WALKING PURE IN AN IMPURE WORLD
Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on July 30, 2023 under 2023 |
Bethany Bible Church Sermon Message; July 30, 2023 from Ephesians 5:3-7
Theme: We are to imitate our heavenly Father by walking in love according to the pattern of our Lord Jesus.
(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).
Click HERE for the live-stream archive of this sermon.
I never would have thought that I’d begin a sermon by telling you about my favorite style of shoe. But if you’d ask me what it is, I’d tell you that it’s the Sperry Topsider Authentic Original 2-Eye Burgundy Boat Shoe. I’ve bought and worn out many a pair.
To me, it’s the most comfortable, affordable, classy casual shoe ever made. In fact, there was a time when I was walking in a store with mine on, and another man was walking toward me with his on, and we saw each other’s feet, and we pointed at each other’s shoes with a knowing smile and a thumbs up—as if we’re from the same fraternity. They were originally designed, I suppose, to wear on a boat. But as far as I’m concerned, they make the whole world feel like you’re already ‘on-deck’.
There’s only one problem, though. The smooth, flat soles are pure white. And I live in Portland. Whenever I get a new pair, I always find myself being a little ‘overly cautious’ where I walk—avoiding muddy spots, or gravel, or freshly cut grass. I’m probably a little weird about that; but I just don’t want to get any marks or scuffs on the soles of my brand-new Sperrys. And even after I’ve worn them for a day or two, I always take a cloth—with a little soap and water—and wash the scuffs and dirt away. I want to keep the soles ‘pure’ for as long as I can.
There’s an important principle involved in wearing a brand new pair of Sperrys: When your sole is clean and pure, you must then be careful where you walk. Now; just change “sole” to “soul”, and you’ve got an important principle that’s transferable to our daily life in Christ. It’s a spiritual principle that is communicated to us in the apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians.
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Our ‘walk’ is an important theme in Ephesians 5. It’s a figure of speech for our daily conduct in life—where we go, the things we do, the things we say, the things we think, the values and priorities we pursue. All through verses 1-17, the apostle Paul wrote to his dear Christian brothers and sisters in the city of Ephesus; and taught them about how their character as followers of the Lord Jesus should show itself in their daily ‘walk’.
He started in verses 1-2 by telling them that their ‘walk’ as Jesus’ followers—their daily conduct—should be characterized by love in imitation of the heavenly Father. After spending several chapters explaining to his readers what God the Father has done to make them holy through the sacrifice of His Son Jesus on the cross for us, Paul wrote;
Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma (Ephesians 5:1-2).
Because we have been shown such great love by the Father—who has washed all our sins away by the blood of His Son—we should now ‘walk in love’ in our daily conduct. But this ‘walk in love’ must also be a walk of distinction—a walk that is kept separate from the wicked practices of the past from which God has saved us. And so, in verses 3-7, the apostle Paul went on to say;
But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them (vv. 3-7).
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Now; some people might read those words and think that they’re too harsh. Paul spoke some very condemning words about some of the sexual practices and lifestyle choices of many of the unbelieving people in this world. He warned that they were the kinds of practices that would keep someone out of heaven—and worse, that would result in the outpouring of God’s wrath. Many of the unbelieving people of this world today would find such words to be distasteful—as if they were the ‘fire-and-brimestone’ kind of rantings of an ‘unenlightened’ era.
But I can’t help but notice that Paul didn’t speak them to the unbelieving people of this world. He spoke them to Christians—those who had professed a faith in the blood of Jesus, and who had claimed to be ‘born-again’ in Him, and who had said that they walk in fellowship with the Father through Him. And this reminds us of just how dangerous it is for a believer to ‘walk’ carelessly in these matters.
There’s a story that’s told to us in the Old Testament—back in the Book of Numbers. Moses had led the people of Israel through the wilderness for forty years; and now, God’s chosen people were very close to entering the promised land. They had just—in a sense—experienced a great victory. A wicked Moabite king named Balak had hired a false prophet named Balaam to stand high on a mountain, look down upon the multitudes of the people of Israel, and curse them for him. But the false prophet couldn’t do it. God wouldn’t let him. He tried issuing a curse against them again and again; but he only ended up speaking a blessing from God upon them. It was a way that God illustrated how much He loved and protected His chosen people Israel.
But in Numbers 25, we read of something dreadful that happened. It says;
Now Israel remained in Acacia Grove, and the people began to commit harlotry with the women of Moab. They invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. So Israel was joined to Baal of Peor, and the anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel (Numbers 25:1-3).
They were God’s people. And yet, they chose to ‘walk’ into paths of sexual immorality, moral impurity, and open idolatry with the unbelieving people of Moab. It happened very quickly—and even after a long demonstration of God’s grace and love! God ordered Moses to take the leaders of the people and “hang the offenders before the LORD, out in the sun, that the fierce anger of the LORD may turn away from Israel” (v. 4). God also sent a plague which killed several thousands of people of Israel who joined those leaders in this rebellious act. It was a dark and dreadful day.
