Tag Archives: Idolatry

Children of Light – Sermon on Ephesians 5:1-9 for the Third Sunday of Lent

Ephesians 5:1-9

1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. 

3 But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. 4 Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. 5 For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not become partners with them; 8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true),

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

You’ve probably all heard the phrase, “Nothing good happens after ___ o’clock.” If a news anchor said it, the time might have been midnight or 2 AM. If it was one of your parents, it was probably 10:00. Kids, if you ever hear that phrase from your parents or grandparents, they know what they’re talking about. When darkness falls, it is a lot more likely that evil things are going to happen.

Darkness is the favorite blanket of evil, and we know this instinctively. It’s why kids go into their parents’ room in the middle of the night and cry about monsters under the bed or whatever other impossible things kids imagine. Everyone has a keen sense of vulnerability in the dark. Even adults often have their bleakest thoughts when the world is dark. The thoughts that wake me up at 3 AM are never the best, brightest, or most hopeful ones.

In a wonderful way, Scripture repeatedly gives a picture of the Savior as the bright Morning Star (Is. 60:1-3; Mal. 4:2; 2 Pet. 1:19; Rev. 2:28, 22:16). Or, in a similar vein, Scripture says that, when Jesus comes, a new day dawns (Ps. 84:11; Ro. 13:12). In the first chapter of Luke’s Gospel, the coming of Jesus is described as the “sunrise from on high” that “give[s] light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,” and His coming, “guide[s] our feet into the way of peace” (Lk. 1:78-79).

Dear saints, the picture Scripture gives us is that all of creation has changed because Christ has come. The darkness has been dispelled, put to flight, and broken up. Jesus hints at this in our Gospel reading (Lk. 11:14-28). Christ says that He casts out demons by the finger of God, and His power to do that is proof that the kingdom of God has come upon us (Lk. 11:20).

Because of Jesus’ resurrection, there is a new day – the day that the Lord has made. Because He has made it, we rejoice and are glad in it (Ps. 118:24). And this new day will never end. Believer, this changes you, and it changes how you think about the world. The fact that today and every other day of your life is the day that the Lord has made, the things in front of you that are ominous, scary, and threatening are all less intimidating. Yes, they are still threats, but you know that they are all defeated threats.

All three of our readings today are about spiritual warfare, about the battle between the kingdom of darkness and Christ’s kingdom of light. It’s obvious in both the Old Testament (Ex. 8:16-24) and Gospel (Lk. 11:14-28). In our Gospel reading, Jesus tells us know how the kingdom of Satan operates, and our Lord comforts us because He tells us how He, our Savior and Champion, has defeated sin, death, and the devil.

And in the Old Testament reading, we heard how Pharaoh’s magicians recognized that the finger of God was at work when they couldn’t replicate the gnats that swarmed throughout Egypt (Ex. 8:18-19). Those evil, demonic sorcerers were able to duplicate the sign God did through Moses of turning his staff into a serpent (Ex. 7:11-12), but they failed to do the smaller thing of reproducing gnats.

The last time these texts came up, I had fully intended to preach about the folly of the kingdom of darkness because that folly is on full display through Pharaoh and his magicians. Their whole country is completely overrun with gnats, but they still try to duplicate the sign done through Moses. That text shows how self-destructive the kingdom of Satan is. “Our whole nation is filled with these gnats.” “I know what we should do; let’s try to make more of them.”

But today, rather than seeing how the kingdom of darkness works or how self-destructive it is, I decided to preach on this Epistle reading because it gives us the strategy of how to fight back against the forces of darkness. Throughout Scripture you are given several ways to fight evil, but this text gives you one simple weapon – thankfulness and thanksgiving.

Notice that v. 3 gives us a list of things we are to not only avoid we aren’t even to name them. That list is sexual immorality, impurity, and covetousness. Then in v. 5, that list is repeated when we’re told that the sexually immoral, the impure, and those who are covetous have no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

To contrast that twice-repeated list, Paul mentions only one thing here – thanksgiving. The beloved children of God who walk in love as children of light have thanksgiving on their lips, not filthiness or foolish talk or crude joking.

Thanksgiving is one of the fruits of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23). And thanksgiving is one of your best weapons against the darkness from which you have been rescued. When thanksgiving is on your lips, the temptations and sins you face are much easier to fight because those things become revolting.

Think back to the Garden of Eden and how the devil tempted our first parents to fall into sin. “Can’t you eat from any tree? If you eat from this one that God told you not to eat from, you will be like God. Don’t you want to be like Him?” (Gen. 3:1, 5). Instead of being thankful that God had given all the other trees for food, instead of being thankful that God had already made created them in His image (Gen. 1:27), Adam and Eve coveted (Gen. 3:6). The fruit of the forbidden tree looked good, and it was desirable. Because of that coveting, because of that wrong desire to be more than God had already made them to be, they took of the fruit and ate and plunged all of creation into the darkness of sin and death.

Coveting is a sin, but it is a sin that rarely registers in our conscience. We pass off coveting as nothing because we think it doesn’t hurt anyone else. That is so wrong. Here coveting is equated with idolatry (Eph. 5:5). Coveting is the first step into sin. To put it another way, every time you sin, you first covet and idolize yourself. Coveting is basically saying, “God, you got it wrong. You messed up. That thing over there,” whatever it is, “should be here. It should be mine.”

Whenever you sin, you break at least three commandments. Every time you sin, you first covet which is nothing less than idolizing yourself. Then you commit adultery, steal, lie, take the Lord’s name in vain, etc. The way to fight against this is to give thanks instead of coveting and having those false desires.

