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In this sermon, Pastor Aaron Shamp discusses the theme of distinctiveness from the world based on Ephesians 5. He emphasizes that after accepting Christ, there is more to the Christian life than just receiving forgiveness and going to heaven. God has a calling and a plan for each believer. Pastor Aaron highlights the importance of living in the light and not participating in the fruitless works of darkness. He encourages believers to expose the darkness and walk in wisdom, understanding God's will and redeeming the time. The ultimate goal is to be transformed by the gospel and live out our new identity in Christ.
Takeaways
Takeaways
- After accepting Christ, there is more to the Christian life than just receiving forgiveness and going to heaven. God has a calling and a plan for each believer.
- Believers are called to live in the light and not participate in the fruitless works of darkness. This includes exposing the darkness and walking in wisdom.
- Walking in wisdom means understanding God's will and redeeming the time. It involves being aware of our unique situations and opportunities and making choices that bring us closer to Christ.
- The ultimate goal is to be transformed by the gospel and live out our new identity in Christ, being distinct from the world for the sake of God's glory and the salvation of others.
Creators & Guests
What is Redeemer City Church - Lafayette, LA?
Pastor Aaron Shamp preaches about the Gospel and facets of Christianity at Redeemer City Church. These podcasts are his sermons.
Aaron Shamp (00:01)
for know and recognize this, every sexually immoral or impure or greedy person who is an idolater does not have an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty arguments for God's wrath is coming on the disobedient because of these things. Therefore,
do not become their partners. For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of the light. For the fruit of the light consists of all goodness, righteousness, and truth. Testing what is pleasing to the Lord. Don't participate in the fruitless works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what is done by them in secret.
Everything exposed by the light is made visible. For what makes everything visible is light. Therefore it is said, get up sleeper and rise up from the dead and Christ will shine on you. Pay careful attention then to how you live. Not as unwise people, but as wise, making the most of the time because the days are evil. So don't be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is.
and we're gonna finish there. I should have said 17 and said 18. All right, so that's where we're picking up with verse 18 next week. So sorry, my verses are just all over the place the last couple of weeks, but that's where we're stopping. So in this series, we are looking at Paul's big message in Ephesians. The first half of Ephesians chapters one through three is Paul talking about the gospel, how God in Christ has saved us from our sin, how he has redeemed us from our slavery to death, right, and how he has reconciled us.
the world and his church to himself. That's chapters one through three. But then there's chapters four, five, and six, okay? But we already have this incredible, one of the best and most succinct explanations of the gospel in chapters one through three, but then he keeps going for another three chapters. Well, what's the point? What's he talking about there? In other words, let me put it to you this way. You become a Christian.
You accept Christ as your Savior. He saves you from your sins. Your debt is paid for. The guilt before God that you had is atoned for. And now you know that on the other side of death, you have a life with God in heaven one day, right? Hallelujah. All right, but what now?
in the present. I was talking to a friend this week and we were talking about how, let's say that you become a Christian at 15 years old, right? And the average lifespan is 70 to 80, so you live to, let's just say 83, right? You become a Christian at 15 and then you still have many more years of life until 83. What after that? Is the whole point of the Christian life just to receive that stamp of...
forgiven and gonna go to heaven one day, right? Like that's wonderful. It's certainly not less than that. But then is there more that comes after that? Does the Lord intend, desire more for you after your salvation? Does he have a calling for you after that? So go back to Ephesians. Paul describes the gospel, how we are saved from our sin.
And he keeps going for three chapters. Why? Because God has a calling for you. God has a calling for you. He has a plan for you. He has things that he desires to do for you, even after you become a Christian. Once you receive the gospel, that's not the end of what it means to be a Christian. And then after that, you go to church whenever you can, right? You try to live a moral life. No, God has a calling for you. The gospel, we accept it in our heart. It saves us from our sins. We are justified, though we are still a sinner.
but we are justified before God. But now we have this lifelong process of transformation, of change that comes, of us receiving the calling that God has on our life.
discerning the opportunities that he has for us to live out that calling and then following that calling, embracing those opportunities as he continues to work in us and we join in with the work that he has called us to. This is why Paul goes on after explaining the gospel, because the gospel, yes, it saves us, but then it continues to transform us. It continues to invite us into what God is doing.