And this terrible incident became a proverbial lesson to the people of God from then on. In 1 Corinthians 10, the apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians—who often struggled with matters of sexual impurity—and told them;
Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. And do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.” Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell; nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents; nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer. Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall (1 Corinthians 10:6-12).
Now; we’d have to say that it’s only by our heavenly Father’s grace that many churches don’t suffer terrible judgment when some from among of them fall into immorality. But we’d also have to say that it’s a sin that can easily defile His people … and that He will not put up with it for very long. He has washed His people clean by the blood of His Son; and He does not want them to now go on to defile themselves by walking in paths of impurity and filthiness.
This, then, is a passage specifically intended for those of us who are followers of Jesus. Our ‘walk’ in Christ must be a ‘walk in purity’. As this passage in Ephesians 5 teaches us, because our souls have been washed clean by the blood of Jesus—we must therefore be careful to walk in paths of purity.
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Let’s go through this passage together and see how Paul unfolds this to us. First, we see that we’re to ‘walk in purity’ by …
1. NOT BEING CHARACTERIZED BY IMPURE PRACTICES.
And so that we’re not left to wonder about Paul’s meaning, he got specific about it. In verse 3, he wrote, “But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints …”
Now; I’m glad that Paul urged them not to let such practices be ‘named’ among them “as is fitting for saints”. In other words, he considered his believing brothers and sisters to be ‘saints’. That’s not to say that they were perfect. The word ‘saints’, as Paul was using it, didn’t refer to remarkably holy Christians who were worthy of special recognition by the Church—as the word ‘saints’ is used in some traditions of the Christian faith. Rather, it referred simply to the fact that, as those who had believed on Jesus as their Savior, they were now ‘set apart’ and ‘sanctified’ unto God as His own people. They were ‘holy’; not in the sense that they lived perfect and holy lives, but in the sense that they had been set apart from all the rest of the people of the world as uniquely belonging to the heavenly Father. They were now His sons and daughters by adoption, and were destined for eternal glory in Christ.
And that’s true of you and me, dear brothers and sisters in Christ. Our identity as ‘saints’—as God’s set apart and holy people—isn’t based on anything we have done to earn it. Rather, it’s based on God’s gracious and elective love—choosing us for Himself, giving us faith to believe, and securing us for eternal glory in Christ. But because we have—by God’s grace—been called ‘saints’, then we must now walk in this world in a manner that’s true to what He has declared us to be. Certain practices of impurity are not ‘fitting’ for what we are. Our souls have been made pure by the blood of Jesus; and now we must be careful where we walk.
And so; he writes not to let certain things be “named” among us—that is, not to let them be characteristic of us at all; nor in any way be a part of the practices by which we are known in this world; nor to even let there be a whisper, or a hint, or even the faintest suggestion that such practices exist among us.
First, he names “fornication”. The word in the original language is the one from which we get the word ‘pornography’. It speaks of any form of sexual behavior that is outside of the bounds of a legal marriage between a husband and a wife. All forms of ‘living-together’, all forms of ‘extra-marital affairs’, all forms of ‘one-night-stands’, all forms of prostitution, and even all use of pornographic material or mental imaginations in order to fantasize about such relationships, are kinds of moral impurity into which a ‘saint’ should never set his or her feet. Then, he names “all uncleanness”. This speaks of all the types of immoral sexual practices that would go beyond the normal understanding of “fornication”: that is, all forms of homosexuality, or incest, or sexual deviancy and perversion that have been forbidden by God our Creator in His word. These too are practices that must never characterize a follower of Jesus. And finally, he names “covetousness”. This word means to “over-reach” or “take advantage” of someone. And while it can certainly speak of an inordinate greed and lust for material things that belong to someone else, I believe that—in this context—it’s speaking of the kind of impure sexual craving that places the gratification of lust above everything else—and that becomes a kind of addiction—and that causes someone to cross the lines with someone else, and to manipulate them into participating in sexual sin. This too is something that must never characterize a believer.
Now; many of us, dear brothers and sisters, may look at that list and think that we are safe. We don’t practice those things. But Paul goes on in verse 4 to list the kind speech that reveals that these sins abide in our hearts—if not in our actual practice. First, he warns that there must not be any “filthiness” among us. This speaks of behavior that defies moral standards of decency—things that are shameful and obscene. And because of the context in which this word is found, it plainly refers to filthy talk, or obscene words, or foul language. Then, Paul warns against “foolish talk”. It’s a combination of two words in the original language: mōros, which means “foolish”, and logos, which means “speech”. This doesn’t mean that there can’t be humor and laughter in our speech. Rather, he’s warning against the kind of ‘foolish talk’ and ‘dirty jokes’ that make fun of—or even speak yearningly about—the immoral practices that Jesus shed His precious blood to save us from. And finally, he speaks of “coarse jesting”. This is a very unique word in the original language that means something along the lines of ‘turning’ things in a ‘clever’ way. There are always people, it seems, who have a diabolical ability to turn almost anything that they talk about into something unclean and nasty. But I think personally that this is speaking of the kind of ‘double entendre’ in which something is cleverly said in such a way as to be intentionally capable of being interpreted as something unclean and indecent. None of these forms of speech should ever be known or named among us as saints.
