Christ Church Washington D.C.

One of the recurring prayers among our community of churches is for reformation and revival in our land. We want to see the purification and expansion of the church in America. We see overwhelming corruption and ever-expanding divisions in our nation, and so we ask God earnestly to intervene as He has done all throughout history. We can often dream of reformation and revival as being akin to a dawn after a black night or a reprieve from trials and calamity.
And while this is true, it is also true that reformation itself brings with it great discomfort, trials, and testing. Reformation in Scripture is often characterized as a refiner’s fire. This refining fire is meant to burn up impurities and destroy corruption. And while we can say yes and amen to the idea of refining fire coming to burn up the corruption in the offices of government and in our justice system and in the media,
that refining fire is coming for you first. 1 Peter 4.17 says that judgment must begin in the house of God, which means that the Reformation starts with us. Reformation begins in your heart and in your home first. Repentance of your personal sin, your lusts, your bitterness, slothfulness, and envy. Repentance for the sins of your household, passive husbands, disrespectful wives, disobedient children.
If we want to see repentance sweep across our nation, we must have repentance for our personal, household, and church sins first. Christ Church DC must be refined with fire at both the personal and corporate level. But always remember, the fire that refines is not meant to consume you, it is pure grace. If you confess your sins, God is faithful and just to forgive you and cleanse you of all unrighteousness.
His work of judgment in the church is not for condemnation, but for sanctification. So today, if you hear his voice, don’t harden your heart. Allow his refining fire to purify your heart and mind and trust him to complete his perfect work in you. Our sermon text this morning comes from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, chapter 5, verses 7 through 14. These are the words of God. Be not ye therefore partakers with them,
for ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord. Walk as children of light. For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth, proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light, for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.
Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. Let’s pray. Father, you are light, and in you is no darkness at all. We ask that you would shine your light upon us now and chase out the darkness from every corner. Bring your word to bear upon our hearts that we would be a people that are fit to bear your name, because we ask in Jesus’ name. Amen. You may be seated.
From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible very clearly presents this paradigm of antithesis, a paradigm of two opposing ways that are fundamentally at odds with one another. From creation through the end of history, there is this fundamental division or dichotomy that is being played out between the righteous and the unrighteous, the godly and the ungodly, the light and the darkness.
This is the foundational war that has been taking place throughout all history. It is the seed of the woman who is warring against the seed of the serpent. This is a war that you are in the midst of every single day in your work, in your home, in your own mind. When you’re all alone, you are at war. And the Apostle Paul here in chapter 5 of Ephesians is seeking to explain what it means to live as a Christian in this world that’s full of darkness.
And as you recall from the first three chapters, Paul is explaining what is true about the gospel, who Christ is, what God has done for his people in the gospel. He’s giving the indicatives, the statements of truth. And now, from chapter 4 on through the end of the letter, he’s giving the imperatives. He’s applying that truth. What does it then mean for us to live? How shall we then live in light of this truth?
Another one of the great themes that we see in Scripture is that it’s not merely enough to know the truth. It’s not merely enough to know what is true. The truth demands action. To believe the truth necessitates us to live the truth, to apply it to our lives. And we see this in 1 John 1. John says,
Jesus also says in John’s gospel, So the truth is not merely a statement of fact, but it is a lived reality. The capital T truth is a person, Jesus Christ, who took on flesh, who did not merely exist,
lived, he embodied all that is true and good and right and pure, his actions. So Paul here in Ephesians is calling us to recognize what is true about being a Christian and to do that truth. Jesus said that the Christian is the light of the world. That is true, right? And you are called from this passage of scripture to ask yourself plainly, am I doing this truth?
Am I living as light in the midst of darkness? Am I living consistently with who God says that I am? So let’s look at the text now. We’ll go through verse by verse. Paul begins exhorting the Ephesians not to be partakers with them. The them he’s referring to are what he just got done explaining in verses three through six, the whoremongers, the covetous, the greedy, the idolaters.
Paul believes that it’s necessary to tell Christians that you can’t be a whoremonger anymore. You can’t be a covetous idolater anymore. Why is that? Because clearly this is still happening in the church at Ephesus. That’s verse seven. So even though the Christian has been transferred from darkness to light, we still need to be reminded of this truth. So Paul says, you’re no longer in darkness, so don’t act like it. Walk in the light. That’s verse eight.
