[0:00] Ephesians, and we just got into chapter 5 last Sunday. Ephesians chapter 5, I'll mention this later as well, but in between service maybe, you'll see some little flyers and such sitting out there in the foyer on the table.
[0:24] Grab one of them if you will, and I'll talk about that later. Just some announcements, some upcoming events, a Christmas party. And so when you see them out there, grab them.
[0:35] So we're in Ephesians chapter 5, and we're into this segment of the book that deals with the walk of the believer. And as we were in chapter 4, we noticed something coming where Paul was giving these practical examples of putting off the old man and putting on the new man.
[0:55] And I pointed out that he gives you the negative first. He says, don't do this anymore. That is, put off the old man and then put on the new man. I mean, that's even how he lays it out in 22 and 24.
[1:07] It's first you put off, then you put on. And then as he talks about lying, as he gives these examples of stealing and laboring, of the no corrupt communication, it's always, don't do this first.
[1:19] And that's the same thing that's true also with his commands about your walk. It started in chapter 4, verse 17, where he said that ye henceforth walk not as the Gentiles walk, as other Gentiles walk, and talks about the vanity of their mind, their understanding being darkened, talks about it being corrupt according to deceitful lusts.
[1:39] And then he turns and now gives the instruction of how to walk. And of course, as you'll see throughout, there's more negative commands with it of what not to do. But now that we're into chapter 5 and how to walk, it starts with being a follower of God as dear children.
[1:54] As dear children. The example or the qualifier or understanding of how you're going to follow God is just the same way a child follows. And how do they do that? A child reaches for your hand and says, just lead me.
[2:11] Where are we going? I don't want to go out there by myself. Are you coming? They wait for you to take them, don't they? Follow God as dear children. We saw in chapter 6, verse 1, children obey.
[2:23] That's what they're supposed to do. And that's how we're to be followers of God. To be trusting, to be relying upon him. A child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.
[2:35] A child that just goes off and wanders away from God is never going to find righteousness and make something of himself for the Lord Jesus Christ. Not going to do it on your own. You're going to have to be a follower of God.
[2:47] And now the walk. Verse number 2, walk in love. Later in the chapter in verse 8, the end of the verse says, walk as children of light. A little bit later, what is this?
[2:58] 15. See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise. Anyways. And so in chapter 4, it was how ye walk not. And now in chapter 5, it's continuing with the believer's walk.
[3:12] A child that's a follower of God is first he follows God.
[3:23] Sometimes it's by faith, of course. It's by fear. Like a child obeys their parents because they know what's going to come if they don't. But eventually it grows into love. And that's where we come into chapter 5, verse 2.
[3:36] And walk in love as Christ also hath loved us. And notice again, I pointed this out before. It's in the past tense. Again in verse 25. Husbands, love your wives even as Christ also loved.
[3:50] Past tense. The church. And it always points back to Calvary. And verse number 2. Walk in love as Christ also hath loved us and hath given himself for us.
[4:01] An offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savor. Now I want to cover something that is a little more doctrinal first.
[4:11] And then we'll come back into this example or command to walk the way Christ showed us. So he says that Christ hath given himself.
[4:21] Look back at Isaiah 53. A highly prophetic chapter of the Messiah and of the sufferings of the Messiah.
[4:32] Isaiah 53. And we read from Isaiah that the Messiah would come.
[4:43] And that he wouldn't appear to be anything special. He wouldn't stand out. He hath no form nor comeliness. No beauty. And he's going to be despised and rejected.
[4:55] And then wounded and bruised. Now look at verse number 10. In a reference to his death in verse number 9.
[5:05] And then verse 10. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him. He hath put him to grief. When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin.
[5:17] He shall see his seed and shall prolong his days, etc. It says that he made his soul an offering for sin. His soul. It says it again in verse number 12.
[5:28] In the middle of the verse. Because he hath poured out his soul unto death. Number with the transgressors, etc. Now in Ephesians it says that he hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God.
[5:42] And the point I want to make here from the Bible is that this is simple. But for some they have no understanding of this at all. This is that the soul, your soul is the real you.
[5:54] That is who you are eternally. It is your soul. I want to point this out in another passage. Come to the Gospels to Matthew 16. And with one finger get Luke 9.
[6:08] And the other get Matthew 16. Matthew 16. The soul of man is not some abstract thing.
