Ephesians chapter 5. We'll pick back up in verse 3.
We looked at 1 and 2 last week. The title of this message, Children
of Light Walking in a Dark World. He's speaking here to the church
at Ephesus, to believers. Gentiles, for the most part Gentiles
made up that church. And they had a lifestyle that
was totally opposite of the gospel. Totally opposite
of God. Totally opposite. You know, Paul
told us in chapter 2 that we were dead in trespasses and sins,
were, that's a key word, were, you're not now. You're not dead
in those things now. You're alive. You've been made
alive unto God through the Lord Jesus Christ. That we were children
of wrath by nature even as others, but not now. Not now. But God who's rich in mercy has
saved us by His grace, He has loved us, and God has saved us
by His grace. I'd like you to put Selah after
that. Pause and think about that statement. That we are the workmanship of
God in Christ Jesus unto good works which He foreordained before
the foundation of the world, and that we should walk in them. In other words, we're different.
We are different. The church is different. Listen, we are not what we should
be, but we are not what we used to be. We are not what we used
to be. And Paul, I noticed here as I
read this again, verse 1 and 2, how Paul, he just gives us
this reason, this glorious reason, for our walk and to be imitators
of God, because He has loved us and given Himself for us. He's loved us and given Himself
for us, and because of that we're to be followers, imitators of
God. There is a walk, there is a walk that's pleasing to God.
You can see that over in Colossians 1.10. And there is a walk that
is not pleasing to God. You can see that over in Romans
8. He that walks in the flesh cannot please God. And there is a walk that brings
down the wrath of God on men and women. There is a walk that
brings down the wrath of God. Free grace does not mean free
sinning. Free grace does not mean free
sinning. Grace teaches us to deny ungodliness. It's a teaching grace. It teaches
us to deny ungodliness. Now, after Paul mentions what
he says in verse 1 and 2, he begins to name these sins of
the flesh and spirit that's not to even be mentioned, he says,
not even to roll off our lips. He said it's a shame to even
mention some of these things that the Gentiles were doing
and are doing this day. This letter is relevant to this
day. It's relevant. Now why does Paul mention these
sins of the flesh in verses 3 and 4? First of all, it's a picture
of humanity. This is the human race. This
is what the human race is like. But he also mentions it because
this is the way they used to walk and would be tempted to
walk that way again. You know, that old nature is
still in us. It's still with us. And it's a warfare that we
struggle with day by day. That old nature still wants to
walk the way of the flesh. It still wants to walk that way. So Paul mentions these things,
and what he's mentioning is their lifestyle, the way it used to
be. This was them. This was us. In one form or another,
this is us. But fornication, sexual relationship
before marriage. In our day, that's just common,
isn't it? It's absolutely common. You're
looked down on. You're looked down on as weird
if you don't. You're looked down on as weird.
There's something wrong with you. I was talking to a younger man
here not long ago. He was talking about dating.
And he said, they think you're strange. He said, women think
you're strange if you don't want to have a sexual relationship
with them. They think there's something
wrong with you. That's what it's gotten to, and that's what it
was like in that day. It was very common. It was a
common practice. And uncleanness, this is homosexuality,
incest, adultery, this was their lifestyle. Now listen, God forgives
everyone whom God saves. He forgives us of our sins. He
forgives us of all these things that are mentioned. He forgives
us of them. Somebody said this one time,
and I've never forgotten it, and I've mentioned it here several
times. Paul said, oh wretched man that I am. But he didn't
live like one after God saved him. He didn't live like a wretch,
but he was one. I'm a wretch. Are you a wretch?
You're a wretch. I'm a wretch, saved by the grace
of God. But brother, we don't live like a bunch of wretches.
We don't do it. God has saved us from that. God didn't save me in my sins,
He saved me from my sins. He said here, in uncleanness,
all this... You'll notice that Paul, in about
all his letters, he's always mentioning this thing about this
immoral behavior, because this was the lifestyle of the Gentiles.
It was their lifestyle, and they saw nothing wrong with it. And
notice what he mentions here, uncleanness or covetousness.
