Exposing Immorality (Ephesians 5:3-14)

You're if you'll turn with me to Ephesians five.

You know, I heard it once said and and addiction recovery.

One of the keys to overcoming an addiction is recognizing

you have a problem. Well, I have confession this morning,

I have a problem. What is my problem? I love coffee,

But here's the thing, I have acid reflux really bad.

And I have learned over the last few months, as

much as I love in the morning having a nice

hot cup of coffee, my body does not like it.

And and and and really what happens if I do

drink my coffee is I'm going to suffer maybe that day,

maybe the next, maybe the next few weeks. Even though

over the last few years I've realized that my love

for coffee and my maybe addiction to coffee has caused

me a lot of physical suffering. I think it's important

for us today as we come to this subject of.

Sanctity of life.

I think it's important for us to realize, as a church,

we have a problem, and we have a problem that's

causing suffering in our world. What is that problem? We

have a sex problem? You know, today we over the

last few weeks, we've been doing a study called Christian ethics.

Ethics is how we practice Whane Grudem defines a doctrine.

Doctrine is what the whole Bible teaches us today about

a topic, and ethics is what the whole Bible teaches

us about which acts, attitude, personal character traits receive God's

approval and which do not. Doctrine is is what we

believe and know. Ethics is what we do. The reality

is we as Southern Baptists, as Evangelicals, we don't have

a doctrine problem.

We know what the bill says.

Studies show in just some research that came out that

by PU Research in twenty nineteen that says thirty six

percent of Evangelical Protestants which are us, believe that sex

outside of marriage is acceptable. So less than forty percent

of Southern Baptists or Evangelicals believe that sex outside of

marriages is acceptable. So the reality is that's sixty four

percent believe that sex outside of marriage is acceptable. So

doctrine we believe, we know, we even maybe hold to

that sexts outside of marriage is wrong. But the problem

is practically ethically.

What we believe is not what we do.

Studies show from a research surveyed, Actually it's not very recent,

it came out in twenty seventeen. Is the Institute for

Family Studies that surveyed students from the ages of eighteen

to twenty two. Students from the age of eight twenty

eighteen to twenty two. Seventy two percent of females and

seventy five percent of males confess that have had sex

before a marriage from the ages of eighteen to twenty two.

So practically or doctrinally, we say sixty four percent say

sex outside of marriage is wrong, but seventy five percent

of those who claim that they're practicing.

Having sex outside of marriage.

Well, the problem for us today is we say one thing,

but we do another. We're not living what we're preaching

as a church, and that's a problem for the church today.

Is a problem in the Church of America today.

Do you know?

Also, the statistics tells us from Life where research that

out of those who've had their first time abortion, thirty

percent of women who are who had an abortion, we're

attending church at least once a month or more. The

reality is we have a problem, and it's a sex problem,

and it's causing suffering. We're thirty percent of those within

our church who are having sex outside of marriage. We're

also having an abortion. Abortion is a symptom of the

bigger problem that we have a sex problem as we

come for us today, as we recognize that, that is

important for us to say that, to recognize that it

was also a problem for the church in Emphasis. It's

a problem in the church in Karnth. There's a problem

for the Church of Thyra Tyra. And this morning we're

going to look at what Paul teaches us about how

our lives should look different than unbelievers, our churches should

look different than the world. Paul in Ephesians is talking

about how as believers in Christ, the new life in

Christ should characterize us and we are to put the

old desires of our old life away and live a

new life for Christ. And in this message he explains

why believers must abstain from sexual immorality. So this morning

I pray that we as a church or confess and

realize we've got a problem and we must address the problem.

And it's not just what.

We believe, it's really how we practice. So let's stand

together and let's read God's word together. It's Ephesians five.

Were we to start verse three, we'll read through fourteen.

He says this this morning, but sexual morality and all

impurity and covetousness must not even be named among you,

as proper among the saints. There therefore be no filthiness

or fullish talk, or crue joking, which out of place.

But instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be

sure of this that everyone who practiced, who is sexual, immoral,

or impure, or coveted, or who is covetous, that is

an idolature, has no inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ

and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words.

Because of these things, the wrath of God comes upon

the sons of disobedience. Therefore, do not become partakers with them.

