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I wanted to look at some of the 
responsibilities associated with our adoption. This morning we 
considered some of the consequences or the privileges that are ours 
by virtue of our adoption in Christ. The Father's name has 
been placed upon us. We have been sealed by the Spirit. 
We are Christ's brothers and co-heir with Him. We have an 
inheritance laid up for us in heaven and we are kept by the 
power of God. And there are, however, in addition 
to those privileges, there are responsibilities. And we're going 
to look at three of them tonight. I might have mentioned five this 
morning. I did a bit of consolidation. 
And there are three that suggest themselves in the book of Ephesians 
in chapter 5. Ephesians deals with that doctrine 
of adoption, the fact that we have been brought in to the family 
of God. So I'll just pick up reading 
in Ephesians 5, we'll read verses 1 to 21. Therefore, be imitators 
of God as dear children, and walk in love, as Christ also 
has loved us and given himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice 
to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. But fornication and all uncleanness 
or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting 
for saints, neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse 
jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. 
For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous 
man, who is an idolater, has any 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. Therefore, do not be partakers 
with them. For you were once darkness, but 
now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light. For the fruit of the Spirit is 
in all goodness, righteousness, and truth. Finding out what is 
acceptable to the Lord. And to have no fellowship with 
the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. For it 
is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by 
them in secret. But all things that are exposed 
are made manifest by the light. For whatever makes manifest is 
light. Therefore he says, Awake, you 
who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light. 
See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming 
the time, because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be unwise, 
but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not be 
drunk with wine, in which is dissipation, but be filled with 
the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual 
songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. giving 
thanks always for all things to God the Father. In the name 
of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of 
God. Amen. We thank you. Amen. But as we come to this section 
in Ephesians chapter 5, we find ourselves in the practical application. Chapters 1 and 2 of Ephesians 
are more doctrinal in nature, which we find in the scriptures 
very often. The doctrine is established, 
and then the practice follows. The idea being, as we said this 
morning, that when we know the truth, we, God willing, will 
walk according to that truth. Chapter 3 is a bit of a transition 
chapter, where Paul explains his role as a minister of the 
gospel, and expresses how he prays for the saints in Ephesus. And then the practical application 
begins specifically in chapter 4, verse 1. If you notice there 
in chapter 4, verse 1, I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech 
you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called. and 
that then sets the stage for all that will follow in terms 
of practical application. There is a prohibition against 
walking as the Gentiles in chapter 4, verse 17. This I say therefore 
and testify in the Lord that you should no longer walk as 
the rest of the Gentiles walk in the futility of their mind. 
He is speaking, of course, of spiritual Gentiles, non-Christians. Don't walk in that manner. And 
then he gives a positive exhortation in chapter 4, verses 20-24. A positive exhortation for us 
to walk as new men and new women in the Lord Jesus Christ. That 
you, he says in verse 20, have not so learned Christ. And then 
he goes on to tell them that they are to put on the new man 
which was created according to God in true righteousness and 
holiness. And then in chapter 4 and verse 
25 he begins to set forth some very particular applications. concrete ways that we are to 
walk and conduct ourselves as new men and as new women in the 
Lord Jesus Christ. We are not to lie. We are not 
to steal. We are not to speak in a manner 
that is inconsistent with the truth of God. That summarizes 
verses 25 to 32. And then in chapter 5, he gives 
three broad categories by which we are to walk. And the first 
is that we are to walk in love. This is one of the responsibilities 
that we have as adopted sons and daughters of the Lord God 
Most High. We are to walk in love. Chapter 5, verse 1, Therefore, 
be imitators of God as dear children, and walk in love. as Christ also 
has loved us and given himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice 
to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. Now, biblical love is never measured 
by our feeling. We don't have to feel something 
to walk the rock. Quite frankly, there might be 
times we don't feel a particular thing. We don't feel a particular 
warmth or a particular benefit. But that does not change the 
responsibility that is ours. To walk in love according to 
the scriptures is to conduct ourselves toward one another 
in the fear of God and in respect and obedience to God's law. Love is not a feeling according 
to scripture. Love is action. directed by God's 
law. And we see that fleshed out in 
Romans 13. You may turn there, just as we 
add some flesh and blood to the sinews that we find here in terms 
of walking in love. In Romans 13, we read in verse 
8, Oh, no one anything except to, notice, love one another. For he who loves another has 
fulfilled the law. You see, love there is not oriented 
toward our feelings. Love there is not defined by 
Hollywood. Love there is not defined by 
