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welcome to everyone it's good to be back in the house of our God you can turn with me in your Bibles to saw Psalm 24 for our call to worship this evening psalm 24. Psalm 24 beginning in verse 1 a Psalm of David the Earth is the Lord's and all its fullness the world and those who dwell therein for he has founded it upon the Seas and established it upon the waters who may Ascend into the hill of the Lord or who may stand in his holy place he who has Clean Hands and a pure heart who has not lifted up his soul to an idol nor sworn deceitfully he shall receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the god of his salvation this is Jacob the generation of those who seek Him who seek your face say law lift up your heads o you Gates and be lifted up you Everlasting doors and the king of glory shall come in who is this king of glory the lord strong and mighty the Lord Mighty in battle lift up your heads o you Gates lift up you Everlasting doors and the king of glory shall come in who is this king of glory the lord of hosts he is the king of glory Salah well you can turn in your hymn books to number 253 hymn number 253 will stand as we sing together [Music] foreign well let us pray our blessed God and Father we thank you for that wonderful hymn we thank you for the reality that you have revealed yourself in the created order as the psalmist said the heavens declare your righteousness Your Glory Your Majesty we see your power displayed clearly in what you have made as well we see your glory revealed in Providence we know there is no sort of untethered events there's no Randomness there is no chance or fate we know that our God is in heaven and he does whatever he pleases that you work out your counsel according to your your purpose and plan as well we see that power and that glory and that wisdom and goodness displayed in Redemption and we praise you for the Lord's Day by which we gather together and celebrate the fact that Jesus Christ came into this world Sinners to save we rejoice in the word made flesh the word dwelt among us and they beheld his glory the glory as of the only begotten of the father full of grace and truth we thank you for that life of obedience and that death at Calvary and that Resurrection again the third day and we thank you for including us in this plan we know it wasn't because of our works or our wisdom or our law keeping but it was solely and alone grounded in your Sovereign choice in election and predestination as Paul celebrates or rehearses in in Ephesians chapter one and God we thank you and we praise you father Son and Holy Spirit for so great a Salvation and tonight as we sing and as we pray and as we turn our attention to the holy scriptures may we worship you in spirit and in truth we confess our sins we know that we are called especially in our in the passage that we're looking at to let our conduct be worthy of the gospel and we pray that you would forgive us for that remaining corruption cleanse Us afresh in that precious blood of the lamb and we stand amazed that through the blood of Jesus Christ your son all our sins are forgiven and as this the psalmist said that thou mayest be feared and May it promote in our hearts that reverence for you and that honor that is due towards you and that that gratitude that we should Express on a on a daily constant basis in light of what you have done in terms of our sin as well God we pray for any and all who are here tonight that are still dead in their trespasses and sins we don't appeal to them and their free will but we appeal to you and your free Grace and we pray that you'd Open Hearts and cause Sinners to hear the truth as it is in Jesus and by Grace may they believe on him and may they know that Joy of being found in him we ask God that you would bless this church all of the people that stand and need physically we know there are several Among Us that have ongoing physical challenges and trials we just commend them to you into the word of your grace and pray that you would look with favor upon them and Grant them that help and strength to persevere in the midst of these trials as well for all of us we have that the the spiritual difficulties and The Temptations associated with life and all in world we have that that need to persevere we have that need to stand fast to fight and to pray and to continually look unto the Lord Jesus Christ as we run this race so God help us and encourage our weary hearts and build us up in our Most Holy Faith and cause us to find great refreshment and great encouragement from your holy scriptures we pray for your blessing upon other churches in our community we thank you for the free Reformed Church we just pray for your blessing there we pray for pastor coopman that this brother would continue to be faithful in the ministry of the word we also pray for our brother Tim champ we thank you for him and for that church and pray that they would know The Nearness of God as their good and for other churches here in this city God may you give them boldness and courage and strength to continually set forth Christ in all of his offices as Prophet priest and king and the one alone in whom there is salvation and God bless the church in Surrey and in Armstrong be with the Brethren and Dryden and we pray that you would just assist and guide and Aid them in establishing a faithful Beach at in that community and Lord bless the Brethren and the churches in Honduras we thank you for John and Milena we thank you for the pastors that are laboring in the word and Doctrine there we thank you for this recent medical clinic that they held and the opportunity to to share the truth and to pass out tracks and to witness and testify and we pray God that there would be lasting fruit from that and thank you that they were able to serve their fellow man in a way that is very tangible in terms of medical need and God bless the persecuted church we know that we are reminded on Wednesday nights and on Sunday mornings of the the suffering of the people of God throughout this world and on the one hand it is discouraging to see their ill treatment but on the other hand it is encouraging to know the gospel is going forth and that Christ most high is a threat to civil government that Christ most high is is is is is building his church in the gates of Hades cannot Prevail against it and we know in the Bible in the book of Acts we see in thessalonica that the the Believers there were persecuted because they preached another king even Jesus Christ the lord and may that be the case Even in our own generation may we Proclaim The Sovereign rights and the crown rights of our blessed savior as he is in the process of building his church and as well God we pray for the Civil Authority for those who are in high places of civil leadership we just pray God that you would be merciful to the body politic here we do live in days that they call good evil and evil good and it is wearing on the one hand but we pray that in the midst of that we would shine as lights and this crooked and perverse generation and that we would hold forth your word of Truth and Grant repentance and Faith to those in high places and we ask these things through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen we can turn with me again in your hymn books to number 244 244 will stand as we sing together [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] my face [Music] thank you [Music] forever [Music] everything is foreign [Music] before Christ [Music] you can turn in your bottles to numbers 31 for our scripture reading this evening numbers 31. ah and I'll begin reading in verse 1. and the Lord spoke to Moses saying take Vengeance on the midianites for the children of Israel afterwards you shall be gathered to your people so Moses spoke to the people saying arm some of yourselves for war and let them go against the midianites to take Vengeance for the Lord on Midian a thousand from each tribe of all the tribes of Israel you shall send to the war so there were recruited from the divisions of Israel one thousand from each tribe I'm sorry twelve thousand armed for war then Moses sent them to war one thousand from each tribe he sent them to war with Phineas the son of eliezar the priest with the Holy articles and the signal trumpets in his hand and they Ward against the midianites just as the Lord commanded Moses and they killed all the males they killed the king's imidian with the rest of those who were killed evil her and Reba the five Kings of Midian Balaam the son of bayor they also killed with the sword and the children of Israel took the women of Midian captive with their little ones and took as spoil all their cattle and their flocks and all their goods they also burned with fire all the cities where they dwelt and all their Forts and they took all the spoil and all the booty of man and Beast then they brought the captives the booty and the spoil to Moses to eliezar the priest and to the congregation of the children of Israel to the camp in the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho and Moses eliezar the priest and all the leaders of the congregation went to meet them outside the camp but Moses was angry with the officers of the army with the captains over thousands and captains over hundreds who had come from the battle and Moses said to them have you kept all the women alive look these women caused the children of Israel through the Council of Balaam to trespass against the Lord in the incident of peor and there was a plague among the congregation of the Lord now therefore kill every male among the little ones and kill every woman who has known a man intimately but keep alive for yourselves all the young girls who have not known a man intimately and as for you remain outside the camp seven days Whoever has killed any person and whoever has touched any slain purify yourselves and your captives on captives on the third day and on the seventh day purify every garment everything made of leather every woven everything woven of goats air and everything made of wood then eliezar the priest said to the men of War who had gone to the battle this is the ordinance of the law which the Lord commanded Moses only the gold the silver the bronze the iron the tin and the lead everything that can endure fire you shall put through the fire and it shall be clean and it shall be purified with the water of purification but all that cannot all that cannot endure fire you shall put through water and you shall wash your clothes on the seventh day and be clean and afterward you may come into the camp now the Lord spoke to Moses saying count up the plunder that was taken of man and Beast you and eliezar the priest and the chief fathers of the congregation and divide the plunder into two parts between those who took part in the war who went out to battle and all the congregation and Levy a tribute for the Lord on the men of War who went out to battle one of every 500 of the persons the cattle the donkeys and the Sheep take it from their half and give it to eliezar the priest as a heave offering to the Lord and from the children of Israel's half you shall take one of every fifty drawn from the persons the cattle the donkeys and the sheep from all the livestock and give them to the Levites who keep charge of the Tabernacle of the Lord so Moses and dollies are the priest did as the Lord commanded Moses the booty remaining from the plunder which the men of War had taken was 675 000 of sheep 72 000 cattle 61 000 donkeys and 32 000 persons in all of women who had not known a man intimately and the half the portion for those who had gone out to war was in number 337 500 sheep and the Lord's tribute of the sheep was 675. the cattle were thirty six thousand of which the Lord's tribute was 72. the donkeys were thirty thousand five hundred of which the Lord's tribute was 61. the persons were sixteen thousand of which the Lord's tribute was 32 persons so Moses gave the tribute which was the Lord's heave offering to Elias are the priest as the Lord commanded Moses and from the children of Israel's half which Moses separated from the men who fought and now the half belonging to the to the seven thousand sorry now the half belonging to the congregation was three hundred and thirty seven thousand five hundred sheep 36 000 cattle 30 500 donkeys and sixteen thousand persons and from the children of Israel's half Moses took one of every fifty drawn from man and Beast and gave them to the Levites who kept charge of the Tabernacle of the Lord as the Lord commanded Moses then the officers who were over thousands of the army the captains of thousands and captains of hundreds came near to Moses and they said to Moses your servants have taken account of the men of War who are under our Command and not a man of us is missing therefore we have brought an offering for the Lord what every man found of ornaments of gold armlets and bracelets and Signet rings and earrings and necklaces to make atonement for ourselves before the Lord so Moses and de liaison of the priest received the gold from them all the fashioned ornaments and all the gold of the offering that they offered to the Lord from the captains of thousands and captains of hundreds with sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shackles the men of War had taken spoil every man for himself and Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from the captains of thousands and of hundreds and brought it into the Tabernacle of meeting as a memorial for the children of Israel before the Lord amen well let us pray our gracious God and Holy Father as we gather together tonight we reflect upon this passage of scripture we reflect upon the obvious discontinuity between the old and the New Covenant and we praise you for what was Preparatory We Praise You For What served as a tutor we praise you that Christ came as the Telos as the purpose for which the law was given and we bless you for the Salvation that you have freely given to us and we bless you that you have made us uh partakers of every spiritual blessing in the Heavenly places in Christ Jesus we pray that you would continue with us that you would indeed encourage us that you would indeed strength in us and conform us further unto the image of your beloved Son and we pray in Jesus name amen well you can turn with me in your hymn books to Psalm 1. Psalm 1B as in bravo will stand as we sing together [Music] understand [Music] is [Applause] [Music] ourselves [Applause] [Music] don't know [Music] foreign [Music] you can turn in your Bibles to the book of Ephesians we're in Ephesians chapter 5 Ephesians 5 our section tonight will be verses 8 to 14. it is in a bit of a larger context in terms of sanctification and Holiness and the pursuit of those things that are pleasing to our God but it's intimately connected with verses three to seven but I want to read beginning in chapter 5 at 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 and offering 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 course 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 be 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 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 or 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 and 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 wives submit to your own husbands as to the Lord for the husband is had of the wife as also Christ is out of the church and he is the savior of the body therefore just as the church is subject to Christ so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything husbands love your wives just as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for her that he might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of Water by the word that he might present her to himself a glorious church not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing but that she should be holy and without blemish so husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies he who loves his wife loves himself for no one ever hated his own flesh but nourishes and cherishes it just as the Lord does the church for we are members of his body of his flesh and of his bones for this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife and the two shall become one flesh this is a great mystery but I speak concerning Christ in the church nevertheless that each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself and let the wife see that she respects her husband amen well let us pray Our Father in heaven we thank you for this your word we pray now for the guidance and the power of Holy Spirit as we seek to understand what the Apostle has for us as well God we pray that you would enable us by the power of the spirit and with a love for your law to do those things that are pleasing in your sight not so that we might be saved but because you have saved us freely by your grace and For Your Glory we thank you for the finished work of the Savior on our behalf we pray for cleansing now and that precious blood and we ask through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen well as we come to these practical sections in the apostles writings we need to understand that Paul is not lecturing Paul is not scolding and neither are pastors that preach these passages we're not here to say you know what you're messed up and this is what you need to do we never disconnect the Practical sections of Holy Scripture from the doctrinal sections remember Paul has been very explicit on how we've come to this place called salvation it is based on the Sovereign Grace of God according to Ephesians 1 3 and 4. it is based on the finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ Ephesians 1 and verses 6 and 7. it is based on the finished work of the holy spirit being that seal and guarantee of our of our purchased possession and it comes to us graciously the instrument is Faith by which we appropriate it but it's all of God and so the pattern in the New Testament the pattern especially in Paul's letters is do these things because God has saved you by his grace it's a bit different than well it's a world different than scolding people or lecturing people on how they ought to perform they ought to perform consistent with what God has done in terms of their life but again it's not lecturing and it's not scolding it's the imperative that follows on the indicative the indicative is the gospel it is what Christ has accomplished for us and on the heels of that we have these practical admonitions on how we're to live in fact Paul summarizes it well or sort of uh encompasses this idea in chapter four at verse one I therefore the prisoner of the Lord beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called he says in Philippians chapter one let your conduct be worthy of the Gospel in other words as conquered by Grace Sinners you're to live in a manner that is consistent with the Conqueror in other words your seek to be Godly and to imitate God as he says here in chapter 5 verse 1. so in the larger section verses 3 to 14. we see this transition from Darkness to light Paul has been speaking in the categories of the new man and the old man and that is not different but it's just another way to come at it now that he's speaking from this transition from Darkness to light so last time we saw the description of the Deeds of darkness in verses 3 to 7. you had the prohibition of the sins of the Flesh in verses three and four notice but fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness let it not even be named among you as is fitting for Saints those are actions that the blood-bought child of God is to resist those are actions that the blood-bought child of God is not to walk at he's not to be a fornicator he's not to be the the kind of person that engages in uncleanness he's not to engage in this sort of sexual covetousness or greediness as well he's supposed to tame his tongue notice in verse 4 neither filthiness nor foolish talking nor coarse jesting which are not fitting but rather giving of thanks these are all characteristic of those who are in darkness this is the orientation for those who walk in darkness and so Paul gives that prohibition then he shows the consequences associated with the sins of the Flesh in verse 5. 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 and then he gives this exhortation to resist the sins of the Flesh in verses six and seven well he carries on in that vein in verses 8 to 14. and essentially what he does is he gives an exhortation to walk in the light in verses 8 to 10 and then he gives a Prohibition against fellowship with darkness in verses 11 to 14. so walk in a particular way and avoid those things that would come into your path that are consistent with Darkness you need to be those who flee the darkness you need to be those who thrive in and have your walk in the light as it is in God most high so let's look at the exhortation to why Walk In The Light in verses 8 to 10. notice he begins with a reminder and this isn't the first time he's done this in this epistle notice what he says in verse 8 for you were once Darkness but now you are light in the Lord again you have to see that pattern he doesn't come out of the shoot here and say be holy walk in the light Don't Go Near The Darkness he reminds them of what's occurred he reminds them of the indicative he reminds them that they once were Darkness but now they are in the light and he does this because this is the basis upon which sanctification proceeds sanctification and Christianity isn't do this and earn this sanctification in Christianity is do this because Christ has purchased you he has given you free justification he has blessed you with every spiritual blessing so let your conduct be worthy of the Gospel but as we look