For at one time you were in the darkness, but

now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children

of the light. For the fruit of light is found

in all that is good and is right, and it

is true. Try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.

Take no part in unfruitful works of darkness, but instead

expose them, for it's shameful to even speak of the

things that they do in secret. But when anything is

exposed by light, it becomes visible. For anything that becomes

visible is light. Therefore, it says, awake, oh sleeper, arise

from the dead, and Christ.

Will shine upon you.

Lord, let's pray together, Lord, we love you. Or at

my heart it's heavy today. Lord, this is a hard passage.

This is a hard subject. Is an uncomfortable subject for me,

and I know it's uncomfortable for our congregation. But God,

your word tells us to expose the darkness. And Lord,

I pray we would be honest that the church in

America has a problem. And Lord, I pray that we

would be believers that not only declare truth, but God,

we live truth. We live what we believe. The Lord,

may it start with us. So help us, Lord, hear

your word, but be doers of your word. Lord, help

us Lord, to be sensitive your spirit as you speak.

Today.

Lord, I pray today this congregation does not need my words,

they need your word. Or today they need your spirit.

Say Lord, today, Lord, may you feel me that you

might pour me out. And Lord, may the world I

declare not to be the words of my mouth or

my thoughts, or may they be yours it. May we

surrender to your spirits leading today in your name, we

pray Amen, you may be seated. So this morning, why

believers must abstain from sexual morality? Number one, because sexual

morality is improper for believers. Sexual morality is improper for believers. Paul,

in this passage scripture begins, and I want you to

understand today we're really focused on immorality. He really lists

a list of vices you would say that should not

characterize believers. Sexual reality is one of them. I'm purity, covetousness,

there's the three that's named in verse three. But for

this morning, in the subject for this morning, we'll focus

strictly on the sexual morality piece.

Here.

Sexual reality is the word pornea. There is the Greek word.

It's really a word that's shows in the New Testament

to characterize many different sins. There's here it's used described

sex outside of marriage and the Bible that there is

a term that she used to use to describe sex

outside of marriage. It's actually called fornication. I've always wondered

what that word was, and this week, as I've studied,

I've learned that fornication is the idea of sex outside

of the marriage and the Bible speaks much about that

throughout the Old Testament and the New Testament. Paul is

using this to sexual morality to describe fornication, sex outside

of marriage. He uses it also to describe adult tree,

that is, someone who is married who has sex with

someone else outside whether they're single or whether they're married.

Adultery is another way that the word sexual morality encompasses

not only sex outside of marriage, but adultery. It's also

used to describe to use to describe homosexuality, and so

she used for really a gammick of other things. But

I think as we think about sexual morality, I think

we need to think think about sex outside of marriage.

When you think about homosexuality, we need to think about adultery.

But I also think we want to think about lust.

You know, the Bible says in Matthew five twenty eight

Jesus talked about lust, and he says in this in

Matthew five twenty eight. But I say to you, everyone

who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already

committed adultery with her.

In his heart.

I think as we think about the issue of sexual reality,

we need to think about sex outside of marriage. When

you think about homosexuality, we need to think about adultery.

We also need to think about lust. According to what

Jesus says, as you come to this passage, notice what

he says in verse three. But sexual reality and all

impurity and covetousness must not even.

Be named among you.

Now listen to the last tag of that verse, as

is proper among the saints. Once you turned with me

to chapter four and chapter four, Paul has been talking

about believers and what their lives should look like. And

one of the things for Paul, he described that when

you came to know Christ and you became a Christian,

there was an old life for you, and now there's

a new life. And when you come a new creature

in Christ, the old life is passed away. You shouldn't

live like you once did. You should live as a

new creature in Christ. And so in chapter four, as

he's leading into verse five, he explains that look at

verse seventeen with me of Ephesians four. He says, in

verse seventeen, now this I say, and anticifying the Lord,

that you must no longer walk as the gentiles think

their Gentilisi is describing Christian unbelievers are not Christian, non Christians.

He says, you shall no longer walk as unbelievers or

gentiles and the futality of their mind. They are darkened

in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because

they are ignorances in them. Due to the hardness of

their hearts, they have become callous and given themselves to essensiality,

greedy practices, and every kind of impurity. Now notice there

the three vices he listens are also the same three

vices the lists and Ephesians five three. He says, that's

characteristic of unbeliever. If you think about an unbeliever, how

would you describe them? You think about unbelievers or sexual

and moral. They're greedy and they practice impurity. That is

how you characterize unbelievers. But look at verse twenty. But

that is not the way you learn Christ. Assuming that

you've heard of him and you were told of him

as the.

