WEBVTT 00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:04.959 Well, church, this morning we are in Ephesians chapter 5, if you will turn with me there. 00:00:05.200 --> 00:00:08.320 Ephesians chapter 5. 00:00:08.800 --> 00:00:12.160 And today we will be looking at verses 1 through 7. 00:00:12.240 --> 00:00:24.480 I know the bulletin says 1 through 14, but today we're going to just look at verses 1 through 7, which is all about walking in love. 00:00:26.399 --> 00:00:35.600 The book of Ephesians was written around AD 60, maybe AD 62, by the Apostle Paul from prison. 00:00:36.479 --> 00:00:43.759 The church in Ephesus, it lived in a very religious, commercial, it was a pluristic area. 00:00:43.920 --> 00:00:46.079 It was a commercial city. 00:00:46.399 --> 00:00:56.240 So they were influenced by all kinds of different religions and politics and ideas all around the world. 00:00:56.479 --> 00:01:14.319 And so Paul writes this letter to establish the doctrine of God, the supremacy of Christ, the nature of our salvation, the purpose of the church, and how we ought to walk as redeemed men and women. 00:01:15.040 --> 00:01:33.359 And that is where we find ourselves today, here in chapter 5, considering all that God is, in view of all of his blessings and what Christ has done to establish the church, Paul now transitions to our lifestyle. 00:01:33.680 --> 00:01:36.000 How we ought to walk. 00:01:36.319 --> 00:01:42.799 The key word here is walk, it's referring to a person's way of life. 00:01:43.599 --> 00:01:53.599 It's one thing to know that we have a new resurrected life, but it's a whole nother thing to know how to walk it out. 00:01:54.000 --> 00:01:59.680 And that is exactly what Paul does through the rest of Ephesians. 00:02:00.719 --> 00:02:09.280 We saw last time in Ephesians 4, verses 25 through 32, that we should be walking in truth. 00:02:09.840 --> 00:02:17.759 If we've been given a new life in Christ, then we need to put away falsehoods and start telling the truth. 00:02:18.080 --> 00:02:22.800 We should quit stealing and work honestly for our wages. 00:02:23.120 --> 00:02:25.439 We shouldn't be overtaken by anger. 00:02:25.840 --> 00:02:28.080 We shouldn't be grieving the Holy Spirit. 00:02:28.240 --> 00:02:36.159 Instead, we should be people who are defined by truth as we extend forgiveness and compassion. 00:02:37.360 --> 00:02:48.879 And we now arrive here in chapter five at one of the highest, most privileged commands in all of Scripture. 00:02:49.199 --> 00:03:01.280 Paul now declares to us in verse one, therefore be imitators of God as beloved children. 00:03:02.639 --> 00:03:06.879 This command, it's pointing back to the end of chapter four. 00:03:07.120 --> 00:03:18.719 To walk in truth, to show compassion, to extend forgiveness, to do these things is to reflect your Heavenly Father. 00:03:19.280 --> 00:03:25.199 Walking in such a way is imitating the very nature of who God is. 00:03:25.919 --> 00:03:38.560 Now, this verse doesn't mean that you can be like God in the sense of being all-knowing, in the sense of being all-powerful and omnipresent. 00:03:38.800 --> 00:03:40.000 Who can imitate that? 00:03:40.159 --> 00:03:41.919 None of us can imitate those things. 00:03:42.080 --> 00:03:44.159 That's a silly interpretation. 00:03:44.560 --> 00:04:02.879 What this verse is suggesting is that we now have the capacity, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to reflect God's love, his mercy, his grace, and righteousness to the world around us. 00:04:04.000 --> 00:04:08.800 Now, what kind of identity are we operating out of? 00:04:08.960 --> 00:04:15.199 Do we imitate God as fearful servants, as people who feel obligated? 00:04:16.399 --> 00:04:22.319 Do we reflect God as peasants who might get struck down by his wrath? 00:04:22.639 --> 00:04:24.560 No, look, look at the verse. 00:04:24.720 --> 00:04:30.160 We are to imitate God as dearly loved children. 00:04:30.800 --> 00:04:32.800 Because that is what we are. 00:04:33.519 --> 00:04:41.199 Friends, if you are in Christ, God really, really loves you. 00:04:41.839 --> 00:04:45.839 And if you ever doubt that, just look at the cross. 00:04:46.160 --> 00:04:49.199 Ponder Calvary for just a few moments. 00:04:50.079 --> 00:04:56.800 We reflect God's nature because we are his child and he deeply loves us. 00:04:57.279 --> 00:05:05.839 You have no chance of being like God if you think he hates you or if you think he's not worth imitating. 00:05:06.079 --> 00:05:13.199 Children who have had terrible, abusive fathers understand this. 00:05:13.439 --> 00:05:22.079 I know many people who hated the cruelty of their earthly father, and they make it their life goal to never be like him. 00:05:22.319 --> 00:05:26.240 They say to themselves, I will never be like my father. 00:05:26.879 --> 00:05:38.399 In the same way, this command, it's only achievable when we are satisfied in our eternal sonship and we're awestruck by the fatherhood of God. 00:05:38.800 --> 00:05:41.519 That we see that He's good, He's loving. 00:05:42.079 --> 00:05:53.360 And so research in psychology, it actually proves that many sons they want to imitate their fathers, especially in early childhood. 