Look To Jesus

Isaiah 45:21-25

As we go through life, there are some things that are important, and some that are not quite as important.  Taking care of our health is one important thing.  Also making sure that the bills are paid and our family is taken care of.  Then there are plenty of things that are of lesser importance.  However, there is one thing that is most important to have decided and taken care of before the end of our life.  We read about that in our Scripture today from the Prophet Isaiah.

As we open our Scripture passage, the Lord God is speaking to mankind.  Here Yahweh calls for all those who think they have a case against Him, all those who wish to worship other gods, or choose not to believe in Him, who don’t want His Word or ways in their lives, to bring their case forward (vs. 21).  There were people like that in Isaiah’s day, and there sure are plenty around today, folks who want to cast God and the Bible aside.  Their life is only a few short years, yet they think they can stand before the Lord and His Word, which has been since ancient times, or in other words, for all eternity.

Yahweh declares an eternal truth here - that there is no other god besides Him.  He, alone, is the one true God.  Unlike the myriad of false, pagan gods, Yahweh is a just God.  He is morally right and fair (vs. 21).  We can count on Him to do what is right.  The pagan gods were often depicted as being morally corrupt, and even downright wicked.  Though we have failed God in so many ways, He is our Savior if we turn to Him.  There is no one else we can turn to.

The key verse in our Scripture passage is verse 22.  “Look to Me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth!  For I am God, and there is no other.”  We are all lost.  Our sins have separated us from God, and left in that condition, we are headed for an eternity in hell.  What can save us from that fate?   Can all the good deeds we have ever done?  Can our wealth?  Our education and intellect?  Can our family and upbringing?  The answer is no to every one of them.  Nor can any of the false religions that we find practiced all around the world.  We are urged to look to Jesus, and through Him, alone, we can be saved.

This verse states both the simplicity and the necessity of salvation.  All we must do is look, or turn to Jesus.  We need to shift our attention to Him.  It does not take years of deliberate effort in a series of works, but only a moment of looking to be saved.  All other religions outside of Biblical Christianity require works in order to obtain their version of salvation.  They require you to do this, do that, recite this or that so often, perform all sorts of rituals, and then maybe you might achieve salvation.  That is not what the Bible says.  Jesus says to just look to Him, call upon Him, and you can be saved.

Salvation is not based on our own efforts, but on the Lord’s (vs. 24).  It is in the Lord that we find righteousness and strength.  Before any of us came to Jesus for salvation, we were all sinners, without any hope.  However, Jesus, the sinless Son of God, took our sins and guilt upon Himself on the Cross, paying the price for us.  When we look to Him for salvation, we receive His righteousness.  Our works, our religious rituals don’t achieve that for us.  It is only by coming to Him.

Can we trust that this is true, that if we turn to Jesus, He will save us?  Verse 23 says that God has sworn by Himself that the Words He has said will not return, it will not be withdrawn or retracted.  He swears by Himself because there is no one greater than He is that He could swear by (Hebrews 6:13).  Every promise that the Lord God has ever given has always been true.  Not a one has ever failed.  Every gift or promise of the Lord is irrevocable (Romans 11:29).

Have you looked to Jesus for salvation?  That is the most important decision one has to make in all of life.  Nothing else comes close.  God’s offer is for anyone and everyone.  God does not qualify it only for people of this race or that color.  It isn’t only for the smart intellectuals, or those in a certain income level.  It doesn’t matter where you live or what language you speak.  The Bible only says for us to look to Him and be saved.  Just turn to Jesus, call upon Him, and be saved.  It’s that simple.  No works, no elaborate rituals, or paying a lot of money.  However, one must do that before you pass into eternity.  We never know when our last day will be.  We all know how sudden that could be, with natural disasters happening all over, accidents, killings.  We never know, so today, without fail, look to Jesus and be saved!

The Resurrection And The Life

John 11:17-44

Holy Week, the last week of Jesus’ earthly life, is right upon us, beginning tomorrow.  Several days before Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem, which we remember on Palm Sunday, He performed perhaps His greatest miracle.  In our Scripture for today, we read of this miracle and learn some very important spiritual truths.

Just prior to the opening of our Scripture passage from John’s Gospel, Jesus’ good friend Lazarus had become ill.  Lazarus’ two sisters, Mary and Martha, were also good friends of Jesus.  They sent Him word that their brother was quite ill, beseeching Him to come (John 11:1-7).  Surprisingly, Jesus delayed leaving to go to Bethany, the hometown of these friends.  When He finally arrived, it was several days later, and Lazarus had already died and been buried.  This is where our passage for today picks up.