Truth that Jesus is in you.

To put off your old self, You to put off

these old things in morality, greed, and impurity. You need

to put off of that wine because you're a new

creature in Christ. Listen put verse twenty two. Put off

your old self which belongs to your forere manner of life,

which is corruptible through deceitful desires, and to be renewed

in the spirit of your mind, and to put on

a new self created after the likeness of God, in truth, righteousness,

and holiness. He's saying to the church, Church, when you

learn Christ, you don't live like you once did. You

used to live greedy and sexual, immoral, and you used

to struggle with impurity.

But now you're a new creature of life.

That old has gone and the new has come. And

in verse in chapter five of verse three, he's telling

the church, listen, put on the new life of Christ.

And these things, listen, should not even now, as a

new creature in Christ, should not even be.

Named among you.

The idea of named among you, it's almost the idea

of its taboo. Shouldn't be spoken of of Christian. A

few years ago, I remember, I don't remember who it was,

or it was probably ten years ago. There was a

man somewhere and he was he was almost say when

he says he was a homosexual Christian, and you would.

Say that that doesn't sound right. You don't.

You don't say Christian, and you put a sin attached

to it. It seems like an oxymoron. And we would

say that's that sounds taboo, right, that that doesn't sound right.

You don't You don't put the name with Christ, to

the name of Christ with something that is sexual, right,

That is, it shouldn't be named together. And there was

a lot of backlash when that came out ten years ago.

And we would say that same for adulterous Christian. I'm

a Christian who commits adultery. We would say that's taboo.

They shouldn't be named together. We wouldn't say it's sexually

active Christian.

It shouldn't be named together. And that's the idea of

what Paul is saying.

But the reality is in our world today there are

those who are are continuing to practice these things, and

Paul says it's taboo, it should not be named among believers.

Now you think about the taboo, are thinking about my

life and things that I grew up were thinking that

were taboo. One of it was white shoes. You didn't

wear white shoes after September and you didn't wear them

until after Easter.

Right, that was taboo. You don't do that.

That is wrong, right, Grandpaul taught me, you don't fish

on Sunday or it catch the devil.

That is taboo.

That is wrong, right, That was something and among you,

but he goes even further with it. That's something we

regularly watch on TV, we watch on social media. It's

on almost every TV show it's someone having sex outside

of marriage. You know, pornography is a rampid problem in

our world today, and it's a rampid problem in the

church today. Statistically, religious people and studies that show fifty

four percent of practicing Christians admit to watching pornography. Yeah,

Paul says, it's not proper for believers should be even

named among us. It's taboo to even speak of the

things that they're doing. Yet we normalize it or what

we talk about and what we watch. Listen today, we

need to be believers. We need to be a church

that recognizes sex is for marriage and marriage only, and.

It shouldn't be a part of our conversation. It should

be a part of what we watch.

It's something that we should be committed to abstain from

in our conversation and our lifestyle and what we talk about.

Sexual morality is improper for believers. But Paul says we

should have stained because sexual morality excludes from heaven. Listen

to the passage here versus for says, letting the filthyness

or foolish talk or crew joking, which are out of place,

but instead let there be thanksgiving. Verse five says, for

you may be sure of this that everyone who is sexual, moral,

or impure, or covetous has no inheritance in the Kingdom

of Christ and of God. The word is interesting uses

the word inheritance. And I did a study of this

just so recently. If you think about the word inheritance, inheritance,

we were thinking someone inherits something. Someone passed away and

they inherit something after their passing. A few years ago,

three years ago, just a few weeks ago, or last week,

my dad passed away. And after my dad passed away,

he left me things after his passing. He had a

nineteen sixty five Plymouth fury, and I inherited that after

my dad passed away. What Paul was using, as he

uses his term, and he uses it consistently in Ephesians,

but also in corinth or Corinthians, He's saying, when Christ

died because of christis death. You inherit something? What do

you inherit? You inherit a relationship with the Lord, Peace

with God, and you inherit heaven one day. But Paul says,

here there are those who will not inherit heaven. Who

are those who will not inherit heaven?

