Twice I have been locked out of my car.
I could look inside and see the keys inside the car, and yet, I couldn't get to them.
Everything that I needed in that car -- shelter, transportation, radio -- depended on having the key.
Ephesians 5:8 contains the key to open up the riches of heaven that would otherwise be locked from us
Ephesians 5:8 says, "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.
Live as children of light."
Not only does that Scripture passage provide the key to this section of Ephesians,
but is also a synopsis of the entire book.
That Scripture passage tells us what we were -- we were darkness.
It also tells us what we are -- we are light.
It also tells us how we should behave as Christians -- as children of light.
Our identity as Christians ought to affect our daily lives which we read of
in the last half of Ephesians.
First, you were darkness.
Did you notice that Paul did not write, "You were once in darkness."
It is true that the Ephesians were once in darkness, but Paul claims that their former condition
was even worse than that.
He says that darkness was in them.
They were identified with darkness as it was their very nature.
This person needs more than mere information.
The lights of knowledge and insight could shine directly on him, but because the darkness is within,
the light does no good.
An illustration of this is cigarette smoking.
You can read on a pack of cigarettes these words: "Warning: the Surgeon General has
determined that cigarette smoking is dangerous to your health."
He does not say, "may be dangerous."
Clearly he says that the product is hazardous to the smoker.
There has been so much advertising of this nature, but it still doesn't keep people from smoking.
For them that information is not enough to change their behavior.
Paul's illustration of the darkness of people concerns two great trouble areas.
They are sex and money.
Neither the sex nor money is evil per se; our problems are with lust and greed.
Paul mentions lust, first.
He assumes that such actions are indicators of a person's character.
For we read in chapter 5, verse 3: "Among you there must not be even a hint
of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity."
Paul states that impure actions of any kind belonging to darkness, and have no place
in the life of a Christian.
Not only is this true of our actions, but it is also true of our speech.
In verse 4 Paul says, "Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking,
which are out of place."
After condemning immoral actions in verse three, and immoral talk in verse 4,
Paul condemns immoral character.
Ephesians 5:5 says, "For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure, or greedy person
... has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God."
So how do you characterize an immoral, impure...person?
I don't believe that God labels a person "immoral" because of a single lapse.
David was guilty of an immoral act, but the Word of God does not label him as an "immoral person."
David is known as "the man after God's own heart."
It is what a person is habitually and characteristically that causes him to be called
an immoral person.
This should not minimize a single act of sin.
David suffered horribly for his sin, and other people have also paid dearly throughout their lives
for one uncharacteristic offense.
God judges differently than people do.
God cares about character.
God looks on the heart.
God perceives those who are habitually immoral.
God also knows who are His own, though they "fall" as dreadfully and publicly as David did.
Lust is darkness in action regarding sex matters, and greed is darkness in action
regarding money matters.
In verse three, Paul condemns greed, and then in verse five tells us that it is equivalent to idolatry.
A greedy person worships material gain, and sacrifices many other values to his idol.
Greed lurks behind almost every imaginable evil in our society.
Today, drugs are destroying many lives, but it is greed that makes pushers
and suppliers traffic in human lives for a profit.
Pornography pollutes our world, but it is greed that induces the publishers and distributors
to hand it out.
Debt is a heavy burden on many families today, but greed has often been the culprit,
luring people to buy things beyond their means, and motivating lenders of money
to extend them credit.
Greed is responsible for many fraudulent advertising claims, crooked sales promotions,
astronomical damage suits, and exploitation in hundreds of forms, legal and otherwise.
"You were darkness."
Lust and greed belonged to our past, but they do not have a place in our present.
Verse seven says, "Therefore, do not be partners with them."
The Living Bible tells us that we should not even associate with such people.
J. B. Phillips' translation is also direct: "Have nothing to do with men like that."
The Revise Standard Version also says, "Do not associate with them."
Now we are told by Paul in 1 Corinthians 5:5-11 that we are not to disassociate ourselves
from this world's sinners, and he specifically includes the immoral and covetous.
Now it would not be possible to completely disassociate ourselves with those of that character.
If we did, we would have to become monks or hermits to avoid associating
with immoral and greedy people for our world is full of them.
The New International Version tells us that we're not forbidden for any and all associations,
but only the very close communion involved in partnership.
The King James and the New American Standard does not forbid associating with sinners,
but only "partaking together with them."
We can certainly associate with sinners without sharing their evil deeds.
Jesus did so, and He expects us to do so also.
To refuse to associate with people is to reject them, which is not an expression of love
and personal acceptance that draws sinners to Jesus.
Christians, we are light, and we must live accordingly.
Just as Paul said that we were once darkness, he now says that we are light.
Notice we are not merely in the light.
We are aware that light has three primary effects.
Each of which can be observed in our lives as Christians.
