Supporting Texts: Matthew 5:48, 22:37, 24:12; Luke 21:9, 26; John 8:12, 13:33-35; Romans 12:2; Galatians 5:22-25; Colossians 1:13; 2 Timothy 3:1; 1 Peter 4:8; 1 John 1:5-7, 2:15-17.
In Paul’s second letter to Timothy, the apostle wrote, “In the last days difficult times will come.” The word “difficult” can be translated by the words “treacherous” or “perilous.” Many believers in the Lord Jesus Christ are finding things that are happening in the world around them right now are beginning to fit the conditions of difficult, treacherous, or perilous. Consequently, it may be wise to recall some of our Lord’s important words regarding the world’s latter times.
In chapter twenty-four of Matthew’s gospel, we find Jesus’ sermon known as the Olivet Discourse. In that message, our Lord describes conditions of the times just before He returns. In verse twelve He declared that those times will be characterized by lawlessness. In the last times, there will be a discernable increase in lawlessness. That is, people will be intentionally breaking the law. Crime will not increase because there are no laws: there will be plenty of laws on the books. It will be that people will deliberately choose to break those laws even though they know that their conduct is wrong. We have unquestionably detected an increase of lawless behavior. As Christians, we know that this is a sign pointing to the return of Jesus Christ.
In the gospel of Luke, in chapter twenty-one, Luke also includes parts of Jesus’ Olivet Discourse. In verse twenty-six, we read that “men [will be] fainting from fear.” One translation says that “men’s hearts [will be] failing them from fear” (NKJV). In other words, global conditions will become so threatening that fear and terror will grip the hearts of growing numbers of people. The anxiety brought on by increased fear will cause more and more people to lose their faith and hope. But this should not happen to those who have truly trusted in Jesus Christ as their Savior because they know that He is in complete charge and all things are unfolding on this earth and among the world’s governments according to His precise plan. This is exactly what Jesus said in Luke 21:9: “When you hear of wars and disturbances, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first.” As Christians who believe the Bible, we must understand that lawlessness and fear will increase in intensity and frequency as the time of Jesus’ return draws nearer. Christian: do not fear, the coming of Christ is getting closer as each moment passes.
In our study of the book of Ephesians, we have discovered that the first three chapters are about the Christian’s identity in Christ. Through the Holy Spirit’s inspiration, the Apostle Paul has endeavored to tell us the wonderful gifts of grace given to each Christian. We are redeemed, forgiven all of our trespasses, adopted into God’s forever family, given an eternal inheritance and have been sealed by the Holy Spirit. These are extremely important truths for each Christian to know and understand. These doctrines explain who we are in God’s sight and forms the foundation for how we are supposed to live in this life. These words, written to believers in a local church nearly twenty centuries ago, are still very relevant and absolutely necessary for Christians of the twenty-first century.
Today we will focus on three aspects of the Christian life found in the fifth chapter of Ephesians. First, the command to imitate God. Second, our walk in love, and we will conclude with living in the light. Let us begin with the command to imitate God.
THE COMMAND TO IMITATE GOD. Ephesians 5:1-2
Follow a Biblical Worldview. I think most Christians intuitively know that living the Christian life requires a high standard of moral excellence and ethical values. We seem to understand that certain behaviors are “Christian” and others are not. This, of course, is based upon the words of the Lord Jesus in Matthew 5:48, “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” This idea of separation from the world’s typical behaviors is repeated many other places in the Scriptures. For example, Romans 12:2 reminds us, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” We are not to allow this world to press us into its mold of ungodly behavior. We are to allow God to transform us by renewing our minds through obedience to His Word.
I draw your attention to verses from First John that are familiar to us: “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever” (1 John 2:15-17). Like I said earlier, that we are to live an ethical and moral life of godliness apart from what the world system tells us is something we already know. But how Paul tells us to do that in Ephesians five is just amazing.
