Everyday Holiness

Well, right now, on the streets of a very large city in Brazil, there are orphaned children

fending for themselves.

It's a very hard and dangerous life for these children.

Now imagine with me.

Through a series of events, you adopt one of these children off the streets of Brazil.

And he's a seven-year-old boy.

His name is Ricardo.

And Ricardo now bears your name.

He is yours.

Legally yours.

His situation has dramatically changed.

He's been flown up from Brazil.

He's living with you.

He bears your name.

There's been a dramatic change in Ricardo's situation.

He's legally yours.

Well, you get him home only to realize that your son is behaving very oddly.

Even badly.

He doesn't sleep on the bed you bought him.

He sleeps underneath it.

And under his bed with him, he hoards food taken from your refrigerator and your cupboards.

It grieves you.

Your son never looks at you in your eyes.

There's something he can't seem to bear when he looks at you.

What are you going to do?

How do you respond to your son?

Option one.

You threaten him.

Ricardo, you better shape up or I'm shipping you back to Brazil.

Do you think you'd get a change of behavior?

Maybe.

But it would not last.

Behavioral change by threat doesn't seem to last long.

Option number two.

It's not threat.

It's grace.

Ricardo.

As you look under the bed.

Ricardo, I love you.

I love you, son.

I love you.

I love you.

You're mine, son.

You bear my name now.

You are safe in my house now.

Your situation has dramatically changed.

You're my son now, boy.

I'll provide for you.

You just need to trust me.

I'll take care of you.

You don't have to live this way anymore.

It's not true of you anymore.

I love you.

I love you.

I love you.

And I will help you.

You don't need to fear me, Ricardo.

Threat, grace.

Which one would you respond to?

Grace.

God doesn't threaten his children into holiness.

God loves his children into holiness.

Ours is a holiness by grace.

Not by threat.

God is holy.

Gloriously set apart in all that he is.

He's a consuming fire of moral purity.

And he is our daddy.

Amen to that.

He loves us beyond measure.

His love is a holy love.

It's set apart.

It's unlike anything else.

Unrelenting in his love for us.

He's determined.

He's determined.

He's determined.

He's determined.

With all of his omniscient, omnipotent glory behind him.

He's going to love us.

God the Father chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to make us holy.

So that we be holy before him.

And then God the Son purchased us with his blood so that we could walk in holiness.

So that we could be holy.

And then God the Spirit came and dwelt us so that we could have the power to walk in holiness.

Our holiness is a triune event.

And holiness is beautiful in God's sight.

God is committed to our holiness.

He will love us into greater and greater degrees of holiness.

That's his posture towards us.

He loves us and wants us to share in his holiness.

His holiness is a good thing.

Remember how Ephesians is laid out.

Chapters 1 through 3.

It's instruction after instruction.

This is who you are, Christian.

You were called by the Father.

You were bought by the Son.

You were indwelt by the Spirit.

You went from death to life.

You've been united to a holy people.

All by chapter 3, the Gospel.

That's how all this came to you.

It's by grace you've been saved.

Not by works.

It's God's kindness to you.

And then Ephesians 4 through 6, we read exhortation after exhortation.

To those who've been made holy by grace.

To those who've been made holy by grace.

We're exhorted over and over again to live out that holiness in real time.

Ephesians is a beautiful book.

Ours is a holiness by grace.

and we're find ourselves in Ephesians 5 this morning that latter half of the book

exhortation after exhortation and we're in a passage with several exhortations in it we're

in Ephesians chapter 5 verses 1 through 6 and so if you would turn with me there right now

Ephesians 5:1–6

I just want to let you know from up front Paul is going to exhort us to holiness

God this morning is going to exhort us to holiness to urge us to be holy and it's by grace not by

threat so would you turn there and read with me starting in verse 1 of chapter 5

therefore be imitators of God as beloved children and walk in love as Christ loved us and gave

himself up for us a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God but sexual immorality in all impurity or

covetousness must not even be named among you as is proper among saints let there be no filthiness

nor foolish talk nor crude joking which are out of place but instead let there be thanksgiving

for you may be sure of this that everyone who's sexually immoral or or impure or who is covetous

covetous that is an idolater has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ in God verse 6 let no one

deceive you with empty words for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of