He throws covetousness right in there with incest, adultery,
homosexuality, fornication. He throws covetousness right
in there. You say, well, I've never been
a fornicator. I've never, you know, I was...
One lady braggingly said one time, I was a virgin when I got
married. Well, there's virgins in hell. Because if that's what
you're trusting to, you missed it. Jesus Christ is our salvation,
not my purity, because I am not pure. Because I tell you this,
whatever I may not have done outwardly, I promise you I've
done inwardly. This heart is a cesspool. This
heart is a cesspool of sin. We cannot brag about not doing
anything, because there's people we'd like to shoot. Really? There have been a few people
I'd like to shoot over the years. I'm being honest. I'm being honest.
There have been people that have made me mad enough to just beat
the daylights out of them. You ever hated your brother without
a cause? You ever looked on a woman to lust after women? You ever
looked on a man? Nowadays they call it eye candy. That's what they call it. No,
it's not. It's sin. It's not eye candy. It's sin. That's what it is. I had a young man tell me, he
said, the Lord, he said, I got saved. He didn't say the Lord
saved me. He said, I got saved. That's what it was. He didn't
say the Lord saved me. That'd have been a different thing.
But he said, I got saved. And then he said, you know, he
said, he said, I still like to look on women. This was a young
man. He said, long as I look and don't
touch, I'm all right. And I said, no, you're not. No,
you're not. I don't know who blew that kind
of smoke, but no, you're not. God said he looks on the heart.
God looks on the heart. Covetousness. You know what covetousness
is? You ever desire something more
than what God's given you? You ever have your heart set
on something and you just couldn't stop until you got it, until
you went and bought it? That's idolatry. The scripture
says covetousness is idolatry. These are spiritual sins. Let
it not be once named among you as becometh saints, those set
apart for God's glory, those set apart and made holy. That's
what a saint is. That's what a saint is. And neither filthiness. Sooner
or later it gets us, doesn't it? I mean, you say, well, I
didn't do that. Well, then just hang on. It'll
get you. It'll get you. I guarantee it. Hang in there.
You ever just joke around? Foolish jesting. Someone said, there's an element
of truth in every joke. Oh, I just joke them with you.
Well, there's an element of truth in there somewhere. You might
be joking with me, but there's a punch line in there somewhere.
Let it not be one's name has become a saint, neither filthiness
nor foolish talking. I'm guilty of that. Nor Justine. Henry had in his Bible lesson,
even good humor can be too much. Even good humor can be too much.
And I told Henry one time, I said, I have to watch it. In my preaching,
I have to watch it because I can be given to humor. I could be
a stand-up comic. Doris told me one time I missed
my calling. We did a, we did a, had a birthday
party for Terry Elliott. Most of y'all don't, you don't
know him, but I do. He was a good friend, him and Danita. We had
a Terry Elliott roast, because he was, he's kind of a jokester
like me. And I got up and I roasted him. And Doris said, you missed
your calling. I could be a jokester. I have
to work on it. I have to watch it. I do. I have
to watch. I have to watch it, especially
in the pulpit. But we're all given to something, aren't we?
Foolish talking? Here's something I thought of.
This is something I thought of just struck me when I was going
over this. If we do too much foolish talking, ingesting, nobody's
going to listen to us when we're serious. Am I right? Nobody's going to take me serious
when I have to be serious. So that's important. That's important. Very good humor. But the filthiness
here is, the filthiness is a filthy language. Filthy language, filthy
jokes. And that was their lifestyle.
And that was our, this was our lifestyle, you know that. One
way or another it was. Which are not convenient. They
don't build up. These things don't build up the
church. They don't build up, we don't build brothers and sisters
up like that with this language. We don't do it. Isn't this good
to go verse by verse? Because most times this is never
dealt with. And this is what we have the most problem with.