00:05:54.000 --> 00:06:01.519 Fathers are often the primary male role model that sons admire. 00:06:01.920 --> 00:06:10.399 I remember in my youth, wanting to be like my dad, he would take me hunting, and I would mimic everything that he did. 00:06:10.560 --> 00:06:13.519 When he held his gun like this, I held my gun like this. 00:06:13.680 --> 00:06:18.319 As we walked in the snow to the tree stand, I would step in his prince. 00:06:18.800 --> 00:06:21.199 I wanted my father's mannerisms. 00:06:21.360 --> 00:06:26.319 I wanted to be like his personality, the way he conducted himself. 00:06:27.040 --> 00:06:37.839 And so Paul is commanding us to adore and admire God in such a way that we simply want to walk and talk in a way that he would. 00:06:38.720 --> 00:06:44.480 Just like a child whose eyes sparkle as they watch their dad. 00:06:44.720 --> 00:06:46.560 So we do the same. 00:06:46.800 --> 00:06:52.079 And we're not imitating a broken, sinful earthly father. 00:06:52.399 --> 00:06:55.600 Even the best earthly father doesn't compare. 00:06:56.720 --> 00:07:01.199 We are imitating a perfectly good heavenly father. 00:07:02.079 --> 00:07:09.360 I know the um the WWJD bracelets, they're kind of corny, they're outdated and cliche. 00:07:10.319 --> 00:07:19.439 Many Christians, they criticize the slogan because it's an oversimplification or maybe the lack of theological nuance. 00:07:20.079 --> 00:07:29.759 But for the believer, we should walk in such a way where we are constantly asking, what would my heavenly father do? 00:07:30.959 --> 00:07:35.279 We can never be God for others, that's impossible. 00:07:36.399 --> 00:07:40.319 But we can show God to others through our lifestyle. 00:07:40.560 --> 00:07:43.759 We can mirror his love, his grace. 00:07:44.000 --> 00:07:51.279 We can, in essence, show God to others by the way that we walk and the way that we talk. 00:07:52.079 --> 00:07:59.759 Every time we show someone kindness, we are reflecting the nature of God. 00:08:00.079 --> 00:08:08.240 Every time we extend forgiveness towards someone who has offended us, we are imitating God's nature. 00:08:08.639 --> 00:08:12.160 We know that God speaks truth and he cannot lie. 00:08:12.399 --> 00:08:15.839 So every time we speak truth, we're acting like God. 00:08:16.399 --> 00:08:27.920 Anytime you demonstrate patience while you're in the Starbucks line and you're behind on schedule and everybody's complaining, but you're not, you're maintaining a grateful attitude. 00:08:28.639 --> 00:08:31.839 You're reflecting God's nature. 00:08:32.399 --> 00:08:37.279 Yes, the gospel is made known by proclaiming it with our mouth. 00:08:37.440 --> 00:08:39.759 We are called proclamation church. 00:08:40.080 --> 00:08:48.559 But let us not forget that the gospel in the character of God, it's made known to people also through our actions. 00:08:49.360 --> 00:08:54.559 Atheists, they can deny the Bible all day long. 00:08:54.879 --> 00:08:57.759 They can get over every Christian argument. 00:08:57.919 --> 00:09:00.000 But you know what they can't get over? 00:09:00.320 --> 00:09:02.960 Something that baffles many of them? 00:09:03.519 --> 00:09:05.519 The life of a Christian. 00:09:05.919 --> 00:09:16.799 They are forced to look at the life of a Christian and recollect God as they see God's traits reflected in us. 00:09:17.840 --> 00:09:21.919 Church, this is a command and it is a privilege. 00:09:22.240 --> 00:09:24.399 Be an imitator of God. 00:09:25.600 --> 00:09:28.639 We live in a world of celebrities. 00:09:28.879 --> 00:09:31.759 Everybody wants to follow some famous person. 00:09:32.159 --> 00:09:40.080 Our culture is always putting artists and performers on a pedestal saying, let's be like this guy. 00:09:40.399 --> 00:09:43.440 But for the Christian, we have our model. 00:09:44.639 --> 00:09:47.679 And it's not a man made from dust. 00:09:48.639 --> 00:09:51.440 We are to be like our Heavenly Father. 00:09:51.759 --> 00:10:00.879 So we are to imitate our Father in heaven, but next, Paul tells us that we should imitate Christ's love. 00:10:02.240 --> 00:10:06.960 We should also be walking in love as Christ did. 00:10:07.919 --> 00:10:22.799 And so he commands us in verse 2, and walk in love as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. 00:10:23.759 --> 00:10:27.919 Again, this is a command to walk in love. 00:10:28.720 --> 00:10:34.159 Love is considered one of the highest virtues in the Bible. 00:10:34.480 --> 00:10:37.919 Love is a central theme in Scripture. 00:10:38.240 --> 00:10:42.159 It's associated with spiritual maturity. 00:10:42.720 --> 00:10:48.559 According to Jesus, loving God and loving people, it fulfills the entire law. 00:10:48.639 --> 00:10:50.559 It's the heart of the entire law. 00:10:50.879 --> 00:10:58.000 According to 1 Corinthians 13, love is more important than any spiritual gift. 00:10:58.320 --> 00:11:06.559 According to 1 John 1:4, love towards others is evidence that you've been redeemed. 00:11:06.879 --> 00:11:08.399 So this is vital. 