Monday, December 17, 2018

The Apostle Paul's Letter To The Ephesians. Day 12, Avoid Those Who Claim To Be Christians But Whose Deeds Are Disobedient

Paul spoke yesterday about the importance of purity of speech and purity of body. Today he picks up from there but moves on into reminding us that we are no longer in the dark and that we shouldn't live like people who don't know the truth. Because we know the truth, we ought to be able to recognize false teachers. He instructs us to have nothing to do with them.

"For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person---such a person is an idolater---has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God." (Ephesians 5:5) Paul isn't saying we are doomed if we have ever committed these sins. If that were true then he would be doomed himself, for he told us in Romans 7:7-12 that he was once a very covetous man. Covetousness is a form of greed, and greed is a form of idolatry according to his words in verse 5. I think what he's saying here is that the person who comfortably lives an immoral, impure, and greedy life has not been made a new creature in Christ. The person who is not troubled by his sin has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ because he doesn't belong to Christ. The person who lives a life ruled by sin is not serving the Lord but idols. This person would probably never dream of bowing on his knees before a graven image, but he's bowing his knees to sexual immorality or to dishonest gain or to other things that serve the carnal flesh instead of the living God. When we don't allow God to be the Lord of our lives, we are going to put someone else (usually ourselves) in His place or we will put other things in His place. This turns us into idolaters.

"Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God's wrath comes on those who are disobedient. Therefore do not be partners with them." (Ephesians 5:6-7) We've seen in previous letters by Paul that teachers of false doctrine were working hard to lead the Gentile believers astray. He hasn't really had anything to say on this subject up to now in his letter to the Ephesians, but we can be certain that Satan was just as interested in corrupting the believers of Ephesus as he was in corrupting the believers of other cities. The trick to getting people to believe false doctrine is in not teaching a gospel that is vastly and obviously different than the gospel the people have already heard. A lie like that would stick out like a sore thumb. False doctrine consists of subtle changes in what God has actually said. An example of this would we what Satan asked Eve in the Garden of Eden: "Did God really say that you must not eat from any tree in the garden?"

Satan knew God had said Adam and Eve could eat from every tree in the garden but one. But his question was intended to pull Eve into conversation with him by causing her to try to correct what she thinks is a misunderstanding on the serpent's part. In pulling her into conversation with him, Satan is able to cast doubt on the goodness of God by making her wonder, "Why would God give us access to every tree but one? What is He keeping from us? Why is He holding things back from us? God must be selfish if He doesn't want us to know good and evil. He's afraid we will eat the fruit and know as much as He does and not have to depend on Him anymore."

We can see why Paul warns his readers not to "be partners" with those who are speaking the empty words of false doctrine. There's never a good reason to get into conversation with the devil, and that is what we are doing when we allow teachers of falsehood to draw us into a debate about what God has or has not said. Have you ever known anyone who asked you questions about your faith just so they could argue with you? They aren't interested in hearing your viewpoint; they are just waiting for their turn to speak so they can put forth their own viewpoint. Paul says not to waste our time with this, or as the Lord Jesus said, "Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces." (Matthew 7:6) Jesus reveals to us the true motives of the false teachers: their intention is to destroy us. The Apostle Peter also compared false teachers to dogs and swine in 2 Peter 2:22. Dogs and swine were unclean animals according to Jewish law and this meant that having contact with them made a person ceremonially unclean for a time. In the same way, having contact with teachers of unholiness is more likely to make us unclean than to convert the false teachers.

We often feel compelled to get into conversation with people like this because we think we are going to change them by better explaining the truth to them. But they aren't interested in listening to us anymore than Satan was interested in listening to Eve. It's not impossible for people like this to be converted, but it's probably going to take some type of major intervention of the Lord in their lives, just as it took a major intervention of the Lord in the life of Saul of Tarsus to turn him into the Apostle Paul. In the meantime, we aren't to have close fellowship with those who stir up debate about the holy word of God. Instead of us being a good influence on them they may become a bad influence on us.

Paul isn't saying not to have contact with unbelievers. We couldn't share the gospel if we never had anything to do with unbelievers. What he's saying is not to hang out with those who claim to be believers but whose behavior says otherwise. This is the same thing he said in 1 Corinthians 5:11, "You must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people." To eat with a person is to treat them as an equal and to view them as someone who has a lot in common with us. But since light has nothing in common with darkness, we who are true believers have nothing in common with those who claim to be believers but aren't. Paul knows these false teachers aren't riding into town proclaiming a different gospel; they are slipping in with an altered gospel. They are saying that since people have been saved by Christ, it's okay to live however they want. They are assuring people, "The Lord knows your mortal bodies are tempted by sin. He isn't going to discipline you for it. Go ahead and live a little! After all, did God specifically say that the particular thing you're considering doing is wrong? Did He actually say you could never have any fun? If you can't enjoy some carnal and illicit pleasures now and then, how are you going to have any fun?"

The Christian life is fun. There's nothing more exciting than realizing God knew and loved us long before we were ever born, and that He made wonderful plans for us, and that He intends to do exciting things in our lives, and that He is allowing us to take part in the building of His kingdom, and that He wants to have a personal relationship with us. It's a lie that the Christian life is a life of deprivation, but Satan has been telling this lie since the beginning and he is still convincing some of those who allow themselves to be drawn into conversation with him. There's no point in debating anyone who claims to be a believer but who is teaching false doctrine. The best thing we can do is remove ourselves from that situation and pray for the person's heart to be changed by Christ. We aren't being unloving toward them because we can still love those who claim to be Christians but who are living in error. We can and should pray for them. But engaging in debate over the holy word of God with them is at best going to prove fruitless. At worst, instead of making them more like us it's probably going to make us more like them.












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