Pastors and missionaries are not the only people that God has a plan for, that he has a calling on. He has a calling and a plan for all of us. Remember who Ephesians was written to? Do you know who it was written to? You might say Ephesians, yes, okay. People who lived in Ephesus. But this wasn't a letter to seminarians. It wasn't a letter to theologians. It was a letter to people just like you. Just average people, normal people.
Right? It was written to just, it was written to a church of, where just like at Redeemer or any other church, there's a variety of people, a variety of ages, a variety of backgrounds, a variety of education levels, of trades, of careers, and of skills, and so on. That's who this letter was written to. People just like you and me.
And so what we want to see in this series is how the gospel, once we receive it, transforms our life and actually makes us different, distinct from the world. And that's our theme today is distinctiveness from the world. And what Paul talks about here in this section of Ephesians chapter five, I think it'd be great one day to be able to come back.
to kind of the end of chapter four and early chapter five and do a whole series in very close detail on all these passages. But like I said, for now, we're just looking at them in more of a big picture kind of survey format. And so today we're going to see how Paul explains to us how we are called by God if we are in Christ to be distinct from the world. So we're going to look at the fruitlessness of darkness or what is the result of being in darkness. And then we're going to look at the fruit of the
light because Paul contrasts darkness with light, the fruitlessness of darkness with the fruit of the light, and then come down to his application of this which is about walking and wisdom. So let's begin with the fruitlessness of darkness.
This is where Paul begins in this passage and he is driving us home because Paul knows how easy it is for us. Not just today, but for them back then. Paul knows how easy it is for us to fall into the deceitful illusion of the world. Whenever we live in the world, we inevitably live in a place that has a culture, that has art and literature and ruling authorities, that has business and so on. And there's going to be,
And as you live in that culture, it's going to be very easy to fall into whatever is seen as like, this is the norm in our culture. This is what is lifted up as good. This is what is lifted up as right. And all these things are very normal, right? It's kind of like being a fish in a fish bowl. You...
begin to not really see what's around you because you don't know anything differently, right? Now, Paul recognizes this, that for us here, not just in an advanced modern world with digital media, with 24 -7 media, with all the global interconnectedness that we have, but not just for us, but for them back then, they would have lived in a similar situation where it would have been very easy for them as Christians with a new and with a different set of values, a different worldview,
a different lifestyle than the world around them, how even for them it would have been easy to be deceited and to fall into the illusion of the culture around them that actually maybe the difference isn't all that great between our values and the world's values or our lifestyle and their lifestyle. Maybe that different lifestyle, one which is sinful, that is lifted up by the culture around them isn't all that bad.
Or maybe we can synthesize the values of the culture with the values of Christ together. Paul recognizes that that was a possibility for them just as it is for us, which is why he begins by saying, know this. He's speaking of something that we need to have a firm grasp on in our mind, something that we hold onto. He's talking about true knowledge. He says, know this, right?
in contrast to being ignorant of it or forgetting it, know this and recognize this. What does he want us to know? He doesn't want us to fall into the illusion. He wants us to know that sin brings exclusion from the kingdom of God as well as holy wrath. This is what he wants us to know. He says, know this.
Every sexual immoral or impure or greedy person who is an idolater does not have an inheritance. He's not picking out those three things because those are the only three things. He's just grabbing three examples, right? Any sin is true, any sin that we would insert, any example of breaking God's law that we can insert into this passage, it would be as true. He's just picking out those three as examples. Not just the sexual immoral, but also the greedy, right?
all of us are somewhere in there. That covers everyone. The point is, he says, is excluded from that inheritance of the kingdom of God and will have God's holy wrath come upon them.
In verse six, he says, let no one deceive you with empty arguments for God's wrath is coming on the disobedience. Do not be deceived. He says, no. And remember this, there will be punishment. There will be condemnation. There will be wrath for the disobedient, for the idolaters.