Well?

The greedy, the sexual, moral, and the impure. The list

that he gave in four, the list he gives in three,

he gives a get here, and he says, these will

not inherit eternal life. They will not receive salvation, and

they will not receive eternal life. The other last Sunday afternoon,

me and my daughter Chloe went to a Durham Bulls

baseball game. And I tell you that Durham Bulls Baseball

can a little.

Secret about the durable.

They've got this cup you can buy, and it's a

big old cup, and it's a fountain drink and it's refillable.

You buy the big one and unlimited soda for the

rest of the day. So we got us a Coke

zero and we just kept going back. I drink way

too much Coke zero, but I say that because I

like that, right. I like to get something and I

get an unlimited supply. Well, sometimes we have this thought

and understand, when you receive Christ, you do receive the

unlimited grace of God.

There's no limits on the grace of God.

Lands gave a great story of this man who received

Christ and no matter what he'd done in the past,

there's his grace will cleanse us of all of our sins. Right.

But just because this an unlimited cup of grace doesn't

mean it gives us a license to have an unlimited

amount of sin, that we can just live our life

free of any restraint of any sin, just knowing His

grace is always going to fix our mess. This is

a question that came to Paul and Roll chapter six,

and he says this, This question came up to Paul,

and it says this, what shall we say, then, are

we to continue in sin that grace may abound? And

Paul says, by no means, how can we who died

to sin still live in it? Paul saying should we

continue to descend that God's grace may abound? And Paul

says no, no. If we die descend, we should not

continue in sin. If we died to receive Christ, the

old is gone and the new has come. Paul even

says that as we in First Testsonians chapter four, this

is the will of God. What is the will of

God that not only he saves us, that he forgives us,

but he sanctifies us, He purifies us, He cleanses us

of our sin?

And what is the sin that he cleanses up?

In First Testsonys, he cleanses us from sexual morality.

This is the will of God.

In the First Testsonians three, this is the will of God.

Your sanctification, that you abstain from sexual immorality is.

The will of God for you. You wonder today, what

is God's will for me? Is one of the things

that God wants me to do.

God wants you and I to abstain from sexual morality.

That's where the sex outside of marriage, homosexuality, adultery, pornography.

God wants us to abstain. He calls us to abstain.

Reality is in this passage scripture. If we don't repent,

then we were never a child of God because this

sanctification never began to work in us. You say today

you're hearing me, and you say, well, pastor how about me.

I'm living in sin I'm struggling with pornography. I'm struggling

with sex outside of marriage. Maybe there's even some here today.

You're having an affair. What does God have for me?

Listen?

The reason why you're alive today is because God's given

you time to repent. You know, in Leviticus he gave

the people of Canaanite four hundred years for them to

repent of their sin of sexual morality, and Revelation was

a church of Thyrah Tyra, and he calls the church

to those who have ears to hear, repent, repent. Can

I tell you I've seen the beautiful thing At times

in ministry as I've stood on this issue for all

my ministry, I've seen couples come up to me and say,

I'll never forget. There's an older couple. They were in

their sixties and they were Covid habitating. They were not married,

and they were living together, and they called me and said, Pastor,

can you come to our house? And like I said,

they were in their sixties and I came over and

they said, Pastor, we're living in sin and we know

God's not honor honored by what we're doing. And over

the next few weeks we started talking and they went

and got a marriage license. The next week I came

in their house and I stood in their kitchen table,

and right at their kitchen table, they got married and

made things right before God because they believed that God

gave them time to repent, and they confessed before the

Lord and repented of their sins and found forgiveness in

the Lord. And the Lord. Listen to me today, that's available.

For you today.

God's given you time to repent. So repent, turn to

the Lord. Find forgiveness in the Lord today. Third, I

want you to see because why should believers stain from

sexual morality? Because sexual morality brings the wrath of God.

It brings the wrath of God. Listened to the passage

of Scripture. He says, let verse six, let no one

deceive you with empty words. Because of these things, the

wrath of God comes upon.

The sons of disobedience.

If you think about that a minute, you know God's

coming back. And Zachariah gives as a picture that Zachariah

sees the Lord, and he sees the return of the Lord,

and the Lord is coming, and it has the Messiah coming.