at this reminder notice what he doesn't say he does not say you walked in darkness but he says you were Darkness the doctrine of total depravity is comprehensive it's not just a little problem that we face on this side of Heaven it's not just a little little bit off the the beaten path he doesn't say you walked in it but you were Darkness this characterized you this was your nature this is how you conducted yourself notice the previous references to that state back in Chapter 2 at verse 1 and you he made alive who are dead in trespasses and sins When anybody ever tries to minimize sin it gives evidence that they have no understanding whatsoever of who God is and of what his law says and what the New Testament Epistles declare to us unequivocally about the problem of sin when you look out at the world when you look in the at the church when you look at your own heart yeah we have a lot of problems times we might have economic problems we might have societal problems we might have problems with our civil government we might have problems from you know a whole host of things but what's ultimately the biggest problem the biggest problem in the world today is sin it's depravity it's Rebellion against God it's a it's a lawlessness relative to the decalogue it is a jettisoning of the the rule and law of God and it is every man doing what is right in his own eyes remember the Book of Judges that's kind of how the book ends I think the book ends as sort of a an epilogue but I think it describes what actually was the case before the judges so I think 17 to 21 in the Book of Judges in time in in terms of chronology are actually preceding chapters 1 to 16. now I don't want to confuse anybody here but I think the the overarching concern is mentioned by the author of Judges there was no king in Israel and everyone did what was right in his own eyes this autonomous autonomy in this Independence and this desire to to cast off the Fetters of God is not the sign of Liberation it's not the sign of a people that have evolved It's The Sign of degradation it is the sign of depravity it is the sign of our Rebellion against and are running from God and so when the Apostle treats this he pulls no punches he says in you he made a life who were dead in trespasses and sins in which you once walked according to the course of this world according to the prince of the power of the air the spirit who now works in the sons of Disobedience among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lust of our flesh fulfilling the desires of the Flesh and of the mind and War by Nature children of Wrath just as the others look at Chapter 4 verses 17 and 18 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 now notice how he describes them in verse 18 8. having their understanding darkened being alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them because of the blindness of their heart who being past feeling have given themselves over to lewdness to work all uncleanness with greediness sounds like the morning newspaper sounds like the opening page on whatever browser you have and whatever news agency you look at when you look at that sort of thing you are reminded of what Paul says here in terms of describing Humanity that is estranged from God Almighty you once were Darkness he says to the people of God in Ephesus but notice back in 5 8 but now you are light in the Lord but now you are light in the Lord again not the first time he's done that contrast so chapter 2 verses one to three here's the before picture but then verse 4 to 10 but God God who is rich in Grace God who is rich in Mercy with the great love wherewithal loved us made us alive together with Christ Jesus for by Grace you have been saved so there is this contrast he does the same thing with the Gentiles dropping down in Chapter 2 verses 11 to 14. here's what the Gentiles were prior to coming to the Lord Jesus Christ and even uses that language but now you who were afar off have have been brought nigh so this contrast by way of reminder is helpful for the people of God you should appreciate the argument here this is once what you once were these Deeds are associated with once you with what you once were you're not that anymore so Ergo don't do those deeds anymore it's pretty simple argument if fornication and uncleanness and covetousness are associated with darkness and you were once darkness and you did those things you stop doing those things now because you're no longer darkness and that's precisely the argument here in 4 8 for you were once Darkness but now you are light in the Lord the source of the believer's light is in the Lord as one commentator said they are not referred to as the light in essence but through participation who is the light well God the father is light according to First John 1 5 God the son is light according to John's gospel chapter 1 verses 4 to 9. as well chapter 8 verse 12 I am the light of the world chapter 9 verse 5. I am the light of the world yet not two lights one light one Divine Light so the believer participates in what God has done so if darkness is ultimately connected to sin and to Satan and we were that at one time we're no longer that at one time so now you're supposed to walk in the light and that's what he goes on to say for you were once Darkness but now now you are light in the Lord so the positive exhortation comes walk as children of light this is a wonderful statement in the context because he's dealing with walking you walk in love 5-2 you walk in light five eight and you walk in wisdom 5 15 and not all connected to for what that your walk is supposed to be worthy of the Gospel of your calling so you see the argument from the Apostle is based on the cross Jesus has saved you by grace through faith now this is the way you're supposed to conduct yourself in the former section he was using the category of new man and old man in this section he's using the category of darkness and of light so the emphasis on in the book on walking is the orientation of one's life the Old King James has it as conversation not necessarily bad but a bit Antiquated in terms of the way we understand conversation now and this is the manifestation of ones in limitation of the most high turn back to Matthew's gospel in Matthew chapter 5. Matthew Chapter 5 again we are not light by nature but we are light by participation our Union with Christ brings that light to bear in our hearts and enables us to function as light in a Godless world notice in Matthew 5 at verse 13. you are the salt of the earth but if the salt loses its flavor how shall it be seasoned it is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men you are the light of the world a city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket but on a lamp stand and it gives light to all who are in the house let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your father in Heaven see I don't think Jesus means go out and announce how great you are go tell everybody how lightful you are go tell everybody what an Illuminating person you are no do what you're supposed to do in a manner that when persons see it they don't go what a great guy they say wow he serves a great God let your light so shine that men may see your good works and give glory to God you