When the sisters Mary and Martha heard that Jesus, whom they had asked to come about a week earlier, had finally arrived, we can imagine some of the disappointment they must have felt (vs. 20-21).  Sometimes we pray to God for some desperate need, and we find only silence.  Does Jesus care, we might wonder?  Why doesn’t He come and help?!  When Martha came to Jesus she very plainly told Him that if He had been there, as she had asked Him, her brother wouldn’t have died.  We often think the same thing - if God had answered my prayer, some terrible things wouldn’t have happened.  However, just like Mary and Martha, we don’t see the whole picture.

It is here, in the middle of the sisters' grief over their brother’s death, that Jesus gives one of His most precious promises for all believers - “I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.  And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.” (vs. 25-26).   Jesus has power over life and death.  He, alone, can raise the dead, not just at the Last Day, but bring life at any time.  He who is life can restore life.

Jesus asked the sisters where they had buried their brother Lazarus.  As the group walked to the grave site, Jesus heard the sorrowful and sad comments made.  This caused Him to groan and then to cry (vs. 33-36).  Why did He cry?  Many people believe that He wept because He was sad over Lazarus’ death, and that He loved this small family. Yes, most certainly Jesus loved them.  However, I don’t believe Jesus wept because of sorrow.  Jesus knew what He was going to do.  That was the reason why He delayed coming to begin with.  I believe it was because Jesus was grieving for a fallen world, entangled in sin, sin which since the time of Adam has caused sickness, sorrow, and death.  Jesus was a “Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.” (Isaiah 53:3).

When they arrived at the grave, Jesus told them to roll the stone away from the grave entrance.  The terrain of that part of the world had a lot of very rocky hills and cliffs, and many people would bury their loved ones in small caves dug out of these rocky cliffs, and a large stone or rock placed in front.  The Jews did not embalm a dead body.  They would wrap them in strips of linen cloth, and anoint with spices and perfume.  However, after four days, the body would long since have started to decompose (vs. 39).  Jesus, though, instructed the sisters to believe, just as He does to us today (vs. 40).

Jesus gave a brief prayer to the Father (vs. 41-42).  He knew that the Father heard His prayer.  When we’ve accepted Jesus as Savior we can be assured that He hears us, too, and will work all things for good.  Jesus then called out to Lazarus to come forth out of the grave (vs. 43), and as we know, that is exactly what happened.  Lazarus, after four days of death, came forth from the grave alive again.  This was a command from the Creator.  He is the Resurrection and the Life.  If Jesus had not called Lazarus by name specifically, every other dead body would have risen!

The Savior did not look at the situation through the eyes of natural man, but through the eyes of faith.  Death fled when He looked past the natural and operated in the spiritual.  The Lord Jesus looked death square in the face without fear.  Death and grief did not win the day here.  They don’t have the last word.  Jesus does.  When Jesus enters a hopeless situation, like a man being dead for four days and already decomposing, He fills it with hope.  Jesus turns tragedy into triumph, and death into resurrection.  Have you accepted Him as your personal Savior?  If not, do not wait another day!

Who Is Your Master?

Romans 6:16-23

In most places around the world today, slavery is illegal.  People are no longer forced to work against their will with no pay, and belong to their master.  When someone was a slave they had to obey the master, and were not free to do what they wished.  None of us would ever want to be a slave.  In our Scripture today, from the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Church in Rome, he speaks of all of us as being slaves to one thing or another.  So I’m a slave?  You’re a slave?  Let’s look at what God’s Word is saying.

So if I’m a slave, who is my master?  Who or what am I giving servitude to?  As Paul opens our Scripture, he tells us that we are slaves to either sin or to righteousness (vs. 16).   All unbelievers, all those who have not given their lives to the Lord Jesus, are slaves to sin and to Satan, whether they know it or not.  Satan is their master.  Those who have been born-again, and given their lives to the Lord Jesus are slaves of righteousness, and He is their Master.  Before salvation, we were slaves of sin and part of Satan’s kingdom of darkness.  After we called upon Jesus to save our souls, we are now part of His kingdom and belong to Him.  Ownership and allegiance has been transferred.

However, sometimes believers do not realize or live like they have been bought and purchased by Jesus, and are no longer slaves of Satan.  They still live and follow their sin nature.  Paul questions his readers as to who they are obeying.  Are they obeying and continuing to live as slaves of sin, or are they following righteousness?

