Which method is your philosophy for outreach: Showing the world how much like them you really are; or showing the world how much like them you are not. Now, which is God's mandate?
Obeying My Great Commission to Not be a Partaker With the Lost
Ephesians 5:3-7
Pastor Kerry Kinchen, Bridgeway Bible Church
Turn to Ephesians chapter 5. Ephesians 5:3-7 will be our text under study this morning. As you are turning there, I want to ask you a question: What do you think of when you think of a truly spiritual person? Or maybe I should say, who do you think of? I've been encouraging us, at times, through this Ephesians study, to ask ourselves similar questions; but, the reason why I ask this question in this way, is because the lost world-culture always offers some wrong, weird, and ignorant standard for what a spiritual person is supposed to be. Apart from the biblical definitions of what a spiritual person is, the definition the world offers concerning what a truly spiritual person is supposed to be is based on the vain imaginations of the futile Gentile mind. The world immediately thinks of people who are Gurus, Shamans, and New Age mystics who use a lot of fuzzy artistic language to describe the fiction that they believe. The world might think of a Mormon, or a Muslim, or a Hindu, or some ascetic like a Buddhist monk. When I ask you what you think of when you think of a truly spiritual person, we should be thinking of someone that manifests the traits of the high callings, and urgings, of biblical Christianity. We should be thinking of someone who manifests the culture of Christianity, which is where we reflect Christ and His teachings to us in the New Testament to such a degree that we look a lot like heavenly beings in a very real sense of the word. Our citizenship is in heaven, where Christ reigns as King at the Father's right hand. Paul says here, in Ephesians, that we are seated with Him there in the heavenly places. So, when you think of a truly spiritual person, you should be thinking of someone who is extremely, radically, starkly, and foreignly different from the deadness of the dead spiritual realm that is all around us. The problem is that Christians are spiritual beings, but not all Christians reflect their spirituality the way God wants them to. Paul had this problem with huge numbers of Christians in the materializing Biblical church of the first years of Christianity. The Corinthian believers were looking so much like the world, that Paul said,
"And I, brothers, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ." 1 Corinthians 3:1
To be spiritual, is to be mature in Christ, and the Christian walk. Today, the biblical church has already materialized. There is no new emergent church. The church is already here, and in our day, just as in Paul's day, huge numbers of Christians look so much like the very world that they were delivered from in salvation, that you can hardly tell whether they are saved. There is no stark difference. They look, act, and speak, like men of flesh--as infants in Christ. There is no intense culture of biblical Christian living about them, and so what happens is that we don't immediately think of them as heavenly beings. Isn't that sad? It is sad, because, according to God's word, we really are heavenly beings. You are; I am. We are heavenly beings, just passing through this planet for a while. But, it is sad that so many professed Christians, seem to be doing little more than taking up space among the lost, dying world; acting, for the most part, just as if they are part of the lost dying world. One reason for this, is because contemporary Christianity, in our world culture, wants to see how close we can get to the edge of the kingdom; pitch our tents there on the outer limits, and just camp out there--on the edge. For some strange sinful reason, which I am tempted to think reflects some kind of a strange curse upon our age, many Christians want to live with the idea that the high standard we are meant to achieve in being a radically different Christian, really means not being much different at all. Are you in that trap? Or do you even understand what I mean? The snare works like something that can be posed as a kind of floating question of the immature conscience. This floating, inner question sounds something like this:
How much like the world culture can I look and act like to be acceptable to the world, so I can show the world that I, a Christian, am really more like them than they probably think?
