At the outset, I must confess that beginning this sermon was somewhat difficult. It was not especially difficult to deal with the plain meaning of the text, even though last week's message was on a similar theme. The most difficult aspect of preparing this message was the convicting power of the Word of God. The message of the text is powerful. It is convicting. It challenges us at the very core of our being to be what God wants us to be. And that is as it should be.
We should not be able to read the Word of God without being moved by it. Hopefully, we do not engage in a merely academic study of this Book. Our lives should be impacted as we read it. At times, however, we will come upon sections which speak very pointedly to where we live. That is why it is important to read the Bible in a systematic fashion. That is also why it is important to systematically preach through entire books of the Bible. In that way, you can avoid the temptation to skip the more convicting passages.
The key verse in the passage before us is verse 8: for you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light. It seems like a nice verse. Taken by itself, it is not particularly challenging. But it cannot be taken by itself. It is defined by the verses surrounding it. And there is the challenge. In these verses, the contrast between living in darkness and living in light will be clearly drawn. How we live will be challenged. And that is what is so convicting.
We are called to forsake the ways of darkness and to walk in the light. Christianity is not simply an intellectual agreement with a theological creed --- it is a commitment to the living God which is evidenced by a new way of life. And when I apply the standards of God's Word to my life, sometimes I am not happy with the result. There is far too much darkness still there. And when I read the words of Jesus, where He says in John 8:12, “I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in the darkness,” I am reminded of how important this new lifestyle really is.
How about you? Have you experienced a radical transformation in the way you live? Has Jesus' life within you made a difference in how you behave? John Kenneth Galbraith said, “Under communism man exploits man. Under capitalism the situation is exactly the reverse.” The reverse indeed! Christianity, unlike a political philosophy, should make a difference. In Christianity, we are made new people. Repentance and faith turn us around. We are set in a new direction, and our lifestyle should reflect it. Does yours?
Seven-year-old Christopher Corts listed, as only a child his age could do, the “STEPS OF Becoming a Missionarie.” The following is what he said:
1. Think --- Do I want to become a missionary?
2. If so where at?
3. After this go to a counsler.
4. Memorize Scripture.
5. Be sure you know the languge!
6. Decide what group you want to work with.
7. Be married!
8. Let the people study you!
9. Be sure they understand god's Word!
10. Baptize!
These are pretty good steps, aren't they? But look at step eight. Let the people study you! Christopher is right. The way people come to know what Christianity is about is to study Christians. What do you suppose that they see when they look at us? What they should see is not the way we used to live but the power of Christ living His life through us.
But do not let immorality or any impurity or greed even be named among you, as is proper among saints; and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an 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. (5:3-6)
What we have before us is a catalogue of the perversion of a lifestyle of darkness. The problem is that the things catalogued here have come to be called “acceptable behavior.” What God considers to be horrible sin is being slowly accepted as normal behavior. Alexander Pope was right when he wrote:
Vice is a monster of so frightful mien,
As to be hated needs but to be seen;
Yet seen too oft, familiar with her face,
We first endure, then pity, then embrace.
What are the things which we now so easily embrace? Several are mentioned: immorality, impurity, greed, filthiness, silly talk, and coarse jesting. These are the things which characterize walking in the darkness. They should not characterize us.
Immorality refers to all sexual sin. The Greek word used here is porneia. From it we get our word pornography, but in this context it refers to any sexual activity outside of marriage, not merely obscene pictures or movies. Are you involved in immorality? If you're not involved physically, are you involved mentally? There is certainly no doubt that immorality is held up as acceptable in our society. All you need to do is turn on the T.V. How many shows promote faithfulness in marriage? It is true that there have been some, but the general bent of television producers is that almost any type of sexual behavior is normal. Shows are produced which portray those holding traditional values as somehow narrow, prejudiced, inhibited, and uncool. Acceptance of behavior which was once considered as sick is now looked upon as sophisticated.
Sometime back, a network mini-series called “Hollywood Wives” was being promoted in a Dallas newspaper. The large bold headline which appeared in the “Arts and Entertainment” section of the newspaper had this subtitle: “ABC mini-series promises to be `six hours of lust, sin." Jackie Collins, the author of the book on which the series was based, was quoted as saying, “It's going to be a sexy mini-series. But we switch on the set so much and see so much violence, that I think it will make a nice change to have six hours of lust and sin.” Well, you can be assured that “Hollywood Wives” is not about sex within marriage. The network producers know that would not sell, because it would be too dull and unattractive! It is a commentary on our society and its values, or lack of them. Is it a commentary on your thinking?
Impurity is a broader term than immorality, and refers to anything that is unclean and filthy. The term is generally associated with sexual sin, although Jesus used it to describe rotten, decaying bodies in a tomb (Matthew 23:27). What may be in view here is our thought life. Immoral thoughts and fantasies can be a form of impurity.
Greed is the desire to have. But is a desire which is never satisfied. It is reported that John D. Rockefeller, when asked, “How much money is enough?” replied, “Just a little bit more.” Or, for a more contemporary quote, take the one by Gordon Gecko, the corporate raider depicted in the movie Wall Street, “Greed is good.” These are the sentiments of our society. But greed is not good. In fact, it is the opposite of God's love. Greed takes, love gives.
