Simulated Light

Based on the passage in Ephesians 5:1-21, Wendell Martens talks about challenges in todays church and how they were addresses by Paul during his letter to the church in Ephesus. 

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Transcript

Simulated Light

 I've chosen Ephesians 5 verses 1 through 21, which is an extremely difficult verse. And when approaching this, there's many different ways to come at it. that we should go at it verse by verse. So that's the approach I'm going to be taking today.

 We brought up two candles. I'm just going to set them up a little bit differently here so everybody can see them both, hopefully. So we have two candles up front. These candles are here to represent the church in Ephesus. And Paul is saying there's not something quite right in the church. And so the passage that we're gonna be looking at today is a very personal passage, talking to the people in the church. It's a very urgent passage. What do you say needs to be heard? And ultimately, it is a pastoral passage reflects the heart of a pastor.

 So before we start, I'd like to open in prayer. Gracious Father, as we open your word today, we ask that you rekindle us the spark of love, joy, and purpose that comes from walking closely with you. Teach us what it means to live as your children, shining your light in a world that so easily dims our hearts. Help us to see how to walk in wisdom, to reflect your goodness and to make the most of every opportunity to honor you and may your spirit guide us and renew our passion for you as we study your word together. Amen.

 So we're going to start off talking about being imitators of God or what we could call our calling and that is Ephesians 5 verses 1 through 2. So let's listen to the message that Paul has for the church. He says, "Therefore, be imitators of God as be loved children and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave himself up for us in offering in a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma." The command to imitate God says the tone for the entire passage that we're going to look at today. It's not a casual faith and it's not about sentimentality. What we're talking about is discipleship. And Paul connects this to Christ's sacrificial love when he says walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave himself up for us. If our love doesn't cost us anything, is it Christ like love? Dietrich Bonhoeffer once said that "when Christ calls a man, he bids him to come and die."

 Hillary Morgan Ferrer of Momma Bear Apologetics, put it this way, "You know what conversation I never hear. I was persecuted for faith and I refused to give up and I suffered grievously for years while everyone told me that I was a fool for believing. And now, it's just not working for me anymore. No, you don't hear that, why? Well, it's because people who suffer in spite of their faith that have come to count the cost, They don't leave Christianity because it doesn't work for them anymore. The fact is it never worked for them. They believed it because they were convinced it was true, but it didn't work. And when it was popular to be evangelical, Christianity worked for them, and they weren't actually following God. They were following culture, and their God didn't change. They're just going in a different direction."

 But what does it mean to actually walk in love? Our modern culture talks endlessly about love, but redefines it as tolerance and affirmation. And that isn't what Paul is saying here. He's saying that love means imitating Christ. Like a child imitates the parents. And the word for love here is one that we've all heard many times, and in the Greek it's agapeo or agape, what would we have heard? What's often referred to as unconditional love. This is the love which Christ exhibited on the cross, and it gives without expecting any return. And it's not sentimental and it's not emotional. The love described by Agape is obedience. The foundation of a fiery and fruitful Christian life is a love that gives but does not demand. True Christian love is called cruciform, and that word means it costs something, it dies, and then it transforms.

The Crisis

 We go to verses 3 through 5, and maybe we could call this portion the crisis. Paul moves from this beautiful call of imitation and love into a list of corruptions that extinguish the fire, and this is the crisis of the Ephesian church. So he gives a sobering warning about false laws and spiritual dullness. Verse 3, "But sexual immorality, where any impurity or greed must not even be mentioned among you as is proper among the saints. And there must be no filthiness or foolish talk, no vulgar joking, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. For this you know with certainty that no sexually immoral or impure or greedy person which amounts to an idolator has an inheritance in the kingdom or the Christ of God."

