Ephesians 5:1-8 (KJV)
Be ye therefore
followers of God, as dear children;
And walk in love, as
Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a
sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.
But fornication, and all
uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh
saints;
Neither filthiness, nor
foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of
thanks.
For this ye know, that
no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath
any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
Let no man deceive you
with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the
children of disobedience.
Be not ye therefore
partakers with them.
For ye were sometimes
darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:
As much as we do not
like to think this way, the fact is that unity and good fellowship within a
church has as much or more to do with what we don’t do as it does with what we
do.
I think that stands to
reason given our sin nature
Left to our own – left
to do what is base and natural, we almost certainly do a wrong thing, not a
right one.
Therefore:
· Things that are wrong must be identified
· Strong warnings against them must be repeated and
· Tools to reject them must be provided
And so, much more of the
Bible is devoted to identifying sin and equipping believers to turn away from
it than is spent on:
· The promises of reward
· The glories of heaven and
· The nature of eternal life
Having said what we
ought to do – “Be ye
followers of God…” in Ephesians 5:1-2, the Bible goes on to tell us what we
ought not do.
I want to take you
through this list of “do not’s” by
showing you through them some “why not’s.”
The first thing the
Bible says concerning these sins is
I. IT DOESN’T
BECOME THE SAINTS
Vs 3
The word becometh means
“suitable.”
For Christians to be
either unclean or covetous doesn’t “fit.”
When a garment doesn’t
fit the person wearing it,
A. It could be a sign of poverty –
they don’t have the
money to buy properly fitting cloths
Christians certainly
aren’t spiritually poor.
For a Christian to be
involved in these sins implies that God hasn’t provided us with the means of
overcoming them.
It reflects poorly on
the Lord.
When a garment doesn’t
fit the person wearing it,
B. It could be a sign of poor training
If a coat or a shirt or
a pair of pants doesn’t fit right, it might be that he hasn’t learned the
proper fit.
You almost can’t blame a
guy for this.
Supposing that you have learned how to tie your own tie, how
in the world is a fella supposed to know that every man should ideally own[1]:
- 1-2 solid color ties — basic, versatile, and dependable. The go-to for
a conventional business look.
- 1-2 restrained polka dot ties — a little livelier and more unique than the
solids, but still good for most business occasions.
- 1-2 foulard[2]
ties — business dress without
business bland.
- 3-4 “your pick” ties — Stripes, knits, plaids, more foulards, novelty
ties.
There are some things a
man has just got to “learn over time.”
Victory over sin is a
progressive thing. It takes time, persistence and work to gain.
When a garment doesn’t
fit the person wearing it,
C. It could be a sign of lack of care
I am using the suit and
tie as an example and I want to make sure you understand that I don’t think a
man needs to dress in a suit and tie to be spiritual.
But one of the things
that I have witnessed over the last decade especially is less and less interest
in dressing up, even to meet with the Lord.
I grew up in a cowboy’s
home.
I was an ironworker and
welder.
· I wore the same pair of pants to work every single day of
the week until they wore out – and I did not want them washed because then they
would wear out faster.
· I wore the brightest, ugliest, most obnoxious welding cap I
could find so no one would steal it, and if they did, I would recognize it was
mine.
· The first time I went to church I wore my blue jeans and
cowboy hat because Mike Riggs told me I could and no one would say a thing
about it.[3]
But when I became a
Christian, I instinctively knew I ought to dress up for God.
It didn’t happen right
away, but it did happen – and I liked it!
The last ten years or so
I have witnessed that fewer people think to dress nicely for church and I think
it is because our society in general has less respect for authority – any
authority – even the authority of God.[4]
Sometimes people
continue in sin because they just don’t care what God says about it.
When a garment doesn’t
fit the person wearing it,
D. It could be a means of getting attention
Is it not true that
there are some people who wear tight fitting clothes or shirts that are
unbuttoned way to low, just so they get attention?