the most recent sappy Christian fiction novel. Love is defined 
by God. It is defined by God's law. Paul fleshes this out in verse 
9. For the commandments, you shall not commit adultery, you 
shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false 
witness, you shall not covet. And if there is any other commandment, 
are all summed up in this saying, namely, you shall love your neighbor 
as yourself. Love does no harm to a neighbor, 
therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. That is concrete. That is rock-solid. That is objective. You and I can leave this place 
tonight and walk in love, biblically defined. We can avoid lying to 
one another. We can avoid coveting one another's 
goods. We can avoid lying with a brother's 
wife. We can avoid having wicked thoughts 
or murderous thoughts or anything like that. That is to love our 
brothers and our sisters. It doesn't mean we just float 
in here and we just speak happy peppy things to one another. Now if that's your forte and 
that's the way God has so constructed you, to speak happy peppy things, 
well then praise the Lord. But so long as you are not violating 
the decalogue, you are loving your brother. That, brethren, 
is biblical law. There is too much of an ill understanding 
about this very concept. We are to obey God. That means to love our brethren. Romans 13, verses 8 to 10 are 
very instructive in this whole area of loving one another. In the very text, in Ephesians 
chapter 5, we see the very specific example, or the specific rule 
in the text. In Ephesians 5 too, it's defined 
for us, or it's fleshed out for us, or it's displayed how we 
are to love one another. He says, walk in love as. Okay, that's the comparison, 
that's the way, that's the standard, okay? I am to love as Christ. I am to love just as Christ also 
has loved us, and notice, and given himself for us. So my love 
for a brother or a sister is displayed in an attitude of giving. It is displayed in an attitude 
of self-sacrifice. It's a beautiful section of Holy 
Scripture. If you look down at chapter 5 
in verse 21. He says to submit to one another 
in the fear of God. This is the last mark of a spirit-filled 
person according to Paul in Ephesians 5. The filling of the Holy Spirit 
is not manifested here by tongues and by signs and wonders and 
miracles. No, it's a whole lot more basic 
and a lot more rich and a lot more thorough than that. The 
filling of the Spirit looks like this. It looks like speaking 
to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing 
and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always 
for all things to God the Father, and submitting to one another 
in the fear of God. And then after that, from chapter 
5, verse 22, all the way to chapter 6 and verse 9, he gives concrete 
applications of what it looks like to submit to one another. 
And I guarantee you, one of the marks is self-sacrifice. Put 
the others first. See, that's a primary difference 
between a Christian and a non-Christian. A non-Christian thinks only in 
terms of himself. A non-christian only looks out 
for himself. A non-christian is only about 
his own pleasure, his own leisure, his own comfort, his own joy, 
his own whatever. Now, we all have remaining elements 
of that selfishness to be sure. But a mark of the godly, a mark 
of an adopted son or daughter of Jesus Christ is that they 
are others-oriented. That they are self-sacrificing. That they do walk in law. They walk according to the scriptures 
with reference to their brothers and their sisters. They are marked 
by the disposition that marked Jesus Christ. Giving himself 
to others. Becoming a sacrifice for others. That is how we are to walk in 
love. There are many, in the New Testament, 
there are many one another's. We're going to encourage you 
tonight in your Bible reading for 2009. If you don't have a 
notepad, we've got boxes of them in here. It's going to tell you 
to go to Walmart and buy one. No, you don't need to. We can 
give you a notepad for every day of your devotional life. 
Notepads are us. Actually, Paulina donated them 
from one of her old places of employment. Keep a pencil or 
a pen in your hand when you read your Bible in 2009. As I said 
this morning, we've got to stack it up. We start applying more 
of the scripture. When you read through the New 
Testament in 2009, write down every time you come across those 
two words, one another. You will have a lot of references 
when you do your New Testament reading. You will find several 
passages that speak to loving one another. That speak about 
being kindly affectionate to one another. to give preference 
to one another. to stir one another up to love 
and good deeds. There are a whole host of one 
another's in the pages of the New Testament Scriptures. As 
an exercise in your devotional time this year, write them down. Become familiar with them. Become 
acquainted with them. I mean, there's some right in 
the very context of Ephesians 5. In Ephesians 4, verse 32, 
He says, be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one 
another, even as God in Christ forgave you. You may find yourself 
holding grudges. You may find yourself having 
a bitter edge. You may find yourself trying 
to avoid someone or some persons because of an unforgiving spirit 
in your heart. Lo and behold, you come across 
this passage, you write it down, you mull it over, you think through 
it, you meditate upon it, and you ask the question, am I genuinely 
expressing love for that person by avoiding them? No. I need to reconcile. I need to 
forgive. I need to deal with this. Because 
Paul says that I am to walk in love. And my standard is not 
any man-defined concept. My standard is Jesus Christ Himself. exemplified in his sacrificial 
death at Calvary. That's what it means to walk 
in love. That is a tall order. So make a list of the one another's 
in the New Testament. And I guarantee you by 2010, 
you will be a lot smarter, biblically speaking. You will know a lot 
more in terms of relating to your brothers and your sisters. 