know what the best way to Fumble on Good Works is it's to boast about them I'm so awesome I do so many good things I'm like that Pharisee in Luke's gospel in Luke Chapter 18. I thank you Lord that I'm not like other men I thank you Lord that I'm not an adulterer I'm not an extortioner I'm not like this public in here I I pray you know many times a week I fast I I give tithes I I do that's the best way to mess up your good works Brethren that's the best way to mitigate against it rather let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and give glory to God most high turn over to the book of Philippians the book of Philippians chapter 2. so notice what he says he says but now you are light in the Lord walk as children of light Philippians chapter 2 specifically at verse 14. the passage that probably should be preached on a semi-annual basis or semi-monthly basis in most churches today verse 14. do do all things without complaining and disputing that one hits hard doesn't it do all things without complaining and disputing or really Paul are you kidding me do you know how hard that is that is an imperative from God most high through his inspired Apostle do all things without complaining and disputing notice what he goes on to say that you may become blameless and harmless children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation among whom you shine as lights in the world holding fast the word of life so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I may not that I have not run in vain or labored in vain and then notice as well with reference to this same theme first Thessalonians chapter 5. so we are light in the Lord and therefore we are to walk as children of light notice in first Thessalonians 5 5 you are all sons of Light and Sons of the day we are not of the night nor of Darkness therefore let us not sleep as others do but let us watch and be sober and then notice in First Peter chapter 2 First Peter chapter 2 he says essentially the same thing verse 9 but you are a chosen generation a royal priesthood a holy nation his own special people that you may proclaim the Praises of him who called you out of Darkness Into His Marvelous Light who once were not a people but are now the people of God who had not obtained Mercy but now have obtained mercy so back to our passage in Ephesians 5 8 you want uh for you were once Darkness but now you are light in the Lord and then he says walk as children of light and then he explains that in a bit more detail specifically in verses 9 and 10 and notice what he says in verse 9 parenthetically he describes what it means to walk in the light he doesn't leave that up for the guesser well what does that mean you scratch your head and well it means to me he's not into that he's Paul doesn't have Bible studies where he asks you what does this text Mean To You Paul tells you what the text means Paul tells you what his emphasis is Paul does not leave us guessing and Paul obviously under the inspiration of the spirit Spirit uh the the the Lord God most high in the giving of his law does not leave it up to guess work well what should I do in terms of a pattern of sanctification I think I've told you behind the scenes in Ephesians five and six well four to six is the decalogue it's the Ten Commandments there's no new law brand new sort of a paradigm for the people of God no now that we're Blood Bought and now that we have the Holy Spirit we say with David oh how I love your law it is my meditation day and night the law of God's not bad the law of God is good if one uses it lawfully and in this context we use it as a pattern for sanctification that is a good use so notice how he describes light for the fruit of the spirit or there's a variant there for the fruit of the light is in all goodness righteousness and Truth the cultivation of these fruits is an imperative for us walk as children of light that means pursue goodness righteousness and Truth get it pretty simple argument this is what characterizes the darkness fornication uncleanness and covetousness avoid that and you can because you were once that but now you're not you've been called out of that Darkness into Marvelous Light so now the particular marching orders have changed instead of fornication and uncleanness and covetousness and that's just a representative brief list you can Encompass all other sin in there but in its scad or in its place this Triad of virtue is to characterize your walk in the light the goodness and righteousness and Truth the pursuit of goodness is that which is contrary to the deeds and words of verses 3 and 4. the pursuit of righteousness which is consistent with those who are justified by faith in Jesus Christ the pursuit of righteousness which is the consequence of having been justified by faith in Jesus Christ and the pursuit of Truth which is consistent with the Lord God of Truth so you see Paul does not leave it undefined here's what it looks like to walk in the light you're about goodness you're about righteousness and you're about truth one commentator sort of summarizes it this way goodness refers to the heart Justice or righteousness to one's action and Truth to the tongue so he says to pursue those fruits and in doing so as you're walking in the light notice what verse 10 says finding out what is acceptable to the Lord that's intriguing I think it's similar to what you see in Romans chapter 12. you can turn there Romans 12 specifically at verses one and two Romans chapter 1 12 verses 1 and 2. this is where Paul gets practical after having explained the doctrine of the Gospel in chapter 12 verse 1 he says I be beseech you therefore Brethren So based on all that I've said in terms of the universal depravity of all men justification by grace through faith in Jesus Christ all that I've said concerning imputation all that I've said concerning sanctification all that I've said concerning Sovereign election and predestination and God's grace now I've come to to apply this for those of you who are in Christ those of you who are the recipients of these blessings he says in 12 1 I beseech you therefore Brethren by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a Living Sacrifice holy acceptable to God which is your reasonable service makes sense right reasonable service you've been saved by grace Christ shed his blood for you Christ rose again for you Christ live for you it is reasonable for you to present yourselves or present your bodies as a Living Sacrifice notice in verse 2 and do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God so going back to chapter 5 specifically at verse 10 finding out what is acceptable to the Lord I don't think he means you're on this quest to peer into the mind of the infinite God and determine what it is that pleases him I don't think that's what it means at all fact drop down to verse 17. therefore do not be unwise but understand what the will of the Lord is finding out what is acceptable to the Lord understanding what the will of the Lord is simply means to know the Scriptures it means to know the truth of God's holy word it's not a mystical experience it's not an emotional experience it's not some sort of thing where you just sort of tune out and tune in and God will speak to you directly no you find out