Who's Your Partner?

 Awake, O Sleeper

Ephesians 5:7-14 ESV

“Therefore do not become partners with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,

“’Awake, O sleeper,

    and arise from the dead,

and Christ will shine on you.’”

In context, this is talking about the sexually immoral, the impure, and the idolater who have no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. And, this can be talking about people who profess faith in Jesus Christ but who are living immoral, impure, and idolatrous lives in direct disobedience to God.

We are not to be partners with them. We are not to be yoked together with them going where they are going, doing what they are doing. We are not to participate with them in their ungodly endeavors or in their immoral actions. We are not to team up with them.

For, as followers of Jesus Christ, the Lord Jesus delivered us from addiction (slavery) to sin. And, he has empowered us of the Spirit of God to live righteously. We at one time were darkness, but now we are the light of the Lord. That means we are no longer to live in darkness (sin) but in the light of truth and righteousness.

And, we are to walk as children of light. And this means that how we live should reflect the righteousness of God and not the sinful passions of our flesh. Every day we are to die to sin and live to God and to his righteousness. And, we are to live lives which are pleasing to God.

Thus, we are not to participate in the unfruitful works of darkness. We should not be viewing, reading, or listening to what is immoral and wicked, which mocks God and his holiness, and which gives glory and honor to what the Bible calls sin. And, we should not engage in the like.

Rather, we are to expose them. We are to call out what is evil, and we are to show it for the evil that it is. And, a big part of that evil today is the deceiving spirits which are convincing “Christians” that they can remain in their sin and still be saved and have heaven secured them when they die. We are to expose these lies and proclaim the truth of the gospel of Christ.

So, if you have been believing the lies that say you don’t have to turn away from your sins, and that you don’t have to obey the Lord, and that you don’t have to submit to Christ as Lord, please listen to the truth. 

If you think you are saved and bound for heaven on a confession of faith in Jesus, but that how you live while on this earth will not impact your eternal security, then please read what the Bible teaches about that. For, if we walk according to the flesh, we will die in our sins, but if by the Spirit we are putting to death the deeds of the flesh, then we will live (Rom 8:1-17).

Look Carefully

Ephesians 5:15-21 ESV

“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.”

There are many professing Christians who are living very unwisely. Their deeds are not godly, but they are of the flesh. They are still the ones running their own lives, making their own decisions, which are not of God. They are holding on to control, because they don’t want to give up what they consider to be their freedom.

They are living for self-gratification, self-pleasure, and self-indulgence. They go by their feelings, not by faith. They live to satisfy the sinful pleasures of the flesh rather than live to please God. And, they follow their emotions rather than the Word of God.

Rather than surrender their lives to Jesus Christ, which they know they must do, they prolong their addiction to sin and to living to please the flesh. Thus, they engage in all sorts of wickedness, in sexual immorality, idolatry, adultery, hate, gossip, pride, and bitterness, too.

They don’t have to be drunk on wine to be intoxicated, though, for they can be drunk on the passions of their own flesh which overtake them. For, they let their emotions and their sensual passions drive them instead of letting the Holy Spirit rule their lives.

So, by their actions, they treat God and others with contempt, with insults, with disdain, with disrespect, and with scorn and mockery. They take advantage of others for their own selfish gain, and they abuse others for their own sensual pleasures. They don’t care who they hurt as long as they get what they want.

We are not to be like that. We are to look carefully at how we walk (live, behave, think, conduct our lives). And, we are to live wisely, not unwisely. 

We are not to keep on in sinful pleasures, wasting the time God has given to us on this earth to be lived for his glory and praise. But, we are to make the best use of the time we have remaining on this earth, which is to live to please God in all that we do.

And, we need to be encouraging one another to live righteously, in morality and purity, in obedience to God, following our Lord and his teachings. And, we do this through song, through teaching and sharing the Word of God with others, through our testimonies, and through building one another up in the faith.

And, in all things, we are to be thankful to the Lord for all that he has done for us and is doing in our lives and is going to do in our lives, giving him all the glory, honor and praise for everything he accomplishes in us and through us.

For Our Nation  

An Original Work / September 11, 2012

Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

Trust Him with your life today.

Make Him your Lord and your Savior.

Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.

He will forgive you of your sin;

Cleanse your heart, made new within.

Men betraying: Our trust fraying.

On our knees to God we’re praying,

Seeking God to give us answers

That are only found in Him.

God is sovereign over all things.

Nothing from His mind escaping.

He has all things under His command,

And will work all for good.

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

Men deceiving: we’re believing

In our Lord, and interceding

For our nation and its people

To obey their God today.

He is our hope for our future.

For our wounds He offers suture.

He is all we need for this life.

Trust Him with your life today.

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