Idolatry is Paul's definition of not just the greedy, but it is a definition for the impure that he describes as well as the sexually immoral. The idolater, or what is idolatry, is something that can be applied to all sin. And so any form of idolatry, whether it is greed and covetousness, whether it is sexual immorality, whether it is anything else,
falls into this category and it is true for that as well. That it will be excluded from the kingdom of God and receive God's wrath. Whenever Paul talks about God's wrath, he's not describing a divine temper tantrum.
God does not lose control of his emotions and blow off some steam by condemning sinners. It's not that God has patience and he reaches a certain level where he says, that's enough. And he goes crazy and he throws people into hell. That is not what Paul means when he talks about God's wrath coming upon the disobedient. We might read that and put in.
images in our mind from experience we've had or things we've witnessed that looks like wrath and say, well, you know, I saw this family member or I saw that coach or I saw that boss express something that looked like wrath. Is that what God's wrath is like? That's not what he's talking about. It's not a divine temper tantrum. This is a judicial punishment that God gives as the consequence for breaking his law. That's what's being described here.
in chapter five. So whenever we participate in works of darkness and on righteousness and idolatry, what does it bring about? Is it possible that it can bring about a good life? Is it possible that it can bring about a blessing, harmony, peace, true love even? Paul says, no, do not be deceived. No matter what the world tells you,
about their values that are in antithesis to the scripture. The result, the fruit, if you can call it fruit, is exclusion from the kingdom and wrath. So our point is this, the works of darkness only bring the fruit of condemnation.
in a sense, because this fruit is such a negative. Paul describes it later on when he contrasted it with the fruit of righteousness as fruitlessness, because it is such a negation. But he further drives us home. And I want to make sure that we drive it home as well, because of the cultural moment that we live in, that he drives it home that the world will use empty arguments to try to deceive you. The world will use empty arguments such as, well, if it doesn't harm anyone else, or what does it mean to you if,
someone does this or that in the privacy of their own homes or or you know it's just differences of opinion or you know people across the world have different religious beliefs than you how do you know that yours is the right one it's it's a judgmental to say that you know right or better than anyone else the world will use empty arguments such as these and others to try to deceive you they will use manipulation through media through movies through TV through through politics through power to try to deceive you and to say
well maybe the antithesis isn't that great and we can synthesize them. Maybe we can say well perhaps love is different than what we thought it was.
What is the truth? We need to have a grasp on the truth. In Romans 6, 23, Paul says, the wages, right, what is earned, the wages of sin is death.
Why can we not just sit quietly by and let the world do what the world wants to do? Let people do what they want to do, live their own lives and we will live ours in the quietness of our own homes. Because it is not loving to allow our neighbors to continue in lifestyles and in deceit that will end in death.
that is not love, no matter what the world tells you.
Jesus said that summarizing all of the law is to love God. Jesus defines what love means in that statement. Love is obeying God.
And if we treat anyone, whether it's a family member, whether it is our neighbors, whether it's our coworkers or our engagement with the culture in any way that does not uphold God's will and remain true to God's values, we are not loving them.
We are instead allowing them to receive the wages of their sin, which is death.
Paul says very clearly, don't be deceived. And the point of not being deceived is so that, he says in verse seven, so that you will not participate. The application of this is do not participate with them. In other translations, it says do not associate.
We're going to come back to that and towards the end of this, but it's making a strong statement of what it means here. It's not saying that we can participate to a certain point. It's saying do not participate. Do not participate in these works.
because we will then be by participating, partaking in breaking God's law, going against His will, which as our new identity in Christ, we cannot do, it's not an option, but furthermore, we will not be loving them. We cannot deceive ourselves into thinking that in order to be a better witness to them, we have to participate a little. It's not.
That is not love. That is not an effective mission that glorifies God by participating a little in order to try to win something. Paul's making a strong statement on the separation that the Christian should have from the works of the world.
I said I was gonna get to this later, but maybe I'll just go ahead and do it here. He's not saying that we can separate from the world. We still live in the world. We still live in it. We work in the world. We live in neighborhoods that are filled with believers and non -believers. He's not saying to completely separate to the point of where we're living in communes, where we are only doing business with Christians and so on.