And the Christian has the spirit of God. The Christian is empowered to live in a way that glorifies God, walking in goodness, righteousness, and truth, living a life that is pleasing to God. That’s verses nine and 10. And since you have the spirit and you are in the light, you are not to have fellowship or friendship with the unfruitful works of darkness. Notice in verse seven,
Paul says, don’t be partakers with them in the darkness. And then in verse 11, he says not to be in fellowship, right? The distinction here between being a partaker and being in fellowship is that a partaker is someone who’s joining in practice with, someone who is going along with the works of darkness. Whereas to be in fellowship with those works is to be a friend of them, to desire them, to love them, to have closeness,
with them. So he says, don’t even display the slightest interest in these unfruitful dark works. It’s one thing to not do these things. It’s another thing to not be interested in them at all. And he continues saying that we are to reprove this darkness and expose it. We are to correct sinful errors and shine the light of truth upon them.
So that’s verse 11. And it’s because these unfruitful works of darkness are shameful. They are often done in secret because those who practice them know that they’re shameful. That’s verse 12.
This is done by speaking the truth in love, seeking to correct the error with truth. And it’s also done by being light itself, by living as light, living a life of righteousness, openly refusing to partake and fellowship with darkness. That is itself a reproof and a rebuke to the darkness. That’s verse 13.
It follows the model that New Testament writers often give of quotes from the Old Testament. The problem is, is that it’s not a direct quote from anywhere in the Old Testament. It’s kind of a mixture of a few quotes, with the closest one being Isaiah 60 verse 1, which says, Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.
And, you know, sometimes he’s kind of giving a paraphrase, or maybe he’s quoting from the Septuagint, which is the Greek translation of the Old Testament. And if you look back in your Old Testament and you try to match the two, they’re not exactly the same. And it kind of calls into our minds, like, what does this mean then, that it is the Word of God? It kind of calls into the idea of what is the inspiration of Scripture, right?
How can you say that it’s what God said, when in fact, He didn’t actually say it quite like that, right? How can you call that the Word of God? And the way I believe this is best explained is that Paul, under the inspiration of the same Holy Spirit that wrote that verse in Isaiah, or wrote the entirety of the Old Testament canon, he’s giving an inspired interpretation and meaning of a number of different Old Testament Scriptures in verse 14.
He’s summing up and explaining a number of Scriptures and applying them to the Ephesians and to us. So, he’s taking a number of passages from Isaiah, specifically, you know, chapter 60, verse 1, most prominently, but a number of others as well, and he’s applying that to the person of Christ and his work in the Gospel. And the summary of that work is that the Gospel comes as light, right? In Matthew 4, 16,
speaking of the incarnation, it says the people which sat in darkness saw great light. Jesus Christ is the light of the world, and the truth of his Gospel is what raises sinners up from their deadness and brings new life. So that’s verse 14. Now, I want to tease out a few of the ideas that we see presented in this text, starting with this dichotomy that is often presented in Scripture, which is light against darkness.
We see Paul using the terms of children of disobedience and children of light to contrast them. This is something we see often in Scripture, that those who are children of a father are mimicking their father. They act like their father. You take after your father and you do the things that your father does. We see this famously in John chapter 8, when Jesus is calling out the unbelieving Jews.
He says, no, you’re not sons of Abraham. If you were sons of Abraham, you would be doing the things that Abraham did. And they’re like, well, no, we’re not sons of fornication. Our father is God. And he says, no, if God were your father, you would love me. You’re of your father, the devil, he says to them, because you’re doing the works of the devil. You’re seeking to kill me, which is a work of the devil. So this is very clear. Those who do the works of God are the children.
And those who do the works of the enemy are his children. And so clearly those who are the children of God are not to partake or have fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness. Paul says that we’re not to participate in that darkness and we’re not even supposed to have any affinity for it at all. He’s specifically referring to those kinds of darkness mentioned in verse five, the whoremonger, the unclean person, a covetous man,
who is an idolater. So sexual immorality, fornication, lustfulness, covetousness, greed, love of money, these things are fundamentally to worship another god. They are idolatry. And people whose lives are characterized by these sins, Paul says, have no inheritance in the kingdom of God. In other words, they’re bound for hell, which is why Paul is giving such a stern warning to the church.
These sins are not to be played with. They’re not to be flirted with. They are only to be put to death. This means that secret porn habit is a deadly sin that needs to be cut off immediately. That illicit sexual relationship, those adulterous thoughts, they are not to be tolerated in your life, period. Not only because these sins are detrimental to your life,
but your soul is at stake. Paul says that the wrath of God is coming for those who live in darkness. But notice that embedded within this grave warning is the hope of forgiveness. Paul’s writing to the church and he says, you were at once, at one time, darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. And within that contains this promise of forgiveness. Someone can be dead in sin,
dead in darkness, and come to the light. So this is truly a hopeful message that he’s giving. It is possible to be someone blind in the darkness of sin and raised up to be a child of light who walks in the light. And so then what does that mean to walk in the light? Does it mean to never sin? Does it mean to never be tempted by these works of darkness and even to be a partaker with them at times? Is that what that means?
