopping up the body of Christ like a pizza.

And so Paul publicly said something. Because Peter was a pillar of the church. And it was affecting the whole body of Christ. It was a public issue. So there's a time for a Matthew 18 rebuke. Which is one on one alone with the brother.