 Looking at verse 3, Paul is not pulling any punches. Paul is warning us about our moral compromise. We've become casual about sin and it has become our entertainment. And we stream it and we download it and we use it as punchlines for jokes. All around us, purity is mocked. And yet Paul says that those who practice these things will not inherit the kingdom of Christ and God. And Paul isn't done. He moves on to verse 4. And he addresses how we talk. It builds off of what is considered proper speech. among believers. He says there must be "no filthiness or foolish talk or vulgar joking, which are not fitting." So our conversations reveal our affections. We speak about the things that we love. So think then about how you talk with your friends. When was the last time that our speech reflected the heart of fire for Christ. The apologists and theologian, Melissa Doherty, reminds us that "you can't love God and talk like the world." 

 Verse four ends by saying that when we speak, our speech must be giving of thanks. And I'm sure you remember what Paul told the church in Thessalonica "in everything you have thanks for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus." But then verse five issues of warning and Paul frames it by saying, "for you know this with certainty." And this is a real problem today because we have become what's known as the children of Eve, listening to the serpent saying, "did God really say?" Right at the beginning of scripture, right in Genesis, we hear the serpent asking us, did God really say, and we still ask ourselves that question, how many thousands of years later? And the church is changing its mind about things like sexual immorality and what it means to be impure, and whether or not greediness actually amounts to idolatry. But God does not change. And the warning is clear, we risk our inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

Causes

 Now we move down to the next point the Paul's making and I've called this the causes. There's two different verses. The first one we're going to look at is verses 6 and 7 and then we're going to look at 11 through 13. So what are the causes of these changes? So verses 6 and 7 explain it and define what has become pop or popular spirituality in today's church. Church. Verse 6 says, "See that no one deceives you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience." And 7 follows it up, saying, "Therefore, do not become partners with them." In the words of Solomon, there's nothing new under the sun, and I'm sure Paul could see this in the early church, and it is true today.

 The churches today are led by pastors like Rob Bell and Joyce Meyer and Bill Johnson and the whole new apostolic movement and they foster empty words in an exciting Christian context. In fact, the pastor Stephen Furtick has famously said, "I am God Almighty." As Christians, we must discern the lie, which has become much more prevalent in fruitless Christianity of this modern time. And when Marv came up and sang the song today, there are a few things I'm sure were coming through your minds, like why are we playing a secular song in church? Or why have the words been changed? And then what are the meanings of the words? And these stages are the stages of discernment. And when you listen to somebody and what they're saying, we must discern and do you actually respond when you hear a lie?

 There are many old heresies that are being resurrected in the church such as Gnosticism which denies Jews humanity. It says that we have a divine spark and we are part of God's spirit and it teaches the spirituality is about self-realization. We have another one called Plagianism which denies the resurrection of Christ. It denies the reality of hell and it denies the truth of sin. And these things you can hear already coming into different churches. But our desire must be to avoid offense, shouldn't it be? But is it our desire to avoid offense that causes the church to dilute truth? Paul is very serious about what he's saying here because he says it to Timothy in 2 Timothy 4 verses 3 to 4. He says, "The time will come when the church will not tolerate sound doctrine, but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires. And they will turn their ears away from the truth and they will turn aside to myths." And even today, the church is embracing what has been termed side B theology or revoicing because we do not tolerate sound doctrine. Mike Winger has said that "popular Christianity isn't biblical and biblical Christianity isn't popular." And if we look back to verse five, we quickly realize that in order to avoid talking about sin, popular Christianity is not protecting people. In fact, it's exposing us to wrath.

 So now let's jump to the second set of verses, verses 11 through 13, and talk about the spiritual practices absent in Christ. Chapter 11 says, "Do not participate in useless deeds of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is disgraceful, even to think of such things which are done by them in secret. But all things become visible when they are exposed by light, for everything that becomes visible is light." And I was recently told that it isn't the church's job to expose bad pastors, but that contradicts what Paul is actually saying here. In fact, there are 33 times in the New Testament alone where they talk about either Jesus or the apostles, false teachers and false prophets. The church is flirting with deeds of darkness, and Paul instructs them here to expose those deeds of darkness. That's our job.