He is talking about the works of darkness. We continue to be in the world, to live next to those who do not know Christ, do not glorify Him, do not obey God, but we are not to participate in the works of darkness, right?
So that's why I appreciate that this translation says do not participate rather than do not associate. I understand why other translations say do not associate because they're trying to get across how strongly Paul is stating this, but it is better to say do not participate, okay? Because first of all, it does not glorify God for us to completely withdraw. Like I said, that is not loving to our neighbor. Christ did not withdraw, but he came into the world. Hallelujah, praise God.
He came into the world and yet he did not participate in the darkness. We're called to do the same. We cannot separate because it's not glorifying God and we cannot separate because we love our neighbors, our family members and our friends who are not in Christ. And so we remain in the world and we remain in relationship with them without participating in darkness so that we might shed light.
So then we get into the light, the fruit of the light. Paul moves from talking about the darkness and what is the fruit of darkness and contrasting this with who we are now. He says, we were once darkness. Notice he doesn't say in, he says, you were once darkness. Not just in darkness, but were darkness. We had a nature of darkness.
We had a nature that was in a heart that was completely opposed to God and opposed to the light, to the love of God. That's who we all once were. But he says it in passive tense, you were. But now you are light. Similarly, he doesn't say in the light.
There's other places in the New Testament where it says that and that's appropriate, but Paul is driving home here our new identity, our new nature, the radical transformation and change that has been brought about in the gospel. So much so that we are not just moved like from one box into another, but that we as a creature were transformed. It's like being changed from a serpent into a stallion.
is the change that has happened in you. You were once darkness and now you are light. Remember who I say he's talking about. He's not writing his letter to saints and to theologians or missionaries or martyrs. He is writing it to people just like us in here.
He's saying you were darkness, but now you are light. He's driving home here the contrast between us and the world to explain why we cannot participate and to show us why we have to follow our calling because we have been completely changed. We are now who once were darkness are light. And so therefore as light, and he goes further to say, as children of light, we have a new life that God has called us into. One where we do not exhibit
the works of idolatry, but instead all goodness, he says. Isn't that incredible? He says all goodness. That means that when we read the New Testament, when we read the old, when we read anything that God calls good, when we read anything that shows his will, whether it's the Beatitudes, whether it's the law, every single one of us is called and is expected to fulfill all goodness.
That means, you know, we can't read the Beatitudes and just pick out one of those Beatitudes that we're gonna live out. We can't read the fruit of the Spirit and say, I think this is the fruit of the Spirit that I'm gonna really live out because the others I'm not so good at. Paul says, as children of the light, we live out all goodness. Isn't that amazing? I'm not trying to puff you up, but I'm trying to tell you, you can aspire to greater things in the Lord.
that you can read the Beatitudes and you can fulfill all goodness that's explained in the Beatitudes, that all of the fruits of the Holy Spirit, all of the fruits of the Spirit can be true and present in you, even you. Our behavior, therefore, should align with our transformed nature in our new identity in Christ. Otherwise, we are not living out what God has done in us. It's so important to keep this order in mind.
just like the order of Ephesians. Paul doesn't begin Ephesians with all of the explanations of here you're how to live and then go to and here's how you were saved. He says, here's how you were lived, I'm sorry, here's how you were saved and then here's how you live. That order is important. You are saved, you are transformed and then it changes your living. You do not change your living so that you might be saved. You do not change your behaviors so that you then might be accepted by God. You are accepted by God.
and then that changes the way you live. He transforms your nature.
He brings you out of darkness into light. He changes your heart. He takes out the heart of stone and he gives you a heart of flesh. It says, he takes out the heart that was completely opposed to him. And with his spirit, he gives us a new heart where his name and his law is written upon it. That means the deadness inside of us is removed and now life is put within us, a life that is capable of knowing and of loving and of pleasing God. That's what the Lord does in you.
and then it changes you. That order is so important because we cannot start to think that our having been transformed, God's love for us, our identity in Christ is in any way dependent upon our behaviors or what we can accomplish. Those are based upon the accomplishment of Jesus Christ and then we are changed and transformed. We are living out who we are in Christ.