disobedience some heavy stuff that we have been made holy by grace saved by grace set apart by God's

grace we didn't earn that he did that in us for us for his glory but as holy ones as saints we must

imitate God not the sons of disobedience

in this passage these just six verses there's actually a progression of thought there's a logic

to the apostles thinking and there's three steps to it there's three stages to it first he says

who you are now the second stage is this what must not be named among us and the third step is this why

it must not be named among us what you're going to see here is that these are not threats in verses 5 and 6

but these are actually appeals to what God has already done for us in Christ Paul is a master motivator and he's going to motivate us out of grace not out of threat he's appealing to what God has done in you by grace and so let's now dive in and call the mind as holy ones we got to imitate

God not the sons of disobedience so let's remind ourselves of who we are so this is who you are now verses 1 and 2

therefore be imitators of God as beloved children and walk in love so there are two exhortations in verses 1 and 2 the first is the command to be imitators of God

to be like to be like God the Greek word that translates into imitators actually the word we get mimic from we're to mimic God we're to be like God in his holiness remember 1 Peter 1 16 be holy for I am holy we are to be like God we're to mimic him and then he says this

he says be imitators of God as beloved children

I find that interesting

in fact I kind of found that surprising

I was expecting something more like this

be imitators of God because you should

be imitators of God because it's right

and what we're told here is be imitators of God

as beloved children

he's pointing to who we are by God's grace

he's pointing to what already God has already done for us through Jesus

he's adopted us as his children

in fact we are

beloved children

he loves us

he wants us to imitate him because he loves us

this morning he's saying to you

I love you son I love you daughter

be like me

Paul is motivating us

to holiness

out of God's love

for us like father

like son

my parents have been staying

with us this past week in fact they're here

with us now this morning

and my wife

is in Ohio

she's been in Ohio

caring for her mom

who is

who's dying

and so my parents have come up

and have been just a tremendous help

and all throughout this past week

we've been doing a lot of reminiscing

and laughing a lot

I've been reminded of how much

I take after my dad

I mean we look alike

we talk alike

we work alike

we like the same things

pickup trucks

the sport of lacrosse

getting our hands dirty

the movie gladiator

we like these things

we even laugh alike

like father like son

there's genetics involved of course

but I'm like my dad

because I've spent a lot of time with him

I've been in his presence

and there's a reason for that

there's not been one moment in my life

that I've questioned my dad's love for me

not once

and here's been the result

I want to be like him

I want to be near him

I want to be like him

how much more our father in heaven

he has loved us with an eternal love

he set his love on us

before the foundation of the world

nothing can separate us

from the love of God in Christ Jesus

Romans says

and the aim of our father's love

is our holiness

so that we can be in his presence

without fear

he loves us

and he is committed to loving us

into his holiness

this is who you are now

Christian

you are beloved of God

set apart for him

to be imitators of your God

who is your loving father

that is who you are now

now let's look at verse 2

at the second command

because to imitate God in holiness

means that we take on a specific family trait

have you ever noticed

that some families

passed on a distinct nose

from generation to generation

do you ever notice that

or passed on a distinct laugh

or passed on a unique skill set

to be a child of the living God

to be part of his holy family

is to take on a particular family trait

it's called love

you see that in verse 2

and walk in love

it's a command

in light of who we are

beloved children

we are to walk in love

that word walk

is all throughout the book of Ephesians

it just simply means to live your life

and the word love

in love

what does it mean to walk in love?

here's what it means

we live our lives

governed by love

that's what that means

it governs all that we do

and so it begs the question

so what does that look like?

and that's exactly where Paul points us to

he points us to Jesus

and walk in love

just as Christ loved us

and gave himself up for us

do you see it there?