 Melissa Doherty was a former New Age follower, and she emphasizes saying that many Christians annoyingly engage in spiritual practices that are incompatible with biblical worldview. She warns that these practices are often gateways to deeper deception, as she names practices such as yoga, crystals for healing,
 reeky, tarot cards, palm reading, or even affirmation. Because it carries spiritual meanings that are rooted in Eastern religions and occult traditions. But you know Paul says, "A light and darkness do not mix." And in 2 Corinthians 6 verse 14,
he says, "What fellowship does light have with darkness?" Back of the Old Testament, back in Deuteronomy 18, 10 to 12, it says, "There shall not be found amount among any of you, those who practice divination, tells fortunes, interprets, opens, or does anything which is an abomination to the Lord."

 We cannot be filled with fire for Christ if we return to the idols of our age. Sure, we don't want to offend and we want to be quiet, but unfortunately for us the gospel is in fact confrontational, not rude, but unflinching. Love that does not confront sin is cowardice, masquerading as kindness. Let's go back to verse 13. Paul says, "But all things become visible when exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light." And this paints a picture of throwing open the curtains in the morning, especially on the morning like we've been having lately, and letting the sun flow into the room, driving all the darkness out. The promise of Isaiah 9, verse 2 is that "the people who walk in darkness will see a great light. And those who live in a dark land will have a light shining on them."

The Cure

 So what is the cure? We move on to verses 8 through 10 and then 14 through 21 to see what Paul says regarding the cure. In verses 8 through 10, sitting right in the middle of what we've just read, Paul offers this vision of restoration. "For you were once darkness, but now you are children in the light of the Lord, walking His children of light. For the fruit of the light consists of all goodness, righteousness and truth, as you try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord." And it came across an ancient thought which sheds light on what Paul is saying here. Augustine once observed that evil has no positive nature. but the loss of good has received the name evil. And what he's saying is that there actually is no such thing as darkness.
The word darkness just describes the absence of light. He is describing the new creation, which is embodied by all believers. "Because once you had no light in you and you were darkness, but now Christ is in you and you have become light and there is no middle ground." We are either awake, walking in the light, or we are asleep, living in darkness.

 And I love how Paul circles all the way back to verse one. And the way he reminds us that we are, in fact, children of God, and we are imitating our Father, walking His children of the light. But the great thing is that Paul doesn't leave us hanging here. He gives us just a little bit more Saying that being children of light means that we will bear fruit. So we don't have a choice. It just shines out of us. It's like these candles here. If the light is in you, you also produce fruit or heat or fragrance or a light that can be shared. And that's not all. If the light is in you, Paul says, "you try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord." And I hate to say this. But there are far too many people who call themselves Christians who have zero interest in learning what is pleasing to God.

 God's will is not found in our emotions or objects or cultural spirituality. God's love is found only in Scripture. I'm reminded again of what Mike Winger said. He says, "You can't obey the things you don't know." Moving on to verse 14, Paul quotes what is universally believed to be one of the earliest church hymns or piece of liturgy, which is tied to our believer's baptism. It says, "For this reason, a wake, o sleeper arrives from the dead and Christ will shine on you." This is the cry to the church. Imagine a parent pleading with their child, "Wake up!" I know I've done that many times, and usually only when we have school days, not Saturdays or Sundays, or even holidays.

 We have become sedated by our comfort. We are dulled by distraction and lulled into slumber by cultural indoctrination and self-help spirituality. And perhaps the writer of the hymn was also thinking of Isaiah 60 verses 1 through 2 while he wrote it, and Isaiah says, "Arise and shine for your light has come, for the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness will cover the earth and deep darkness to people, but the Lord will rise upon you and His glory will appear upon you." And I see this as a great response to someone who has declared their obedience for Christ. It is a promise and an encouragement and it does offer hope.