Do you recognize this insidious voice?; How much like the world culture can I look and act like, to be acceptable to the world, so I can show the world that I, a Christian, am really more like them than they probably think? I don't know if you realize this, but in our generation this is considered to be the height of Christian pursuit. It is considered to be effective ministry to the lost. Most people don't consciously recognize the snare because they've pitched their tent on the edge of the kingdom already. But what this means is that they've already been snared. Let me explain, and listen very closely. The trend to blend with a rebel world is a deception that seeks to make Christians and Christianity acceptable to a rebel world. But Christianity is not acceptable to the world. So, what the trend to blend is really doing is making living on the edge of the kingdom acceptable, but living on the edge of the kingdom looks so much like the world, that when the world looks, listens, and laughs with you, it can hardly tell that you are saved, or rather, what you think you are saved from. And worse, the world is being taught en masse, a new standard of spirituality. The world is being taught that salvation must look, and be like, what everyone who is ambitiously endeavoring for the trend to blend emulates. You see, in the trend to blend, Christian blenders, have just given the world another wrong, weird, and ignorant standard of what the spiritual person is supposed to be, which is clearly, and arguably, very little like what the biblical definition of what the spiritual person is supposed to be. To the lost person, the blender's citizenship looks like their own dead citizenship. The only difference is that there might be some occasional Jesus talk. There might even be Christian tee shirts, and the latest Christian band playing on the blender's Mp3 player. But then again, the Jesus talk may be absent, the Christian tee shirts are replaced with whatever else is the latest cultural trend, and the music on the Mp3 is the latest lost singer, singing lost songs, that all the Christian blender's lost friends are listening to--just like the blender. The point is that the blender's citizenship is not recognizable, and the blenders spiritual DNA, so to speak, is not noticeably that of a heavenly being. Many Christians will say that they want to look like heavenly beings, but their actions, as they struggle in the snare, demonstrate that they really want to look like the world. Remember the snare? It is the relentless, fuzzy minded, question of the immature conscience;
How much like the world culture can I look and act like, to be acceptable to the world, so I can show the world that Christians are really more like them than they probably think?
Is this what you want to do? I am not talking about being a foreign missionary who goes into a different ethnic language culture of ancient tradition, with its own government, and then tries not to look strange to that foreign culture by parading, and forcing, your clothing styles from another country, or imposing your country's language upon the people who already speak their own tongue. I am talking about Christians who are already in their own country, who want to be part of, and look like, various worldly subculture groups that have arisen out of (and reflect) sin, me centered philosophies, and sensual attitudes, in the pretensive unbiblical naiveté that you are blending, being entertained by, and fellowshipping with the world, because you claim that you are being a missionary to that dark minded element; yet in doing so, the reality is that you look more like the dark minded than you look like a citizen of the heavenly kingdom. Paul the apostle has been teaching us with pure Holy Spirit inspiration, and he has been showing us something that is different from the snare. He has been showing us how to manifest the intense biblical culture of the spiritual man who shines the light of the pureness, and glory of Christ that disperses the darkness and exposes it as the sickness that it is. I am going to read our text, but first, I want you to think about the real question that every single Christian should be asking, no matter where you are, or who you are. It is the question that you need to make into the power question that energizes your thoughts. Listen to me very carefully:
How much like the intense Christian culture of the heavenly kingdom of Christ can I look like, and act like, to be unacceptable to the world, so I can show the world that I am really not as much like them as they probably think? In which case, I will repel those who don't care about Christ, and will draw those who God is truly drawing to Himself.
I'm talking about what our Father wants from us. Let me repeat that, because it will reveal how much you are tangled in the snare, or how much you are not,
How much like the intense Christian culture of the heavenly kingdom of Christ can I look like, and act like, to be unacceptable to the world, so I can show the world that I am really not as much like them as they probably think? In which case, I will repel those who don't care about Christ, and will draw those who God is truly drawing to Himself.
This is the kind of question that God wants us to be asking on a moment to moment basis. Let us read our text now to answer this extremely important question:
"Therefore be imitators of God, as dearly loved children; 2 and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. [We went over that last week. now going on to 3] 3 But immorality or any impurity or greed [or covetousness] must not even be named among you, as is proper among set apart ones; 4 and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. 5 For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or greedy [or covetous] man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. [unsaved people] 7 Therefore do not be partakers with them; 8 for you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; [the NASB capitalizes light all throughout this text. The capitalization is supplied by the translators, but is not in the Greek as the NIV, ESV, NKJV, NET etc, rightly render it, so I am leaving off the capitalization of light. So Paul says, but now you are light in the Lord;] walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), 10 trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; 12 for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. 13 But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light. 14 For this reason it says, 'Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.'" Ephesians 5:1-5
The theme of the sermon this morning is,
Obeying My Great Commission to Not be a Partaker With the Lost
In our section, we recognize that Paul has started out making that amazing command. He says to be imitators of God, as dearly loved children. Paul goes on. He says that we, who are children of God, are to walk according to Christ's great commandment. Paul says; "walk in love," and so we seek to do the love walk, just as Christ loved us; in a self diminishing, self sacrificing way. We went over this last week. This starts out the section that I am teaching from, and at the end of the section, we find Paul commanding us with our great commission in respect to the Sons of disobedience who do not imitate God. We are not to be partakers with them. So, this is our charge this morning:
1) Be imitators of God,
and in doing so,
2) Do not be partakers with the sons of disobedience.
