Exposing The Darkness

We have an 11-yr old in our church (I'll call Andrew) who just lost all his friends. A classmate told him he wanted to "transition" from a boy to a girl and asked for Andrew's support. Andrew told him God had made him a boy and that he couldn't go along. His teachers and classmates supported the transition. Andrew was immediately ostracized as a “hater.”

That’s California.  

Andrew’s story prompts an important question: How should a Christian evangelistically interface with such a despicable culture? Brilliant theologians have provided myriad views.[1] And we've no space here to address them all. Instead, let us perform a quick analysis of Ephesians 5:1-11 to pull a few fundamental principles from the text.

I. Avoid the Darkness
Ephesians 5:3 is clear, “Do not let immorality or any impurity or greed even be named among you, as is proper among saints…." To begin, Paul reiterates the goal of each Christian carrying their heavenly Father’s spiritual DNA, fueled by love and living drastically different from those around them.

To this end, Paul says the Christian shouldn’t touch sin with a 10-ft pole. No sexual impurity, greed, self-will, coveting, manipulation, filthy talk, cursing, moronic behavior, coarse jesting, innuendo, or even the “hint” of such, should be part of the Christian’s daily vocabulary and conduct.

Hence, it’s strange that so many churches ignore these commands. 65% of Christian men in America admit addictions to pornography. Evangelicalism has become soft on sin, especially sexual immorality. We’ve so-called "churches" packed with fornicators and led by men who brandish crude sexual humor from the pulpit. Joshua Harris, Ravi Zacharias, and Carl Lentz's recent scandals are surface evidence of what’s under evangelical waters.

II. Beware the Darkness
Paul continues in v.6, “Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.” It’s as if Paul holds up a bright yellow caution sign up to say, “The pagans will tell you sin’s tolerable, a personal choice, and it’s okay to walk the line!”

Satan and his minions have always been evil advertisers. Therefore Paul distinguishes the advertisements to avoid. First, beware of the propaganda. Paul calls it empty words, those alluring appeals, billboards in the stores, Hollywood styles that play on our lusts and beckon us to sin. Next, he says beware the penalty, or the wrath, a someday punishment in hell, and a today consequence, watching your life fall to pieces. Lastly, he says beware of the partners, partaking with the wrong crowd. The bad friends lead to the wrong future.

III. Contrast the Darkness
Paul goes on to point out the impact of a Christian’s purity. In verse 8, he continues, "but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light…." Here the rubber meets the road for each Christian; it's one thing to know the King, it's another to be bold for the King.

Paul does not just say each Christian is in the light, but rather, that he is the light. Clearly, this is not just about knowledge, a learned subject, but also about what we become. Jesus (the actual light) will soon return, but the Christian keeps this ball of dirt survivable by shining until that day.

Notice Paul gives three ways to shine: First is Christian goodness, which we call moral excellence or selfless sacrifice. While the pagans burn to get, Christians live to give. Second is a Christian's righteousness, or how he uses his body. The unbelieving world typically uses their body as an instrument of evil, but the Christian is called to use his body as an instrument of good. Finally, the Christian exhibits truthfulness, a willingness to speak the truth, regardless of consequences.

IV. Expose the Darkness
Yet, the Christian does not simply shine for himself or his own home. Instead, the Lord would have him shine forth, impacting lives that are in a state of ruin. Verse 11 contends, "Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them…" The idea of exposing evil is a clarion call. It literally means to rebuke sin.

The Bible is replete with stories of men like John the Baptizer and the apostle Paul, who called out evil (Cf. Lk. 3:19; Acts 24:25). Throughout history, Christians have done the same (e.g., Tyndale, Lincoln, Wilberforce, and Spurgeon). Part of being a Christian is pointing out sin. Love does not rejoice in unrighteousness. A love that won’t expose evil isn’t love. Dishonest and darkened souls should feel uncomfortable when the truth walks into the room.

In modern America, these verses will sustain us. We live in a time where leaders legislate evil. We are no longer in battles of Red vs. Blue but Good vs. Evil. In Brownsburg, IN, a federal judge ruled against music teacher John Kluge, who was fired for not using the "right" pronoun. In Sydney, MT, Pastor JD Hall was jailed for a hate crime after witnessing to a homosexual at a gas station. California just passed AB329 citing, "Elementary students must be taught all FDA approved methods of sexuality, pregnancy, and HIV transmission.”

We feel the darkness; it's the midnight hour, be it the blackened cave of Hollywood, oppressive government, liberalized educators, and mandating employers. Praise be to God for the reminder that nothing's new under the sun. Yes, technology is unique, the industry is new, styles are unknown, and even forms of government are new, but sin’s not new, the nature of man is not new, and the solution is the same – Christ – so, shine Christian, shine. Beware the dark, contrast the darkness, and by all means expose the night.  

[1] Richard Niebuhr listed historic typologies (i) Separatist, Christ against culture, Tertullian "third-race," St. Benedict, Mennonite, Amish (ii) Synthesist, Christ above culture, ecclesiastical, state church, papacy (iii) Conversions, Christ of culture, not only redeeming individuals, God's redeeming creation, City of God, post-millennial theonomy (v) Dualist, Christ within culture, reformers, contrast isn’t church v. culture, more-so God v. man, world godless and sick, He saves individuals, sets them free to shine in society. I would submit Paul’s view aligns with the dualist.

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