Church of Christ Sermons and Lessons for 2014 |
Speaker |
Sermon/Lesson Title |
Audio
Video
Text
MS
Word
|
Category |
Date Added |
Lesson |
Bobby Stafford |
Walk as Children of Light |
|
Ephesians |
August
3, 2014 |
Sunday AM Sermon |
Walk as Children of Light
Introduction:
Read
I John 1:5-7.
“This is the message which we have heard from Him and
declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness
at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and
walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But
if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have
fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ
His Son cleanses us from all sin.” NKJV God and light have
always been contrasted with sin and darkness. God’s people
have always been called upon to walk in light, in the realm
of righteousness and holiness. In our text, Paul admonishes
the Christians in Ephesus to “walk as children of light.”
He describes for them how this is to be done.
Text:
Ephesians 5:8-14
Body:
I.
Must Bear Fruits of Light
(Verses
8-10)
Verse
8 Before they were converted to Christ, they
lived in darkness [sin, ignorance, and religious error]. (Isaiah
9:2)
Notice how Paul describes this in
II Corinthians 4:6.
Because of this, they now lived vastly different lives in
stark contrast to the world. (Philippians
2:14-16)
People should see changes in us when we are
converted. Verse
9
“Fruit of Spirit” “Fruit of Light” Some say one; some
say the other. They are the same. One who lives in the
light produces the fruit of light. When we walk as children
of light, that means we walk in the light of God’s Word. (Psalm
119:105)
Psalm 119:130
“The entrance of Your words gives light; It gives
understanding to the simple.” NKJV That Word, when put to use in my life, produces that which
is good. It produces righteousness – right living in God’s
sight; it produces a life of truth. Paul is urging these
Christians to do the same thing that he said in
Galatians 5:25.
“If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”
We follow the directions of the Holy Spirit by following the
Spirit’s Word. Verse 10 By
living this kind of life, walking in light, Christians
demonstrate to the world the kind of life that is pleasing
and acceptable to the Lord. The same thought [word] is in
Romans 12:1-2.
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God,
that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy,
acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do
not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the
renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is
that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
We must approve the things that are excellent. (Philippians
1:9
)
The Christian is admonished to always examine his conduct to
see if he is truly walking in light, in the ways of the Lord
[with family, work community].
II.
Have No Fellowship with Darkness
(Verses
11-14)
Verse 11
“Unfruitful” This produces no good, only evil. “Works of
Darkness” are that which contaminate the soul [sin,
ignorance of God’s will, religious error]. “Fellowship” is
participation in, taking part in, or being connected with.
(I
Timothy 5:22) What
happens when you mix pure water with dirty water? Pure
water is no longer pure! Notice the idea of not
fellowshipping in II
Corinthians 6:17-18, 7:1.
We are not to even show approval of evil in any way. (II
John 9-11)
Note: This would include all man-made religious
organizations and denominations. We cannot fellowship
them. This is a very serious
charge. Instead of extending
fellowship, we are to expose or reprove them. It is our
responsibility so we must expose them for what they are –
works of darkness, not works of light. Some do not want to
do this and refuse to do so. Sin and error cannot be
ignored. Listen to the
following quote. “Those
who belong to the realm of light cannot be neutral with
respect to the work of darkness. . . Sin must be exposed.
One is not being ‘nice’ to a wicked man by endeavoring to
make him feel what a fine fellow he is. The cancerous tumor
must be removed, not humored. It is not really an act of
love to smooth things over as if the terrible evil committed
by those still living in the realm of darkness is not so bad
after all.”
Unknown
Verse
12
Some works of darkness are even more vile, wicked, and
shameful than others even when done in secret. (Romans
13:13)
God knows for He has an all-seeing eye. (Proverbs
15:3)
Verse
13
Exposure by the light reveals things as they really
are. God’s Word helps us to see. (Hebrews
4:12-13)
This is true of both sin and religious error.
[Homosexuality and the belief that all one must do to be
saved is to say the sinner’s prayer.] Let’s always remember
the words of
John 3:19-21.
“And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into
the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because
their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates
the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds
should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the
light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have
been done in God.”
Invitation:
Verse
14
The man in sin can be depicted as a man sleeping while
driving a car. He is unaware of the danger that he is in.
Paul calls upon him to wake up! (Matthew
26:41)
This is true of the alien sinner [outside Christ] as well as
the Christian who has wandered back into a life of sin.
Each must realize the danger you’re in and do what is
necessary to be
saved.
John 5:25
“Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now
is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and
those who hear will live.”
The dead, spiritually dead, are in
darkness.
The alien sinner must comply with these words.
Romans 6:3-4
“Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into
Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we
were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just
as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the
Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” The
Christian must live by these words.
I John 1:7-9
“But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have
fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ
His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no
sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If
we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us
our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” “Christ
will shine upon you.”
Psalm 43:3
Bobby Stafford
August
3, 2014