I can't tell you over the years how many times people have asked
me, other believers have asked me about things that they would
know if this was dealt with. But we don't deal with these
things, most of the time, most of the time. That's why I thank
God we go this verse by verse. But rather, listen, giving of
thanks, thanking God, thanking one another, it's an attitude
here. Here's an attitude. The liberal
thinking of our day sees nothing wrong with these things. They
don't see nothing wrong with a good joke. You ever notice all these comedians
that stand up and joke? You ever notice how filthy they
are? They're always filthy. Always
filthy. And they see nothing wrong. Today's
thinking is like, you know, that was old-time religion, fornication,
but it's nothing. You know, you need to get up
to date. This is old-time religion. No,
it isn't. It's true religion. It's true. Thank God He saved you from these
things. And then secondly, the church
is different. The church is a shiny light in the world. Do you know
that? You take the church out of this world and there's nothing
but darkness. Where are they going to learn the truth? How
are they going to learn the truth? Somebody comes into this room.
How are they going to learn the truth? They're going to learn
it through the church, telling the truth. What about work where
you live? What about where you work, I
mean? Where you work, and even in your home, your children.
How are they going to learn the truth? By your example and your
words, telling the truth. Telling them the truth. You're
the light. Listen to Philippians 2, 14-16. Do all things without murmurings
and disputings, that you may be blameless and harmless to
sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and
perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world.
They don't have any light but you. Christ said, I send you,
I send you out into the world. You go out into the world, you're
light. You're light. I've met people in their religion,
I thought, what you got, if it doesn't do any more for you than
that, I don't want it. Right? If it doesn't save me from my
sins, I don't want it. Holding forth the word of life.
He says, listen, you shine as lights in the world, holding
forth the word of life. That's what you do everywhere
you go. You may not always do it in word. You know, you and
I are walking epistles. You know that? Paul said that
about the Thessalonians. You are walking epistles known
and read of all men. I don't want to be a stumbling
block to anyone. And I'm sure I have been. He says over in verse 8 that,
"...you were sometimes darkness, but now you are light in the
Lord." Walk as children of light, children of knowledge and understanding.
And then thirdly, he says this, he mentions these sins, "...to
show sin as sin." They didn't know they were sin. They didn't
know that. In fact, that one lawyer back
during that time made prostitution legal. You can't legalize immorality. We don't have that power. Washington
D.C. does not have the power to legalize
immorality. God's the standard, okay? You
and I are not the standard. God is. And that's the standard
everybody will be judged by, is God. Paul wrote this, that these sinful
practices were very... that they are sinful. They were
very acceptable in that day, but in our day, no. And in our
day it is too. In our day it is. And then second of all, you cannot
be an imitator of God and walk after flesh. God's Spirit. Can
you? You can't do it. These are not
the works of righteousness, they're the works of the flesh. And then,
because you did not learn this from Christ. He said, you've
not so learned Christ. You didn't learn to live like this from
Christ. When you heard the gospel, is this what you were taught?
When you heard the gospel of the grace of God, the power of
God, is this the lesson? No, the lesson was come out from
among them. Touch not the unclean thing and I'll receive you. And
then it's not consistent with your calling. He said, Be ye
holy, for I am holy. Called out of darkness into His
marvelous light. Paul said, To all that be in
Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints. You're called. You're sanctified. You're set
apart. You're made holy. You're called to be saints. Children
of God. Children of God. Now here's something
you know, and you've learned this through the preaching of
the Gospel and being taught this by the Spirit of God. Here's
what you know. You're a taught people. You have knowledge. You're
not ignorant no more. You're not ignorant. You've been
taught of God. You and I have been taught of God. Here's what
you know. That no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous
man who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom
of God and of Christ. Why? Because there's been no
change. Flesh and blood can't inherit the kingdom of God, it
says. There's got to be a change. Got to be a change. There's got
to be a change in the Spirit. That which is born of the Spirit
is Spirit. Paul said in Galatians 5.21,
"...envyings, murders, drunkenness, revelings, such like of which
I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that
they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God."