[6:23] It's not some imagined thing. It's not an extension of you or some spiritual likeness. No, it is you.
[6:35] You are a soul. You are a living soul. Man became a living soul. Genesis 2.7. When God created or formed man of the dust of the ground.
[6:45] He became a living soul. Yes, he had a body that was formed of the dust of the ground. But what he was in his very being was a living soul.
[6:57] Alright, now Matthew chapter 16. And look at verse number 26. We are going to compare two verses here from two different writers. Matthew 16.26. Now back up to 25.
[7:11] Verse 25 says, For whosoever will save his life shall lose it. And whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?
[7:26] Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? So that's how Matthew records it. I think we're more familiar with that than any. Now come to Luke chapter 9. And let's look how Luke records this very same statement.
[7:41] And it's in verse 25. Luke 9.25. For what is a man advantaged if he gain the whole world and lose himself?
[7:52] Matthew says lose his own soul. Not his body. Not his life even. But his soul. Luke calls it himself.
[8:04] Just like Ephesians tells us that Christ gave himself. And what did he actually give? According to Isaiah, the prophecy was that he make his soul an offering for sins. He hath given himself for us an offering.
[8:16] So the soul is the real you. The real person. Let me show you another one. Go back to Genesis 49. Genesis 49.
[8:31] And here's a reference. Here's a reference to Jacob.
[8:44] Name changed to Israel. When he dies. And he's in Egypt. With his son Joseph. And all of his family have migrated to Egypt.
[8:55] And set up there. And after all of that. Then Jacob dies. And it describes. In verse 33. When Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons.
[9:08] He gathered up his feet into the bed. And yielded up the ghost. And was gathered unto his people. Now some put the end of the chapter.
[9:19] Stop right there. And don't consider anything further. But the reference is that his body is in the bed. His feet. He gathered up his feet into the bed. He yielded up the ghost. The spirit.
[9:31] Returned to God. Just like Jesus Christ. In the. On the cross. Yielded up the ghost. Father into thy hands. I commend my spirit. Having said thus. He gave up the ghost. The spirit returns to God.
[9:43] Ecclesiastes. Who gave it. So he yielded up the ghost. And then was gathered unto his people. So some will just. Say. Oh. That means they buried him. In this cave. And it talks about that earlier.
[9:53] Where Isaac was. And Abraham and Sarah. Verse 31. Oh. That's what it's a reference to. Gathering his body. You know. Burying him in that plot. Where they all want to be buried.
[10:04] Or something. That's what they're. But that doesn't happen at all. It definitely doesn't happen right there. In verse 33. The guy's down in Egypt. And now. Look at verse 50. Or chapter 50. Verse 1. The very next verse says.
[10:14] Joseph fell upon his father's face. And wept upon him. And kissed him. They embalmed him. So that's his soul. I mean. His body's not being gathered anywhere. That's a reference to the man's soul.
[10:25] He. Now it says. To read it clearly. That's what the Bible teaches. Is that you are a soul. Verse 33. And when Jacob. The person. Had made an end of commanding his sons. He.
[10:36] Jacob. Gathered up his feet into the bed. And yielded up the ghost. And was gathered. Jacob. Was gathered unto his people. The person left. The body stayed. Joseph falls on his father's face.
[10:48] But Joseph doesn't fall on him. Jacob anymore. Jacob's gone. Look at another one. This is a good one. Look at. Numbers 27. As far as somebody being gathered unto their people.
[11:04] Not a reference. To. Their body. A reference to their soul. Numbers 27.
[11:16] And. I'm going to grab. Deuteronomy. 34. But you don't have to go there. Unless you want to. Numbers 27. Verse. 12. The Lord said unto Moses. Get thee up into this mount Baram.
[11:27] And see the land. Which I have given unto the children of Israel. And when thou hast seen it. Thou also shalt be gathered unto thy people. As Aaron thy brother was gathered. What's he. He's telling him he's going to die.
[11:38] What's going to happen to him. He's going to be gathered unto his people. And as we know. He's going to be taken down into the heart of the earth. Into what they call Abraham's bosom.
[11:50] And the cross reference to compare this with. Is in. At the end of the. Books of the Moses. At Deuteronomy 34. When it describes Moses dying. In verse 5. It says. So Moses the servant of the Lord.