00:11:08.639 --> 00:11:12.720 It's necessary that we would walk in love. 00:11:13.440 --> 00:11:18.559 And if you're ever wondering, well, what does love look like? 00:11:19.679 --> 00:11:24.080 Paul points to Jesus as our model and our example. 00:11:24.320 --> 00:11:38.000 If you want to see how biblical love works, how it moves, how it's demonstrated, look at the life and the ministry of Jesus Christ seen in the gospel accounts. 00:11:38.320 --> 00:11:43.039 So we observe first that love is unconditional. 00:11:43.360 --> 00:11:44.960 It's unconditional. 00:11:45.440 --> 00:11:50.080 Jesus loved people who did not deserve it. 00:11:50.559 --> 00:11:57.519 In fact, Romans tells us that Jesus loved us while we were his enemy. 00:11:58.159 --> 00:11:59.679 Look at his ministry. 00:12:00.159 --> 00:12:09.679 He loved broken, sinful, worthless people who were guilty of breaking God's law. 00:12:10.240 --> 00:12:16.879 The world defines love as attraction or transaction. 00:12:17.440 --> 00:12:23.039 And so attraction says, I'll love you if I feel like it. 00:12:24.080 --> 00:12:31.440 And transaction says, I'll love you if I think you deserve it. 00:12:32.080 --> 00:12:39.679 But in Matthew 5, Jesus tells us, what benefit is it if you love someone who loves you back? 00:12:40.240 --> 00:12:44.320 Or you give to someone who gives you something in return. 00:12:44.480 --> 00:12:45.679 Sinners do that. 00:12:45.919 --> 00:12:47.759 It's what pagans do. 00:12:48.480 --> 00:12:50.240 That is worldly love. 00:12:50.559 --> 00:12:53.519 But Christ's love, it's unconditional. 00:12:53.840 --> 00:12:58.720 He loves us not because we deserve it, he loves us because he is love. 00:13:00.080 --> 00:13:05.759 And secondly, we can observe that his love is sacrificial. 00:13:06.080 --> 00:13:07.600 It's sacrificial. 00:13:08.159 --> 00:13:13.200 The verse says, and he gave himself up for us. 00:13:14.720 --> 00:13:20.320 1 John 3.16 tells us that this is how we know what love is. 00:13:21.039 --> 00:13:24.559 Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. 00:13:25.200 --> 00:13:29.440 And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 00:13:30.320 --> 00:13:33.440 His love costed him something. 00:13:34.080 --> 00:13:40.159 He sacrificed his life for us that we might not experience hell. 00:13:41.440 --> 00:13:51.840 His love towards us, it costed him to hang on a tree on Calvary and cry out, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? 00:13:52.240 --> 00:14:02.480 He was willing to suffer so that we might experience our greatest good, to be reconciled to God forevermore. 00:14:02.960 --> 00:14:08.559 Church, this is the kind of love that Paul is commanding us to walk in. 00:14:08.879 --> 00:14:18.480 Not warm, fuzzy, emotional love, not conditional love that says, I'll love you if you show me respect. 00:14:19.120 --> 00:14:26.080 Not cold, superficial love that says, you know, I'll love you just because it's the right thing to do. 00:14:26.480 --> 00:14:32.480 It's unconditional, sacrificial love that only comes from God. 00:14:33.679 --> 00:14:36.960 This kind of love is literally out of this world. 00:14:37.039 --> 00:14:38.559 It's supernatural. 00:14:39.039 --> 00:14:48.080 We can only know and show this kind of love because we ourselves have experienced it and were able then to give it away. 00:14:49.039 --> 00:14:50.639 To the natural man. 00:14:51.759 --> 00:15:03.840 Giving up a free Saturday to love and help a little old lady and she's rude, she's kind of a Karen, and you get nothing in return is ridiculous. 00:15:04.720 --> 00:15:09.279 Forgiving the person who stole your wallet, that's foolish. 00:15:10.159 --> 00:15:16.159 Being kind to the cashier who's disrespectful to you is absurd. 00:15:16.720 --> 00:15:23.120 Laying down your life for a friend who's in trouble is a crazy idea. 00:15:23.919 --> 00:15:51.919 But to the spiritual man who's been spared from hell, redeemed by Christ, loved by God, to the Christian man who deserves nothing, but yet has been given every spiritual blessing to the man who was once dead in his sins, lost in darkness, and now drenched head to toe in the love of Christ, he must walk in love. 00:15:52.320 --> 00:15:53.679 How can he not? 00:15:54.559 --> 00:16:02.080 Jesus purchased his life, he gave him a future hope, bore the wrath that he deserved. 00:16:02.480 --> 00:16:14.399 The Christian should be so overwhelmed, so amazed by the love of Jesus that it overflows now as a response to the world around him. 00:16:14.960 --> 00:16:20.559 We are not just recipients of Christ's love, but givers of it. 00:16:20.879 --> 00:16:23.200 And so we must walk in love. 00:16:23.840 --> 00:16:27.759 We need reminded of this, don't we? 00:16:28.799 --> 00:16:32.639 Such a simple yet difficult command. 00:16:33.200 --> 00:16:42.879 I don't know if you guys remember, but in Revelation chapter 2, where Jesus is speaking to the church in Ephesus, he's speaking to this church. 00:16:43.360 --> 00:16:46.399 He rebukes them for this very thing. 