that's the kind of love

we're supposed to love

others with

a love set apart from the rest

a holy kind of love

it's God's family

kind of loving

that's the kind of love

we're being called to here

having been loved by God

we are now commanded to

love others

as Christ

has loved us

there's a whole lot of love

going on there

in Ephesians 5

1 and 2

I would just like to point out

two distinctions

of this holy

Christ-like love

first thing you need to know

is this

this love of Christ

is upward

in its aim

at the end

of Ephesians 5

2

we read this

as a fragrant offering

and sacrifice

to God

to God

when you hear those words

fragrant offering

and sacrifice

Paul is drawing

from the Old Testament

Old Testament sacrifice

Old Testament worship

in the temple

and he's saying

this is an act of God

this is an act of worship

of God

our loving others

is a way in which

we worship God

Christ's loving us

to God

was worship of God

and now we are to love

others the same way

we are to love

others to God

that's what we're being

told here

God is the goal

of our loving others

another way to say it

is this

I want your good

which is God

and I'm going to live

my life

so that you can

experience that

so the first thing

distinction of this love

is it's Godward

it's upward

God aimed

it's worship

the second thing is

it's not only upward

it's outward

upward and outward

it's others oriented

he loved us

he gave himself up

for us

it's others oriented

he didn't give himself up

for himself

he gave himself up

for us

it's instructive to us

this is how we're to love

upward and outward

we're to put others first

we're to love others

as God and Christ

has loved us

he gave himself up

for us

we're talking about

Christ's substitutionary

death on our behalf

his grace to us

he brought us

into the family of God

through the substitutionary

death of Jesus

what a love is that

so here we are

commanded to love

because we have been

loved by God

and the kind of love

with which we're going

to love is a Christ-like

love which is

upward and outward

so in verses 1 and 2

we're exhorted to be

imitators of God

by living lives

to God

in a Christ-like way

it's a picture

of everyday holiness

what Paul is saying here

this is kind of like

the blocking and tackling

of the Christian faith

this is normal

we love God

and we love each other

that's what we do

that's what we're called

to now

this is normal

Christian living

this is the standard

by which we live

our lives now

and having set

the standard

having defined

the path

that we're to walk

walk in love

in verses 3 and 4

Paul moves on

to expose

that which is

out of bounds

that which is

not to be true

of us

not to be true

of the beloved

children of God

not to be true

of those who are

walking by love

let's turn to now

what must not

be named

among us

chapter 5

verses 3 and 4

we read this

but sexual immorality

in all impurity

or covetousness

must not even

be named

among you

as is proper

among saints

let there be

no filthiness

nor foolish talk

nor crude joking

which are out

of place

but instead

let there be

thanksgiving

so we've just

been exhorted

to live

a particular

way

because of

who we are

now

we're beloved

of God

therefore we love

others

upward and outward

and in verses

3 and 4

he says

this cannot

be true

this must

not even

be named

among you

in verses

3 and 4

there are two

lists of sins

and they're short

lists

verse 3 has a list

verse 4 has a list

I'm going to

just briefly

touch on that

second list

because I want

to spend the

bulk of my time

on the first list

so let me just

point you to

verse 4

and help you to

see that it

focuses on

speech

let's read that

together

let there be

no filthiness

nor foolish talk

nor crude joking

which are out of

place

but instead

let there be

thanksgiving

so ever so

brief

did you notice

what Paul says

about this

speech

it's out of

place

it's inconsistent

with who we

are now

as Christians

it's not

speaking in a

manner worthy

of the calling

with which we've

been called

it's inconsistent

with holiness

it's not

pleasing to God

so this

filthiness

foolish talk

and crude

joking

it's all

out of

place

because

this is the

kind of

speech that

habitually

spoken

flows out

of a

spiritually

dead

heart

out of the

heart

the mouth

speaks

and if you've

got a dead

heart

you're going

to speak

filthy

this kind

of speech

is out

of place

because

it's

not

holy

it's

unedifying

it's habitual

trash talk

and what it's

most characteristic

is of people

who don't know

Christ

who have yet

to be saved

who have yet

to move

from death

to life

rather

we're told

what is to

mark our

speech