When we read this, we sense God's concern with how different we are from the world, don't we? He is telling us by His Spirit, through His word, My little child; you really are a special kind of being. You really are created in Christ Jesus--created by me, your Father. You really are different than the lost. What our Father wants us to do, is read this text, as well as the rest of scripture, and read it to listen, look, and learn. He wants us to listen, look, and learn that we are so radically different from the world that we should get a kind of a sense that almost seems like we are from another galaxy. We are miracle creations who are like we are from another realm. We are from the realm of eternal life, and eternal light. The lost are not in that realm. The world is dead in temporary existence, It is born to die, and so lost people are just waiting to die, trying to convince themselves that each day is worth living. The lost world is enveloped in the realm of fading darkness. And so what Paul has been doing, and is doing, is pushing this sense of our radical difference from lost people, because though these things are true, we don't always act according to the fact that they are true, or to be more accurate, we do not always act like they are really true. Let me repeat that point again with slightly different words for clarity. We do not always act like we are radically different from the world, and so our actions show that we do not understand just how separate, and just how foreign, we are, and we must be, in respect to the world around us. One of the problems is that the world is deceptively similar to us in a lot of ways. It's deceptively attractive to us in a lot of ways too. What I mean by the world being deceptively similar to us, is that the world has business, and agriculture, and products. It has management systems, and governments of nations. It has schools. People in the world cook food. They eat food. They go to the bathroom. We laugh. Lost people laugh. Christians cry, and so do lost people. We are entertained by various things that fascinate us, or make us laugh, or make us feel at ease, or feel good. The world is also entertained, but the great gap that separates us is that the world is living according to separation from the Creator, in sin. So when Paul says that we are not to walk according to the futility of the Gentile mind, and here he says, we are not to be partakers with them, but walk as children of light, what Paul is doing, is reminding some of us, and he is waking up others of us, and he is teaching others of us, to actually realize how radically different we are from the lost people all around us, with all their versions of what is right and wrong, with all of their versions of morality, and what all is important to them in respect to entertainment, justice, philosophy, relationships, and all that. They are in darkness, and the darkness is fading away. All will stand before the judgment throne, and then the eternal reality of our separateness will become even more clear to everyone. But right now, the differences are so numerous, and so deep, that by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul keeps on pushing this point through five whole chapters. Paul already described, in his precise words of warning, in a few sentences earlier, some of what he is telling us to do here. He said,
"17 So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, 18 being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; 19 and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness." Ephesians 4:17-19
Paul mentions a particular handicap that is inherent in lost people. You and I, who are saved, do not have it. There is an innate hardness against God that resides in the lost. It darkens their thinking, and so Paul says that they
"... have given themselves over to lasciviousness [or as the NASB put it, "over to sensuality"] for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness." 4:19
What I want us to notice is that what Paul says in 4:19, he essentially repeats here in 5:3-4. Paul says here,
"3 But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among set apart ones;" 5:3
We notice that they are similar, but here in 5:3, Paul is not so much concerned with lost people in this contextual point, as he is concerned with you and me. He is concerned with whether you and I are really getting it. What you and I need to get, is that, whereas sons of disobedience, who are walking in the futility of the Gentile mind, willingly, and ambitiously, give themselves over to these things, you and I are to purposely, and ambitiously seek to not be partakers with them in any of these things anymore--meaning that we need to act as if those who are lost, are outsiders in a dark prison culture. We don't live in a dark prison culture, because such a culture is filthy. It is evil. It is a place that prisoners live. Certainly, we must see it by now. Certainly, we see our sanctification being spelled out for us in these passages, but I am not yet at the primary place that I am taking us in this sermon. All that is tainted by the lost sinfulness of this world, and stays tainted aside from God's miracle of salvation, does not have an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. So, to even name those things among us, who are the body, is infinitely more horrible than for the lost world, where these things must, by necessity, be named among them according to the natural, and necessary course of humanity sold into bondage to sin. We have already gone over how the world