They which do. This is their lifestyle. Every
one of us lived like this at one time. But you were washed. You were washed. You've been
called of God. You've been born of God. You don't live like this
no more. He said in 1 Corinthians 15.50, Now this I say, brethren,
that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, neither does
corruption inherit incorruption. There's got to be a change. You
know, the Scripture says, Nothing that offends shall enter into
the kingdom of God. Turn over to Revelation chapter
21. Revelation 21. In verse 27, And there shall in
no wise enter into it anything that defiles, neither whatsoever
worketh abomination, or maketh a lie, but they which are written
in the Lamb's book of life. No other shall enter into that.
There's got to be a change made. That's what Paul's telling them.
He's saying, you're the church, you're different, you're the
light of the world. If you think it's bad now, if
you and I think it's bad now, the immorality that goes on,
just take the church out. There's no standard. There's
no standard. If you take the believer, the
church, the body of Christ out of this world, there is no standard. You set the standards. The only
reason the whole world is not giving over to this completely,
100%, is because there's a light in it. The church. And you set the standards. And
listen, you not only set it by the message we preach, but by
the life you live. The life you live. Now listen, in verse 6, don't
let any man deceive you with vain words. Don't let any liberal
thinker, that's what he's called. Don't you let any liberal, philosophical
man come along and deceive you with words like Satan did to
Eve. Don't do that. Don't let him come along and
say, there's nothing, you know, we might have to rethink this.
You know, Jesus loves everybody. Well, I don't know what Bible
you're reading, but he said he hates the workers of iniquity. And
it's time we tell people that. Jacob have I loved, Esau have
I hated. And God had every right in the
world to hate Esau. It's amazing he loved Jacob. It's amazing
God loves me and you who believe. That's astounding. That ought
to become more and more astounding to us the older we get. I tell
you what. The more we grow in grace and
the knowledge of Christ, the more amazing grace will be and
the more astounding His love to us will be, that He would
love a wretch like me. Don't listen to the liberal thinkers
of our day. Don't listen to them. Now, because of these things
cometh the wrath of God on the world. God gave us examples,
didn't He? He sent a flood one time and
drowned the whole world. He looked down from heaven and
he saw that the imagination of man's heart and mind was evil
and that continually. He didn't have a good thought.
It was continual. One continual progressive thought
of evil. He burned up Sodom and Gomorrah.
God's given us examples. How many examples do we need? It's amazing. He even gave us
an example. He didn't have to. Because of these things cometh
the wrath of God on the world. In verse 7-10, Be not ye therefore
partakers with them. Don't you join up with them. You've been separated. Don't
go back. Don't be like Lot's wife who looked back, her heart
was back there inside of him. Don't go back. Here's why. You were sometimes darkness,
you were just like them. Children of wrath by nature,
even as others. You're just like them, but you're
not now. You're different. You're different and you live
different. You think different. You love different things. You're
different. But now you're light in the Lord.
You've been taught. You've been taught of God. You
have spiritual light. God's given you knowledge. Believers
are the most intelligent people on this earth. You know it. You're
the most wise and intelligent people on this earth. I mean,
you may not know how to change a tire on a truck, but you're
still intelligent, wise people. God's made you that way. You know who God is. Isn't that
amazing? You know who God is. It's extremely
rare to find anyone on this earth that knows who God is. You're a light in the Lord. Now
walk. Walk before this world. Where
you work, walk before your family, walk as children of light, children
of knowledge, children of understanding, children of wisdom. Walk that
way. Walk in the light. And he said,
He'll give you more light. And here's the evidence that
you're children of light, for the fruit of the Spirit is in
all goodness, righteousness, and truth. It's not in fornication
and uncleanness and dirty jokes. Do you want a God like that?