Focus on the Divine Pattern. In verse one, Paul’s words are simply startling! In fact, it is one of the most stunning admonitions in the entire Bible. He tells us we are “to be imitators of God.” You heard correctly: we are to imitate God! We, as mere mortals, are to imitate the character of the living God. This is the only place in the Bible where these words occur and they point to a standard of living beyond which there is none higher. This is Paul’s supreme idea and it raises God’s expectation for Christian behavior to the highest level possible. We must imitate God! How can we live at this level? How is it possible to imitate One who is infinitely above us – the sovereign God of the universe? To begin with, we must recognize that God has attributes which we simply cannot imitate. These are attributes that are His alone. For example, God is self-existent. He has no origins and is therefore answerable to no one. As created beings we have a beginning and are accountable to God and others. Ultimately, we will each stand in accountability before God one day.
God is eternal: He has no beginning and no ending. By coming to Him by faith in salvation, He has granted us everlasting life, but we will never be eternal in the same sense as God because we each have a beginning that He created. God is omnipotent or all-powerful. We are not now nor will we ever be all-powerful. God is omnipresent, which means He is present everywhere at once. No created being will ever possess that ability. We are finite creatures and always will be finite. God is omniscient, and He knows all things. We will never know all things. We will spend all eternity learning. God is majestic and holy. We are not. God is intrinsically and completely holy and without sin. There is not even a shadow of evil in God.
God’s Attributes We Can Imitate. Yet there are attributes of God we can and should imitate. They are things like justice, wisdom, faithfulness, goodness, love, mercy, compassion, gentleness, and forgiveness. Of course, this is not a complete list. Our purpose is to personally grow in these characteristics, by grace making God’s attributes part of our existence. There are several places where this can be seen in the Bible, but time permits us to look at only one: Galatians 5:22-25, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.”
Please notice that this requirement is built on a relationship. We are called to do this because we are God’s “beloved children.” Sons should imitate a good father, although the son is not a father and daughters should imitate a good mother, although the daughter is not a mother. So should the children of God imitate God even though they are not God and never will be. They can do this only because they have been indwelled by the Holy Spirit. Our genetic structure enables us to imitate our parents’ characteristics, so should the internal indwelling of the Holy Spirit empower us to grow in the direction of the moral character of God.
WALKING IN LOVE. Ephesians 5:3-6
God Is Love. Because we are Christians, we are to imitate God, and the Bible tells us specifically that God is love. First John four declares, “We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him” (1 John 4:16). In our imitation of God’s love, we are first to love Him. I am sure you remember the incident when one of the Pharisees asked Jesus, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” Jesus’ answer, found in Matthew 22:37 is, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.”
We cannot forget that the Lord commanded us to love one another. In John 13:34, Jesus told His disciples, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:33-35). The Apostle Peter affirmed that Christians should love one another: “Above all,” he wrote, “keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8).
Jesus’ Pattern of Love. If you will look carefully at verse two, you will notice a two-fold pattern of love found in the Lord Jesus. First, He loved us and gave Himself up for us. We find this with great clarity in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” God-like love always leads to the heart of a servant. God’s love also always leads to sacrifice. I think we sometimes forget that Jesus’ death on the cross was a profound sacrifice. The writer of Hebrews focused on this: “But [Jesus], having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God” (Hebrews 10:12). Unquestionably, imitating God’s love will cause us to live sacrificially as well.
Our Responsibility: Abstain from Evil Practices. The self-centered corruptions in conduct and speech found in verses three and four are the opposite of the self-sacrificing love spoken of in verses one and two. Since these pollutions portray selfishness and unconcern for others, a believer should not have even a hint of these sins in his or her life. Sexual immorality, any kind of impurity, and greed should not be named among those who have come by faith to trust in Jesus. Indiscretions in speech – filthiness (or obscenity), silly talk (which literally means “stupid words”), and coarse jesting (which indicates vulgar words) – are out of place for Jesus’ followers, because such behaviors harm others, whereas thanksgiving is appreciation for others and is helpful. Paul was not implying that humor itself is sin, but that it is wrong when it is used to destroy or tear down other people.
The Apostle Paul sternly warned believers that the reason they are to abstain from evil deeds is that those who practice them are not a part of God’s kingdom. According to First Corinthians 6:11, those who have no inheritance in the kingdom have not been “washed,” “sanctified,” and “justified.” A greedy person is an idolater in the sense that greed, like idols, puts things before God. Christians should not be deceived into thinking that this warning is merely empty words, for the disobedient, that is, the unsaved are the objects of God’s wrath. God’s view of sin should be taken seriously. Believers should be imitators of God, not evildoers. Obeying the Lord in these matters shows we walk in love.