You will know a lot more what makes up biblical churchmanship, 
those one another's. The second major category in 
Ephesians 5 is we are to walk So we're to walk in love, verses 
1 to 7, but we are to walk in the light, verses 8 to 11. For you were once darkness. That ought to humble you. That's 
what you were. You weren't better than anyone 
else. You weren't smarter. You weren't more favorably disposed 
to the gospel. You were once darkness. Robert Shuler simply does not 
grasp this whole concept. This esteem and this positivism 
about yourself. God doesn't share that. God tells 
us the hardcore facts. The hard cold facts. God is more 
like Jack Webb from the old TV show Dragnet. Just the facts. You were darkness. That was your 
orientation. You dwelt in it. You loved it. You didn't desire anything other. That was everything you knew 
and loved and held dear. But as new men and women in Christ, 
as adopted sons and daughters of God Most High. God is light. There is no darkness in God whatsoever, 
according to 1 John 1 verse 5. And therefore, His children are 
not to manifest darkness. We are to manifest light. This is what He says. But you 
were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light. Walk as children of light. So we're to walk in love, and 
we're to walk as children of light. He goes on to explain 
this. He says, for the fruit of the 
Spirit, or a variant reading is, for the fruit of the light 
is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth. This is what makes 
up the light. This is what the light is all 
about. It's not about lies, not about 
deception, not about perversion, not about ethical, you know, 
chaos. No, it's about goodness, it's 
about righteousness, it's about truth. And then notice he says 
in verse 10, finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. You see, there's responsibility 
for us. As children who are walking in 
the light, we need to find out what is acceptable to the Lord. 
What does that mean? Wait for it. It means read your 
Bible. If you love the Bible, it keeps 
telling you to read it. Right? That's what God says. Just keep reading the Bible. 
Find out what the will of the Lord is. Find out what's acceptable 
to Him. That does not mean you need to 
drive up to the back of Mount Shem and hike for two hours and 
sit at the top and hold your hands and begin to take deep 
breaths so that you can find out what's acceptable to the 
Lord. Now, if you're so inclined and you want to take your Bible 
up to the top of Mount Shem, more power to you. But you can 
find out what is acceptable to the Lord in your kitchen or in 
your bedroom. You can find out what is acceptable 
to the Lord in this room. If you've got a Bible, you can 
find out what is acceptable to the Lord. That's what children 
of light do. That's what it means to walk 
in the light. We take the light and the lamp 
of God's Word, and we seek by His grace to shine it upon our 
path. We don't try to wander through 
this world with a blindfold on. We don't wander through this 
world bumping into everything. We find out what is acceptable 
to the Lord. We inform our minds. We inform 
our conscience. And then our practice follows. 
We avoid those things that are darkness. And we pursue those 
things that are light. And he gives some concrete illustrations. Verse 11. Have no fellowship 
with the unfruitful works of darkness. but rather expose them. Does that mean we need to stand 
out on the street corner holding signs that say God hates homosexuals? We've got to expose them. Or 
does it mean that we are to live in such a manner, in such a way, 
to let our light so shine that men will see our good works and 
they'll be directed to give glory to God. You know, any knucklehead 
can go stand on the street corner with a sign that says, God hates 
you. It takes a spirit-filled adopted 
son or daughter of God to live and walk in the light. It's the 
easy way out. We could all be the holiest people 
God ever made if holiness was about standing on the street 
corner with signs telling everybody and anybody that God hates them. 
That's ungodly. That's unrighteous. That's not what he means by exposing 
them. If you think your calling in 
life is to wander around and personally expose every act of 
evil that is done in this world, you have missed the New Testament. 
You have missed it by a long shot. In the sphere of influence 
that you operate in, when you are at work, when you are in 
your home, when you are with your unconverted wife, or your 
unconverted husband, or your unconverted family, you are to 
live in such a manner that your righteousness, your light exposes 
them. Jesus didn't walk around with 
a big billboard telling everybody God hated them. But he did know 
something of that light. that the darkness hates to come 
to. Why? Because its evil is exposed. That's what Jesus did in His 
life and in His ministry. The Pharisees and the Sadducees, 
they hated Him. They didn't want to get near 
Him. Not because He had a sign that says, My Father hates you. 
