Ephesians | Session 12 | 5:1-7

The speaker welcomes the audience to Directional Bible Ministries and discusses the importance of rightly dividing the Word of God. They mention that they are studying the book of Ephesians and focus on the practical aspects of living out the doctrine taught in the previous chapters. The speaker emphasizes the need to imitate God and walk in love, using the example of a child imitating their father. They also highlight the importance of understanding the love shown by Christ and how believers should strive to love others in the same way. The speaker mentions the sins that should not be named among believers, including fornication, uncleanness, and covetousness. They emphasize that these behaviors are not fitting for saints and should be turned away from. The speaker also briefly discusses the issues with society's views on marriage and the need for Christians to stand firm in their beliefs. Good morning and welcome to Directional Bible Ministries. This is a teaching ministry that is called to rightly divide the Word of God for the people of God. I hope you and yours is doing well. Today is December the 21st, Christmas is right around the corner this weekend. I hope God has blessed you richly during this year. First today we are continuing our study in the book of Ephesians. We find ourselves in Ephesians chapter number 5 right now, so let's go ahead and look over there in our Bibles, Ephesians chapter number 5. Paul is continuing in the practical. Remember chapters 1, 2, 3, the first part of chapter number 4 is very doctrinal. We can see there as we back up into chapter number 4, unity in the body of Christ and then right here in chapter 4 verse number 17, he starts this practical to the end of the book. In other words, how we are to practically live out the doctrine that he's established in the previous chapter. So he starts out here in verse number 1, Be ye therefore, therefore in lieu of everything else that I've just said, Paul is a very linear thinker, Paul, this and this and this, therefore this is how you are to be living. So in verse number 1, Be ye therefore followers of God as dear children. The word followers means imitators. So be ye imitators of God. How? As dear children. Just as a child imitates their earthly father, so we are to imitate our heavenly father. And of course, if you've had children, I've got two boys, they're 27, 28 now. I remember when they would imitate me. They would put on my boots, they would put on my jackets, they would put on my hat. You know, they want to emulate, they want to imitate their father. So too we should be imitating our heavenly father. That's a tall order right there, buddy. We read over it like it's nothing, but that's a tall one. And walk in love. So not only are we to imitate our heavenly father, but we are to walk in love. You know, that really, you know, as we imitate God, you know, our heavenly father, that can be tough, you know, just backing up a little bit in our society where, to be honest with you, I read the other day that I think it's like, I don't know what the numbers are across the board, but I know within like the black community, it's like 70% are born out of wedlock. I don't know what that number would be across the board, but I mean, can you imagine how many children are being raised without any contact with their earthly fathers? So when they read something like this, be ye imitators of your heavenly father, they have no earthly father to compare that to. And I'm one of those. I was raised by my grandmother. I never saw an example of an earthly father, at least one that was worthy to follow. So that can be quite foreign in our broken world because of just the dysfunctional family unit that we have, you know, so it's completely foreign. The only examples I've had are bad, which, you know, I've heard, you know, bad examples as good as a good example because now I know not what to do. Now I know what not to do, but I don't know, that can be tough in our dysfunctional world where children are raised without fathers because mothers can't teach, especially sons have to be men. They can't do it. And that's what we're seeing today in our society. All of this goes back to we're trying to, you know, we've destroyed the nuclear family and so many of these, you know, it's almost anathema in modern circles, one man, one woman, children. I mean, to even say that now, I mean, you're going to get canceled because people don't want to hear that anymore. They don't want to hear the truth like that. And of course, you know, that's a whole other, our society is just cratering because of that. And of course, nobody wants to hear it, but it's still, there's consequences to sin, to bad behavior. And then he says in verse two, and walk in love as Christ has also loved us, given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savor. So notice that the believer is to also walk in the love that Christ has had for us. You know, and of course, it's hard to do that when you don't know how much Christ has done for you. But once you realize that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God did not send his Son into the world and in the world, but the world through him might be saved. I mean, God sent his only Son, that's the incarnation that we're celebrating in Christmas today. And of course, Christmas is not celebrated for what it is, it's become a secular holiday. It's all about jingles and Santa Claus and, you know, and elves and, you know, I mean, Satan has absolutely ruined everything. It's like I was talking to somebody, when I was a kid, you went on, you went on Christmas break, and you went on Easter break. Now we go on winter break, and spring break. You know, why? Because, you know, political correctness, you know, it's just amazing. I mean, it's just tragic what's happening to our country. And there's no doubt, there's an element of demonic there, but it's also just an element of cowardice on the part of the Christian church. I strongly believe we are the majority, I don't believe the majority of Americans are Christians by