So, our second point for today is that the fruit of the light is life, joy, and living in the truth. He says this in verse 9, for the fruit of the light consists of all goodness, righteousness, and truth. In verse 10, he continues, testing what is pleasing to the Lord.
testing there what he is describing. And it says in other translations is learning what it means or learning how to please the Lord. Just like children learn how to please and obey their parents, we as Christians, as we grow in the spirit, learn how to please God and what it means to please him.
So he drives home once again, don't participate. The fruit of the light, which is once again life, goodness, joy, living in the truth, is contrasted with the fruitlessness of darkness. There is life.
In the light, there's death in the darkness. There is joy in the light, there's agony in the darkness. There is truth in living in the light, but there is falsehood in the darkness. For this reason, in verse 11, Paul says, don't participate in the fruitless works of darkness, but instead expose them. That's my application for this point.
Don't participate in the fruitless works of darkness, instead expose them. We've already talked about how we cannot participate, but Paul goes even farther here to explain that as light in the world, not just being in the light, but being in light, as light in the world, we are called to not withdraw, but actually to expose the fruitless deeds of darkness. That's quite a calling. That's scary.
Because what that means is, is that whenever the powers of the world are against us, exposing their darkness might have consequences for us, might have ramifications, might make our life a little bit more inconvenient, might bring upon us some relational stresses and even worse consequences in certain scenarios. However, this is what we are called to.
We're not called to sit quietly by, as I said before, to withdraw and make our faith very private and behind the doors of our homes, but we are called to expose the darkness. Why is that? You see, because the deceitfulness of the world depends on that darkness being concealed. The world will always, and we can see this especially in our culture right now, the world will always conceal the true.
depravity of the works of darkness under a deceitful layer of respectability and of acceptability and of propaganda. And it is that covering, that concealment of the true depravity of darkness that enables the works of darkness to deceive people. Right?
Paul says that our presence in the world is intended to be like a light that shines and exposes the works of the darkness. He says that the works of the darkness are things which are so shameful that they shouldn't even be mentioned. However, though they are so shameful, they must be exposed so that people can see the true nature of the darkness and might in fact then turn to the light.
We don't expose the darkness out of some perverted exhibitionism. We expose the darkness so that darkness might be transformed into light. We expose the darkness so that we might possibly influence, reform, and even convert those who are caught up in that wrongdoing. We expose the darkness so that it might be transformed into light. This is why we are called. So Paul goes so far from saying, do not just.
not participate, he says, but exposed. How do you do that? What does it mean practically? Well, on a most basic level, it means live in congruence with the identity of who you are.
If you are living in congruence with that identity of who you are, and if you, so what that means is you're not allowing your light to be hidden under a basket, like Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount, but you're living in line with that, right? In other words, just being who you are, then that to a certain degree will expose the works of the darkness. I've used this example many times in my preaching over the years, so y 'all, some of y 'all probably recognize this, but have you ever,
Let's say, I'll use myself an example. I love athletics, but I'm not the most naturally athletic person. And so I can't just pick up a baseball and throw it great the first time. It's going to take me some practice. Same thing with basketball or anything else. So let's say I'm playing basketball, and I'm awful. I can barely dribble. I cannot do any tricks. And nine times out of 10, whenever I shoot it, I miss. So let's say me and LeBron James play a pickup game. Right?
LeBron James, just by being who he is as a super elite athlete, is going to expose how awful I am. Let's say that if you have ever been around someone who is just extraordinarily beautiful, right?
like just like movie star looks or whatever else it is, extraordinarily beautiful. You become really aware of the flaws that you have, right? Someone who is, I'll use myself again, someone who is really tall. Whenever I'm looking up at them, it reminds me of how short I am. Okay, similarly, if you were just living out who you are in Christ,
Just doing that is going to be exposing the darkness around you. Those who are darkness, living in darkness, will be aware of that. You might pick up on this on how you're left out of things sometimes. It might be because, don't take it too personal, but it might be because they don't like what you, just by being around, expose in them.