Well, 1 John, again, chapter 1, gives us clear teaching on what it means to walk in the light. In verse 7, John says,
So to walk in the light is to confess your sins, to repent of your sins, and to be cleansed by the blood of Jesus. It is to recognize that you are a sinner in need of the grace of God. John says, if you say you have no sin, you deceive yourself. You are lying to yourself. There is no sinless perfection for the Christian, but there is this clear instruction.
Don’t go on in the darkness, but turn away from that sin, that lust, that envy, that greed, and put on righteousness, goodness, and truth. Be renewed in your mind. Study scripture. Pray fast. Fellowship with the saints. Are you doing these things? Are you confessing your sins immediately? Are you putting it to death now?
Or are you tolerating it? Are you making allowance for your sin? Paul says, don’t be deceived. Don’t deceive yourself. Because that’s what these sins are. Sin, all sin is just a lie. It’s a deception. It’s believing something that’s not true. It’s promising something, some reward, and then it’s a bait and switch. And it doesn’t actually give you that thing. It just leaves you empty, full of misery,
sorrow. So don’t be deceived. Don’t think, well, I only lusted in my heart. I didn’t actually commit adultery. I’m just looking at porn. I’m not actually fornicating. I’m not doing that thing. I haven’t actually defrauded anyone. That lie didn’t really cause any trouble. No, you’re deceived. If you think these sins of the heart and eyes and mind aren’t going to lead to greater and deeper sins, you’re deceived.
All sins roll downhill and they pick up steam as they go. So cut it off now. We see this illustrated in Psalm 19. David says,
There is this progression of sin that David illustrates. There is the secret sins, there are the presumptuous sins, and there is the great transgression. And it all rolls downhill. You don’t just wind up in this great, terrible sin that is public for the world to see. It started with something in secret. It started presuming on God’s grace and deceiving yourself, thinking that what you were doing was not really that bad. Well, it always tends downhill. So cut it off now.
If there’s anything that this text teaches us, it is that there is a radical difference between those who are in light and those who aren’t. They are completely at odds with one another. There is the child of light who can walk in darkness for a time. You can be in sin for a time, but it’s not going to be comfortable. You’re not going to be comfortable if you’re a child of God living in that sin because it’s not of your nature.
You’re a child of light. God is your Father, and you want to do what is acceptable to Him. We see this illustrated in Psalm 26. David says, I have not sat with the vain persons, neither will I go in with dissemblers. I have hated the congregation of evildoers and will not sit with the wicked. So is this you? Do you hate the darkness, or are you drawn to it?
There is no reforming the darkness. And if you’re in darkness, you must come to light through faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus said, I am the light of the world. He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. It’s John 8, 12.
We are to reprove them. So this means to reprove is to convict someone that what they’re doing is wrong and to convince them of the truth. There are two ways that this can be done. This can be done verbally by calling out with your words, by shining the light of truth on someone who is in darkness. We see this in Matthew 18 when we’re talking about confronting the sins of fellow believers.
It says that if your brother has offended you, go to him and tell him his fault. Go to him and tell him, reprove him for what he’s done. And then we see the correct method for this reproving in Galatians 6. Galatians 6 says that if your brother is overtaken in a fault, that you are to correct him in a spirit of gentleness or meekness. And at the same time, considering yourself, it says, Paul says in Galatians 6, considering yourself.
Self-examination. Understanding, as what Jesus said, take the log out of your own eye first before you go and take the speck out of your brother’s eye. This is how we are to reprove in the church. We are to confront others, if it’s necessary, when they’ve sinned against us, and we’re to do it with gentleness and self-examination. We also see the people of God throughout Scripture rebuking evildoers.
He says, that’s not lawful for you to do. He goes and he tells him the truth. And then, of course, we see Jesus numerous times rebuking the Pharisees for their hypocrisy, their leading people astray. He is not shy about using that serrated edge, as Pastor Doug talks about. So we are also called to stand against the evils of our day and rebuke them, to shine the light of truth on them.
The transgenderism, the sexualization of our culture, government corruption, lies from the media, injustice in the courts, unjust wars. These are all things that we have a duty to call out as Christians. We are the children of light and we are to reprove those works of darkness. And so where you have influence and ability to persuade those who are involved in this darkness, you have an obligation to do so.