any stretch of the imagination, but I do believe that the majority of Americans are conservative. It's just the he who screams the loudest wins, and we let them out scream us to get their way in tolerance, in the name of tolerance. But anyway, that's another subject. We are to walk in the same love that Christ had for us. Christ is to be our standard. You can see here in 2 Corinthians 10, 12, for we dare not make ourselves of the number or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves, but they are measuring themselves by themselves, comparing themselves among themselves. It's not wise. So we're not, our standard should not be the world. Our standard should not even be our brother. Our standard should be Christ, that I should measure myself by him, not by fellow man. The rest of the verse demonstrates how much God loved us in that he had given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God. So the same way that Christ loved us so much, he was willing to offer himself up as an offering, we are to walk in that same love for one another. Can you imagine if we loved each other like that? But our love in this sinful, fallen world is a very conditional love. You know, I'll love you if you continue to meet my level of expectation. Can you imagine if Christ had loved us like that? I mean, he would have dropped us like a hot potato a long time ago. But he had an unconditional love for us, so much so that he gave himself for us. And then in verse number three, but fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not be once named among you as become saints. Now he lists sins that should not be named among believers. So as we are being imitators of God, as we're walking in the same love that Christ had for us, we should not be committing fornication. We should not be in uncleanness or covetousness. Matter of fact, it shouldn't be even named among us. Now fornication, this includes all sexual sins. Other translations, I think a little more accurately says immorality. Immorality speaks of all sins. And understand there's, I mean, I think there's five sexual sins. There's adultery, fornication, incest, bestiality, and homosexuality. Oh, yes. Homosexuality is a sin, but also is having sex, fornication outside a wedlock or adultery, having sex within the bounds of marriage outside of that covenant relationship with somebody else, and of course, incest, you know, with children, bestiality with animals. Those are the sins that are covered in immorality that we should not be participating in. And yet, how many churches have rainbow flags out in the front yard? Is there an adultery flag? Is there a fornication flag? Is there a bestiality or an incest flag? You know, why is there a rainbow flag? You can put all the rainbow flags you want to in front of your church. It doesn't make it right. Yes, people who are immoral are allowed to come into our congregations. You bet. You know, it's like the Methodists said a long time ago before they descended into their abyss, you know, open hearts, open doors, open minds. Yeah. I mean, our hearts are open. Our doors are open. Open minds. I knew where they were going when they threw that one out there. And of course, they've descended into that abyss ever since. But our doors are open and our hearts are open. And you can come to God just as you are, and he loves you enough to allow you to do that. But he also loves you enough not to allow you to stay that way. We still need to turn from our sin. And adultery is a sin. Fornication is a sin. Incest is a sin. Bestiality is a sin. And homosexuality is a sin. And as children of God, you're going to walk away from those things. So, fornication, it's covering all those sectional sins. And uncleanness is impurity. Covetousness is a word that means holding or desiring more or just plain old greed. These things should not be named among them as becometh saints. That word becometh means fitting or proper. These things should not be named among them as is proper or fitting for saints. Saints should not be doing these things. Now, you know, I went back and forth on this word saints in the book of Ephesians, especially, and you saw it in the book of Galatians. I do pay attention to personal pronouns. I'm too much of a grammar nut not to. Of course, you wouldn't know it with all my misspelling on these notes. But I fix them. Paul, throughout the book of Ephesians, has, I believe, went back and forth between us, we, and you, ye, referring to the nation of Israel, referring to Gentiles. I think Paul does that a lot. I'm more convinced of that every day. I may be in the minority there, but let it be. But when he talks about has become saints, is this a reference to the Jews? And some make some pretty good arguments that the word saints, when Paul uses it, he's not necessarily referring to the body of Christ. He's referring to kingdom believers, which are Jewish believers. So, if this is a reference to the Jews, it means that believers should not do as Jews under the law don't do. In other words, the Jews don't do it because the law forbids them not to do it. Well, we should not do it because God commands us not to do it. In other words, we need to emulate the Jews. That doesn't mean we're under the law like they are. But just as they don't do it because the law says they shouldn't do it, so, too, we should not do it because we want to be imitators of God. And again, if it's not, if I'm totally wrong on those pronouns and that word saints, it just means that believers should not do these things. Okay. I mean, you know. So, and then there's version four. Neither filthiness. Now filthiness, that means obscene. It speaks of the portrayal to description of sexual matters. We should not be obscene. We should not be involved in, you know, in filthy talking. You know what filthy talking is. That's, you know, talking in such a way that is filthy. It's obscene. It's portraying. It's usually talking about sexual things, a filthy mind. But rather not foolish talking. Foolish talking is silly talk. It's buffoonery. It's just stupid. Nor jesting. Okay. And jesting