That's the majority of what it means to expose the darkness. However, there are times whenever we are called to be more aggressive, should I say, or more confrontational, should I say, in exposing the darkness. Whenever we are called to that, we need to make sure that we are called. We need to make sure.
that we are called, it might not be someone else. Sometimes you might see a darkness that needs to be exposed, but God's not calling you to be the one to expose it. Okay? I'm not telling you that so you can use it as an excuse for cowardice, but just be discerning. Count the cost before you do. Make sure you are willing to receive the ramifications that will come with exposing the darkness.
And then the courage that comes from having the Holy Spirit in us and following Christ in whatever situation or in whatever context and to whatever extent God has called you to expose, then expose the works of the darkness and leave the rest in his hands.
It is.
mind -bending and it's confounding that we have the calling to do this because we were once darkness but now we're being called to expose darkness. It makes sense whenever the world looks at us and calls us arrogant for that. It makes sense.
Because we also recognize how much we were once darkness. We also recognize how much we, even now to a certain extent, still commit works of darkness. We recognize that we are people who are justified while still sinners. And yet, we are called to expose darkness? How in the world can that be possible? How in the world can we have the privilege of walking in the light, being in the light, being light in the world?
It is because Christ, who was the light in the world, entered into the darkness of death so that he might redeem us out of it. The light of the world came into the world so that he might overcome the darkness. But how would he overcome the darkness? He would overcome the darkness through his own death.
by him stepping into the place of God, him stepping into the place of those who deserve and should receive God's wrath, exclusion from the kingdom as Paul talks about here, because Jesus, the light of the world stepped into that place and received the darkness of death upon himself, the darkness of going into the grave upon himself. Because he did that in our place.
He redeems us from our darkness, from our death, from our grave, just as He was resurrected out of His grave. We have the privilege, the ability and opportunity to now be light, to be in the light and to spread the light, not because of any goodness or anything that we have done or anything we could do, but because of Christ, what Christ has done for us.
This is why Paul says, get up sleep and arise from the dead and Christ will shine on you. The dead cannot raise themselves, but Christ shining upon us can give us life to raise us up into new life. And whenever this happens, it will result in new kind of life that Christians will live out. Paul says, it is one that is walking in wisdom. This is where Paul kind of,
ends this before he gets into talking about living in the spirit, which we're going to talk about next week, but he says, pay attention to how you walk. Well, in this passage here says live, but in another passage it says walk. He says, pay attention to how you live or walk, not as unwise people, but as wise. He doesn't expect it to act like children, but to live and grow into a maturity and a wisdom that God desires for us. He says this because,
Whenever you live out the Christian life, there are going to be many, many, many times where there are not clear answers to the situation that you're in. You're not gonna know what to do.
Sometimes it might be because there seems like there's multiple right things to do, maybe because sometimes you can't find the right way to respond to a situation, or it's just unclear. It's a big gray area that like fog is hard to see through. What do I do here? I've sat with many of you guys through trying to discern those kinds of situations. What do I do? 85 to 90 % of the Christian life is like that.
This is why Paul says we can't remain like children who need instructions and rules and what to do in every scenario, but we have to grow up in maturity and in wisdom because we are going to need wisdom in order to live rightly in the Christian life. I love what Tim Keller said. He said, being wise is not less than being moral. So I'm not trying to bend morality here.
What I'm saying is it is actually going to be a higher level of living a moral life. Paul says that walking in wisdom this is my last point means redeeming the time and understanding God's will. This is where we're going to close. Walking in wisdom means redeeming the time and understanding God's will. I love that he says.
even though they didn't translate it here, they translated it as live, what Paul says is actually walk. He says, walk, be careful attention how you walk, walk in wisdom. It's a beautiful thing in scripture that walking is often used as a metaphor for life. It's a great thing because it implies that when you are walking, you're going somewhere, right?
And so it also implies the same thing about life. In life, we have a direction. And in the choices that we make, in the situations we find ourselves, and how we respond to those situations, we are walking. Our life is, and the direction of it is, to a certain extent, being determined by those, by those choices, and by those situations.