As you can see, we can avoid sexually immoral practices in terms of actual action … and yet, still be guilty of them in the way we speak. And these are all forms of immorality and impurity in which we—as saints—should never, under any circumstances, place our feet. As Paul wrote to the Thessalonian believers;
For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified. For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness. Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who has also given us His Holy Spirit (1 Thessalonians 4:3-8).
So; dear brothers and sisters, let’s keep our pure feet clean by not ‘walking’ in impure practices.
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Now; in the original language of verse 4, Paul uses a kind of play on words. The word that is translated ‘coarse jesting’ is eutrapelia. And the word for thanksgiving is eucharistia. Such coarse jesting is not fitting for a saint; but true thanksgiving to God is fitting. And rather than having our speech—or our behavior—suggest that we long for the unclean practices of the past, we ought to be characterized by giving thanks to God that we have been delivered from them in Christ.
And this leads us to notice next—in verse 5—why it is that we’re to avoid placing our feet in the places from which God has delivered us. It’s …
2. KNOWING THAT THOSE WHO PRACTICE IMPURITY WILL NOT INHERIT ETERNAL LIFE (v. 5).
In the original language, Paul puts this very strongly and very emphatically. He writes, “For this you know, knowing …” That is to say, you can know for certain that we are not to fall into such practices—or to even let them be named among us—“knowing that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.”
Now; this isn’t meant to say that, if any of us have ever fallen into these sins in the past, we are now lost forever to heaven. I praise God that the blood of Jesus washes us clean of all our sinful failures—past, present, and future—aren’t you? We have an Advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ the Righteous. All of us who confess our failures to the Father, and who confess and repent of them, are washed clean by the blood of Jesus. Rather, what Paul is talking about are those people who engage in these kinds of practices repeatedly and unrepentantly—and with such a life-style commitment to them that they are called by their names. Such a person is a ‘fornicator’ by practice and habit; or an ‘unclean person’ by life-style; or a ‘covetous man or woman’, which is a form of worshiping one’s own self-gratification and lusts over God. These are people who—as Paul puts it frankly—have no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.
This is a very serious matter; and one that the Bible speaks about in other places. In Galatians 5:19-21, for example, Paul wrote;
Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God (Galatians 5:19-21).
Our heavenly Father is holy. He cannot and will not tolerate immorality and sin in His holy kingdom. He sent His Son Jesus to make it possible for people to enter His kingdom through faith by washing them clean of their sins. And those who hold on to those sins insistently and without repentance will not inherit a place in that kingdom.
And that’s why we must not practice such things. As saints, our feet must never go into such places.
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Now; we live—sadly—in a time when many argue fiercely against what Paul said. Even many who claim to be followers of Jesus today argue that the times have changed. They say that we know so much more about human psychology and human nature now than people knew in Paul’s day. They would argue that such sexual practices are understood today to not be a matter of choice, but rather a matter of unchangeable, immutable nature. We know now, they say, that these things aren’t a matter of what someone ‘does’ … but rather a matter of what someone ‘is’. They even argue that it is cruel, and inhumane, and dangerous, and ‘un-Christian’ to say that such things would exclude someone from the kingdom of God. “How would God be so cruel,” they say, “as to have made someone to be something … and then judge them for being what He made them to be?” These are the kinds of arguments that we hear today even in churches—and from church leaders and writers and teachers.
But notice carefully what Paul says in verses 6-7. He writes; “Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them.”
Paul would not give a warning to his brothers and sisters ‘not be deceived’ about these things unless there would indeed be an effort put forth by some to deceive. He warns that these kinds of immoral practices—unrepented of—will absolutely, unfailingly result in their practitioners experiencing the dreadful wrath of God.
Therefore, we must make sure we do not walk in such practices by …
3. REFUSING TO PARTAKE OF THAT WHICH BRINGS WRATH (vv. 6-7).
It’s hard to stand against the tide in such times as these. But not only must we do so for the sake of our holy walk as saints, but also for the sake of other people who might yet be delivered from God’s wrath through our faithfulness to the gospel.
Paul wrote a similar thing in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10. He was speaking to the Corinthian Christians—who struggled hard to walk faithfully with Jesus in the midst of a very immoral culture—and told them;
Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10).
That lays it on the line pretty clearly, doesn’t it? But we must not forget what he then went on to say in verse 11:
And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God (v. 11).
We must stand in purity on the outside of such practices—not only so that we can clearly warn those who are known by such practices that the wrath of God comes because of such sins, but also so that we can declare how God has offered deliverance from His wrath through faith in His Son Jesus. By God’s grace, those who “are” such things can become those who “were” such things.
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So then, dear brothers and sisters; back to my favorite shoe. Sperrys will probably be my favorite footwear for life. But I love them even more now—and feel even more inclined to wear them—because they remind me of an important spiritual principle: When your sole [or soul] is clean and pure, you must then be careful where you walk.
Let’s remember that, because our souls have been washed clean by the blood of Jesus, we must therefore be careful to walk in paths of purity to the glory of our Savior.
AE
