Also, we must remove anything that might dim our light or make it ineffective. There are certain environments that could hinder the effectiveness of our light by either causing us to hide it or by blowing it out as we succumb to temptation. Believers must place their light on a stand for all to see. Have no really intimate fellowship. In other words, don’t you get involved at all in sin, the unfruitful activity of darkness. Don’t get involved in the ignorance of the world toward God. Don’t get involved in the immorality of the world. We’ve been saying this so many ways, people; there’s no place for that. There is no place. We have no part. You say, “Well, does that mean you never go near anybody?” No, because we’ve got to touch the people of the world, we’ve just got to leave their sin alone. People say, “Well, if we’re going to witness, don’t we have to get a little involved?” No. The only way to witness is to not get involved. You’ll destroy your testimony. In Scripture the figurative use of light has two aspects, the intellectual and the moral. Intellectually it represents truth, whereas morally it represents holiness. To live in light therefore means to live in truth and in holiness. The figure of darkness has the same two aspects. Intellectually it represents ignorance and falsehood, whereas morally it connotes evil. 1 Do not get drunk with wine, which will only ruin you; instead, be filled with the Spirit. 19 ( C)Speak to one another with the words of psalms, hymns, and sacred songs; sing hymns and psalms to the Lord with praise in your hearts. 20 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, always give thanks for everything to God the Father. Wives and Husbands Now, as you know, we are studying the walk of the new man. The book of Ephesians presents to us the pattern for Christian living. The first three chapters - who the Christian is; the last three, how he lives, how he acts, how he functions. And Paul here, in chapters 4, 5 and 6, gives us a clear, concise, and careful outline of how we are to behave as new creatures. How Christians are to live in the world. And if we were to sum the thing up, we could probably sum it up in two great statements that are made. Chapter 4, verse 1, is the first one, where he says: “Walk worthy.” In other words, that we told you the word worthy means to balance it off; let your living balance off with your identity. If you’re a new creature in Christ, then walk that way.

Teacher's Outline and Study Bible - Commentary - Teacher's Outline and Study Bible – Ephesians: The Teacher's Outline and Study Bible. There comes a time for many when their self-help journey inevitably takes on a spiritual connotation given the extent to how deep their attempts to become the best version of themself go. Because of this, one's inherantly spiritual nature steps into the forefront and opens up a whole new world. A crossover if you will, between spirituality and self-help. Living in the Light: A Guide to Personal and Planetary Transformation is just that, but so much more. This is self-help for those who have realised the True Self, the bigger picture to life and reality. This is, Self-Help; for those that have realised the budding light within and wish to illuminate it to its full capacity. That is, to live in the Light. Take your Bible with me, would you, and turn to Ephesians, chapter 5, and we’d like to look at verses 8 to 14, this morning – Ephesians5, verses 8 through 14. Let me read this text so that you’ll have the setting, and then let the Spirit of God speak to you as we share thoughts from it. We need to be ethical light when we are in the office, in the classroom, in the shop, and in the Church. We must be willing to risk being called “negative,” “narrow,” “judgmental,” “puritanical,” or “bigoted.” If God’s Spirit is calling us to stand up against wrong, it is up to us to be faithful. 9Not only are unbelievers blinded to the gospel, they are also blinded to Scripture in general. First Corinthians 2:14 says, “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.” While the world rejects Scripture and cannot understand it, it is the believer’s daily bread (Matt 4:4), constant meditation (Psalm 1:2), and joy (Psalm 119:24). Are you bearing the fruit of goodness? Or are you cultivating apathy and selfishness? 2. Righteousness. And he says the fruit is this - look at it. Goodness, first of all. You know what I think? I think this is just a beautiful picture of how you relate to other people. There’s a word in the Greek, kalos, which means good, it’s translated good, it means free from defects and beautiful. Like that’s a good painting, or that’s a good jar you made, that’s a good tapestry, it’s free from defects, good. Then there’s the word chrstos, which means useful. That’s good for digging a hole, hey, that’s good for holding that thing together, it’s useful. But then there’s agathos. Agathos is a beautiful word, your great-aunt, maybe her name was Agatha; that’s where it comes from. The next thing believers must do to live in the light is to not partake in darkness, but to expose it instead. “The verb translated here as “expose” (from elegchō) can also carry the idea of reproof, correction, punishment, or discipline.” 8 Many have noted how goodness seems to focus primarily on how we relate to others, righteousness on how we relate to God, and truth on how we relate to ourselves.

This is why it is said: “Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” (Ephesians 5:14)Either way, Paul clearly calls for Christians to preach to those who are asleep. The actions and words of Christians should speak to unbelievers—encouraging them to repent and follow Christ. But, they also speak to believers, as is probably the focus in this context. There are many believers living a lifestyle of darkness who need to repent.