lives to satisfy the flesh, and the primary sins that we see this manifested in are sexual sins, and greed. Sexual sins and greed were there in Ephesus. They were there in Israel, Sexual sins and greed were there among the Jews, all the way back to the days of Abraham. They were there all the way back to ancient Babylon, and back further through the days of Noah, and even before--back before the flood through the first thousands of years of human history; even back to Adam and Eve. Today, we can clearly see, by looking at the dark culture all around us, that sexual sins, and greed, are smothering influences that taint the wants, needs, and hopes of sinful humanity. As an example of the stark contrast between Christ's eternal kingdom, and how God created us to think and act in it, sexual sins, and greed, sum up the best examples of hedonistic selfish sinful self satisfaction. Listen to me; it is not so much that the world is obsessed with sex, as it is, that the world is obsessed with sexual sin. In like manner, greed is the obsession to have, to get more, and to never be satisfied with what you have and the more you have gotten, so, in greed, you are obsessed to have more, and get even more. Paul's command to you and me, is that we are to put these things away from us. So, we see with certainty, that our sanctification is being spelled out for us by God, but again, I am not yet at the primary place that I am taking us in this sermon. But, we are going there right now, and so what I want us to notice is that Paul goes into something else that he does not mention back in 4:19. It is similar to what Paul just said in 4:29, where he said, "Let no unwholesome [or corrupt] word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear." (Ephesians 4:29). Our speech is important, because we are different, but notice what Paul says about it here in verse 4,
"4 and there must be no filthiness [or disgracefulness] and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks." Ephesians 5:4
This is where I have been wanting to take us this morning. This is a place that, in many ways, may be one of the great benchmarks for determining where you are with the question:
How much like the intense Christian culture of the heavenly kingdom of Christ can I look like, and act like, to be unacceptable to the world, so I can show the world that I am really not as much like them as they probably think? In which case, I will repel those who don't care about Christ, and will draw those who God is truly drawing to Himself.
In the contextual flow of thought, Paul already warned us about corrupt words. Here Paul is talking about words that are shameful to us. They are words that are shameful to the church, and they are shameful to Christ, in that they grieve the Holy Spirit. They can be recognized as, filthiness, silliness, and jesting that is coarse, which means that it is rough. Folks, this is where we need to be serious about how serious we are about not being partakers with the world. So that you do not confuse what I am trying to say; I am not talking about being serious, as in the opposite of humor, though, that is closely related. Paul calls it being sober minded. It means to be conscientiously aware, awake, alert, and clear thinking. What I mean, is what I started out this sermon talking about. In other words, the way we react to this passage will reveal to us just how much we want to be like citizens of the heavenly kingdom. I do not say this lightly. If we want to be more like the world, than we are yearning to be more like foreigners from God's kingdom, then what we will try and do, is figure out a way to think, for example, that these particular things that Paul is talking about, are too hard to discern when it really comes down to what is supposed to be right or wrong language and right or wrong humor. We will try and say that it doesn't really matter. We will think that Christians who make it their ambition to live according to God's word, at this verse, are somehow warped to actually take what Paul is saying here as something to do. We will think that they are fanatics to make every attempt to live according to the standard God has raised. Listen to me, because this passage speaks to us in our day and culture in a very pertinent way. If we want to be more like the world then what we will do is try to figure out how we can justify, and speak words that some people consider vulgar, but, when it comes down to a legal definition, something in us wants to question why we can't use certain words that some people consider vulgar. We either want to assert our right to use the language that could be vulgar, but may not be, because it is just a matter of opinion, or something in our own thinking process actually does consider such statements as vulgar, and so what we want to do, is see how close we can come to speaking such things and have everyone accept it as if it is OK. Do yo know what that is? It's camping out on the edge. But there are Christians who want to do it in such a way that they have just kinda brushed against the typical standard of vulgarity--just enough--so that they cleverly come across as adept in saying something that can be argued as okay to say, even if someone were to actually accuse of them of speaking vulgar words. You say,
Well what is wrong with that? What is wrong with expressing myself with words that are real life expressions of the culture? What is wrong with wanting to have sense of humor, and at the same time, be trying to discern how far to go with our words in the culture?