It's a much better way for us to start thinking and trying to discern what are the things that we need to avoid and the opportunities we need to embrace in life. When we move from just thinking in rigid terms of what is the right and wrong thing versus what direction am I going in, right? Once again, I'm not saying that to be relativistic, but I'm saying because we understand that the Christian life is ultimately about walking in that direction that brings us closer to Christ.
walking in that direction that brings us closer to Christ. What that means is we look at our motivations in life. We look at our motivations and let's say that you have ambitions to move forward in your career. Let's say that you want to make a lot of money. That's not a bad thing. But wisdom, walking in wisdom says, why? Why do you want to make a lot of money? Why do you want to build wealth?
Why do you want to move ahead in your career, have higher positions, more responsibility? Walking in wisdom will explore the motivations to make sure, do we desire that path because it will bring us closer to Christ or do we desire that path out of selfishness?
Wisdom means you come to the place in life to where whenever you explore your options and the plans that you have before you, and you desire only that, whether it's poverty or riches, sinning or health, or whatever else, you only desire that that brings you closer to Christ.
That's what it means to walk in wisdom. You consider the direction of the choices and actions that you make. So whenever we walk in wisdom Paul says that we will redeem the time. In this translation he says making the most of the time. In other translations it says redeeming the time. What that means is being aware of the situation that we live in. Being aware of your unique situation as who you are, your history, your background, the...
influence that you have in your circles, the opportunities that you have before you, but it also means to be aware of your situation more broadly. It means understanding the cultural moment that you live in.
and understanding your situation, the influence you have, the cultural moment that you live in, the cultures of the circles that you inhabit, being aware of those things, and then understanding based upon that, your limitations, your opportunities, as well as the weakness of your own heart, what is God calling me to do?
Can you see how these kind of things take some wisdom? That's what it means to redeem the time. You consider these things and you say, based upon this, what is God calling me to do here? What is the opportunity that he's put before me? What is the invitation that he is inviting me into? Paul says, walk in wisdom.
redeeming the time or making the most of the time. Notice he said, recognizing the days are evil. That's the key there about understanding the cultural moment that you live in, right? And then he says, so don't be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. How are you going to understand what the Lord's will is? By being soaked in scripture. By being absolutely soaked in scripture.
The only way that you're going to mature to a place to where you don't need a simple yes and no rule book, but to be able to walk in wisdom is if you are consistently and deeply in the Bible.
You have to know what the scriptures say, what they know, what they say about God, what they say about man, what they say about our relationship with Christ, what they say about the gospel. You gotta know these things deeply and then through the experiences of life, understand how to apply them to the many situations that you have in life where the answer of what to do is often unclear.
The last thing I wanna say to us is that if there's anyone in here who is continuing to live outside of Christ, recognize that you are in darkness. And all I wanna say to you is what Paul says to all of us, if that is you, get up sleeper and rise from the dead and Christ will shine on you. So Lord, we come to you this morning and we pray that you would shine in our hearts. Lord, if there's anyone.
in here who is still in darkness, would you shine on them? Bring new life in them. Make them aware of their sin, aware of their need for salvation, and aware of how Christ has paid it all. How His blood has washed away every stain. How the Holy Spirit that is flooding into their heart can make them a new
a new person with a new identity entirely. For all of your children in here, would you shine upon us, exposing the dark corners of our hearts that we try to hide from you so that as you expose the darkness in us, we might repent from it and walk in the light better and become people who would expose the darkness outside of us.
but Lord first expose it in us so we might be closer to you, so we might know you more, so we might look more like Christ, so we might be closer to Christ, so that we might have deeper union and joy in the spirit. And that through inner transformation, it would lead to outward change in our homes, in our friendships, in our parenting, and in our.
relationships with our children and parents and extended family, with our coworkers. Lord, shine on us this morning. And help us to be, because of your shining in us and on us, help us to be distinct from the world for the sake of your glory and the sake of the salvation of the world. We pray this in Christ's name, amen.