what is acceptable to the Lord by searching the holy scriptures isn't that the marching orders for the children of light if we are called all the walk in the light and to conduct ourselves in the light well there is a whole book designed on how to educate people in that particular Venture and so the Apostle says cultivate or pursue these fruits and discern what God's will is so that's the exhortation to walk in the light verses eight to ten then notice the prohibition against fellowship with darkness in verses 11 to 14. notice the specific command and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness makes perfect sense right it it it's so obvious what he's doing here I don't want you to keep fornicating I don't want you to keep engaged in uncleanness your new men in Christ Jesus the old man has died you're no longer in that Darkness but now you are the light you are children of the light in the Lord and therefore you're supposed to walk in the in the light you're supposed to pursue these fruits you're supposed to discern what the will of God Is by searching the scriptures and he says here have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness now Brethren as we compare scripture with scripture I don't think he means that we don't have friends who happen to be Sinners well I I can't have any non-Christian friends I mean they're they're Wicked they're horrible they're they're vile and detestable that's not what he means when we look at Second Corinthians chapter six we look at First Corinthians chapter 5 the emphasis is I think Warfield gets at it it's not association with the world that's condemned it is compromised with the worldly that's the point that the Apostle is highlighting in his various Epistles so so if your next-door neighbor is a pagan or a heathen you don't you know drive out and don't look at him because he he engages in the unfruitful works of darkness I I can't talk to you you know you're in the backyard watering and your neighbor's over there and he's hey how's it going I can't talk to you I can't have any fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness Brethren that is to take it too far that is absolutely positively not what we're enjoined upon here by Paul we're not to participate in it this is what Fellowship means it's participation in the works of darkness it's a very clear and obvious statement the idea is participation do not participate in the unfruitful works of darkness if we ask what are the unfruitful works of darkness well probably the sins condemned in verses three and four the sins that are opposed to goodness righteousness and Truth the sins that are exposed by the decalogue Romans 3 20 therefore by the Deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in his sight for by the law is the knowledge of sin if those things are contrary to the decalogue those are things we're not to participate in and then the sins that are contrary to the fellowship with God so back to the text verse 11 B is probably the tough part in this passage been pretty cut and dry thus far I know it's hot I know it's late I know the sleep is nigh but follow with me here because this exposed them thing is a bit difficult I don't know that I can explain it sufficiently I think I know what it's not I think there are extremes well let's just get it before us there in verse 12. uh verse 11 and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness but rather expose them but rather expose them now again I think if we put extremes on either side that doesn't mean we're going to exactly fall into the right path but hopefully we'll avoid the extremes there's a group called the Westboro Baptist Church and I think Topeka Kansas they would be on the far extreme of what I don't think Paul means at all and I don't even want to give you their website because he says it's shameful to talk about what they do and this is even secret it's their actual URL if you want to know later ask me I don't want to say it in front of the little kids because that'll provoke or evoke questions at home what what means this or what is that but there's a group Westboro Baptist Church again I'm not suggesting go look at everything they write and do and all that but I would suggest they go Hog Wild on this aspect of exposing the the wickedness but the other extreme is that we don't do this at all that we're just those mealy mouth limp wristed spineless jellyfish Christians that sort of prance around through life without ever being dogmatic on the sins of our age so so on the one hand don't be Westboro Baptist don't send them this sermon either because I don't want to fight or hear about it or get nasty emails or have them pick it outside our church because they do that's what they do they stand outside churches and cemeteries and wherever people that have any degree of Joy might gather and just try to Reign all over their parade so so please keep this away from them I I mean I guess I'd have to if you do it I'm not gonna I can't forbid you but but on the other hand this this mindset that I think is pretty symptomatic and much of Christianity Today We don't ever want us you know we don't ever want to hurt anybody's feelings we don't ever want to denounce sin I mean come on we're not in that business we're not we're not supposed to be that guy I mean look at Westboro Baptist Church well there's a far cry you know far expanse between Westboro Baptist Church and sort of a normal approach to whatever Paul means here in verse 11 rather it expose that now the verb that he uses here is a verb that's translated in various ways in the New Testament it can be translated rebuke it can be translated reprove it can be translated as convect here it's translated as exposed you kind of see how that semantic range or the meaning of the word does have all that that aspect to it and there is in scripture I think an emphasis on a two-fold approach there's the obvious verbal reproof the obvious verbal rebuke Matthew 18 if your brother sins against you go to him and if he hears you you've won your brother rebuke him reprove him for his sin in Luke 3 we read that that John the Baptist rebuked Herod because Herod had his brother's wife he did that verbally he did that audibly so that Herod would hear and so that Herod would repent as well you have second Timothy chapter four preach the word be ready in season and out of season convince rebuke exhort with all long-suffering and teaching so certainly there is an element wherein we expose the Deeds of darkness by verbal uh uh uh means but as not but as well turn to Acts 26. I think it's important for us wherever we fall in this continuum and I'm hoping that we don't fall to Westborough Baptist and I'm hoping we don't fall to the you know invertebrate that that doesn't have any Backbone in in terms of you know standing up to the sins of our particular age notice that it's not just to expose them to you know sort of beat up on that there is a remedial effect you expose them why why does the Baptist expose why does the Baptist rebuke why does the the Baptist reprove Herod well probably because the Baptist wants Herod to repent and believe the gospel so you see it's not just exposing them to expose them though in some context that's necessary as well if you haven't