Picture a slave who has a harsh and cruel master, one who is very wicked, and mistreats his slaves.  Then one day someone who is kind comes and purchases that slave, and ownership has been transferred to this new owner, who actually makes him a part of the family.  Why would the slave continue to stay with the wicked and cruel former owner?  Yet that is what we see happening to so many believers today.  They still choose to serve sin and Satan.  When we believe what Jesus has done for us, a relationship with God begins, and sin no longer has dominion over us (vs. 18).  We are set free from bondage to Satan and sin.

Christians were once slaves to the sin nature, but are now servants of Jesus and righteousness.  We are not free to do whatever we want.  We are free only to do that which is consistent with the character of God.  True freedom is freedom from sin.  However, there are many Christians who think they can get real close to the edge of sin, and that they will be okay.  But then they slip and fall.  Their life and testimony, and often the lives of others are destroyed.  Sin’s appetite only grows when it is fed.

Absolutely nothing of any value can come out of sinful experiences.  There is no good fruit there, only spiritual death, and possibly physical death too (vs. 21).  Being a servant of Jesus and of righteousness brings good fruit and eternal life.  We had been slaves to sin, but through salvation, we have been set free.  We should never go back to our old ways of sin.  Sin is no longer our master.  Jesus is.  He should control our life, not Satan.  Unlike being a slave of Satan, we discover that Jesus’ yoke is light (Matthew 11:28-30).

Paul wraps up this portion of Scripture by speaking of wages and a gift (vs. 23).  A wage is what we get, what we deserve for something we do.  We usually think of it positively, equating it with a job and a salary.  However, it can also be a punishment, as it is here.  Our sinful behavior has earned us something, and that is spiritual death and separation from God.  A gift is something good that we get for free.  Someone gives us a gift because they like or love us.  We don’t work for it.  It is freely given.  Paul tells us here that when we accept Jesus as Savior, God has given us the gift of eternal life.

Every sin that has ever been committed must receive a just punishment, and the penalty for sin is death.  That has been the case since the Garden of Eden, and God warned us of that then, and continually does to this day.  However, because of His deep love for us, He provided a substitute to pay the penalty for everyone, Jesus Christ, the sinless Son of God.  It cost Jesus His life to pay the penalty for our sin.  God gives us eternal life on the basis of Jesus’ righteousness, not according to what our sins deserve.

We are free to choose between two masters, but we will bear for eternity the consequences of our decision.  We can choose to serve sin and Satan, which will bring death and separation from God for eternity, or we can choose to serve Jesus Christ, and have eternal life with Him in heaven.  Everyone must make a choice by the time they die.  Who do you choose for your master?  The choice is yours.

Deep In A Pit

Psalm 130

Not many of us can say that we have ever been at the bottom of a pit, needing to be rescued.  There are times, though, when some people have gotten into a dangerous situation and needed to be rescued.  Mountain climbers have fallen into crevices, unable to get out.  Hikers have fallen off the edge of cliffs, and children into wells, again, unable to get out on their own.  If able to, these unfortunates need to call out for help, as that might be the only way they will get out.  Though many of us haven’t been in such circumstances, we may be deep in some other type of pit, and also need to be rescued.  Our psalm for this week speaks of crying out to God to be rescued from any type of pit.

Our unknown psalmist writes of crying out to God from “the depths” (vs. 1).  What type of depth was he in?  Perhaps he was in a literal deep spot, such as having fallen into a pit, and he needed to be rescued.  He prayed to God for help.  It is also very likely that the depths that the psalmist found himself in were some other dire situation.

We speak of being “deep in debt” or “in some deep trouble”.  The psalmist may have been in some type of trouble for which he felt that he couldn’t get out of.  This was deep trouble, deep in distress, perhaps deep in pain.  The psalmist was in the depths of despair.  Perhaps he had turned to some friends or family for help, but received none, or at least nothing that was able to improve his situation.  God is the only one who can help, and he cried out to Him, pleading for Him to hear his voice (vs. 1-2).

The psalmist remembered that Yahweh is a God that forgives us from our sins, as we all are prone to sin (vs. 3-4).  As he wrote, if God marks down each time we sin, nobody would be able to stand before Him.  However, he knows that God does forgive, and because He does, the psalmist knows he can turn to Him for help at any time.  Not all of our suffering, or the problems that we have, are due to sin, and we should be very careful before we go pointing the finger at others, claiming their problems are due to some sin they committed.  However, sometimes the mess we are in was brought about because of sin, or just not using wisdom or common sense.  Yet we can be reassured that there is always forgiveness, never-ending forgiveness with God if we turn to Him.