Light produces fruit. (Versus 9, 10)
Light exposes evil. (Versus 11-13)
Light provides guidance. (Versus 15-17)
Light produces fruit.
Verse nine says, "The fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth."
The expression, "the fruit of life," might sound strange to us.
We don't think in terms of light producing fruit.
We think in terms of plants producing fruit.
We talk about the fruit of the vine, or the fruit of a tree.
Actually, all of these fruits are dependent on light.
They could not exist without light.
Light is essential for photosynthesis, the chemical process which enables plants
to draw nutrients from the air and from the soil.
So all fruit is "fruit of the light."
The light of God produces good fruit in us, and that must affect every aspect of our lives.
Since we as Christians are light, we should produce good fruit in our lives daily.
The fruit is described in Galatians 5:22-23:
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."
Christians are involved in our social and welfare organizations.
Christians are also involved in politics, and we need them there to influence communities
and nations for good.
Christians are also involved in business, and have lifted the standards of workmanship
and honesty for many industries.
These are as they should be.
All these are fruits of the light.
Light also exposes evil.
Verse 14 says, "For it is light that makes everything visible."
When I was growing up, and looking for my first car, I was told by my friends
that I should never buy a used car at night, and especially if it is raining.
Of course, that made sense to me.
We couldn't really see the scratches and nicks, and if the car had been in a wreck,
we might not notice that it has been poorly repaired if it wasn't in bright light or the sunshine.
It is the light that makes everything visible.
Things often look a lot different in the natural light of day, and so do people.
If we are light, we should reveal things and people as they are.
We should have the effect of making things visible that would otherwise go unseen.
And certainly we should not engage in anything that would be impure as verse 11 declares:
"Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them."
God told His people of Israel, "Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil." (Exodus 23:2)
This command applies whether the multitude involved is a worldly crowd or a Christian crowd.
Light exposes evil wherever it exists, and we must also.
Light also produces guidance.
Ephesians 5:17 says, "Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is."
In Psalm 119:105 we read, "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path."
Christ is our guiding light as we read in John 8:12:
"I am the light of the world.
Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
Now let us look at our key verse: "You are light in the Lord." (Ephesians 5:8)
The question is how do we get the insight we need to guide our lives rightly?
First, the answer is so simple.
We get insight from the Word of God.
This is different from getting specific directions from God's Word.
We do get that as we see in Ephesians 4:29 that reads:
"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths."
Insight, is more than being familiar with God's Word as a whole.
Knowing the Bible is like knowing a person.
Communication is much surer and fuller between those who know each other
than it is between casual acquaintances.
A specific detail may be clear in any case, but understanding implications and intentions
and nuances depends on more intimate friendships.
The psalmist described the insight that an intimate knowledge of God's Word produces.
Look at Psalm 119:97-100: "O how love I thy law!
It is my meditation all the day.
Thou through Thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: for they are ever with me.
I have more understanding that all my teachers: for Thy testimonies are my meditation.
I understand more than the ancients because I keep Thy precepts."
We also get insight from experience.
Too many Christians have made their residence in ivory towers, and then have taken it
upon themselves to pronounce God's verdict on the many complex questions of contemporary life.
It is easy to provide answers when we don't face the problems, and when we don't have to care
about the people involved; and we don't have to live with the situation.
Ezekiel was a prophet sent by God, but he did not proclaim God's message from an ivory tower.
In Ezekiel 3:15, we read about him: "Then I came to them of the captivity...
and I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days."
We need to "sit where they sat" before we can gain the insight needed
to help solve the problems of people.
We also get insight through prayer.
This is more than asking God for wisdom in specific situations, though we should certainly do that.
(James 1:5-8)
in prayer, we enter into a two-way communication with God.
God gives us insight as we pray.
As we continue to wait before God, He may even give us an insight on an altogether different matter
than we have been praying about.
We are light, so we have wisdom and understanding.
We are light, so we have certain reliable guiding principles by which to live.
Paul expresses one such principle in verse 16: "Making the most of every opportunity"
or "redeeming the time" as the King James Version expresses it.
What is the best use of our time?
The best use must lie between the two extremes of frittering all our time away on trifles,
and so carefully regimenting so much of our time that we lose the joy of living.
We must discover the wrong uses of our time, and determine the right uses of our time.
We must not overspend our time for leisure nor should we work outrageous hours.
We must learn how to work and rest.
We must not drift through life without a purpose, and we must not plunge into frenetic activities.
We must evaluate our activities and adjust accordingly.
We must" make the most of every opportunity," including the opportunities to recreate,
to recuperate, to worship, and to enjoy being with our loved ones.
Bountiful blessings and satisfying victories belong to the Christian who has truly become
a light in a dark world.
Sermon adapted from several resources by Dr. Harold L. White