He sees the Messiah coming and he sees red horses

and white horses. White horses represents mercy. Red represents God's judgment.

You know, when Jesus returns, he coming to give mercy

that those are his, but those who are not his.

He's coming to bring judgment. If you think about God's coming,

He's coming to bring judgment. What is he coming to

bring judgment upon? Well?

We see in the Old.

Testament pictures of how God brought judgment upon nations. We

see that in the Old Testament God brought judgment sodom

and gomor or what because of their sexual reality sodomy.

The word homosexuality actually comes from the word sodomy. Know

the term He was coming against them because of their

not only their homosexuality, but their sexual perversion. We also

see in Leviticus there was another nation that was living

in the the nation of Israel. They're called the Canaanites.

I just mentioned to them. God gave them four hundred

years to repent. But after four hundred years and they

never turned from their sins. And what God brought judgment

upon the Canaanites. Why for their sexual morality?

Do you know?

In Revelation it gives us a picture that Jesus is

coming and Jesus is coming again, and when Jesus comes again,

he's going to judge kings and nations. And why is

he going to judge them because they gave into fornication

and sexual sins, sexual morality. He actually uses the word fornication.

I heard just last week that there's a church in

our area and a church in our area that have

a transgender pastor. The transgender pastor plays the chimes or

the bells in the church and it's going to viral

over the internet that the transgender plays chapel rowan songs

too hot song, too hot to go or something I

don't know.

The name of it.

The song describes her need for sex. This transgenders playing

a song over the church shimes over need for sex.

And you would hear that, and here, listen, I want

you to hear this.

You would hear that, and you would say, that's why

God's coming, because the sexual version of America and the

way America has and what the church is going in America,

that God's Judgment's coming.

Against the church. But listen, we have to be we

have to be.

We have to be honest that God's judgments not just

coming for the sin of homosexuality. God's judgment is also

coming because seventy five percent of those in the evangelical

churches having sex outside of marriage. And in God's eyes,

he doesn't see homosexuality different than premarial sex.

They're both in their eyes. They're both wrong in the

eyes of God.

And we have to say, God's judgment is coming not

just for the homosexual but also for those who are

practicing fornication, and He's.

Coming for that.

So today, know that sexual morality brings God's wrath upon

our world, and.

We must substain.

Lastly, we must substain because sexual morality must be confronted

by the light. Listen to way it says. He says

the verse seven. Therefore, don't be partakers with them.

It's stained.

It's day for sexual reality. At one time you were

in darkness, but now you're light of Lord. You once

lived that way, but now you're a new creature in life.

You're not live that way anymore. Greed, sexual morality, impurity

should not be a part of your life any longer.

Walk as children of light, he says, Try to discern

what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in

the unfruitful works of darkness.

But instead expose them.

For it's shameful to even speak of the things that

they're doing a secret. But when anything's exposed by the light,

it becomes visible.

For anything that becomes visible is light.

Therefore, it says a Waco sleeper, Arise from the dead,

and Christ will shine upon you. He says, Listen, Therefore

we should not we've got abstain. That's not that's not

the way of a believer. That's your old life. You're

a new creature in Christ. Walk as the children of

Christ and today walk as the children of Light today.

And then he gives us another call to action.

And what is it.

Expose take no Verse eleven, Take no part in the

unfruitful works of the darkness, but instead expose them.

Was he saying for you and I to do.

We are to stand firm and have conversation that sexual

morality is not right in the eyes of God, from

adultery to sex outside of marriage, to homosexuality to pornography.

It's not acceptable for believers. And we must sustained. And

we as a church listen to me. We as a

church have to be a church that exposed that these

things are not right in the eyes of God. That's

what God causes us to do. You know, you can

tell I know, you've been here today, and you've been

you've heard me before. You could tell I'm nervous, you

tell them uncomfortable. Why because this is uncomfortable subject.

It's hard.

I'm uncomfortable, you're uncomfortable, We're all uncomfortable. We can agree

to that today. But why why do I take the

time to confront something that I know that's going to

step on a lot of toes this morning?

Why?