But because He had a life of consistent holiness. A life of 
consistent godliness. A life of consistent goodness. 
One that was informed by finding out what is acceptable to the 
Lord. having no fellowship with that 
darkness and thus exposing their evil works. He goes on to say, 
it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done 
by them in secret, that all things that are exposed are made manifest 
by the light. For whatever makes manifest is 
light. Therefore, he says, awake you who sleep, arise from the 
dead, and Christ will give you light. So we are to walk in love, 
we are to walk in light, and then thirdly, we are to walk 
in wisdom. We have rehearsed a bit of teaching 
on that in the book of Colossians. Paul prayed that the Colossians 
would be filled with the knowledge of God's will in our wisdom and 
spiritual understanding. We reflected back on Solomon, 
that wise king, or that godly king, who had the law of the 
Lord, and then asked for wisdom. Because you see, we can have 
the law. We can have sound doctrine. We can have Calvin's Institutes. 
We can have our 1689. We can have our Bibles. We can 
put them all in our heads. But if we don't have wisdom, 
if we are not applying that knowledge, then we are fools. And so we 
are told not only to walk in love, but to walk in light and 
to walk in wisdom. Ephesians 5 verse 15. He says, see then that you walk 
circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise. There's a negative 
statement. Don't walk as a fool. Now the Bible doesn't call people 
with a lower intellect fools. If you're not the brightest bulb 
in the chandelier, God's not calling you a fool. If your IQ 
is not at the genius level, God's not calling you a fool. A fool, 
according to the Bible, is ethical in nature. Fool has the idea 
of being sinful. The difference between the righteous 
man or the wise man and the foolish man in the book of Proverbs is 
not a matter of the intellect, but a matter of the practice, 
a matter of the heart, a matter of his orientation. And so Paul 
is saying here that we are not to walk as fools. The Bible defines 
a fool as one who hears the word of God, who hears the word of 
Christ, but doesn't do what he says. In fact, turn for just 
a moment to Matthew 7, just so we can make sure we're understanding 
of our categories of fools and wise men. Matthew chapter 7. Matthew 7, the very end of the 
Sermon on the Mount, in verse 24, Jesus says, Therefore, whoever 
hears these sayings of mine and does them, I will liken him to 
a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain descended, 
the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, 
and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone 
who hears these sayings of mine and does not do them will be 
like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the 
rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on 
that house. And it fell, and great was its 
fall. What differentiates the wise 
man from the foolish man? They both have the word of Christ, 
but only one of them does it. You see that? That's as clear 
as it can get. God doesn't call you a fool if 
you have a lower IQ point. God calls you a fool if you know 
his word and you don't do it. God's not about name-calling. 
He's not like the kid on the playground that calls you a nasty 
name just for no reason. That is a theological identifier. You are one that knows and you 
don't do. You're one that has the Word 
of God, and you don't do it. I think back, and I think it 
was the plague of hail. Moses announced the plague was 
coming, and it says those who believed the Word moved their 
cattle, moved all their goods, brought the men out of the open, 
and their stuff was spared. That those who heard the Word 
but didn't believe, what happened? Their cattle got pummeled to 
death when the hail came. You see, it's not rocket science. 
It's all about hearing the word of Christ and doing it. So in this third element of how 
the Christian, the adopted son or daughter of God, is to walk, 
he is to walk in wisdom, not as a fool. The fool does not 
seek understanding through the study of scripture. The fool 
does not apply the Bible to his life. The fool is oftentimes 
lazy, indifferent, and careless with reference to his calling 
from God. You know, I would submit, brethren, 
that our culpability or our responsibility is somewhat increased over what 
we have over the Ephesians in their day. I was talking this 
morning with someone, and I mentioned Christology, the doctrine of 
Christ, and to stray from what's called the definition of the 
Council of Chalcedon always lands men in heresy. Now the Council 
of Chalcedon was basically a council of godly men who came together 
to put down in writing a doctrinal statement on who Jesus Christ 
is. That council met, that council 
pronounced their creed in 451 A.D. Now, we, unlike the Ephesians, 
when we hear that statement, the Council of Chalcedon can 
go home and type that into our Google search engine. And get, 
you know, probably hundreds of pages on the Council of Chalcedon. We can get Wikipedia to tell 
us what the Council of Chalcedon was. We can get the creed right 
there so we can read it for ourselves right now when we go home tonight. 