And finally, there is the whole area of our speech. Filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting is characteristic of a world that takes lightly the call to upright living. For us, as believers, to engage in this kind of speech is to identify with the values of our society. We identify with the perversion of the deeds of darkness, when we engage in this kind of talk.
Make no mistake, there is a punishment for this kind of perversion. The punishment is that no immoral or impure or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. This is the verdict of God upon people with a lifestyle of darkness. And it doesn't matter what anyone says. In fact, we are told to let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. The world may contend that God will not judge sin, but the clear teaching of the Word of God is contrary to the thinking of the world. God will judge sin, whether that sin is in the life of an unbeliever, or the life of a believer. The call to us is clear. We are not to let this kind of behavior even be named among us. And there is a good reason why it should not be found in our midst. The reason is that we are saints. And saints quit living like sinners.
Therefore do not be partakers with them; for you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. And do not participate in the 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 arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” (5:7-14)
The deeds of darkness describe the way we were, lives of light describe who we are now. Beginning with the seventh verse of this chapter, there is a stark contrast drawn. It is the contrast of the old way of life versus the new. It is the contrast of darkness versus light. It the contrast of evil versus good, sin versus righteousness, and deception versus truth. It is the contrast of doing my own thing versus doing God's will.
The way of darkness is the antithesis of the way of light. The deeds of darkness will ensnare us and enslave us. That is why we are told that we should not be partakers in these deeds. These deeds are unfruitful. If we play around with sin, we become a slave to sin. We sacrifice our lives to sin when we indulge in it.
But many years ago, March 30, 1963, to be exact, a cartoon appeared in the Saturday Review. Two scientists were depicted examining the tape of a gigantic computer. Computers were much larger in those days. With a worried expression on his face, the scientist read the tape, and told the other, “It's very, very angry and it's demanding a sacrifice.” Sin, like that computer, demands a sacrifice. And we are that sacrifice! That is why we are commanded to stay away from sin. If we do not, we will “give the devil an opportunity” (Ephesians 4:27) in our lives. The devil doesn't need much of an opportunity either. All he needs is a small foothold.
Dale Hays, in an article entitled Total Commitment, published in Leadership magazine, writes of a Haitian pastor who told his people a parable about a man who tried to sell his house for $2,000. The perspective buyer could not afford the house at that price, so after haggling with the owner, the owner decided to let the house go for $1,000 with one stipulation. The owner would retain ownership of a small nail that protruded from just over the door. The buyer took possession of the house, but after several years the original owner decided he wanted it back. The new owner refused to sell. The old owner found the carcass of a dead dog, and hung it from the single nail that was still his. Finally, the stench rendered the house uninhabitable, and the residents were forced to sell it back. This Haitian pastor concluded, “If we leave the devil with even one small peg in our life, he will return to hang his rotten garbage on it, making it unfit for Christ's habitation.”
In contrast, our lives as Christians should be characterized by the fruit of the light. That fruit is the opposite of what the world has to offer. The fruit of the light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth. Instead of evil, we substitute good. Instead of sin, we substitute righteousness. Instead of deception, we substitute truth. These are characteristics of walking in the light.
Another characteristic is trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. This means that we must substitute God's will for ours. The contrast is between doing our own thing versus doing the will of God. This is a mark of a true believer. True believers not only hear but obey when their Master speaks. People who will not obey God are probably not believers at all.
This passage ends with a commission. It is a commission to not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them. A Christian cannot remain neutral on the issue of sin. You see, the nature of the light is to expose what the darkness hides. That is why sin likes darkness, and why people doing sin like the night.
We are all well aware of what happened in the L.A. riots. But several years ago, in 1977, there was a blackout in New York City. During the hours that the city was without power, mobs of rampaging human depravity burned buildings, looted stores, and injured people. Many so-called “normal, law-abiding citizens” joined in the effort, indulging their sinful desires. Perhaps they thought that under the cover of darkness no one would know. But God knows. He knows what we do in the midst of the darkness. We are only fooling ourselves to think that God doesn't see. His light exposes what is in the darkness.
Like Him, our light exposes the deeds of darkness. That is the nature of light. In Christ, we have been made light. We are told that we are light in the Lord. Jesus Himself identified us as “the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14). We are light because He is light, and He lives in us!
Therefore, as children of light, we are to let our light shine. We have a positive responsibility to walk as children of light, and we have a negative responsibility to not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them. In light of this, no pun intended, the church needs to wake up! In fact, Paul concludes with that plea: Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. It is possible to be asleep in the light. We must not be those who learn to sleep in the light. Keith Green lamented, “the world is lost in the darkness, while the church is asleep in the light.” It's time to wake up. It's time to allow the light of Christ to shine on us. It's time to let the light of Christ shine through us. We are children of light. We don't need to simply belong to the church, we need to be the church --- to let our light shine and radiate the glorious character of Jesus Christ.
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