Because God's called me to expose the darkness and speak truth,

even though when I know it's hard and the reality

is the reason why I think it's so important for

me to speak about this is because our world is

not scared to speak about it. They're not scared to

tell you how it's okay for you to have sex

outside of marriage. They're not afraid to tell you that

homosexuality is okay. They're not afraid to tell you the

abortion's okay. They're not afraid to tell you that pornography

is okay. They're not afraid to tell you or your children,

or your grandchildren, or anybody will listen that it is okay,

but we as a church have become afraid to expose.

Now now listen, we will expose certain things, right like

the guy who got called into kiss cam.

Everybody in the world who are outraged that that was wrong.

And even at times we might get on social media

and say how we think homosexuality is wrong. But when

it comes to pornography, or when it comes to our

family member who's cohabitating, or our teenager or our grandchildren

that we know we are having sex out of marriage,

we don't bring it up. And Paul says to you

and I, it's time for the church not only not

to be a part of these things, but we also

need to be a church that exposed that this is

not right in the eyes of God.

And it's time for those statistics.

We're seventy five percent of eighteen and twenty year olds

in the church or having sex. It's time for that

to change, and it's time for us as a church

to stand up and says listen, it's important for you

to wait before you're until you're married. Sex is for

a marriage or one man and one woman for a lifetime. Wait,

and it's time for us as parents, grandparents, so school

teachers to lovingly say, it's stayed until you're married.

I'm going to ask the band to come. You remember.

If you ever had those moments where you saw someone

life and maybe this is a terrible It was almost

like a train wreck ready to happen, Like they're living

life so recklessly that you're just waiting.

For something really bad to happen.

I remember I was a pastor of my first church

and there was a lady in our church and her

brother lived just down the road from the church, and

she was asking for the church to pray for him.

And because he was living a reckless life. He was

living with a woman and they were partying almost every night,

and it was just reckless. I remember one night I

heard a crash, as actually said, in my living watching

the football game. I believe it was Monday night football,

I believe, and I.

Heard a crash.

I ran outside and looked and looked and saw a

car he headed a pine tree right beside my house.

I remember running to that car, and when I got

to the car, the girlfriend had wrapped tree around the pole.

The man had who who was living with her, had

ran to the car and he was pulling her out,

and he pulled her body and there her body her

her head was bust open, and she was unconscious, and

he was crying out, wake up, wake up, wake up.

And I remember thinking, in that moment that encapsulated everything

that her, his sister, been praying for, that her, that

her brother would finally wake up. Stop living in sin,

stop living a life running from God, straight up living

a life that rant to to God.

And in that moment, as he.

Was crying out to her, I thought, that's how your

sister had been crying out to you, that you would

wake up and stopped living a life of darkness instead

of living a light for Christ, living the light of Christ.

I want you to hear this morning.

As Paul ends this passage in Ephesians five, he says,

may we expose it, so why for anything that if

becomes visible to light. Therefore, it says, awake, old sleeper,

arise from the dead, and Christ will shine upon you. Listen, Church,

it's time to wake up. It's time to rise from

the dead or the old life of the past, and

it's time for us as a church to live the

life of Christ and the light of Christ.

Do you pray with me.

Just pray, Lord, we love you, We thank you Lord

that Lord, that your word is true. And even when

we're uncomfortable in.

Handling it, it doesn't change that it's not true. Even

when we don't like it, maybe we're ashamed, feel.

Guilty, Lord, it doesn't change your word.

It's true.

Lord.

I prayed there'd be something in.

This congregation would wake up. They would wake up to

the sin of pornography, sin of lust. They'd wake up

from maybe the sin of fornication, maybe adultery, maybe homosexuality,

and say, Lord today, no longer today they would confess

their sins before you. Today they would find that you

are faithful to forgive or know that'd be faithful to

ask for a confession. Lord, Today, I pray, Lord, do

you lead them to repentance and know today that you

are a God that has unlimited grace. Lord, Today you

want to forgive them, you want to restore them, And

so Lord, may they run to you Lord today. May

they wake up from their sins and may they turn

to you.

Lord, help us be a church that flees from sexual reality.

May we be a church that resembles you, the Lord

and your holiness and light There would be a church

that exposed the darkness. It stands in truth and in

your life, and we love you. We thank your Lord

for there and your word today.

And your name.

We pray Amen, Jesus, pain

And all to