Walking in the light is one of the most potent ways that we reprove the darkness. Walking in the light is itself a rebuke to the darkness. As Psalm 1 says, we sang it earlier,
This is what the blessed man does. He refuses to participate in the lies and devious schemes. So being honest, even when it’s hard, even when it will cost you, speaking kind words without flattery, without expectation of gain, refusing to participate in crude and sinful joking, and forgiving others when they have wronged you. These are ways that we can walk in the light
that shines in the midst of darkness that exposes darkness to unbelievers. Raising a godly family, husbands loving your wives, wives respecting and submitting to your husbands, raising your children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. This light-filled living is extremely potent in exposing the evil deeds of those in darkness.
That is righteous and good, and he can feel that shame for his own deeds. That light that you shine in the way that you love your wife, in the words that you speak, in the way that you count others more significant than yourself, that alone is enough to make him feel that the light that you shine in the way that you love your wife, in the words that you speak, in the way that you count others more significant than yourself.
The shame that he’s not doing that. That is the law of God that is written on every man’s heart. Your life in the light is a rebuke to the darkness. But to live that kind of life that is a rebuke to the darkness, it requires that you be absolutely unashamed of your faith. To live the kind of life that is a rebuke to darkness, it requires that you be absolutely unashamed of your faith.
As Paul says in Romans 1, I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ because it is the power of God to salvation. Paul had numerous reasons to be ashamed of the gospel, right? He had been beaten, imprisoned, stoned. He had suffered greatly for the gospel, but he was not ashamed of it because it’s true, right? He was utterly convinced that it was true and there is no shame in that which is true.
There will be repercussions for living out your faith boldly in the midst of a hostile and dark world. There will be repercussions for refusing to go along with the schemes and plots of wicked men who seek to entangle you. It may cost you your job. It may cost you status or reputation among certain people.
It may cost you that promotion. But as our Lord said, what does it profit you? What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit your soul? There is nothing in this world worth trading for your soul. Nothing. We can be so easily tempted to think that if we just achieve some status, get that promotion, accomplish that mission by any means necessary, well, then we’ll get back on track.
And after I get this done, then I’ll start walking in the light. You know, I’ve got to do what I got to do right now to make this happen. And yeah, I know it’s not a righteous thing. I know it’s not. I don’t want anybody to know that I’m doing this thing. But I’ll just, you know, I’m going to do it. And then after that, then I’m going to get back on track. But this is the trap. This is exactly what Jesus was warning against. It’s not worth trading even the entire world for your soul.
If the church will have an impact on this nation the way the apostles did in the first century, we must wake up and realize that it will be costly to unashamedly follow Christ. We must count the cost.
And the primary reason that our country is in the state that it’s in is because the church has been asleep for decades. The rampant darkness that we see in our nation today is a byproduct of the sleepiness of the church. The light of the church, and I’m speaking corporately,
the church, the capital C church, the light has been under a bushel, and where that light has been missing, the darkness has expanded. Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. Reformation will come when the church looks around and says, Enough. When the church wakes up and divorces itself completely from the darkness at every level.
This is what we need. This is what we must pray for and seek after. That the Spirit of God would come and fill the living temple here on earth and turn the world upside down again. It’s fitting that we just celebrated Reformation Day on Friday. One of the mottos from the Reformation was post tenebrous lux. After darkness, light. After darkness, light.
After dark darkness, God is able to make his light pierce through it all and overcome it. We can look around at our nation. We can look around at the cities and the state, the divisions that exist among the people in our nation and be tempted to lose hope because it’s in a bad place. But do you think that God looks around and thinks, man, this is too much. What am I going to do? No, he does not.
But God, who is rich in mercy for his great love, wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ. Even when you were dead, even when this world is dark, even when the church has been asleep, God can make dry bones live. God is able to raise the dead to new life.
2 Corinthians 4, 6 says,
That Christ came, died for your sins, rose again to make new men and women, to recreate you, to make you a new person that loves what is right and hates what is evil.
To bring peace and joy and rest to lost, troubled souls. This is the task set before us. This is a high calling and a glorious privilege, to call people up out of the grave, to tell them to arise from the dead and receive life in the name of Jesus Christ. Christ is risen from the dead, he is alive forever, and he is calling all men everywhere to repent and believe in him.
Because he has fixed a day in which he will judge all men according to their deeds. The light shines out from the darkness, right? The light shines from the darkness. From within the darkness, the light breaks forth. You were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. So put on Christ, put on the light and shine. Father, we thank you that you have sent your son to give us new life.
We thank you that you have shined your light into our hearts and have shown us something of your glory. We ask that you would awaken your church, that you would give us boldness, courage, and faithfulness to you no matter what comes our way. And we ask that your spirit would rule in our hearts and minds, that our lives would be bright, shining lights that would draw all men to you. We ask this in the strong name of Jesus who taught us to pray, singing, Our Father,
what’s in heaven, where the old Nicky died.