I don't want a God like that. I want a God to save me from
that. That's what I want. Proving, he says, proving what
is acceptable unto the Lord. Proving by the life you live,
by experience, what is acceptable
of the Lord. You can't be a partaker with
them because you were darkness, now you're light, and you can't
do that. You know better. You've been born of God and this
is your new life. It's a life of goodness and righteousness
and truth. And putting to the test, that
word proving means putting to the test what's acceptable. The
believer has been renewed in mind in which he or she walks. And by that walk, you prove day
by day what's acceptable of God. Because if you start to walk
wrong, he'll chase you. He'll chase his children now,
I promise you. He said he would. And then listen, in verse 11-12,
have no fellowship. It doesn't say don't have too
much fellowship now, you know, it's like you can have too much
to drink, but you can drink a little bit, but you don't have too much,
you get drunk. He says here, have no fellowship with the unfruitful
works of darkness. but rather reprove them. Now,
that doesn't mean you always go around and say, don't talk
like that, or don't do this, or don't do that. No, reprove
them by your life. You actually reprove them by
your life, the lifestyle you live in front of them. That's
how you reprove them. For it's a shame even to speak
of those things which are done of them in secret. We don't even
talk about what they do in secret. But in that series, it had no
fellowship. I always remember this, I think believers, Scott
Richardson said, fellowship is fellows in the same ship. We're not in the same ship no
more. We're not in the same ship. We don't have the same things
in common. We don't. Don't have them in common at all. Simply put, believers don't run
with the world. Unbelievers are not our companions. He says in 2 Corinthians 6.14-18. Turn over there and let's read it. Look in verse 14. Be ye not unequally yoked together
with unbelievers. For what fellowship? And he gives
a contrast here. For what fellowship hath righteousness
with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light
with darkness? And what concord hath Christ
with Belial? What part hath he that believeth
with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple
of God with idols? For you are the temple of the
living God. As God hath said, I will dwell in them and walk
in them, and I will be their God, they shall be my people.
Wherefore, come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith
the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you,
and will be a father unto you. You shall be my sons and daughters,
saith the Lord Almighty." The great difference is this, when
you walk out and you leave them, they're like, and I had this
said to me, why don't you do that anymore? Why don't you go
with it anymore? Because I'm not interested in
that no more. I'm just not interested in it. And that's how the world
sees a difference. That's how they see a difference
in your attitude, in your conduct, in your walk, in your talk, everything
and everything. Someone said this, I copied this
down, I can't remember who it was. The point of this exhortation
is in the adjective unfruitful. The works of darkness are unfruitful,
they produce no goodness, give rise to no satisfaction, to no
moral results that are a joy forever, or if fruit they have,
it is shame, remorse, and despair. Don't make them your companions. But all things that are reproved
are made manifest by the light. For whatsoever doeth make manifest
is light. Let me give you an example here.
The disciples at one time thought the Pharisees were somebody,
didn't they? Everybody thought they were. Everybody thought
if anybody was going to go to heaven, a Pharisee would. And
you know what the Lord said to him? And I'm sure the disciples
standing there, you're of your father the devil. These are the
children of Satan. And I bet you they're like, really? I mean, I bet their jaw dropped.
You just called them Satan's children. Christ, who is the light, makes
manifest what's really true and right and what's wrong. That which is light makes manifest.
It gives us true understanding of good and evil. Most of the
time we think, you know, we think, we think that, you know, all
this immorality. I just read of fornication, all
this. You know what that is. You say, well, well, you know,
Satan got a hold of them. No, that's just men and women
being themselves. That's literally just you and
I being ourselves. Satan don't have to do anything
for us to be what Paul just gave us a list of. Satan's work is
in the pulpit. It's in self-righteousness. It's
in the moral majority. It's getting you to look at anything
but the Lord Jesus Christ and Him alone. Wherefore he saith, in verse
14, Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise
from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. Now who's Paul
writing to? He's writing to believers. This
is to the Ephesians. This is what he's saying. Listen,
he's writing to believers, and the reason he's saying this is
sometimes we need to be revived. We sing a song, Revive us, O
Lord. Revive us. Do you need revived? I need revived
every day. Revive us, O Lord, revive us. I need revived, I need awakened,
I need rebuked. When I studied the preacher,
it rebukes me. It rebukes me. The Word of God instructs and
it rebukes. And a wise man, a wise man, a
wise woman will take that rebuke. You'll take it and learn from
it. You won't be offended by it. You'll take it and you'll
say, Lord, Lord, help me. Help me to forsake this or that. Help me. You don't get mad. You fall down at His feet. The Word of God doesn't rebuke
you. You're dead. You're just dead. When I read the Word of God,
I can go away sometime and I thought, how in the world can I call myself
a believer? How can I call myself a believer? By the word of God. By the grace of God. Listen, turn over to Romans 13.