LIVING IN LIGHT. Ephesians 4:7-14
Jesus Is the Light. In the Scriptures, Light is always seen as the illumination of God’s truth and holiness, whereas darkness is recognized as sin and evil. Jesus declared Himself to be the Light: In the eighth chapter of John’s gospel, Jesus said, “I am the Light of the world, he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life” (John 8:12). The Apostle John further explained in his first epistle, “This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say thate have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:5-7). Receiving Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior brings God’s righteous illumination into our souls and enables us to live in His light.
Do Not Participate with Evil. In verse eight, Paul reminds us of what we once were: we were darkness. He means more than that we once lived in darkness: he means once we were darkness. We were part of the evil and dark domain of darkness. But something has happened: something has changed. God, in His grace and in Christ, “has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son” (Colossians 1:13). We have now inherited God’s light. Now, by virtue of our salvation in Christ we not only live in the light: we are the Light. This is only possible through union by faith to Jesus who is the Light. That is an amazing transformation, a spiritual equivalent to the first day of creation when God said, “Let there be light, and there was light.” Now when a soul comes to Christ, God says, let there be light, and the light of Christ bursts into the new believer’s life.
Christians, as objects of God’s love, are a paradox if they become partners with those who are the objects of God’s wrath, those who are not “in the kingdom.” Why? Because Christians are changed persons. The reason believers should not be partners with the unregenerate is that Christians are no longer part of the darkness, in which we used to live but are now light in the Lord. Now, being in the Lord, who is the Light, we too are lights. The behavior of saints should correspond with their identity. Since they are children of light, that is, since their very nature is spiritual light, they are to live in the light. Verse nine explains that the fruit of the light – which is goodness, righteousness, and truth – reflects God’s character in a believer’s life. Sinners, those in darkness, are characterized by the opposite of this fruit: evil, wickedness, and falsehood.
In addition, the things done in secret are too shameful even to talk about. When light exposes evil deeds, they become visible, manifest for what they really are. Seeing them as evil a believer then cleanses himself of them, realizing they are detrimental not only to him but also to other believers. Whenever the light of Christ appears it shows up sin for what it really is. Evil can no longer masquerade as anything else. Paul let the light fall on the ungodliness of the pagan world and exposed it for what it really is.
Let the Light Shine in the Darkness. The words “it says,” possibly indicates a quotation from the Old Testament, but it is difficult to identify unless it is a combination of passages – for example – Isaiah 26:19; 51:17; 52:1; 60:1. It is possible that this is a quotation from an early Christian hymn. A sinner who is spiritually “dead” is to wake up and rise from the dead since he was involved with the deeds of evildoers.
The imperatives in this verse address the non-Christian – the unbeliever, who is a sleeper who needs to wake up and rise from the dead. This call refers to the fundamental turnaround when a person comes to know Christ as their Lord and Savior and illustrates being brought out of darkness and into the light of Christ. Is that you today? Have you received the Lord Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? Has He forgiven you of all your sins and redeemed you by His blood and righteous sacrifice? If you have not, then in this moment, you can call out to Him and receive Him as your Lord, recognizing that He has risen from the dead and now reigns over all things. Will you trust Him now?
Brother and sister in Christ, we cannot leave the light on without a continual process of discerning. The whole of life is directed by what fits with Christ, is pleasing to Him, and what is proper for His people. No legalism exists here. Life and relationships with both Christians and non-Christians are not determined by some chart or graph, but from living with Christ and being led by the Holy Spirit and discerning what should be done in personal issues. Separation, the distinction we are to embody, is something that comes from the core of our being. We live out the integrity of our own souls. We can only and truly be Light when we live the truth that flows from our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Please, in your life, leave the Light on.
We have two candidates for baptism today. They have chosen to follow the Lord in Believer’s Baptism because of a desire to obey their Savior. Baptism in water will not and cannot save anyone. Only Jesus can save your soul and my soul. In their baptism today, they acknowledge that they have received Jesus as their Lord, and they bear witness to the fact that they have been born again. Their faith in Jesus Christ will be shown to you in their action of being baptized. We praise the Lord for their salvation and for their choice to be obedient to their Lord.