Actually, such questions reflect my point more than may be realized. You see, I am not only not saying that it is wrong to discern how far to go with our words in the culture. I have actually been preaching that we should be discerning. But, what I am talking about, is discerning the culture itself. But I want you to understand what I mean, because what I am talking about, is discerning the one particular culture we are to emulate. You see, the fundamental issue is how far do you want to go with your words when it comes to the culture of biblical Christianity? Do you see how that turns the table back to where it should be pointing? You see, there is no shameful, and dishonorable vulgar talk in the culture of the Kingdom of Heaven. But, all of that kind of talk gets there when you want to live on the edge of the kingdom and sneak all that junk in as illegal contraband. Disgraceful talk, is talk that is considered indecent, and inappropriate, with the strong sense of being filthy. This Greek word is translated as disgraceful when Paul uses it again in verse 12,
"for it is disgraceful [same Greek word] even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret." Ephesians 5:12
In the other passages that this word is used in the New Testament, it is translated the same way;
"... if it is disgraceful [same Greek word] for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, let her cover her head." 1 Corinthians 11:6
"And if they desire to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful [same Greek word] for a woman to speak in church." 1 Corinthians 14:35
"who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach, for the sake of disgraceful gain. [same Greek word]" Titus 1:11
When it comes to disgraceful things that Christians can say, we must consider that anytime Christians speak of immorality in descriptive terms in lighthearted neglect of sober mindedness to edify the saints, or speak self exalting words of pride, or speak personal opinions that are contrary to biblical precepts; all such talk is disgraceful. Lewd talk, and cuss words are disgraceful. Put-downs are disgraceful. In an earlier sermon, where I preached on unwholesome words, I mentioned the cussing preacher. The man is disgraceful. This is what Paul is saying. In our passage, Paul is closely marrying this word, (disgraceful) to silly talk and coarse jesting. Listen up, because this is an area that applies to many of us Christians, in way too many ways, way too many times. What Paul means is that there are things that can come out of your mouth that bring disgrace upon yourself. There is a reason to how this happens. You see, what happens, is that when you speak such things, people lower their good opinion of you instantly. What happens is that as you are talking shamefully, your character analysis drops down a few notches in the opinion of other Christians who are listening. This even happens with non-Christians who sense you are not obeying what your God is teaching you. Even though you may not even realize it, you have disgraced yourself in the eyes of others. But, such language also disgraces other people around you. You can disgrace someone instantly with a phone call, or an e-mail, or a brief little comment. Disgraceful language tears down. It is shameful, dishonorable; meaning there is no honor in it at all, but worse, it robs you of any honor to be taken seriously by anyone as a sober minded Christian who is supposed to be known as walking in the middle of the heavenly realm of the kingdom of your God. Finally, filthy, disgraceful, talk, soils the church. It disgraces the body of Christ, when people hear you speak, and yet you claim to be a Christian. Paul goes on, and on, for many chapters in the beginning of this epistle talking about how the body of Christ is God's creation meant to glorify Him. But, when we partake in speech that is dishonorable, we dishonor that which God created for His glory. Think of how many times the body of Christ has been shamed by Christians saying disgraceful things. Now think of the glory that would have stayed there if they just kept their mouths shut.