is to speak of turning words in a negative sense or twisting in a vulgar sense. Today, we see it a lot and we call it innuendo. It means you say something, but you're implying something else. And you see that a lot in modern day sitcoms today. A lot of innuendo. Even in children's movies, there's innuendo that only the adults catch because it goes over the mind of an innocent child. But Paul says we shouldn't be involved in filthiness. We shouldn't be involved as imitators of God in foolish talking or jesting. And these things are not convenient. Okay. Not convenient means these things are not appropriate. A child of God should not be involved in filthiness and foolish talking and jesting. We shouldn't be involved in that. People should be ashamed to be around a child of God doing those things. And you've been in conversations. I've been in conversations. Oh, sorry, sorry, pastor. Or sorry, Duane. I didn't mean, you know, they'll say a curse word. They'll make some kind of implication. And they feel kind of ashamed that they've done it in front of you. That's because you are an imitator of God and they know it. They should feel ashamed around you. They shouldn't be doing it, period, let alone if they're a child of God. So, but rather giving thanks. So, you know, we shouldn't be involved in filthiness, foolish talking or jesting. These things are not appropriate for you and me, but rather we need to be giving thanks. I got a note here. Albert Barnes says, instead of filthiness and foolish talk and jesting, we should be using that time in the service of God because it's a waste of time. We need to be thanking God for all that he's done for us. And how do we do that? It's not just thank you, God. It's living a life that is worthy of the calling to which we're called. And that is the ultimate in giving thanks. My children imitating me is the ultimate thanks that they could, the highest form of praise that they could give to me. And so too it is for you and I to our heavenly father. And then he says in verse five, for this you 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. So, Paul seems to be making a reference to verse three. For ye know, see this right here, fornication, what do we talk about? That's immorality. There's whoremonger. Unclean, okay, nor unclean person, covetous, nor covetous man. So, in verse five, he's referring back to verse number three. And then he adds, who is an idolater. So, this is someone who's obviously not a follower of God. Someone who's obviously not walking in love and giving himself as Christ gave himself for us. He's an idolater. He's worshiping something else. These people do not have any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. So, again, he seems to be comparing believers, possibly to Jews that are under the law. But he's not questioning their salvation, but their behavior. Your behavior is not lending itself to being a follower of God. So, for this you know, that no whoremonger, or unclean person, or covetous man, which again is saying these three things again, they're idolaters. They're doing these things because they're not being imitators of God. And therefore, they're not going to have any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. So, these people don't do these things and call themselves a child of God. Let no man deceive you with vain words. For because of these things, what things? Right here. These things. Whoremonger, unclean, covetous people, idolaters. Because of these things, cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be ye not therefore partakers with them. So, again, this verse seems to be targeted at someone specifically that was spreading this stuff possibly in the church of Ephesus because he's talking about be ye therefore, be not ye therefore partakers with them. So, is he just generically referring to people, you know, that do these things? Or is he referring to a group of people there in Ephesus that is doing these things? You know, not quite sure. Either way, as children of God, we're not supposed to be doing these things. You know, and Paul's dealt with this. Romans 16, 17. Now, I beseech you, brethren, mark them which causes divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine that you've learned. Avoid them. You need to stay away from people like this. Not only do you not need to be a person like this, but you need to be staying away from people like this. And Titus 3.10, and a man that is a heretic after the first and second admonition, reject him. A heretic meaning someone that's going contrary to scripture, someone that's defying scripture and teaching others also. I think that's important. I think just disobeying scripture doesn't make you a heretic. It's disobeying and then getting followers after you, trying to normalize that in the church that makes you a heretic. Second Thessalonians 3.14, if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man have no company with him that he may be ashamed. So, you need to stay away from people like this. So, you know, Paul's warning them. You know, if he's referring to a specific group there in Ephesus or not, or just people who do this in general, either way, you should not be partakers with them. You don't need to be a part of what they got going on. So, and verse number eight, nine, we'll get to that next time. For ye were sometimes in darkness. And of course, he's talking about us. You might have one time did that, but you shouldn't be doing that now. So, we'll talk about that next time. Anyway, God bless you guys. Hope you're doing well. And always remember that God does love you and he wants the best for you. And he's working all things out for your good. Remember, if I can ever do anything for you, you can contact me through any of these platforms. Please know that I'm praying. And if I can pray specifically for you or your family, please reach out and let me know. God bless you guys. Have a great day. And if I don't see you between now and this weekend, I hope you have a very merry Christmas. And remember that Christ is the reason for the season. God bless you.