Sometimes we seem to be in our “pit” for a long time, for longer than we would wish to be.  Our psalmist knew that he needed to wait for the Lord (vs. 5-6).  That is a message that we frequently read throughout Scripture - wait on the Lord.  Psalm 27:14 and Proverbs 20:22 are just some verses that instruct us to do that.  God doesn’t jump into action on our timetable.  He waits for the best moment to intervene.  Waiting for God helps us build a stronger faith.  As we wait, we learn to trust Him.

The general tone of this short psalm is one of hope and faith.  Sometimes when we are in a dire and desperate situation we might feel in despair.  Despair can make us feel isolated and distant from God.  However, this is when we need Jesus the most.  He is the only one who can help us.  As the psalmist knew, and we can too, God’s Word cannot fail, and we can safely hold on to it (vs. 5).

Sometimes when in a pit, whether literal or figurative, we may feel we are so deep in that pit that no one can hear us, including God.  Yet God’s Word tells us that we are never so deep into the pit of trouble and despair that God cannot hear us.  Whatever we are waiting for, whatever situation we find ourselves in, we can remember that God is on the throne.  There is nothing too difficult for Him to handle.  He is always in control.  We can have confidence in Jesus.

When we are in the depths of that deep pit, crying to God for help, we need to remember that Jesus didn’t just reach into the depths to rescue us.  Though that would have been wonderful enough, Jesus did even more than just reach in.  He Himself descended into that pit to rescue us.  If that is where you find yourself today, if you are in some pit that seems too deep to ever climb out of, turn to Jesus.  He will come into that pit and bring you deliverance.

When Dead Bones Come To Life

Ezekiel 37:1-14

If you came upon a huge pile of bones, what would be your reaction?  Would you be scared?  Perhaps if you had a medical or scientific background you might be a bit interested.  However, if those bones were to get up and join together, that is the stuff of spooky movies!  We know that such a scary event would not happen.  Yet as we read our Scripture for today from the Prophet Ezekiel, we read his account of just such an event that the Lord showed him.  Let’s take a look.

The Prophet Ezekiel’s ministry was primarily during the time when the people of Judah were in captivity in Babylon.  The Lord God brought about the Babylonian captivity, when the majority of the people were taken out of the land that God had given them because of their faithlessness to Him in worshiping false gods and idols.  The people were spiritually dead, as dead as a pile of bones.

One day during the ministry of Ezekiel the Lord brought him into a valley that was filled with bones.  This valley was in a desert wilderness, and the bones were completely dry.  There was no possible living cell in them.  These bones were all scattered, as well.  A skull here, a femur there.  Ribs and vertebrae all mixed up together.  The Lord showed Ezekiel the valley of bones, and asked him whether the bones could live.  They were bare bones, bones that were totally dried out, and that were separated from each other.  Ezekiel, though, didn’t just answer back, “No way!”  He knew that Yahweh could do anything, and that if He wanted to, He could bring them to life.  Ezekiel answered that God knew if they could or not (vs. 1-3).

God then told the prophet to preach to the bones, and for the bones to listen to God’s Word, and as the man of God spoke to them, the bones came together.  Muscles and tendons came upon the bones, and skin covered them.  They now looked like people, yet they were not alive.  There was no breath in them (vs. 4-8).  Yahweh told Ezekiel to speak His Word again, calling for breath to come into the lifeless bodies, bringing them life.  As Ezekiel obeyed God, the bodies came to life (vs. 9-10).

Naturally, God wasn’t just showing the prophet some spooky scene, something with skeletons and zombies.  There was an important lesson in this which He wanted to show the prophet, and in turn for the prophet to bring to the people of Israel.  As God showed the prophet, the bones represented the Jewish people.  Like the bones scattered all across the valley, the people were scattered all across the Middle East, and eventually they would be across the whole world.  But they are lifeless, without any spiritual life, spiritually dead.  They had rejected Yahweh and His Word, so God had scattered them out of the Promised Land.  The bones may come together with skin and muscle, just as the Jewish people have come back to the land of Israel, but they are still spiritually lifeless, which is how they remain to this day.  Only when God’s Spirit comes upon them will they regain life again (vs. 11-14).