is thanksgiving

now that's

consistent

with someone

who's a

beloved child

of God

an imitator

of God

consistent

with someone

who walks

in love

thankfulness

is the

overflow

of a heart

that is

grateful to

God

for all

things

thankfulness

reveals

a loving

heart

aimed

at God

this is

upward

and outward

kind of

speech

now

let's move

back to

verse 3

let's spend

some time

here

verse 3

Paul focuses

on three

sins

sexual

immorality

impurity

and covetousness

and notice

the weight

Paul gives

to it

feel the

exhortation

the degree

of it

he says

this

these things

must not

even be

named

among you

and what

he's saying

is

they're not

to be

present

in your

midst

they're not

to be

even

mentioned

because

they're

not

there

that's

what

he's

saying

the new

international

version

reads this

I love

this

translation

but among

you

there must

not

be even

a hint

of sexual

immorality

or

any kind

of impurity

or greed

because these

are improper

for God's

people

they're out

of place

it's not

who you

are

you've got

to feel

the weight

of this

you feel

the impact

of this

what he's

calling us

to as a

church

these things

must not

be even

named

there must

not be

sexual

immorality

among us

there must

not be

any kind

of impurity

among us

there must

not be

covetousness

or also

known as

greed

among us

can I just

tell you

something

right now

if you're

a Christian

in the room

God loves

you

your father

loves you

your father

loves you

and he

wants to

love you

into holiness

now let's

dial into

these three

sins a little

bit more

what are

these things

that Paul

is saying

can't be

named

among us

what is

sexual

immorality

what is

this business

of impurity

what is

covetousness

let's be

clear on

what these

are

sexual

immorality

is the

English

translation

of one

Greek word

so two

words in

English

sexual

immorality

for one

Greek word

it's the

Greek word

pornea

it was

originally

used that

word

pornea

very

specifically

to speak

of

prostitution

prostitution

prostitution

of course

is an

illegitimate

sex

it is

out of

bounds

but over

time

this is

what

happened

pornea

began to

be used

for more

and more

different

kinds

of

illegitimate

sexual

practice

and so

what

pornea

eventually

became

was kind

of a

catch

basin

for all

illicit

sex

anything

that was

out of

bounds

can be

called

pornea

sexual

so

sexual

immorality

is

our

English

words

used to

describe

all

kinds

of

illegitimate

sex

which

raises

a question

who

says

who

says

what

is

legitimate

and

illegitimate

sexual

practice

who

says

see

that on

the

playground

between

boys

playing

basketball

trying to

figure out

the rules

oh yeah

who says

yeah

who says

who decides

what is

sexually

permissible

and what

is

sexually

impermissible

is

there

a

universal

sexual

morality

that

applies

to

all

people

everywhere

for all

time

is

there

the

resounding

answer

of your

Bible

is

yes

God's

word

is

a

clarion

call

into

the

confusion

of

our

culture

we've

got

all

sorts

of

things

going

around

of

saying

what's

appropriate

and

inappropriate

sexually

before

I list

for you

the

different

kinds

of

sexual

immorality

I'm

not

going

to be

exhaustive

what I

want to

do

first

is to

help

you

see

God's

good

provision

for

all

people

to

experience

the

good

gift

of

sex

in

other

words

before

we

talk

about

sexual

immorality

let's

talk

about

what

sexual

morality

is

let's

define

what

is

true

before

we

define

what

is

not

what's

right

before

what's

wrong

let's

start

here

sex

was

God's

idea

sex

was

part

of

the

good

in

Genesis

chapter

one

on the

sixth

day

God

created

Adam

and

Eve

he

brought

them

together

he

said

made

them

in

his

image

and

he

said

go

be

fruitful

and

multiply

fill

the

earth

and

subdue

it

and

they

did

and

God

says

it

was

good

it's

good

God

had

created

Adam

and

Eve

for

a

purpose

and

he

gave

them

the

gift

of

sex

in

order

to

carry

out

his

command

to

fill

the

earth

sex

was

God's

good

idea

it

is

God's

good

gift

to

us

and

God

has

provided

one

and

only

one

context

in

which

this

good

gift

can

be

enjoyed

and

that

one

place

is

marriage

would

you

turn

your

Bibles

to

Hebrews

Hebrews 13 · chapter mention

chapter

13

I'm

not sure

if you

know

this is

in your

Bible

but

it's

wonderful

Hebrews

13

4

says

this

let

marriage

be held

in honor

among

all

and

let

the

marriage

bed

be

undefiled

for

God

will

judge

the

sexually

immoral

and

the

adulterous

let

marriage

be held