looked outside the church today and if you haven't looked inside some Churches today there's some problems going on there needs to be a bit of exposure there needs to be a bit of conviction there needs to be a bit of rebuke there needs to be a bit of proof but for a remedial land not just can spike the ball and say our church is better than your church no not at all we want all churches of Christ to be faithful we want sinners in this world that are for child mutilation to repent and believe the gospel we want sinners in this world that are for abortion on demand and euthanasia to repent believe the gospel we want politicians that see overreach and and tyranny as their their model government to repent and believe the gospel notice what Paul says in Acts 26 specifically at verse 17 he's giving his occur uh the account of his conversion and he says I will he's speaking of what Jesus communicated to him I will deliver you from the Jewish people as well as from the Gentiles to whom I now send you to open their eyes in order to turn them from Darkness to life and from the power of Satan to God that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are Sanctified by faith in me so you see even the this verbal approach does not have as its intention just to expose their wickedness just to convict them of their wickedness but to set the stage for the proclamation of the Gospel in other words Luther was right in other words the reformed tradition was right we need the law to expose The Sinner so that the sinner sees his need for the Savior It's a Wonderful Arrangement isn't it great that God's given a tool to show Sinners their need and then he has provided his son to remedy that particular need so the exposure comes verbally when we preach God's law but there's also a non-verbal reproof that can occur as well turn back to John's gospel in John chapter 3. John chapter 3. I don't know how prone any of us are to being this holy but you know at least there it's on the table notice in 319 in John's gospel and this is the condemnation now the primary referent is to Jesus of course this is the condemnation that the light has come into the world this is Jesus and Men loved Darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil for everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light lest his deeds should be exposed but he who does the truth comes to the light that his deeds may be clearly seen that they have been done in God so non-verbally if we just live the way God's called us to live if we're just faithful in terms of being light bearers then hopefully that has an ameliorating effect upon the Godless around us again it may be a a stretch but nevertheless it's there Philippians 2 shine as lights and a crooked and perverse generation holding forth the word of Truth and then one other text look at First Peter chapter two First Peter chapter 2 specifically at verse 15 for this is the will of God that by doing good not by standing with a picket sign outside of somebody's house telling them they're on their way to hell now if God leads you that way call me and let's talk and perhaps that's the way it is but perhaps it's not but notice what he says in verse 15 for this is the will of God that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish man so back to Ephesians 5 11 but rather expose that probably here you're going to say so what does it mean I don't know it can't mean the Westboro folk but it can't be in the spineless jellyfish folk either I would give at least a suggestion here I would suggest that the use of the law to expose the lawlessness in the world the use of the law to expose the lawlessness in the world now this is all qualified by Paul that there's wretched things going on on in the world is true and needs to be pointed out but the specifics behind that wretchedness doesn't belong in the Christian Pulpit I think that's what Paul goes on to say in verse 12 for it is shameful to even or even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret so generally speaking you've probably seen the great push on having drag queen story time in public libraries I doubt that means that they're that good of readers I don't think that's what's driving it I think it is perversion I think it is lawlessness and wickedness but to get into the specificity of what goes on in one of those things again you can read about it you can see it for yourself and other venues but in the Pulpit it's shameful to speak about those particular things so you see the general warning that kind of stuff is happening but to get into the specific details is not the task of the pulpit or the task of the preacher as well I would say the use of the law to expose the corruption in the church the use of the law to expose the corruption in the church and again brethren we have to take some long hard looks not just at the world but at the church as well where are we coming short are we passing or allowing the sorts of things that are going on unchecked in society into the church are we baptizing lawlessness and baptize using godlessness and baptizing those things that are contrary to to the light and then the use of the law ultimately to correct the people of God second Timothy 4 2 convince rebuke exhort with all long-suffering and teaching look at Titus 2 the verb is used there as well in Titus 2 15. Titus 2 15. after a very very powerful statement concerning the duties of people in the life of the church founded upon the theological basis of Christ and his Redemptive work notice what Paul says in 215 speak these things exhort and repeat rebuke with all authority let no one despise you now that verb despise it it's kind of misleading here let no one hate you no I don't think that's it it's more like let no one disregard you in other words preach the law of God preach the word of God with teeth that's the way it's supposed to be preached don't offer it up as suggestion questions the dacalog isn't 10 suggestions it's not 10 recommendations it's not 10 good ideas you shall not murder you shall not commit adultery you shall not steal you shall not have uh other gods you shall not make for yourself an idol those things are supposed to be preached in such a way that persons are not to disregard it in other words spiritually speaking shove it down their throats because it's the law of God most high so please forgive me if I can't explain what all that means in terms of expose I struggle with some of this stuff as well but hopefully these at least get us in the ballpark notice the explanation he speaks of the shame involved in verse 12. for the for it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret so the one hand exposed them but on the other hand don't expose every detail don't expose them in such a way that the people of God in the Church of God have their minds starting to be sort of lured away with reference to godlessness God you know wretchedness don't do that there's got to be a a a a balance there's got to be a qualifier here there's got to be a way that you can do it generally but not with the specificity so the exposure of such sins verse 11 must not be a detailed description of such sins and then notice this great encouragement and I think we need this encouragement in verse 13 because we look at