00:16:46.720 --> 00:16:51.919 He says, I have this against you that you have left your first love. 00:16:52.879 --> 00:16:54.559 This is an easy thing to do. 00:16:54.720 --> 00:16:56.000 We start off well. 00:16:56.480 --> 00:17:11.839 But once kind of our honeymoon phase with Jesus is over, the things of this world creep in, our love grows cold, the thorns and the thistles of this world start to choke out the love that we have for Christ and others. 00:17:12.160 --> 00:17:21.279 We become so in love with ourselves, our comfort, my security, my hobbies, that we don't have time to love others, nor do we have the desire. 00:17:22.079 --> 00:17:23.920 We become stagnant. 00:17:25.200 --> 00:17:30.079 At church on Sunday, I notice that Johnny is going off the deep end. 00:17:30.319 --> 00:17:32.079 He's struggling bad. 00:17:32.400 --> 00:17:34.000 He's having a crisis. 00:17:34.319 --> 00:17:38.799 But man, I have this football game that I really wanted to watch at 1 p.m. 00:17:40.000 --> 00:17:40.319 Eh. 00:17:41.279 --> 00:17:43.039 Someone else will help Johnny. 00:17:43.440 --> 00:17:45.359 I'll direct him to Rick. 00:17:46.720 --> 00:17:50.799 Or there's a family I notice that really needs fellowship and love. 00:17:50.960 --> 00:17:55.279 They just started coming to our church, and you can tell they're hurting. 00:17:55.599 --> 00:17:56.880 But I'm busy. 00:17:57.200 --> 00:18:00.079 My evenings right now, they're precious to me. 00:18:00.319 --> 00:18:04.319 Plus, they have four kids that will make a mess if they come over to my house. 00:18:05.440 --> 00:18:06.880 I think I'll pass. 00:18:08.240 --> 00:18:09.839 Or Tim in the church. 00:18:10.000 --> 00:18:12.559 He's having a financial crisis. 00:18:13.039 --> 00:18:14.880 I have some extra cash. 00:18:15.119 --> 00:18:17.519 I'm looking for a need, a way I can help. 00:18:17.680 --> 00:18:21.359 But you know, Tim's kind of a jerk once you get to know him. 00:18:21.680 --> 00:18:24.720 So I think I'll withhold helping him out. 00:18:24.960 --> 00:18:29.440 My money could go towards someone who I think deserves it more. 00:18:30.559 --> 00:18:38.880 Church, we should be walking in sacrificial, costly, unconditional love. 00:18:39.599 --> 00:18:47.519 God did not save us so that we could sit back, eat, drink, and be merry as we await the return of Christ. 00:18:47.839 --> 00:18:53.119 He saved us so that we could give our lives to him who gave his life for us. 00:18:53.920 --> 00:18:59.200 Looking for opportunities just to lavish Christ's love on others. 00:18:59.440 --> 00:19:01.519 This is how you change the world. 00:19:01.759 --> 00:19:04.559 This is how you impact this evil generation. 00:19:06.000 --> 00:19:15.039 This is one of the primary ways of advancing God's kingdom on earth by walking in love that is out of this world. 00:19:15.359 --> 00:19:35.039 So many people today, they're trying to change the world by loud clamor, by means of the sword, through lawyers and lawsuits and civil revolutions and online debates, and you know, some of these things, they do change the world to an extent from kind of like a temporal perspective. 00:19:35.440 --> 00:19:42.079 But if you want to change the world for Christ and his kingdom, it's by walking in love. 00:19:42.319 --> 00:19:49.039 It's by doing what Jesus did, unconditionally, sacrificially loving people. 00:19:49.839 --> 00:19:52.960 If you want to please God, walk in love. 00:19:53.039 --> 00:19:53.759 Look at the verse. 00:19:54.000 --> 00:19:55.680 Christ's love was what? 00:19:56.000 --> 00:19:59.599 It was a sweet, fragrant offering to God. 00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:01.839 What does that tell us? 00:20:02.160 --> 00:20:06.960 It tells us that we're pleasing God when we walk in this kind of love. 00:20:07.599 --> 00:20:12.720 It pleases God when we should show someone love instead of retaliation. 00:20:13.519 --> 00:20:20.559 It pleases God when you sacrifice your busy schedule to go and help a suffering member in the church. 00:20:20.720 --> 00:20:27.200 It pleases God when you sacrifice doom scrolling to spend time with your spouse. 00:20:27.680 --> 00:20:35.680 It pleases God when you walk in love, you give up your time, money, and resources for the benefit of another. 00:20:36.000 --> 00:20:38.240 This is an Old Testament picture. 00:20:38.400 --> 00:20:41.920 It's Old Testament language that the Jews would have understood. 00:20:42.000 --> 00:20:54.319 It's this sweet-smelling aroma that comes from a sacrifice, and it goes up into heaven before God, in which he says, This is pleasing in my sight. 00:20:55.519 --> 00:21:10.319 Next, Paul is going to give us a contrast to walking in love, behaviors that are not fitting for the Christian, unloving, selfish acts of the flesh. 00:21:11.200 --> 00:21:26.079 And so he says in verses three and four but sexual immorality and all impurity or covetedness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. 00:21:26.960 --> 00:21:36.640 Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk, nor crude joking which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. 