I mean, you might think about it. I don't have a cup of coffee. 
It's the Council of Chalcedon. C-H-A-L-C-E-D-O-N or Chalcedon 
is another pronunciation. You type that in, you get the 
creed. Wow, that's great. We have amazing 
resources at our fingertips. One of the brothers just sent 
an email saying that if you want to read or commit to reading 
Calvin's Institutes, it'll be emailed to your computer every 
day with the reading specified. The Ephesians didn't have this. We have so much more! I mean, it's the same Bible, 
the same Word of God. I'm not saying we have more in 
terms of Revelation. But we have more in terms of 
Ephesians 4. Jesus has given some as prophets, 
some as apostles, some as evangelists, some as pastors and teachers. 
Why? for the equipping of the saints, 
for the work of ministry, so that we may all come to a mature 
man, not tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine. We reap 
the benefits of a Calvin. We reap the benefits of a Gil. 
You can download John Gil's commentaries for free. You have no excuse 
anymore to say, well, I can't afford John Gil. Oh yes, you 
can. You see, so this prohibition 
is a bit more stinging even to us. Don't walk as fools. You have a wealth of resources. You probably have a Bible in 
every home in your room. You probably have ten Bibles 
in your home. You're not like those in the 
former Soviet Union. You're not like those in North 
Korea that want a page of Leviticus and are prizing it. Don't walk 
as fools. Don't say you're God's child 
and neglect His Word. Don't say you're God's child. 
Hear the word of Christ and then build your house on the sand. 
You see, Paul was serious here. We just run through it. Don't 
walk, not as fools, but as wise. Just run right through that. 
Wait a minute. What's it mean to walk as a fool? Well, it could 
possibly mean how I walk a whole lot of the time. In neglect of 
His Word. In neglect of Jesus Christ. In 
neglect of His light and of His lamp for my path. Paul's caution 
is very real to each and every one of us. He tells us in this 
walking in wisdom, we are to redeem the time because the days 
are evil. We are to redeem the time. Walking in wisdom will be manifested 
through our making the most of every opportunity. We are to 
walk in love, we are to walk in light, and we are to walk 
in wisdom. Buying up the time, that word 
redemption. We're to buy it up. We're to 
pay something. We're to sacrifice something. 
We're to neglect ourselves for the right use of time. We are to redeem it. Jonathan Edwards said this, because 
a happy or miserable eternity depends on the good or ill improvement 
of time. Man, I don't think we think this 
way. I really don't. We look at, wow, time, I got 
a lot of time. Do you have a lot of time? Do you really have a lot of time? 
Are you properly using the time that has been allocated to you? 
Are you redeeming it? Are you buying it up? Are you 
seeking only, only freshly ends, or are you trafficking in spiritual 
truth? We are to redeem the time. And then notice what he says, 
the implication here, verse 17. Therefore, do not be unwise. Boy, but understand what the 
will of the Lord is. There it is again. Read the Bible. Isn't Christianity great? We 
don't have to shuffle a deck of cards and have some professional 
tell us what the cards say. We don't have to go to a specific 
priest in order to tell us what the cards say. We don't have 
to go to a system, a cult, some guru to tell us what the will 
of the Lord is. Every single one in this room 
right now has access to the will of God. Has access to the very 
mind of God. You never sit back and scratch 
your head and say, I wonder what makes God tick? Oh yeah, he's 
explained it to you in 66 books called the Bible. You see what 
Paul is saying here. You need to walk wisely. Because the Bible information 
and the data that you possess must be put into practice. We must apply the knowledge of 
God. We must put it into action. We must demonstrate that we genuinely 
are the children of God. By our fruits they will be able 
to identify us. And it's in this context that 
Paul then goes on to say that we are to be filled with the 
Spirit. You see, being filled with the 
Spirit is a legitimate outflow of the Christian life. When you 
walk in love, when you walk in light, when you walk in wisdom, 
there can be that general expectancy of filling by the Spirit. And the filling by the Spirit, 
as we explained before, is not manifested through tongue speaking, 
it is manifested in corporate worship. It is manifested in 
a thankful disposition. It is manifested in the way that 
we speak to one another. It is manifested in the way that 
we submit to one another in the fear of the Lord. You see, that, 
in a nutshell, is our responsibilities as adopted sons and daughters 
of God Most High. Walk in love, walk in light, 
walk in wisdom. And I want to end by observing 
one particular section of verse 16, when he says, redeeming the 
time because the days are evil. What does he mean, because the 
days are evil? Is that unique to the time of 
the Ephesian Christians? Or is there some special application 
of this in our time as well? Should we be redeeming the time 
because the days are evil also? Well, how do we even understand 
the days are evil? I think there's two thoughts 
suggested by this phrase. The first is because there is 
a lack of Christian influence. You need to redeem the time, 
you need to walk in wisdom, walk in light, and walk in love, because 
the days are evil. There's not a lot of Christians, 
so it could be particularly fitting for the Ephesians in this time. 