The next thing Paul mentions is silly talk. Silly talk is increasingly popular in our contemporary culture. If one of the main traits of the church can be described as separation from the world, silly talk could be described as one of the main traits of the world. Silly talk was popular in the Greco Roman empire of Paul's day, where ribald and bawdy humor was common place. Quips of silliness are recorded as peppering ancient Greek literature. Court Jesters abounded with silly talk. Silly talk was found in farces, and in the oratory performances of Greek and Roman speakers. There is a place for humor. There is a place for laughing. God invented both. But silly talk is a distinct category. Actually, it is a fascinating phenomenon. It is typically done in a spirit of trying to be funny, or flippant, in levity. You drop a quip here, you turn a phrase there, and though you are being silly, you are wanting to be funny in any situation because we have been taught that it is the thing that is OK to do in practically any situation. People will partake in the shallow sea of silly talk for a couple of reasons. They are either foolishly not realizing how serious a situation is, or they are trying to diminish the seriousness that is there because they don't like seriousness. So, to make seriousness into something light and somewhat trivial, they will be flippant. Now, in researching what Paul is talking about here, I think we can see more accurately why and what Paul is meaning, when we understand the nature of the subjects he has been addressing. Paul is being serious with the Christian life. Paul wants the rest of the church to be serious with the Christian life. Walking as the Gentiles walk in the futility of their minds, in sexual sins, and in greed, and in lying, and getting angry and all these things are serious things. And so if we don't take these things seriously then we grieve the Holy Spirit. We are not to partake in these sin-things as a matter of intense seriousness. What I am talking about has to do with an old word called levity. I looked up the word, flippant, and the dictionary definition is: Showing inappropriate levity. How many of you know what levity is? Levity is what Paul is talking about. Let me give you the definition of levity. Levity is defined in the same dictionary as, an inappropriate lack of seriousness. Levity is not to be confused with the goodness of being happy. Levity is not to be confused with the goodness of laughing. Laughter is good; happiness is good. Levity, is an inappropriate lack of seriousness, and as such, is seriously bad. The great Preacher, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, said, in his lectures to his students,
We must conquer our tendency to levity [an inappropriate lack of seriousness]. A great distinction exists between holy cheerfulness, which is a virtue, and general levity, which is a vice. There is a levity which has not enough heart to laugh, but trifles with everything; it is flippant, hollow, unreal. A hearty laugh is no more levity than a hearty cry.--Spurgeon, Lectures to My Students, p. 212
When it comes to the urgings to be separated from the dark world culture that smothers and envelops us, there is no place for an inappropriate lack of seriousness in the child of God. Notice that Spurgeon, who was known for his wonderful sense of humor, says, we must conquer our tendency to levity. Spurgeon recognized this tendency in Himself. I recognize it in myself. Do you recognize it in yourself? We've got ot be careful. The point is that you should never think you are so austere, that you are somehow immune to levity. So, Paul says that there must be no filthiness which amounts to disgracefulness, and there must be no silly talk, or levity.
We also see that there must not be any coarse jesting. In humor, coarse jesting is vulgar, or dirty joking. What is vulgar, dirty, coarse joking? It is easy to discern. A vulgar joke is any joke that has to do with fornication--you know; sexual humor. A vulgar joke is any joke that has to do with adultery, or homosexuality, or bestiality, or things people do to their own selves sexually. First of all, it is vulgar because it makes light of what grieves the Holy Spirit. When we should be grieving over such things ourselves, disgraceful joking, seeks to take that which is reprehensible, disgusting, sad, and shameful, and then put it in the category of something to laugh about. The world makes fun of sin, in levity. The spiritual man makes prayers against sin, in piety. Other forms of vulgarity that are meant to be funny, can be found in speaking of things that are considered unclean, and disgusting, in a sense that they are typically unedifying. Little comments about human excrement, and filth, which are comments meant to be funny, are words that use what is base, to form an utterance that is construed to be acceptable to those who are listening. These are the manners of the world under the curse of Adam. We are not supposed to be living on the edge of the kingdom. So, we are not to be bringing vulgarity on over into the Kingdom of Christ, which is the realm we experience as the body of Christ. To make jokes about people's looks, or people's short comings, is vulgar, dirty, and coarse. It is shameful. It is levity. It is all these things. It manifests insensitivity toward those who are created in the image of Christ as the body of Christ. All of these kinds of humor are sins that keep us from recognizing sin for what it really is.