00:21:37.279 --> 00:21:43.519 So here Paul uses a comprehensive list of sexual sins. 00:21:44.240 --> 00:21:50.799 Paul highlights sexual sin because it's the very opposite of walking in love. 00:21:51.519 --> 00:21:58.400 So ironically, many people equate sex equals love. 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:02.079 Often how the world defines it. 00:22:02.319 --> 00:22:04.880 Sex is showing love, so let's have sex. 00:22:05.920 --> 00:22:11.359 The city of Ephesus, it was filled with sexual impurity. 00:22:11.599 --> 00:22:20.559 Sex parties, orgies, prostitution, open relationships were normal and acceptable in this culture, just like our culture. 00:22:20.880 --> 00:22:23.680 And they accepted these things in the name of what? 00:22:24.000 --> 00:22:24.640 Love. 00:22:25.039 --> 00:22:27.200 We do these things in love. 00:22:28.079 --> 00:22:33.440 So Paul makes a list of sexual sins that actually destroy love. 00:22:34.079 --> 00:22:36.559 The first is fornication, pornia. 00:22:36.880 --> 00:22:40.240 It's actually where we get our English word porn from. 00:22:40.799 --> 00:22:43.839 It's a broad word for describing sexual sin. 00:22:44.000 --> 00:22:45.759 It's sex outside of marriage. 00:22:45.920 --> 00:22:48.720 It's pornography, it's orgies, and the like. 00:22:50.000 --> 00:22:53.119 The second is uncleanness or impurity. 00:22:53.599 --> 00:22:59.680 This is another broad word for dirty moral behavior in a sexual sense. 00:22:59.920 --> 00:23:04.640 It's gross, unnatural sexual behavior. 00:23:05.279 --> 00:23:07.119 And then there is covetedness. 00:23:07.680 --> 00:23:18.319 This term refers to a desire for more, whether it's material wealth, possessions, money, things that belong to others. 00:23:18.559 --> 00:23:24.160 It's a form of greed that is the opposite of selfless love. 00:23:24.960 --> 00:23:36.480 I think the context here, it's actually referring to coveting someone sexually for your own selfish desire, whether in thought or deed. 00:23:36.880 --> 00:23:45.599 And so all of these sexual behaviors are outside of God's boundaries, and they're very unloving things to do. 00:23:45.920 --> 00:23:49.680 God is the inventor of sex, he created it. 00:23:49.759 --> 00:24:01.440 It's a beautiful thing, church, but he designed it within the boundaries in marriage between one man and one woman. 00:24:01.920 --> 00:24:14.160 It is not primarily for the gratification of the individual, but for the bonding of husband and wife in a one-flesh relationship in procreation. 00:24:14.880 --> 00:24:20.160 God's not trying to deprive us from sexual enjoyment. 00:24:20.319 --> 00:24:22.799 He's actually trying to enhance it. 00:24:23.359 --> 00:24:27.680 Sex is best experienced within God's boundaries. 00:24:27.839 --> 00:24:34.480 When we do things God's way, the way that He intended, we actually find the most pleasure. 00:24:34.720 --> 00:24:36.319 Who would have guessed? 00:24:36.960 --> 00:24:44.880 So Paul says that these things, immorality, impurity, covetedness, it shouldn't be named among you. 00:24:45.759 --> 00:25:02.160 And so historically, we know that the city of Ephesus, it had a temple during this time of Artemis, a false god, and it employed, like legally employed thousands of prostitutes. 00:25:02.480 --> 00:25:04.319 And so it was promoted. 00:25:04.559 --> 00:25:08.559 It was a very sexually driven culture, much like ours. 00:25:09.119 --> 00:25:17.519 And when you live in a sexually driven culture, you can become over time desensitized. 00:25:18.160 --> 00:25:20.079 We don't see it as heinous anymore. 00:25:20.160 --> 00:25:21.279 It's normal. 00:25:21.920 --> 00:25:30.480 And how many times I've heard, well, you know, Jimmy, everyone looks at porn anyways, look at the statistics. 00:25:30.799 --> 00:25:35.359 God knows our struggle, he knows the culture and the temptation that we face. 00:25:35.599 --> 00:25:38.480 He gets it, he's all right with it, he understands. 00:25:39.039 --> 00:25:43.119 We use language like this to justify sexual sin. 00:25:43.200 --> 00:25:44.000 It's normal. 00:25:44.160 --> 00:25:45.359 Everybody's doing it. 00:25:45.519 --> 00:25:49.519 God is gracious, therefore I can indulge. 00:25:50.480 --> 00:26:00.480 But Paul says, let this not even be named among you, because it's not fitting for the saints. 00:26:01.039 --> 00:26:05.200 You shouldn't even be accused of such things. 00:26:06.400 --> 00:26:14.559 Sexual sin, it's selfish, it's addictive, it's destructive, and it's a very unloving thing to participate in. 00:26:14.720 --> 00:26:21.279 And it will have massive consequences on your current marriage or your future spouse. 00:26:21.759 --> 00:26:27.839 Paul, he's raising the bar here in a culture that has normalized sexual sin. 00:26:29.039 --> 00:26:36.559 You know, why did Adam and Eve church, why did Adam and Eve cover their private parts after they sinned? 00:26:36.799 --> 00:26:38.000 Why is that? 00:26:38.640 --> 00:26:43.519 Why does Paul tell us in Thessalonians that our sanctification is this? 00:26:43.680 --> 00:26:46.400 It's abstaining from sexual sin. 00:26:47.279 --> 00:26:56.960 Why in Corinthians does Paul tell us that sexual sin, it's unique, it's actually a sin against one's own body. 00:26:57.920 --> 00:27:03.680 Because our sexual life is unique and it's special. 