Why in the world would a
person wear a pair of jeans so tight that it took them ten minutes to force
them onto their bodies and restrict their ability to walk unless it is because
they want someone, maybe even everyone, to see what they look like?
On the subject of sin –
isn’t it true with children that many times they act out and misbehave because
it is the only way they know how to get attention?
It may not be positive
attention, but it is attention, and negative attention, to most children, is
better than none at all.
People who tattoo their
bodies, pierce themselves through and paint and die themselves unnatural colors
do all of that for attention.
And there are men and
women who live in sin because they want attention.
God says that the sins
of fornication, uncleanness and covetousness do not fit the Christian.
The Bible says next,
concerning these sins,
II. THEY ARE
NOT CONVENIENT
Vs 4
The words becometh and convenient are no related but they do have the same definition,
suitable or fitting.
The difference is that
· The word becometh seems to have much more to do with
something like a garment and
· The word convenient has to do with a need, activity or plan.[5]
We go to a convenience
store why? Because it is comfortable.
God’s Word says that filthiness, foolish talking and jesting
are going to lead to discomfort and hardship for us.
Donald Trump said
something more than eleven years ago that was foolish.
It is only now making
him uncomfortable.
A person might think his
· Jokes or
· Locker room comments or
· Mean teasing of others
is funny.
It might get him some
laughs and a little bit of momentary attention, but it is very likely to come
back to haunt him.
Don’t do these sins
because
· They are not becoming
· They are not convenient
The Bible says next,
concerning these sins,
III. IT HAS NO
HOPE OF SPIRITUAL INHERITANCE
Vs 5
At first glance we
probably think this means salvation, life with God in heaven.
I don’t think that is
what it means.
I think the Bible is
saying that the:
· Whoremonger
· Unclean person
· Covetous man who is an
· Idolater
Has nothing waiting for
him in heaven.
He’s doing nothing that
earns him heavenly rewards.
1 Corinthians 3:13-15
(KJV)
Every man's work shall
be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by
fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.
If any man's work abide
which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
If any man's work shall
be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by
fire.
Similarly The Bible says,
concerning these sins,
IV. IT BRINGS
WRATH
Vs 6
The obvious
understanding of this passage would be that when a person does these sins it
brings the wrath of God upon them.
I want to give you
another perspective because we who are Christians will never face the wrath of
God again.
Jesus suffered that
wrath for us.
· We can lose rewards before God,
· We can be chastened and corrected but
· We can never experience the wrath of God
What if the intent of
this passage is meant to tell us that when we, who are Christians, live in sin,
our actions prevent some other soul from being saved and thereby the wrath of
God is poured out upon them?
Don’t do these sins
because
· They are not becoming
· They are not convenient
· They have no hope of spiritual inheritance and
· They bring the wrath of God down upon the lost
V. SO JUST,
DON’T
Vs 7-8
Just don’t do them.
· Stop making excuses
· Stop behaving like you have no ability to quit them
· Stop acting like you don’t care and
· Stop pretending you don’t know any better
Man up and quit them.
· You used to be in darkness but you are not now
· You used to have no light but you do no
· You are saved
· You are the children of God
Live like it.
[1] http://www.realmenrealstyle.com/9-neckties-to-own/,
accessed 10-29-16
[2] Ties with a repeating, symmetrical
pattern.
[3] The fact that Mike
Riggs told me that tells me that I knew even then that it was expected to dress
up to meet with God. I may have been uncomfortable with it, but I knew it.
[4] I do not mean to say
that everyone who doesn’t dress up for church has no respect for God. Sometimes
it is because their culture hasn’t really engrained in them the relationship
between how we dress and our attitude toward authority. I do think they ought
to be taught it however.
con·ven·ient
adjective
fitting in well with a person's
needs, activities, and plans.
"I phoned your office to
confirm that this date is convenient"
|
suitable, appropriate, fitting, fit, suited, opportune, timely, well timed, favorable,advantageous, seasonable, expedient"a convenient time"
|
Accessed
10-29-16
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