Like silly talk, I think coarse jesting is a phenomena that we need to recognize in a defensive posture. What do I mean by, defensive posture? What I mean is that there are a lot of sins--a lot of bad things--a lot of horrendously serious things, that get diminished in this world, that would not normally get diminished, but they do, and the way it happens is amazingly, because of humor. For example, comedies will have you laughing at sin. People are sinning. Sin is what brought death and separation from God into the world, so we should grieve over it. But when sin is put into a joke, we laugh it. The Holy Spirit grieves at it. In fact, right now, while I am preaching the word of God, we can sit here convicted by the same Holy Spirit, and we are sober, serious, and angry with sin. But put us into the world--when we are not being defensive in our Christian posture--or put the world in front of us; meaning put us in front of a comedy, and instantly, sin becomes a joke to laugh at. We have got to be careful. We can even do this while fellowshipping with the saints. All it takes is the spirit of joking around to start up, and the next thing you know, risque' quips start to appear. Levity, and coarse jesting are like a disease that spreads. It starts out seemingly innocuous, and then it escalates into shameful mayhem. Unguarded comments that are base, unappropriate, and vulgar start to emerge into a silly atmosphere, and so we start to look like the world all over again, and because we are in the disease of levity, our coarse jesting has shamed us, and oftentimes, we don't even realize it. But, this is what we are trying not to look like, which is the meaning that Paul is getting at with this whole point. The sooner we embrace this, the better. I mean the quicker you and I get the fact that we really are supposed to be like we are from another realm--a heavenly realm, that is like being from another galaxy--the better for you, for others, and for the glory of God. The point is that we need to ask ourselves if we want to really be there in the kingdom at each and every moment. The kingdom and the kingdom lifestyle is where Paul is urging us to go:
How much like the intense Christian culture of the heavenly kingdom of Christ can I look like, and act like, to be unacceptable to the world, so I can show the world that I am really not as much like them as they probably think? In which case, I will repel those who don't care about Christ, and will draw those who God is truly drawing to Himself.
OK, with all of that in mind, we finish up the sermon with what Paul says next. It has to do with the place that Paul wants us to go. It has to do with those who will be there, and it has to do with those who won't. Paul says,
"5 For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous [or greedy] man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not be partakers with them; 8 for you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord."
In other words, the lost people of the world are so soiled by sin, that they have no inheritance in the kingdom that you have an inheritance in. In fact, all of the things, that the lost world is drowning in as their natural affinities; immorality, impurity, covetousness, idolatry, and making light of that which is serious to God, are all manifestations of why the wrath of God comes upon them. They are sons of disobedience. We are children of light. Therefor, our great commission is to not be partakers with them.
I Urge you to be seriously sober minded, right now, about being seriously sober minded. Think about what you say. Make every effort to guard your tongue from disgrace to yourself, and to others. Are you someone who is known for your levity?; or are you known for your words of integrity. I urge you to be serious about sin. Be serious about problems that God wants you to minister to as a tool in His hands. Be a minister for the moment, who reaps eternal rewards, instead of a minstrel for the moment, that reaps the futility of a sinful world. Be different from the world. Don't fall for the snare of pitching your tent on the edge. Don't fall headlong into the pit of wondering how much like the world culture you can look and act like to be acceptable to the world, because you supposedly are going to show the world that you, the supposed ideal standard of a Christen, are really more like them than they probably think. This is not the kind of cultural relevance that God wants. I strongly urge you to make one of your life mottos become the question of kingdom relevance. Make it your ambition to ask yourself at all times;
How much like the intense Christian culture of the heavenly kingdom of Christ can I look like, and act like, to be unacceptable to the world, so I can show the world that I am really not as much like them as they probably think? In which case, I will repel those who don't care about Christ, and will draw those who God is truly drawing to Himself. I want to be like Jesus!
Let's give them something that will turn away the hardened heart, but let's give them the substance that will draw those hearts that are made hungry by God's sovereign will--hearts which long for eternal substance according to His word. Let's rely upon His Spirit as we live the word. Let's live it to where those among the lost who are stirred up by the intense culture of Christ, will cry out,
I hate my sin. I hate this world culture. I want to be more like the culture of Christ himself, than this sorry mess of a world that I am trapped in. Lord, Lord, I need you Jesus. I want to be like Jesus. Save me now!
This is what we want. This is what God wants, so lets do it--amen?