00:27:04.240 --> 00:27:10.960 The act is literally uniting ourselves to another. 00:27:11.680 --> 00:27:23.359 And if we are now in union with Christ, if our body is now his, you can see how damaging this can be to our spiritual life. 00:27:23.599 --> 00:27:36.480 This is why Paul says in Corinthians, he says, flee, run from sexual immorality, because it uniquely corrupts and ensnares. 00:27:38.720 --> 00:27:43.839 And next, Paul even addresses our mouth and our humor in this matter. 00:27:43.920 --> 00:27:52.000 He says in verse 4, let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk or crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. 00:27:52.160 --> 00:27:57.519 Many commentators agree that Paul is talking about sexual humor. 00:27:58.240 --> 00:28:08.480 Paul takes it a step further and he says, don't talk sexually, don't joke sexually, don't be filthy and foolish with your speech. 00:28:08.720 --> 00:28:10.960 Don't be telling dirty jokes. 00:28:11.599 --> 00:28:16.000 And for the person in the room who says, Come on now. 00:28:16.160 --> 00:28:26.319 Like, I'm not sexually immoral, I'm faithful to my wife, I don't engage in sexual sin, but man, I love me a good, funny, dirty joke. 00:28:26.640 --> 00:28:30.400 No, says Paul, don't even do that. 00:28:31.279 --> 00:28:31.680 Why? 00:28:31.839 --> 00:28:33.039 Because look at the verse. 00:28:33.279 --> 00:28:34.880 This is out of place. 00:28:35.359 --> 00:28:36.720 It's out of place. 00:28:37.279 --> 00:28:39.279 It's not fitting for the Christian. 00:28:40.720 --> 00:28:47.519 If God forbids us to do it, then we should refrain from even joking about it. 00:28:47.839 --> 00:28:51.920 If you want to use your mouth for something, use it for gratitude, says Paul. 00:28:52.079 --> 00:28:52.799 Look at the verse. 00:28:52.960 --> 00:28:55.359 Instead, let there be thanksgiving. 00:28:55.680 --> 00:28:59.440 Use your mouth to give God glory. 00:29:00.000 --> 00:29:02.240 Talk about his excellencies. 00:29:02.559 --> 00:29:04.400 Sing songs of praise. 00:29:04.799 --> 00:29:18.000 If life is short, if eternity is real, if the words we speak have influence, then let us stop telling worthless, dirty jokes and let's instead give God thanks. 00:29:19.039 --> 00:29:21.279 So tell me what's better, church. 00:29:21.680 --> 00:29:26.720 Cracking a dirty joke at work and making your coworkers laugh? 00:29:27.599 --> 00:29:36.480 Sure, now they think you're funny, but your Christian witness doesn't mean much more to them anymore, does it? 00:29:39.039 --> 00:29:55.359 Or you telling them how awesome God is, and they're now amazed at your heartfelt gratitude, considering God themselves, which may result in their conversion or sanctification. 00:29:57.119 --> 00:30:14.240 James tells us in his epistle in chapter 3 that something is seriously wrong if a fig tree starts to bear olives, or if a grapevine starts to bear figs, or if a salt spring produces fresh water. 00:30:14.960 --> 00:30:17.359 It's this absurd picture. 00:30:17.759 --> 00:30:34.720 In the same way, how can we, Christians, use our tongues to praise God, to stand tall and say, I love Jesus, I'm a follower of his truth, I love you, God, and then a moment later crack a vulgar, dirty joke. 00:30:35.279 --> 00:30:36.880 Let this not be so. 00:30:37.119 --> 00:30:42.000 It's unfitting, and it shouldn't even be named among us. 00:30:42.799 --> 00:30:46.240 Next, Paul is going to strengthen his argument here. 00:30:46.880 --> 00:30:57.599 Since these believers are living in a culture that makes these things normal, there's a tendency to try to undercut, undermind such commands. 00:30:57.920 --> 00:31:02.160 There's a tendency to look at Paul and say, dude, come on. 00:31:02.799 --> 00:31:11.279 People have sex all the time, it's normal, everybody's doing it, cracking dirty jokes, it's just a part of the social life here. 00:31:11.440 --> 00:31:13.599 Is it that big of a deal? 00:31:14.400 --> 00:31:20.720 If we do what you say, Paul, we're gonna be viewed as some weirdos or some Jesus freaks. 00:31:21.200 --> 00:31:24.240 And so Paul brings down the hammer. 00:31:24.640 --> 00:31:45.119 Next in verses five through seven, he says, For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covet covet, covet, that is an idolater, has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ in God. 00:31:45.519 --> 00:31:55.039 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 00:31:55.359 --> 00:31:59.599 Therefore, do not become partners with them. 00:32:00.640 --> 00:32:11.920 So Paul reminds these Christians that such people who are defined by these things, sexual immorality, impurity, covetedness, they are committing what? 00:32:12.240 --> 00:32:13.440 Idolatry. 00:32:14.319 --> 00:32:17.440 They are, by definition, idolaters. 00:32:17.599 --> 00:32:24.559 They might not be bowing down to a statue in worship, but they are worshiping themselves. 00:32:24.799 --> 00:32:27.440 They are worshiping their sinful desires. 