[12:01] Died there in the land of Moab. According to the word of the Lord. And he buried him. In the valley. In the land of Moab. Over against Beth Peor. But no man knoweth of his sepulcher unto this day.
[12:14] So Moses wasn't gathered unto his people's sepulchers. He was. Taken up. All right. Come back to Ephesians 5. Kind of a long way around. To describe that you are a soul.
[12:26] And Jesus Christ gave his soul. A body. In Hebrews it says. A body thou hast prepared me. He offered it a body. For the sins. But it was his soul that took on the sins.
[12:40] And. In Acts. Peter prophesied. Or he quoted the psalm. Saying that. That will not leave my soul in hell. All right. Ephesians 5.
[12:51] And verse 2 again. And walk in love. That's your command. While you're being a follower of God. You're to walk in love. What kind of love? Well here's the example.
[13:02] As Christ also hath loved us. That's how. Well how did he love us? He hath given himself. For us. An offering and a sacrifice to God. For a sweet smelling savor.
[13:13] That's a pretty high bar. I mean that's. That's a. Does it get any higher? Greater love hath no man than this. That a man lay down his life for his friends.
[13:23] Does it get any higher. For God calling us to walk in love. You know. Walk in love. The way I showed you. When I bought you something. And gave it to you last year.
[13:34] No. Walk in love. You know. Where. You know. I was kind to you. And you were mean to me. And I didn't do anything back. That's such a low standard. Our standard for how we treat each other.
[13:45] And think. Talking to each other. And human relationships. No. The bar is very high. It's what Jesus Christ did. By giving himself. For us. A sacrifice.
[13:57] An offering and a sacrifice to God. That's a pretty high thing. A standard. I want you. I want to point out. It says. That Christ hath given himself for us.
[14:08] He hath given himself. It's. It's an. He offered. It's a. There's the offering. He offered himself. To God. For us. On our behalf. The Bible says.
[14:18] For Christ hath once suffered for sins. The just for the unjust. That he might bring us to God. Being put to death. In the flesh. But quickened by the spirit. He offered himself for us.
[14:29] Nobody else could offer him. For us. You can't offer someone else. This is. This is just me. Being a little. Weird about something.
[14:41] I don't. Want to push this on anybody. But I've never been a big. Fan. Personally. Of baby dedications. And the reason being is. Is you can't. It's taken from.
[14:53] Hannah. And if you've done this. We've done this. We've kind of. I felt kind of like. You know. Handcuffed. Into doing this. At our previous church. When we had baby dedications. And we had our baby. And you know.
[15:04] What are we going to do? Sit in the pew. And not. While other people do it. So it just felt like. Be part of it. And I understand. Where it comes from. And Hannah. She. She lends her child. To the Lord.
[15:15] God gave her a son. That she prayed for. And she lent him to the Lord. As long as he lived. But. We're kind of. My point is. That. It's probably more for the parents.
[15:26] Than it is for the baby. A parent pledging. To raise their child. For Jesus Christ. But. Does any parent. Really. Offer their child. To God. And.
[15:38] Of course. The child doesn't stay at the church. And work. Throughout the week. And minister to. The needs of whatever. It's. It's a completely different thing. It's more sentimental. Maybe.
[15:49] The way it's become. Dedicating your baby. To the Lord. But. What I want to. The point I want to make. Is here in Romans chapter 12. Flip back there. We're going to walk in love.
[16:02] As Christ also. Hath loved us. And hath given himself. For us. An offering. It comes to a point. The real offering. The real dedication.
[16:13] Is when the baby. Grows up. And realizes. That Jesus Christ. Is worthy of my life. And I'm going to give. Myself. To him.
[16:23] That's where the true. Dedication is. In Romans chapter 12. Verse 1. I beseech you therefore. Brethren. By the mercies of God. That ye. Present your bodies.
[16:34] A living sacrifice. Holy. Except. Doesn't say that you present. Your babies. A living sacrifice. And I'm going to get off this. I don't want you to. Think I'm just. Hammering it.
[16:45] And it doesn't matter. To me that much. But the point I want to make. Is it really. Is it more important. That the child grows up. And nurture. And admonition of the Lord. And realizes. That on their own. I need to give myself.
[16:56] To Jesus Christ. My mom gave herself. To God. My dad gave himself. To God. But it's more important. In their mind. And heart. That they. Make a choice. To dedicate themselves.