It is only when the Holy Spirit, sent from God, comes upon a person, that one gains spiritual life.  That only happens when one is saved, when one accepts the Lord Jesus as Savior.  Throughout the centuries since the time of Christ there have been some Jewish people who have been saved.  The very first Christians were mostly of Jewish background.  However, as time passed, fewer and fewer Jews accepted Jesus as Savior.  Yet there still are some today who do turn to Jesus and accept Him as their Messiah.  The nation of Israel today, though, is in unbelief, and does not have spiritual life.  They are like the bodies standing there that Ezekiel saw, but were without breath.  Anyone, Jewish or Gentile, who has not accepted Jesus the Messiah, are spiritually lifeless, without breath.  We can even see some of them standing in church on Sundays.

God promised, though, that there would be a revival among the Jewish people when Jesus, the Son of God returns.  The breath of life will come into them.  When they see Him whom they pierced, they will accept Him as their Messiah, and come to life (Zechariah 12:10-14).

We can and should pray for a revival today.  Pray that people everywhere, both Jewish people and Gentiles, will turn to Jesus, and accept Him as their Savior and Messiah.  Only then will the dead bones come together and have life, spiritual life in them.

Open Eyes Or Blind Eyes?

John 9:1-13, 28-38

How much evidence does it take for someone to believe that something has happened?  Even with evidence right in front of their eyes, though, there are still some people who are so stubborn, hard-headed, and close-minded to accept what is presented right in front of them.  Our Scripture from the Gospel of John gives us the account of one of Jesus’ great miracles, and how it was received by the public, especially by one group who would not believe.  Are we sometimes equally close-minded to God’s work?  Let’s look into this Scripture passage.

Jesus and His disciples happened to pass by a young man who was blind from birth.  The disciples saw this unfortunate young man, and asked Jesus whose fault it was that he was born blind - was it his fault or his parents’ fault (vs. 1-2).  The people of that day believed that if something bad happened to someone or their family, it was due to some sin that was committed.  They believed that they deserved their problems, and that sickness was always related to sin.

The response that Jesus gave left no doubt as to what was the truth regarding this man, setting them straight.  Jesus said that in this case, the man was blind so that God could show forth His power and work through him (vs. 3).  We should not always assume that sin is to blame for a physical ailment.  Sometimes it is, but many times it is not.  There is no such thing as “Christian karma”.  Regardless of the reason for our suffering, Jesus has the power to help us deal with it.

Jesus then took the young man, put clay on his eyes, and told him to go wash in the pool of Siloam (vs. 6-7).  When he obeyed Jesus, his eyes were healed.  Had the man not obeyed the orders Jesus gave, had he just wiped the clay off after a moment or two, I don’t believe his sight would have been restored.  He had to go to that certain pool and wash his eyes there.  Obedience to God brought this man healing.

Then came the controversy.  People began to notice that this man, whom they had seen blind for many years, was now walking around with his sight restored.  At first, some doubted that he was the same man (vs. 8-9).  When he assured them that he was the same man, they wanted to know how he was healed.  This gave the man the opportunity to give a witness for Jesus.  Though he didn’t know Jesus’ Name, or exactly Who He was, the man told them exactly what He had done (vs. 10-12).  Because this healing took place on the Sabbath, some people were concerned, so they brought the man to the Pharisees to see what they would say.

Throughout the country the Pharisees had set themselves up as the arbitrators of what was good and right, especially when it came to religious laws.  In their mind, healing on the Sabbath, including the eyesight of a man born blind, was definitely not right.

There were four different reactions to Jesus’ healing of the blind man.  The neighbors showed surprise and skepticism.  The man’s parents believed, but kept quiet due to fear of the Pharisees.  The Pharisees did not believe, and were jealous.  And then the healed man showed consistent, growing faith.

Restoring the sight of a blind person back then, especially someone born blind, was a great miracle.  Though the Pharisees couldn’t really deny it, they didn’t like it.  At first they tried to deny it, but when they saw they really couldn’t deny the fact, then they tried to tear Jesus down, calling Him a sinner for doing this on the Sabbath (s. 28-34).  The formerly blind man may not have had any formal education, but he was still a bright man with common sense.  He debated with the Pharisees, asking how a sinner could bring about such an obvious miracle.  He asked why God would answer the prayers of a sinner, as it was obvious that God did hear Jesus’ prayers, and answered Him.