00:32:27.599 --> 00:32:32.000 And this is idolatry, says Paul, clear and simple. 00:32:32.720 --> 00:32:44.799 Now, to be clear, he is not saying that if you are a Christian and you fall into one of these sins, even for a season, that you're going to hell. 00:32:45.279 --> 00:32:51.599 So if you're anything like me, you see a verse like this and you're like, uh-oh, like I'm toast. 00:32:52.400 --> 00:32:55.440 This verse is not about losing your salvation. 00:32:55.599 --> 00:33:01.759 It's not talking about Christians who may at times fall into these things. 00:33:02.559 --> 00:33:09.599 Paul describes people who love, they delight themselves with such things. 00:33:09.839 --> 00:33:14.559 They are by character defined by such things. 00:33:15.359 --> 00:33:25.279 A Christian may fall into any one of these sins, but they confess, they repent, they receive grace, and they walk forward in holiness. 00:33:25.599 --> 00:33:32.319 But for the unbeliever, they are defined by these things at a lifestyle. 00:33:32.720 --> 00:33:45.279 To put it bluntly, a person who is characterized, dominated by, in practices as a lifestyle, such things that person is not saved. 00:33:46.640 --> 00:33:50.160 They can say all they want all day long that they love Jesus. 00:33:50.319 --> 00:33:56.319 But if they worship these things and they live for them, eternal life is not in them. 00:33:56.960 --> 00:34:02.240 They will not have inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 00:34:02.880 --> 00:34:13.199 Jesus tells us in Matthew 7 that a good tree does not bear bad fruit, and a bad tree does not bear good fruit. 00:34:13.840 --> 00:34:15.679 We need to understand this. 00:34:16.159 --> 00:34:23.360 Because there are false teachers out there, church, a lot of them, who will try to deceive you otherwise. 00:34:23.599 --> 00:34:27.920 They will say things like, it doesn't matter how you live. 00:34:28.320 --> 00:34:32.400 Sin all you want, do whatever you want, you still get to go to heaven. 00:34:33.119 --> 00:34:39.760 They try to teach you that you can love sin and you can still get heaven. 00:34:40.000 --> 00:34:45.760 Which is why Paul says in verse 6, let no one deceive you with empty words. 00:34:46.159 --> 00:34:52.320 Don't let people tickle your ears and convince you that God has changed his mind. 00:34:52.719 --> 00:34:59.760 Don't listen to compromised theologians who claim that God has progressed with us. 00:35:00.159 --> 00:35:06.239 You know, he didn't like homosexuality in the Old Testament, but he now accepts it in the New Testament. 00:35:06.400 --> 00:35:07.920 He's learning with us. 00:35:08.400 --> 00:35:11.199 Friends, that is garbage theology. 00:35:11.519 --> 00:35:13.280 It's false teaching. 00:35:13.599 --> 00:35:24.559 Any form of teaching that uses God's grace or the cross of Christ to promote, condone, or excuse sin, that's a red flag. 00:35:24.800 --> 00:35:26.320 Look at the verse. 00:35:26.639 --> 00:35:35.119 For because of these things, the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 00:35:35.519 --> 00:35:37.599 God's wrath, it's coming. 00:35:37.920 --> 00:35:39.119 It's coming. 00:35:39.519 --> 00:35:44.400 And we need to establish where exactly his wrath will be placed. 00:35:44.559 --> 00:35:49.280 It will be placed on the sons of disobedience. 00:35:49.519 --> 00:35:58.960 It's people who do not walk in love, people who hate God's ways, people who worship themselves and act on every sinful impulse they have. 00:35:59.360 --> 00:36:06.880 Do not be deceived in this matter, lest we find ourselves calling good things evil and calling evil things good. 00:36:07.360 --> 00:36:19.519 We are told in Revelation 29, on Judgment Day, that the sexually immoral and all idolaters will be casted into the lake of fire. 00:36:20.400 --> 00:36:25.119 We are so afraid to talk about God's judgment. 00:36:25.440 --> 00:36:28.000 But we must, we must. 00:36:28.159 --> 00:36:29.119 It's necessary. 00:36:29.199 --> 00:36:32.480 It doesn't matter if we like it or not, it's God's word. 00:36:33.280 --> 00:36:48.480 There is a day coming when Christ will reveal Himself, and those who oppose Him will beg for mountains to fall on them because they cannot stand in His holy presence. 00:36:49.039 --> 00:36:59.760 There's a day coming when every single person will stand before God, and if they did not receive Jesus' life, then they will have to give an account for their own. 00:37:00.000 --> 00:37:16.559 And every thought, every word, every action will be played before God, and they will be judged, and they will be banished forever in a place of torment where they will burn but they will never be consumed. 00:37:16.719 --> 00:37:20.079 They will beg, but they will never be delivered. 00:37:21.280 --> 00:37:28.880 Because they refused God's love, they denied Christ's sacrifice, and instead they loved darkness. 00:37:30.079 --> 00:37:36.320 They held on to their sin, they refused to worship their Creator as they blamed him for all of their problems. 00:37:36.559 --> 00:37:42.239 They will be in darkness forever, weeping and gnashing their teeth. 