[17:07] To the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what Christ did. Offered himself. And we need to offer ourselves. And our children. Need to come to the place. Where they offer themselves. All right. Back to Ephesians 5.
[17:18] Verse 2. 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 sweet smelling savor. There's a Bible term there.
[17:29] This sweet smelling savor. It goes back. It goes back. It goes back. Even into the. Old Testament. Of the understanding. Of those sacrifices. Came up to God. Those. The incense. The prayers.
[17:39] Are a picture of that. In the New Testament. They come up before God. And it's something that. In an illustrative manner. That we can understand. Them rising up to him. And him catching a whiff.
[17:50] And him. Discerning it. And liking it. And enjoying it. And appreciating it. And the sacrifice. That Christ made to God. As a sweet smelling savor. That's a verse you could.
[18:01] Or a term you could run through your Bible. And kind of get a little light on. Just the example of. God communing with man. And how our.
[18:12] Deeds and actions. And humility down here. Are received up there. Now in verse 3. He goes into some things. That should not be anywhere near you. We're to walk in love.
[18:22] But he says in verse 3. But fornication. In all uncleanness. Or covetousness. Let it not be once named among you. As becometh saints.
[18:34] Now back in 4 verse 17. There. To walk not as other Gentiles walk. Henceforth. And so no longer are these believers. And us included on this. To be known as Gentiles.
[18:47] To be known as. What we just use the term worldly anymore. The world. We don't really say Gentiles too much to each other. But if I could substitute that thought. We're not to be known as worldly.
[18:59] These worldly attributes. These sins of the flesh. Fornication. Uncleanness. Covetousness. That stuff should be gone from us. As becometh saints. That's what we're to be known as.
[19:11] In chapter 1 verse 1. Paul is writing to the saints. At Ephesus. Which are in Christ Jesus. That's you and me. Saints. So these certain works of the flesh. Or shouldn't be anywhere near us.
[19:23] Neither filthiness. Nor foolish talking. Nor jesting. Which are not convenient. But rather the giving of thanks. The word convenient.
[19:35] If you're. If you typically think of it as like a convenience store. Something easy. That's not really the term. Or the true definition of it. It's something as suitable. Or appropriate.
[19:47] And it's something that. I have a note here about it. A definition about it. Being suitable in this context. To the new man's activities. If it's. These things are not convenient.
[19:58] To the lifestyle of a saint. Of the new man. Filth. Foolish talking. That's not a way a new man talks. That's not a work of the spirit. So let it not be once named among you.
[20:11] It's not convenient to the new man. That's a. Inconvenience. To the spirit of God. Inside of you. Remember chapter 4.
[20:21] And verse 30. Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God. Whereby ye are sealed. And as God is in you. Do not. Put him through that. Filthiness.
[20:31] Foolish talking. And jesting. Which are not convenient. But what is something. Giving of thanks. Verse 4. But rather giving of thanks. Verse 5. For ye know. For this ye know.
[20:42] That no whoremonger. Nor unclean person. Nor covetous man. Who is an idolater. Hath any inheritance. In the kingdom of Christ. And of God.
[20:55] Now there's some. Easy ways to go off track here. When we see verses like this. People right away. Well if you're a. A whoremonger. Or unclean. Or covetous idolater.
[21:05] Then you're not going to heaven. And right away. With somebody that doesn't know. How to study their Bible. They just. Go off the rails here. And start thinking. You're going to lose your salvation.
[21:17] Take a look at Colossians chapter 3. And I wanted to point out this. In chapter 5. Verse 5 of Ephesians. It says. That person. For this ye know.
[21:28] That no whoremonger. Nor unclean person. Nor covetous man. Who is an idolater. Hath any inheritance. In the kingdom of Christ. And of God. The person doesn't have. An inheritance. It's what the Bible said.
[21:40] Clearly. Colossians chapter 3. Verse number 23. And 24. Whatsoever ye do. Do it heartily. As to the Lord. And not unto man.
[21:51] Knowing that of the Lord. Ye shall receive. The reward. Of the inheritance. For ye serve. The Lord Christ. But he that doeth wrong. Shall receive. For the wrong. So it has to do.
[22:03] With the reward. Of an inheritance. And the unclean person. The one that's going to. Live like Gentiles live. And after that manner. Is not going to receive.