I'm going to wind this down. Romans 13. In Romans 13, let me find the verse 11. Yeah, verse 11. Here's what he's talking to. And that, knowing the time, that
now it is high time to awake out of sleep. For now is our salvation nearer
than when we believed. It's high time to wake up. Be
serious. Get serious, that's what he's
saying. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Let us therefore
cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of
light. Let us walk honestly as in the day, not in rioting and
drunkenness, or in chambering and wantonness, not in strife
and envy. He's writing to the Romans who
lived like this. This was their life. But put ye on the Lord
Jesus Christ. Put him on. Wear him. And make
not provisions for the flesh to fulfill the lust thereof." Don't make provisions for the
flesh to fulfill the lust thereof. Take heed, he says. Take heed. And I'm going to close. See that you walk circumspectly.
Carefully. Carefully. You know, and I'm
serious with this, with me. I'm serious with this, me and
you. To walk carefully is to do what? Is to take one step
at a time and pay attention to where you just stepped. Just
take another step and pay attention where you just stepped. It's
not just lollygagging down the road. Like I was years ago, years
ago when I was a teenager. Me and my brother James were
squirrel hunting back in a place called Wytoga in West Virginia.
I was just looking up in the trees, looking for squirrels,
just walking around lollygagging, and he grabbed me and pulled
me back, and a rattlesnake was right there in the path. I mean,
it was a big rattlesnake. I wasn't paying a bit of attention
when I was walking. If he hadn't done that, I'd have stepped right
on that rascal. Pay attention when you take one
step, Think about it. Then take another one. Not as
fools, but wise, redeeming the time. Make the best use of your
time. Don't waste time. You know, I
can say this, and I'm ashamed of this. I'm going to say this,
and I'm ashamed of it. I ought to know a lot more than I know.
After 40-some years believing the gospel, I ought to know a
lot more. I ought to have prayed a lot more. I think this, and
I don't know because I'm not on my deathbed yet, but I think
if I was lying on my deathbed, I think the one thing I would
regret is I didn't read more, pray more, seek the Lord more,
study more, and give more. That's what I think would bother
me. I didn't redeem the time. I thought, well, and I've done
this. I think I'll just sit down and watch TV for the next four
hours. I couldn't tell you how many times I've done that. Redeeming
the time. I'm not saying you can't sit
down and watch TV, but redeeming the time, that's what I mean.
Make good use of time, because the days are evil. Wherefore,
be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is,
seeking the Lord's will in every step. Do we do that? We take
a step. Lord, what's your will for the
next step? What's your will for the next step? That's how we,
that's how our life is to be lived. And be not drunk with wine, which
evidently there's a bunch of drunks, God saved. God saves
a bunch of drunks. But also it could be read like
this. Be not drunk with the world. Be not drunk with the world.
Wherein is excess. You put too much time in the
world. But being filled with the Spirit, now that doesn't
mean rolling on the floor. That doesn't mean hollering whoopee
and carrying on. Being filled with the Spirit
is being filled with the knowledge of Christ. It's being filled
with thoughts of Christ. But here's the evidence. Now
listen, here's the evidence of being filled with the Holy Spirit.
Here it is. Speak to yourselves in psalms,
hymns, spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart
to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things unto God and the
Father in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, submitting yourselves
one to another in the fear of God. That's what it is to be
filled with the Spirit. It's not this goose-bump stuff
running up and down your back, and you say, ooh, that was a
good service, wasn't it? If Christ wasn't preaching, it was a demonic
service. There's a whole lot of demonic services going on
right now. Christ is not preached. Christ is not preached. Children
of light walking in the world. This is how we do it. This is
our instructions. All right.