in honor

among

all

and

let

the

marriage

bed

be

undefiled

marriage

is a

holy

covenant

and

what a

covenant

is

it's

a

promise

that's

gone

public

and

so

when

someone

speaks

their

vows

they

are

doing

that

witnessed

by

people

it's

public

commitment

it's

a

covenant

and

not

just

witnessed

by

humans

witnessed

by

the

living

God

marriage

is a

holy

covenant

between

one

man

and

one

woman

for

life

God's

good

gift

of

sex

is

to

be

enjoyed

only

within

the

covenant

of

marriage

so

in

God's

eyes

any

sex

outside

of

marriage

is

illegitimate

it's

sinful

it's

unholy

it's

sexually

immoral

it's

porneia

and so

when we

talk about

masturbation

we need

to think

about

masturbation

in light

of

this

one

place

God

allows

for the

enjoyment

of

sex

that's

how we

need

to

think

about

it

when

we

hear

about

friends

hooking

up

kind

of

back

in my

day

it was

friends

with

benefits

it

might

be

consensual

but

if

it's

outside

of

marriage

it's

still

sinful

in

God's

eyes

adultery

is when

a married

person

engages

in

sex

with

someone

who

is

not

their

spouse

someone

other

than

their

spouse

it's

sinful

because

it breaks

the

marriage

covenant

one

man

one

woman

exclusively

committed

to each

other

for life

if

a

boyfriend

and

girlfriend

are

engaging

in

sex

it's

sexually

immoral

and it

doesn't

matter

how old

they are

it could

be

teenagers

in their

20s

30s

40s

50s

60s

70s

80s

90s

homosexuality

is sinful

because it's a

disregard for

God's good

design

one man

and one

woman

exclusively

committed to

each other

for life

even if

homosexual

marriage

is legalized

by man

it is still

sinful

in God's

eyes

so what I've

been trying to

help you see

here is

what we've

got to be

clear on

that the

sole provision

for the

enjoyment of

this good

gift of

sex

is marriage

that's the

key to

this whole

culture

debate

over what

is sexually

permissible

and not

anything

outside of

the bounds

of marriage

is sexual

immorality

and it

must not

even be

named

among us

why

at the

very heart

of sexual

immorality

is

selfishness

sexual

immorality

is sexual

selfishness

it's the

very opposite

of what we're

commanded to

in Ephesians

5 2

walk in

love

remember

love is

upward

and outward

God

aimed

in

other

oriented

sexual

immorality

is

downward

it's a

disregard

for God's

design

it's

disobedience

and

often times

it's inward

self

oriented

sexual

immorality

is unloving

and disobedience

and it

must not

be even

named

among us

how

y'all

doing

impurity

the word

impurity

is used

ten times

in the

New

Testament

nine

by Paul

and typically

when it's

used

it's used

kind of

partnered

with other

words like

sexual

immorality

and sensuality

and so

typically

it has

sexual

overtones

to it

but if

you notice

Paul

qualifies

it

he says

all

impurity

every

kind

of

impurity

and so

what

Paul

has

in

mind

here

is

something

a little

bit

larger

grander

than

just

sexual

impurity

other

places

where

Paul

uses

this

word

outside

of

kind

of

a

sexual

context

it's

talking

about

sinful

motives

and I

think

that's

what

he's

getting

at

here

so

let's

just

call

this

habitual

selfishness

it's

a

general

and

pervasive

selfishness

that affects

everything

anybody seen

Finding Nemo

Sydney

Harbor

seagulls

mine

mine

mine

mine

mine

have you heard of deism

have you heard of theism

what we're talking about here is

me

it's all about me

me

me

me

that's our culture

that's where we're living

and that's what God has called us out of

it's in direct

opposite of what God calls us to

in Ephesians 5

2

the love with which we've been called to

is upward

and outward

impurity

must not even be named

among us

covetousness

also known as

greed

sexual immorality

is habitual

sexual

selfishness

impurity

is a habitual

me

ism

covetousness

greed

is material

selfishness

did you notice

that in verse 5

Paul calls this

greed

by another name

idolatry

idolatry

is living for something

other than the one true God

and it's a capital offense

in God's eyes

and what Paul is saying

is that habitual greed

is the worship

of

a false

God

and it must not even

be named among us

I read this a couple weeks ago

in my devotions

out of Luke

Jesus warns us

take care

and be on your guard

against all covetousness

for one's life

does not consist

in the abundance

of his possessions

covetousness

is idolatry

because it believes

one's possessions

give life

to the full

remember Jesus

John 10

10

I came that they might have life

and might have it abundantly

here's what the covetous