[22:13] Come to. Look at 2 John. This is a good verse. To just kind of plug in. Alongside of this. 2 John. And verse number 8. 2 John.
[22:24] 2 John. 2 John. 2 John. 2 John. 2 John. 2 John. 2 John. 2 John. 2 John. 2 John. 2 John. 2 John. All the way back to 2 John.
[22:35] Verse number 8. Look to yourselves. Why? That we lose not. Those things. Which we have wrought.
[22:46] That means we've worked for. We've earned. But that we receive. A full reward. A full reward. Implying. Definitely implying.
[22:57] Someone can lose rewards. If they don't look to themselves. Paul told Timothy. Take heed to thyself. And to the ministry. Which thou hast received the Lord.
[23:07] So take heed. That was in Colossians 4 actually. Say to Archippus. Take heed to thyself. And to the ministry. All right. Ephesians chapter 5. So he's dealing specifically.
[23:20] With an inheritance. In the kingdom of Christ. And of God. It doesn't say. You won't go to heaven. Or you'll lose your salvation. If you don't live it. I mean. Somebody would take that verse.
[23:31] Without. Being accurate. In its wording. And just. Go that direction. Because it's an easy thing to do. But boy. Do you have to trample. Other scriptures. To do that.
[23:42] And you don't have to do that. When you read it clearly. Hath any inheritance. Here's another way to look at this. And. It's a reference to the person. And as we know.
[23:54] The person that commits these things. Is the old man. And as we've studied that already. The old man that's supposed to be put off. And the new man that's supposed to be put on. And. And he that.
[24:05] Doeth such things. This you know. That no whole monger. No unclean person. No. No. Hath any inheritance. In the kingdom of Christ. And of God. That person. Is not.
[24:16] Is not. Going to. Have an inheritance. That old man. And we. It's too much to cover again. Today. Here. But we could cross reference. Galatians 5.
[24:27] And Colossians 3. And run back to. First John again. In chapter 3. And chapter 5. And remind you that the old man. Is corrupt. And the old man.
[24:37] Is not inheriting anything. And the old man. Is the idolater. But. In Jesus Christ. You're washed. You're cleaned. You're sanctified. You're justified. And that is not the old man.
[24:50] And so when you sin. Let me take you to one. Go to 1 Corinthians 6. Here's another. Place we could. Cover in this one. 1 Corinthians 6.
[25:01] The old man. Is not going to get in. He's going to stay here. Thank God. 1 Corinthians 6. Verse 9.
[25:19] And again. He's dealing with the person. And I'll make it. There's a distinguishment. To be made. Between the person. And the act. The person.
[25:30] Versus the. The work. Of the flesh. Verse 9 says. Know ye not. That the unrighteous. Shall not inherit. The kingdom of God. Okay. Now it seems. He's plainly talking about.
[25:40] Lost people here. Because he's going to say. We're not that person anymore. Be not deceived. Neither fornicators. Nor idolaters. Nor adulterers. Nor effeminate. Nor abusers of themselves. Of mankind. Nor thieves.
[25:51] Nor covetous. Nor drunkards. Nor revilers. Nor extortioners. Shall inherit. The kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But. Ye are washed. Ye are sanctified.
[26:03] Ye are justified. In the name of the Lord Jesus. And by the spirit of our God. Now. Again. This can be really. Quickly. Derailed.
[26:14] And taken wrong. I've heard a man. Stand in a pulpit. Of our former church. A speaker came in. And he meant well. I'm sure.
[26:24] But he stood in a pulpit. And he read this passage. And when he got into verse number 10. He said. Nor thieves. Nor covetous. Nor drunkards. And he parked on that one.
[26:36] And just said. If you're a drunkard. I got news for you. You're not saved. And I. Okay. You could say. Yeah. The old man. Is a drunkard. And he's not saved.
[26:47] You could. There is truth. But what he's saying. Is if you. In this church. Are given to alcohol. And are a drunk. Then you're not truly saved. Because. If you were.
[26:58] You wouldn't be that. Because the Bible says. And he puts this heavy yoke. Upon. The people of Christ. To point out a sin. And to emphasize.
[27:09] In that one particular instance. Or any of them. Adulterer. Fornication. Idolatry. The word covetous. Who is an idolater. We already read that. Anybody not guilty.
[27:20] Of being covetous. You're not saved. And of course. The passage doesn't say that. It doesn't ever say that. But. As far as. Discerning between the old man.