The Pharisees did not want to see or acknowledge what was right in front of their eyes.  To do so would be to have to acknowledge that sometimes their prejudices and judgments were wrong, and they never wanted to do that.  They were blinded by their pride, jealousy, and sin.  Their anger prevented them from seeing the truth.  We, today, need to be careful that we don’t ever fall into such stubbornness.  We do not know better than God.

We don’t know the name of the man healed of blindness, and after this account, he is not mentioned again.  This man made a profession of faith in Jesus, and told those around him who would listen what Jesus did for him, even to the point of getting kicked out of the synagogue (vs. 34-38).  This healed man showed more spiritual insight and common sense than the Pharisees and religious leaders who sat in judgment on Jesus.

What about you?  Are you open to the workings of the Lord around you, or are you stubborn, hard-headed, and blind?  As an old-time hymn says, “Open my eyes that I may see glimpses of truth Thou hast for me!”

Walking In God's Light

Ephesians 5:8-14

Walking in the dark can sometimes be dangerous.  Many years ago, back when I was a teenager, I was going through a dark hallway late at night.  I was feeling along the wall for a light switch, and went tumbling down a stairway.  Fortunately I only suffered several bumps and bruises, and nothing worse.  Having light would have spared me that fall.  Not only can darkness be dangerous, but it is often used to portray evil.  Movie directors sometimes use darkness to portray danger or give a sinister feeling.  The Bible also speaks of darkness in portraying sin, such as being in spiritual darkness.  That is what we will be reading about today from the Book of Ephesians.

Our Scripture passage today speaks of being in darkness versus being in light, spiritual darkness and being lost, versus spiritual light and being saved.  As the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus, he reminded the folks in this church that they were once living in darkness.  When we were unsaved, our life was one of darkness.  Many of the believers who lived in Ephesus were involved in all manner of sin before they were saved, as that city had a history of being a center for occult practices.  One does not have to be involved in terrible, heinous sins, though, to be in darkness.  Just being unsaved places us in the kingdom of darkness, under Satan’s authority.  However, as Paul stated, once these folks were saved, they were now in the light.  They were now part of the kingdom of light, and Paul wanted them to behave like that, to walk like that (vs. 8).  Darkness describes the character of the life of the unsaved person.  They are void of truth and virtue, and do not have light in them.  Jesus pointed out that sinners love the darkness (John 3:19-21).

All those who are believers, followers of Jesus, are children of the Light, and our actions should reflect our faith.  We should live above reproach.  Those who are saved, and who are walking in the light, will be walking in the Spirit, and will show righteous behavior and truthfulness (vs. 9).  We now have the light, and do not need to stumble around in the darkness of sin anymore.  When someone is walking through a room that is dark, they can’t see something on the floor that could trip them, and down they go.  They fall and get hurt.  With the spiritual light we now have through Jesus, we don’t need to fall into the trap of sin anymore, either.  As we walk in the light of the truth, we will know what the Lord’s will is, what is acceptable to Him, and we can follow that path, rather than one that leads to danger (vs. 10).

As Paul continued on in his instructions to the Ephesians, he warned these believers to not have anything to do with those who continue to live in darkness (vs. 11).  They are to live in righteousness and purity, and have nothing to do with the evil ways and works of Satan and the world.  God’s ways and Satan’s ways are opposed to each other.  Just as a country does not like its citizens, and especially its soldiers or members of the government to fraternize and associate with the enemy, neither should believers, those who are in the light, consort with those who are part of the kingdom of darkness.  Instead, we are to expose what they are doing as evil, especially when they try to infiltrate the church with their evil beliefs and doctrines.  God needs people who will take a stand for what is right, and who will speak out for what is true and right.

As we look around the world today, it isn’t that difficult to see that sin is becoming more rampant, and more out in the open with no shame whatsoever.  Things that would barely even be spoken of in hushed whispers back when I was young, are now openly flaunted in our face.  Today, even some Christians just turn a blind eye and have begun to become desensitized.  There are some sins that are so despicable that they shouldn’t even be talked about, except to oppose them (vs. 12).  Even talking about them can be morally and spiritually corruptive.  However, the light of God’s Word will expose sin (vs. 13).

As our Scripture passage closes, Paul gives an invitation for salvation to the unsaved, so that they can be transformed from children of darkness to children of light (vs. 14).   It is also an encouragement for believers who have slacked off in their walk with the Lord, to wake up and to start living as those who are in the light.  As Jesus taught in Matthew 5:14-16, believers are to be a light to others, leading the lost safely out of darkness.  Christians should be beacons of light to the dark world, showing the way to spiritual safety for all those who are lost.