Christianity was a relatively new movement. It had not penetrated 
the entirety of the Roman Empire. there were not a lot of Christians. 
So therefore, you as God's people need to redeem the time and walk 
in the manner prescribed so that or because of the fact that the 
days are evil. In other words, these are great 
times to be a Christian. These are wonderful and opportunistic 
times to be Christ's. You can make a great deal of 
impact when you live in a pagan society. And I think sometimes 
as Christians, when we see the paganism, we see the pluralism, 
and we see the competition, we shrink back and we say, oh man, 
what's going to happen? Forgetting the fact that we possess 
a nuclear arsenal. Right? All those other people 
bring a pea shooter to the fight. We've got intercontinental ballistic 
missiles. And we're afraid? The days are 
evil, brethren, the prevalence of false doctrine, the prevalence 
of heresy, the prevalence of false religion, the fast increase 
of Islam. All these things are opportunities 
for the Christian to walk in such a manner so as to make impact 
in this world. If we brought a peashooter to 
a gunfight, certainly we should be afraid. But we're bringing 
a gunfight to a peashooter fight. We're not charging hell with 
a squirt gun. Hell has been defeated decisively 
by our Savior at Calvary's cross. And because the days are evil, 
we're to redeem the time. We're to buy up opportunities. 
We're to seek to make an impact. We're to seek to witness and 
be a testimony. We're to shine as lights in a 
crooked and perverse generation, holding forth the Word of Truth, 
so that we can see the Kingdom of Jesus advance. But a second thought, I believe, 
is suggested here, redeeming the time because the days are 
evil. What happens when the days are 
evil? What happens when there's not 
a lot of Christian influence? What happens when there is a 
lot of paganism? When the media promotes sodomy? When abortion is wholesale? When godlessness is rampant? Now, we don't always exercise 
the type of influence upon our society that we ought. Very often, society exercises 
an influence upon us. And because the days are evil, 
there's a lot of temptation out there. I mean, so much so, can 
you imagine Owen or Sturgeon or any of our brothers walking 
into the grocery store today? I mean, just the magazines at 
the newsstand show more flesh than those brothers probably 
saw in their entire lives. What happens? The days are evil, 
the temptation is real, and if we're not buying up the opportunities 
to walk in wisdom, light, and love, we're going to get sucked 
in. If we are not exercising influence 
on our culture, we will be exercised upon by that culture. And you see, Paul's words are 
uniquely fitted for the Ephesian context, for the medieval dates, 
for the Reformation period, for the Puritan era, for Spurgeon's 
day, and for our day. The prevalence of temptation 
is a reality. And we as Christians need to 
strategically march through this world, buying up opportunities 
so that we don't succumb to those things. That's what I think Paul 
is getting at. Those two things. Lack of Christian 
influence. Go out and affect society. The 
prevalence of temptation. Go out and protect yourself. Redeem the opportunities, buy 
them up, because as Edward says, a happy or miserable eternity 
depends on the good or ill improvement of time. May the Lord guide us 
and direct us as His sons and daughters in 2009, and may He 
grant us the grace to walk in love, to walk in light, and to 
walk in wisdom. Let us pray. Father, we thank 
You for Your Word, and we pray that You would help us to apply 
these things in our local church, help us to apply these things 
in our family situations, help us, Lord God, to apply these 
things in society at large. We pray for all of Your churches, 
God, that we would take these things seriously. Lord, I pray, 
forgive me that I don't always value these things as I ought. 
Forgive my brothers and sisters, and cleanse us all in the blood 
of Jesus Christ, and help us, Lord God, to order our lives 
according to Your Word. finding out what is acceptable 
to you, being students of the scripture, being those who memorize 
your word, who hide it in our hearts that we might not sin 
against you. And I pray that you would go with each one of 
us now. We pray, Lord God, that you would do good to your people. 
Watch over and protect each one. And we pray through Christ our 
Lord. Amen.