[27:31] And the new man. That guy is not saved. The old man is not saved. But he's calling it. That person. An unsaved man there. In Galatians chapter. Five.
[27:42] He shows that. All of those things. Right there. That are mentioned. Are works of the flesh. And he also says. The flesh lusteth. Against the spirit. And the spirit. Against the flesh. And teaching us.
[27:54] That we. Can choose. To follow the flesh. And then commit. These works. But. Ye are sanctified. Ye. In the new man.
[28:04] In Jesus Christ. Are washed. So you gotta. I told you a few weeks ago. How important this doctrine. Of the two natures is. It just. It's gonna keep coming up. And it should. And it's good that we all get a handle.
[28:16] On understanding. The eternal security. Of the new man. And understanding. That the old man. Is still there. And is guilty. And is. Can do anything. If he's given permission to.
[28:28] He can do anything. Including being a drunkard. And any of the. List. All right. Back in Ephesians 5. And that was in verse number 5.
[28:45] Verse number 6. Says. Let no man deceive you. With vain words. Oh boy. That's an incredible statement. Right there. And there are vain. Talkers.
[28:56] And deceivers. All over the world. All over the waves. All over the airwaves. All over YouTube. All over the television. A bunch of liars. A bunch of fools. That don't understand. Number one.
[29:06] They don't understand the word of God. They teach false doctrine. Number two. They discredit the words of God. And teach other. Things as truth. Or subjective truth. Or relativism. Number three.
[29:17] They ignore the Lord completely. And teach some universal garbage. That. Let no man deceive you. With vain words. For because of these things. Cometh the wrath of God.
[29:29] Upon the children of disobedience. And that is the. A term for the lost Gentile. From back in chapter 2. And verse number 2.
[29:40] Wherein in time past. You were that person. A child of children of disobedience. You were against God. Without Christ. And the wrath of God. Is coming on them.
[29:50] And that's. In Romans chapter 1. Pretty clearly. Because of these things. Cometh the wrath of God. Upon the children of disobedience. Verse 7. Be not ye. Therefore.
[30:01] Partakers. With them. That command. That was given. Almost. 2,000 years ago. To a group. In Ephesus. Is still.
[30:12] As much alive. And real. And applicable. To this. Church. And to every individual. In here. Be ye. Be not ye. Therefore. Partakers. With them. Who? The children of disobedience.
[30:24] The ones that are being deceived. With vain words. Or deceiving. Deceivers. Deceived. And being deceived. Be not ye. Therefore. Partakers. With them. For ye.
[30:35] Were sometimes. Darkness. But now. Are ye. Light. In the Lord. Walk. As children of light. He's calling.
[30:46] For the Gentiles. That have trusted Christ. And are in Christ. To distance themselves. From their former lifestyle. And from their former companions. And get away from that.
[30:58] And start being light. In the Lord. And walking. As children of light. And John says. To walk in the light. As he is in the light. You're not going to find.
[31:08] God. Fellowshiping. With these unfruitful works. Of darkness. In verse 11. He's not going to be partakers. With them. And you're supposed to get out. From amongst them. And be separate. And this is a.
[31:20] A scriptural command. That's people are afraid. To talk about. Or they. They want to attack. Grace. Grace. Grace. And they. They don't want to get real. To the nuts and bolts.
[31:30] Of the Christian life. Where you need to abstain. From some things. And draw a line. And be pure. For Jesus sake. For the gospel sake. For the word of God's sake. And so what if somebody.
[31:44] Jabbers about you. So what if they don't understand it. You can't change their mind. But you can do what's right. And you can step out. From the sin. And draw a line.
[31:55] And say. I'm living for God. And if you're not going to live for God. Then I'm over here. And it's just not going to happen. It's not going to work out with us. And for some reason. Christians get this thought.
[32:05] We've got to just. Hold hands. With everybody. And show them Jesus love. Well the scripture tells you. Clearly in some cases. Especially here.
[32:16] Is there some distance. To be made. Ye were sometimes darkness. But now are ye light in the Lord. That's a New Testament theme. Is light. Light. If you've got a relationship.
[32:27] With the lost world. In any way. Your relationship. Ought to be that you are light. And you are shining. To them. And displaying Christ to them. And preaching Christ to them.