00:37:42.800 --> 00:37:46.719 So if this is true, church, feel the weight of that. 00:37:46.960 --> 00:38:00.639 If this is true, that sexual sin is unloving, it's idolatry, and God's judgment is coming for those who practice it, then the conclusion is very clear. 00:38:00.960 --> 00:38:07.039 Last verse, therefore, do not become partners with them. 00:38:08.320 --> 00:38:18.960 If they are defined by sin and heading towards God's wrath, let's not participate in what they're doing. 00:38:19.199 --> 00:38:21.280 Let's head in the other direction. 00:38:22.079 --> 00:38:31.199 In 2 Corinthians 6, the apostle tells us to not be unequally yoked to unbelievers and to come out and to be separate from them. 00:38:32.159 --> 00:38:35.039 This doesn't mean that we can't talk with them. 00:38:35.360 --> 00:38:38.000 It doesn't mean that we can't spend time with them. 00:38:38.320 --> 00:38:44.400 What this verse means is that we do not partake with them in sin and worldliness. 00:38:44.639 --> 00:38:52.079 Yes, Jesus hung out with sinners, but he did not participate in, condone, or excuse their sin. 00:38:52.239 --> 00:39:01.360 Rather, he led them to repentance by revealing to them the good news about the forgiveness of their sins. 00:39:02.079 --> 00:39:14.880 Being holy, it doesn't mean isolating ourselves out in the woods in a commune, as much as I would love that, but Jesus didn't do that. 00:39:15.360 --> 00:39:17.440 The early church didn't do that. 00:39:17.599 --> 00:39:28.559 What holiness means is that I'm in the world, I'm around culture, I'm around unbelievers, but I remain set apart from the deeds of darkness. 00:39:29.119 --> 00:39:35.679 It doesn't mean that I can't wear a cool hat or wear trendy shoes that the rest of culture is wearing. 00:39:35.760 --> 00:39:36.880 That's missing the point. 00:39:37.039 --> 00:39:40.000 That's being different in a way that doesn't make a difference. 00:39:40.159 --> 00:39:46.159 It means this: that when my coworker tells a dirty joke, I don't engage. 00:39:47.119 --> 00:39:55.039 When I walk into my neighbor's garage and he's got Playboy pictures all up in his garage, I don't look. 00:39:56.480 --> 00:40:03.119 When all my unbelieving friends are going to a bar to hook up and have recreational sex, I don't go. 00:40:03.360 --> 00:40:04.880 I don't even consider it. 00:40:05.199 --> 00:40:18.159 I'm around sinners, I'm a friend with sinners, I'm in their company, I witness, I conversate, I engage, but I do not participate with them in sinning. 00:40:18.960 --> 00:40:38.719 As Leonard Ravenhill once said, he said, the greatest miracle that God can do today is to take an unholy man out of an unholy world and make that man holy and put him back into that unholy world and keep him holy in it. 00:40:39.599 --> 00:41:14.159 Christian in the room, if you are participating with sinners and sinning, if you're engaging in evil systems, if you're going to the bars and getting drunk with them, if you're engaging in dirty jokes in the break room, if you're joining them in slandering and bullying others, if you're going out with them, if you're joining them in the deeds of darkness, and you're doing this in the name of maybe trying to be relevant, or you're doing this by twisting scripture, and well, Paul said, be all things to all people. 00:41:14.480 --> 00:41:20.480 You know, I have a better chance of reaching them for Christ if I can show them that I'm not much different than they are. 00:41:21.119 --> 00:41:24.639 Hear this command this morning and take it to heart. 00:41:25.280 --> 00:41:30.719 Do not become partakers with them. 00:41:32.159 --> 00:41:36.559 God's judgment is coming for those very things. 00:41:37.599 --> 00:41:45.440 And just a side note, you don't win people to the gospel by making it more acceptable to the flesh. 00:41:46.000 --> 00:41:51.519 You win people to the gospel by showing them that they can be saved from it. 00:41:51.840 --> 00:42:06.559 You win people to the gospel by showing them that they are a great sinner in need and that there is a great Savior who can save them and redeem them and spare them from God's wrath that is coming soon. 00:42:07.760 --> 00:42:09.920 So, proclamation church. 00:42:10.320 --> 00:42:12.960 What do we learn from this passage? 00:42:13.840 --> 00:42:17.280 Again, I will never get tired of saying this. 00:42:17.440 --> 00:42:24.719 I will repeat myself again and again because we are so hellbent on willpower and legalism. 00:42:25.519 --> 00:42:28.239 Church, this isn't about just being moral. 00:42:28.719 --> 00:42:31.119 This isn't just about behavior modification. 00:42:31.199 --> 00:42:33.920 This isn't about trying to measure up and be perfect. 00:42:34.239 --> 00:42:37.039 This is about gospel transformation. 00:42:37.679 --> 00:42:41.679 It's about allowing God to do his work inside us. 00:42:41.840 --> 00:42:47.840 It's about being ruled by our Lord, being led by him, becoming more like him. 00:42:48.159 --> 00:42:50.559 This is about being a child of God. 00:42:50.880 --> 00:42:56.559 This is about delighting ourselves in his in this blessed relationship that he's given us. 00:42:56.800 --> 00:43:03.519