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Book: Ephesians
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Ephesians 5:11
I. Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness."
A. In verse nine Paul spoke of the fruit of the Spirit, now he
speaks of the unfruitful works of darkness.
1. Nothing of true value or worth comes from the works of
darkness.
a. How many Universities do you know of that were
created the Atheists Society.
b. Most of them were started by the church and
then later taken over by the atheists.
c. How many hospitals?
d. How many orphanages.
2. Not only are the works of darkness unfruitful, but
they are destructive.
3. Note how Hollywood is devoted to the corrupting of the
values, and the polluting of the minds of the nation.
4. As the result of the unfruitful works of darkness our
nation is at the brink of destruction.
B. In his letter to the Corinthians Paul questioned, "What
fellowship has light with darkness?"
C. Not only are we not to have fellowship with them, we are to
reprove them.
1. We have been silenced by worldly pressure.
2. Imagine what would happen to a guest on the Donahue
show that would take a stand for righteousness.
3. There is all of this talk now about political
correctness. It is only political correct to speak
against those who would speak up for righteous causes.
You should never say anything negative against the
or the s, only say negative things
against those who would say that it is a sin.
II. "It is a shame to even to speak of those things that are done of them
in secret."
A. The problem is they no longer do them in secret, but openly.
1. They now parade down the streets doing openly things
that are unspeakably vile.
B. Some of the practices of the s are so vile that you
could not speak of them in a public forum. Yet they demand
special treatment and privileges because it is their desire to
live this way.
1. How they have changed the whole political climate. It
was once against the law to engage in their vile
practices, but now they are given special
considerations in the work place or in renting a home.
2. Thanks to President Clinton the government now rewards
them for being .
C. It is not just a shame to speak of the things they do, it would
be repulsive and repugnant to decent minds.
III. "We are to reprove the unfruitful works of darkness, for all things
that are reproved are made manifest by the light."
A. Jesus said that the world loved darkness rather than light
because their deeds were evil. He declared that everyone that
did evil hated the light and would not come to the light
because it reproved their evil deeds.
B. When I was a boy my mother used to always point out to me how
that the bars were always dimly lighted.
1. In is interesting the things that people will do in the
dark.
2. It is interesting how behavior changes radically when
the light is turned on.
C. Paul tells them whatsoever makes manifest is light.
1. Light not only dispels the darkness, but it shows what
was going on in the darkness.
2. You are the light of the world, but don't be surprised
when the world tries to put you out.
IV. "Wherefore He saith, "Awake thou that sleepest."
A. During the Nixon administration there was a belief that the
majority of the people in the nation were moral. They called
them the sleeping giant.
1. The problem was that they were so busy with other
pursuits in their quest for a comfortable life, that
they let the liberals become so entrenched in the
political process that our nation was destroyed.
a. The liberal Supreme Court ruled not only
prayer but God out of the public life of
America.
b. A child this week in a school in New York
state was prohibited from saying how many days
it was till Christmas on the public address
system. They were not allowed to mention
Christmas by name.
c. Yet under the freedom of speech amendment they
can use all kinds of profanity, or burn the
American flag.
2. We slept while our nation went down the tubes.
3. There was always that hope that the moral majority
would wake up and begin to assert it's rights.
4. Jesus seemed to hit the nail on the head when He said
that the children of this world are wiser in their
generation than the children of light.
5. To the Romans Paul wrote,
ROM 13:11 And that, knowing the time, that now [it is] high time to
awake but of sleep: for now [is] our salvation nearer than when
we believed.
ROM 13:12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore
cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of
light.
B. "Arise from the dead and Christ will give you light."
1. It would seem that Paul would say, "Christ will give
you life." that it might contrast with arising from the
dead.
2. But he said, "Christ will give you light."
C. Light and life are associated in the scriptures.
PSA 27:1 { [A Psalm] of David.} The LORD [is] my light and my
salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD [is] the strength of my
life; of whom shall I be afraid?
PSA 36:9 For with thee [is] the fountain of life: in thy light shall we
see light.
PRO 6:23 For the commandment [is] a lamp; and the law [is] light; and
reproofs of instruction [are] the way of life:
PRO 16:15 In the light of the king's countenance [is] life; and his
favour [is] as a cloud of the latter rain.
JOH 1:4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
JOH 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the
world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but
shall have the light of life.
V. See then that you walk circumspectly.
A. Paul began to speak of the believers walk in chapter 4. He
first told us to walk worthy of the vocation wherewith we were
called.
1. Next he told us to not walk as the Gentiles who were
empty headed.
2. Then he said to walk in love.
3. Then to walk as children of light.
4. Now he exhorts to walk circumspectly.
5. To the Galatians he adds, Walk in the Spirit.
B. In telling us to walk circumspectly Paul is saying to walk with
all care, in perfect and upright manner.
C. In describing what he means by circumspectly he says,
"Not as fools, but as wise."
1. So many times we have done foolish things, made foolish
decisions.
2. When Aaron joined with his sister Miriam in murmuring
against their brother Moses, Miriam turned leprous. In
fear Aaron said to Moses, "Alas my lord, I beg you, lay
not this sin upon us for we have done foolishly."
3. When Saul intruded into the priestly office and offered
a sacrifice on the altar when Samuel had not appeared
at the appointed time, Samuel said to Saul, "You have
done foolishly you have not kept the commandment of the
Lord."
4. When God's judgment came upon the nation of Israel
because of the census that David took, David cried to
the Lord, "Take away the iniquity of your servant, for
I have done very foolishly."
5. When king Asa relied upon the arm of flesh rather than
on the Lord for deliverance, the prophet came to him
and declared, "You have done foolishly, from now on you
will have wars."
D. God wants us to be circumspect. The wisest thing we could ever
do is to seek the will of God for every situation.
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