[32:39] We preach not ourselves. But Christ Jesus the Lord. For ye were sometimes darkness. But now are ye light in the Lord. Walk as children of light. Skip the parentheses for a second.
[32:50] Proving what is acceptable. Unto the Lord. Boom. That's a verse. To highlight. To underline. To put. Draw arrows.
[33:00] Back to light. All over the place. Proving what is acceptable. To the Lord. And if you love Jesus Christ. The way you ought to. And you've offered yourself. To him.
[33:10] The way you should have. And you're following him. As dear children. Like you ought to be. That's what matters. Is what's acceptable. Unto the Lord. And it's an easy thing.
[33:22] For me and you. To decide. What's acceptable. For us. Or for our church. Or for our friends. Or for our family. But when Jesus Christ. Gets the preeminence. It's going to be.
[33:32] What's acceptable. To him. Back in verse 9. I skipped it. But let's read it. For the fruit of the spirit. Is in all goodness. And righteousness. And truth.
[33:43] As opposed to. Darkness. And as opposed to those. Things that are not convenient. Previously mentioned. The fruit of the spirit. So where you're going to find.
[33:56] The fruit of the spirit. In your life. Is in goodness. And righteousness. And truth. Truth. And that ought to be. I have a note in my bible.
[34:06] Highlighting goodness. Righteousness. And truth. Saying that ought to be. My testimony. Goodness. Righteousness. Truth. And if I have that. The fruit of the spirit.
[34:16] Is going to be flowing. Through those things. The fruit of the spirit. Is in. That's where you'll find it. It's in goodness. It's in righteousness. And it's in truth.
[34:28] Truth. It is not in darkness. It is not in fellowship. With darkness. It is not in being partakers. With them. It's in truth. And the bible says.
[34:38] The truth is in Jesus. Earlier in. Chapter number. Four. All right. Verse number. Ten. Proving what is acceptable. Unto the lord. And have no fellowship.
[34:49] With the unfruitful works. Of darkness. But rather. Reprove them. Oh my. This is getting worse. Not only are you supposed to separate from them.
[35:01] But you're also supposed to reprove them. I said if you have any connection. It ought to be that. That I am light in the lord. And a beam of light. Shining into the lost world.
[35:11] Will reprove them. You know. It's as simple as this. This is real simple. Every Sunday morning. That you get up and leave your home. And come to church.
[35:22] Church. Is. Is a very mild. But nonetheless. A reproof. To your whole neighborhood. Of where they ought to be. And they don't maybe know.
[35:33] But maybe it would be a good idea. To let them know. We go to church. Every Sunday morning. Right down the road here. Bible Baptist Church. We'd love to invite you to come. And join them. Come with us one time. Check it out. Every Sunday.
[35:44] We'll be going there. And I encourage you to join us. And every Sunday morning. While they're out doing yard work. Or out hanging up their Christmas lights. Or whatever's going on. Taking a walk through the neighborhood.
[35:55] They see you waving. So they know you're going to church. And that ought to be a reproof to them. That they ought to be going to church. And it may not be. But when your testimony is. In truth.
[36:06] In righteousness. In goodness. It starts to show up. It shows up. That's just a little one. A reproof. The fact that if you were drunk.
[36:17] And you're hanging out with your coworkers. Or family. Around the hall. Whatever. You'll throw back a few. And the fact that you say. No. Not touching that.
[36:27] That's a reproof to them. Not just saying that I've changed. It's saying. I believe. That's wrong. And they may just say. Eh. Whatever. But in time. That's going to separate you.
[36:38] More and more and more. The more you stay away. It's a reproof to them. It's light shining. On their darkness. If you partake with them. And are partaker with them. They'll see.
[36:49] They'll see no need to change. They'll never even consider. That I should stop. But when somebody stops. The sin. And being a partaker in the sin. Immediately. A reason has to be.
[37:01] Brought up. It has to be understood. Why? Why did they stop? Oh they got religion. You know. It's simple as saying. I'm saved. I'm a child of God now. And I'm not going to partake in things.
[37:11] That I believe are wrong. For Jesus sake. It's a reproof. So we'll stop there. We'll pick it up. Lord willing. Maybe. I guess next week. And.
[37:22] I think there's some. Pumpkin bread out there. If you're interested. To grab a bite. Feel free to grab that. For a few minutes. And then we'll come back together. At the top of the hour.