 And now Paul follows this up with another warning in verses 15 through 18. Paul says, "So then, be careful how you walk, not as unwise people, but as wise, making the most of your time because the days are evil. So then, don't be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is, don't get drunk with wine, in which leads to debauchery, but be filled with a spirit." Paul is calling the church to obedience. Obedience to the love of God is not legalism. Obedience to God is love. In John 14, verse 15, Jesus said, "If you love me, keep my commandments." The thing is that obedience does not earn you salvation. Obedience reveals.

 So what does Paul instruct the church to do? Well, first of all, he says, "Make the most of your time." What he's saying is, our time is limited. while we're here, we have a very limited amount of time and then eternity. He is saying, understand what the will of the Lord is. So that means we need to actively seek. We need to actively look for understanding. We need to pray. We need to read our Bible. We need to discuss what we're learning with others, and we need to share those things with others. And he says, "Be filled with the Spirit." In contrast to being drunk, We are commanded to yield to the control of the Holy Spirit. And the Spirit-filled life is not an emotional high. It is in fact a life of burning purpose, holy clarity and radical community.

Clarity

 And this is the thing that we tell people who get baptized. You become baptized or you become a Christian and you feel is incredible high. And unfortunately the high comes down and where you live after the high reflects your heart. Verses 19 to 21 are the words of Paul to the church explaining what being filled with the spirit is meant to look like. Verses 19 says, "Speaking to one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your hearts to the Lord." Always giving thanks for all the things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to our God and Father and subject yourselves to one another in the fear of Christ. Verse 19 talks about our communal worship and there is joy inside us that cannot be contained.

 We come together as a family and we worship God together communally. This is what Paul has instructed the church to do. In John 7 verse 38, Jesus says this about his believers, "From the innermost being will flow rivers of living water." In 1 Peter 1 verse 8 Peter tells early Christian believers that they should greatly rejoice with joy which is inexpressible being full of glory. So where is our joy? Verse 20 speaks about spending time and prayer, always giving thanks for all things. Prayer is not a vibe, it's communion with God. When we stop talking to God, we forget God's voice. And when we stop thinking about God, we start believing that we are entitled. And Paul tells the church in Thessalonica to pray without ceasing.

 Back to Melissa Doherty, she said, "Prayer isn't speaking to God. It's tuning your heart to His." And I have to think about an instrument like a piano or a guitar and tuning it so that we make a pleasing sound. Verse 21 closes a passage with a message which we very often ignore, and it's a message that the church has in fact discarded. Paul says that we as believers must stay in community. He says, "subject yourselves to one another in the fear of Christ." Songwriter Rich Mullins once said, "if you want spiritual nourishment, go to church." The apologist John Lennox says that "the church isn't a club, it's a community of truth. Don't waste your breath and arguments that distract from the gospel." And the Canadian theologian who just recently became famous, Wes Huff said "the local church is God's plan A, and he does not have a plan B." 

 In Hebrews 10 verse 25, we are told this, "Let's hold firmly to the confession of our hope without wavering. For he who promised is faithful, and let's consider how to encourage one another in love and good deeds, not abandoning our own meeting together as is the habit of some people, but encouraging one another and all the more as you see the day drawing near." Community is essential to spiritual life.

 I'm going to say that while I've been talking, these two candles have been burning, but do you know what the difference is between these two candles? So one of the candles is real and one is not. The electric candle on this side here represents the false church. It gives no light. It has no-- or it does give light, but it has no scent. It has no warmth, and it cannot give its light to another. It simulates light, but it contains no fire. And a candle without fire is strictly decor. Just like a disciple without fire is a soldier without a weapon. It is easily distracted, easily defeated, and very quickly deceived.

 Real fire spreads, and only real flame could pass fire to another. And you cannot pass on something that you do not possess. The world doesn't need more fake Christians. It needs people who burn with holy fire, active, revealing, and fruitful. And now what I've been talking about today is not about moralism or emotionalism. What I've been talking about today is about Jesus, about returning to our first love and letting the fire burn again. Let us burn away the compromise in our lives and let it warm a lost and dying world.

 Thank you.