person believes

my next person

purchase

will give me life

and life

in full

does it

no

the reality

is that

this kind of

living

only leads to ruin

and death

Paul says

in 1st Timothy 6

but those who desire

to be rich

fall into temptation

into snare

into many senseless

and harmful desires

that plunge people

into ruin

and destruction

for the love of money

is a root

of all kinds

of evils

it is through this craving

that some have wandered

away from the faith

and pierced themselves

with many pangs

Christ

Christ is our life

not money

not possessions

they cannot give us

what we need most

covetousness is the very opposite

of what God exhorts us to

in Ephesians 5

1

it's not being imitators of God

it's not walking in love

God doesn't live for money

God exists for his own glory

and so must we

exist for his glory

greed is not walking in love

it's walking in selfishness

material selfishness

you can't serve both God

and money

Jesus says

but you can serve God

with your money

when it comes to money

and possessions

to walk in love

is to be generous

to give wisely

to steward money

and possessions

for the God

glorifying good

of others

and sometimes that means

going without

to bless someone else

for God's glory

these are heavy stuff

isn't it

it's not to be even

named among us

it's a high standard

it's a holy standard

that's a good standard

we live in a culture

that's just inundated

with these things

and God has called us

out of it

we once

were this way

but no longer

let's look at why

these things must not

be named

among us

there are two reasons

in Ephesians 5

5 and 6

there's actually

another reason

given a little earlier

in verse 3

it says

but sexual immorality

and all impurity

or covetousness

must not even

be named among you

as is proper

among saints

you get the logic

it's not who you are

this stuff must not

be named among you

because

you've been changed

you're a beloved

child of the living God

you're to walk in love

and this is inconsistent

with that

but notice

verse 5

for you may be sure

of this

that everyone

who is sexually immoral

or impure

or who is covetousness

covetous and idolater

has no inheritance

in the kingdom

of Christ

in God

that might put a lump

in your throat

that might make you wonder

oh man

am I okay

Paul is describing

people who are

habitually unrepentant

and sinning

unrepentant

and habitual

sexually immoral

the unrepentant

and habitually impure

the unrepentant

and habitually covetousness

Paul is not talking

about Christians

he's talking about

those who are not Christians

those who do not have

an inheritance

in the kingdom

of Christ

and God

he says

you can see it

in the way

he describes it

for you

may be sure

of this

that those

who habitually

practice sin

have no inheritance

so why is he saying this

it's not a threat

it's a sober reminder

those who have yet

to be saved

by God's grace

live a certain way

we've been saved

by God's grace

we have an inheritance

from Jesus

Ephesians 1

14 and 18

so here's the logic

and let me put it

in the form of a question

Christian

holy one

why would you

engage

in things

that non-Christians

live for

why would you do that

it's not

who you are

by God's grace

you've been

radically changed

this is no longer

true of you

therefore

these things

should not even

be named

among you

it's not

who you are

anymore

the next reason

I want

I want you to see

is in verse 6

it's similar

rationale

verse 6 says

let no one deceive

you with empty

words

for because of

these things

the wrath of God

comes upon the

sons of disobedience

what Paul is saying

is this

don't be deceived

in thinking that

there is no wrath

of God

there is

it's a prevalent

lie in our day

people don't like

to think that God

is full of wrath

towards sinners

and the question

isn't how do you

feel about it

the question is

is it true

or not

and God's word

is clear

God's wrath

is real

and hanging

over the heads

of those

who have yet

to believe

John 3

36

so here's

Paul's rationale

this is not a threat

but here's the rationale

sexual immorality

all impurity

and greed

are the very things

that have caused

the wrath of God

to come upon

the sons of disobedience

but you're no longer

a son of disobedience

you're a beloved

child of the living God

God's wrath

for you

was poured out

on Christ

you've been forgiven

and you've been

made righteous

in God's sight

with Christ's

righteousness

and now

you're to be

an imitator

of God

his beloved

child

these things

are not to be

named among us

because it's not

who we are

anymore

we're not sons

of disobedience

under God's wrath

we're children

of God

under his grace

he loves us