this world we look at the rise of false religion we look at the rise of of atheism we look at the rise of Communism we look at the rise of of all this stuff that is anti-christian and we forget that Christ is on the throne that Christ is building his church that the gates of Haiti shall not Prevail against it that he must Reign till all of his enemies are made his footstool we forget that there are nations where lots of people are coming to the Savior just because we're not witnessing it in Canada just because we don't see it in our own neighborhood doesn't mean that the nations of the Earth are in the darkness they once were no the missionary Enterprise continues the Evangelistic Enterprise continues Christ is Victor Christ is triumphant Christ is building his church and I think that's the emphasis there in verse 13. you're going to win verse 13 but all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light for whatever makes manifest is light it's a blessed encouragement to the people of God so have no participation in these unfruitful works of darkness but rather expose them Shine the Light of God's law and gospel upon that shine the light of God's gospel law and gospel on a Godless world and on a Godless church and God most high will take care of the rest Christ is the one in charge we have the promise of the Triumph of Truth we have the promise of the subjugation of error we have the promise of the exposure of The unbelieving Sinner we have the promise ultimately of the victory of Christ that's how verse 13 functions so if you church are doing what you church are supposed to do in terms of exposing instead of participating you see those are contrast not only not participate but you should actually expose that and if you do that you have the sure promise of God most high that Christ Christ will take care of the rest we use the means we do what we're called to do and we trust in Jesus to bless and then this last bit assures us that it's Christ who is over this and this is an interesting statement in verse 14. some suggest that it's a Christian hymn others suggest that it's an Old Testament quotation the problem is is that there's no Old Testament quote that sounds exactly like that so which is it well the fact that he says in verse 14 therefore he says and that's an interpretative call he I think it's a reference to God it's not he the hymn writer of verse 14. it's he God this is kind of a formulaic phrase that's employed by Apostles to cite Old Testament scripture it's likely a conflation that means the bringing together of two or more texts into one compound statement and at least the commentators I read suggest two primarily but there may be be two more in the book of Isaiah but in Isaiah 60 at verse 1 it says arise Shine for your light has come and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you Isaiah 26 19 your dead shall live together with my dead body they shall arise awake and saying you who dwell in dust for your Dew is like the Dew of herbs and the Earth shall cast out the dead I think that's a pretty good guess if anything so how does it function in the context here well obviously it functions in terms of The Sinner it says to awake you who sleep so those who are you know asleep in their sin should be awakened by Christ in his grace arise from the dead again The Sinner needs to be Arisen from the dead and that comes as a result from Christ Christ will give you light or it just may refer to Sleepy Saints it may refer to those that that John or Christ deals with in Revelation through the Apostle John in Sardis it's kind of like the Night of the Living Dead you have a name but your dad there there can be those times in the Christian Life there can be those times in the Christian church there can be those periods in Christian history where it looks like the light is extinguished it looks like the people of God were asleep it looks like they weren't really alive it looks like they were dead so perhaps the Apostle is just rousing uh sleepy congregation to a more Earnest participation and light to a more Earnest walk in the light to a more Earnest desire to to expose the Deeds of Darkness to bring that law to Bear upon needy Sinners so that they might indeed see their need for it the glory of Jesus Christ so the call to sleepers to awake is the inconsistent Saint in his walk the call to the dead to arise is the inconsistent Saint in his responsibility to expose the unfruitful works of darkness because if we're not doing that it's no better than being dead men and women still in that Darkness and then the reminder that it's Christ ultimately who gives light which is a great encouragement Christ will give you light if you have fallen into this malaise if you have fallen into this trap if you have fallen into this laziness if you have become apathetic if you have become sort of unengaged or disengaged from the the context around you understand that Christ is in the business of giving you light Christ is in the business of sustaining you Christ is in the business of encouraging you and Christ is in the business of causing you to persevere by his grace and for his glory well in conclusion don't miss the dynamic involved in our sanctification the relationship between the indicative what has happened or what is true in terms of the Cross and the imperative the cross enables compliance with the law it's not backwards it's not the law brings us to the cross the cross brings us to the law in terms of justification and then sanctification as a consequence the breach between the former self and the present self we see that in Chapter 4 verses 20 to 22. how did the old man die and how have we put on the new man it's not because we're good people it's because God is gracious and he chose us in him before the foundation of the world and it is because of grace through faith in Jesus Christ that we have everlasting life and then we have the rejection of the unfruitful works of darkness and the pursuit of the fruit of the light goodness righteousness and Truth those are the things that are to characterize the people of God who have been blood bought by Jesus Christ and if you're not a part of the people of God tonight the answer is not I'm going to go be good I'm going to go pursue righteousness and I'm going to love truth that's consequential I'm not suggesting you should go out and be bad and to unrighteousness and hate the truth but I am suggesting your first stop ought to be Jesus your first stop ought to be looking unto the Lord Jesus Christ in faith it is that which brings everlasting life whoever believes in me will not perish our lord Jesus said well let us close in a word of Prayer Our God and our father we thank you for your word we thank you for this section in Ephesians 5 and we thank you for the very practical admonitions that we find here you don't leave it up to us to try and figure out what the light looks like but you define it very clearly goodness and righteousness and Truth help us to pursue those things and to cultivate those things forgive us when we sin and cleanse Us afresh in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and help us God to glorify and to honor you and we pray through Jesus Christ the Lord amen we'll close with a brief time of meditation