Imagine for just a minute if thankfulness had replaced Adam and Eve’s coveting. They would have realized, “We aren’t hungry; the entire world is our pantry! Thank you, God. We are already created in God’s image and are exactly what God wants us to be. Thank you, God, that we are created in Your image and that you have declared that we are ‘very good’” (Gen. 1:31).

Dear saints, Scripture gives you several ways to fight against the devil and the darkness. But today, you children of light, this text gives you one simple, specific weapon to fight back against the forces of evil, and that is thanksgiving.

You husbands, the next time you are tempted with lust, pause. Take a moment to give thanks to God for your wife. Thank God for uniting the two of you in the bond of holy marriage (Mt. 19:6). You wives, the next time you are tempted to complain to someone about your husband, take a moment to give thanks to God for him and all the ways he cares for you and your family. Children, the next time you are tempted to disobey your parents, take a moment to give thanks to God for all that your parents provide to you and how they protect you.

Dear saints, the light of Christ has shined upon you, and because of that you are now children of the light. You used to be darkness, and notice the way Eph. 5:8 says that. It isn’t just that you were in darkness. No. You were darkness itself. But now that you are God’s children, you are light in the Lord, so now you walk as children of the light. And as children of the light, you produce the fruit of light which is found in all that is good and right and true.

You give thanks to God for all the good He has given you. You give thanks to God, and it is right to do so because He has truly blessed you because He has given Himself up for you as a fragrant offering and sacrifice.

God has forgiven you (Eph 4:32). He has made this new day of light and has shined His light into you. So, rejoice, be glad in this day, and give thanks. And as you give thanks, the darkness flees. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Resurrection Mode – Sermon on Matthew 17:1-9 for the Transfiguration of Our Lord

Listen here.

Matthew 17:1-9

1 And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. 3 And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. 4 And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 5 He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”

6 When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. 7 But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.” 8 And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only. 9 And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.”transfiguration-icon

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Chapter and verse breaks are helpful for us to find the same passage of Scripture, but they can also get in the way of important context. Our text, which begins a new chapter of Matthew, starts with the phrase “And after six days….” So, before we get to the Transfiguration, we need to see what was happening that week prior to Jesus getting shiny up on the mountain.

Matthew’ context for the Transfiguration starts back in Matthew 16[:13ff]. Jesus asks the disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” The disciples report that some say that the Son of Man is John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. But then Jesus turns the question to them, “But who do you say that I am?” and Peter has his great confession, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus had been proving that all along with His miracles and teaching. So, Jesus praises and blesses Peter even while He states that Peter didn’t come up with this confession on his own. Instead, God the Father had revealed this to Peter.

Then, Matthew tells us from that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things, be killed, and on the third day be raised (Mt. 16:21). Transfiguration & Christ ForsakenAnd from this point, things get a little crazy and awkward. It is almost as though Peter didn’t hear Jesus say that He would rise from the dead because Peter rebukes Jesus – the very one he just confessed is the Son of the living God. Peter says, “Far be it from You, Lord! This shall never happen to You.” It would be easy to sling mud at Peter here for telling God that what He says is going to happen won’t ever happen. But you do it all the time – more on that in a bit.

Now, when Peter confessed that Jesus is the Messiah, it meant something for him. What exactly Peter had in mind that Jesus would do as the Messiah is a bit hard to pin down. But basically, Peter figured that Jesus, the Messiah, had come to fix problems. Exactly what those problems were we can’t say with certainty. But whatever Peter had in mind, one thing is sure, it would be difficult for Jesus the Messiah and Great Problem Solver to fix those problems if He was dead.

So, Peter rebukes Jesus, and Jesus rebukes Peter. “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a hindrance to Me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man” (Mt. 16:23). And this is the sharpest rebuke Jesus ever gave an individual.

You know how it can be after you have an argument with someone. You try to avoid the other person for fear that a fight will break out at any moment. When you have to talk with them, you feel uncomfortable during every conversation. You carefully word everything in order to avoid the issue flaring up again. Imagine how Peter must have felt during those six days between this rebuke and the Transfiguration.

Now, let’s ascend the mountain. Jesus invites Peter, James, and John to come up the mountain with Him. Maybe this summons made Peter figure the whole issue was over and done with. Anyway, while they are there, Jesus is transfigured. Christ’s face shines like the sun. His clothes become white as light. Moses and Elijah appear and talk with Jesus. Luke tells us that conversation centered around Jesus’ exodus (usually translated as “departure” but the word is ἔξοδος) which Jesus was about to accomplish at Jerusalem (Lk. 9:30). In other words, they were discussing the very thing that Peter said should never happen just a week ago.

To summarize: Six days prior, Jesus told the disciples about His suffering, death, and resurrection. And Peter didn’t like it then, and Peter doesn’t like it now even in the presence of shiny Jesus. Instead, Peter likes being there on the mountain basking in Jesus’ unveiled glory. But even more than that, Peter doesn’t want Jesus to walk down that mountain, down to Jerusalem, down to be arrested, down to be tried, down to suffer, and down to die on a cross – which would appear to be a complete waste. So, Peter pips up and says, “Lord, it is good that we are here.” And the word that receives the most emphasis in Peter’s statement is ‘here.’ It is nice to be there on the mountain away from where Jesus says He will die, so Peter says, “Let’s stay here. I can build some tents so we can stay here!”

In a few weeks, we are going to hear the account of Jesus’ temptation. After Jesus resists the devil’s temptations in the wilderness, Luke tells us that the devil left Jesus to tempt Him at a more opportune time (Lk. 4:13). This, right here, is a more opportune time. In other words, this statement by Peter is a real temptation for Jesus to stay there with Peter, James, John, Moses, and Elijah on that mountain of glory.

But while Peter was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and God the Father speaks the same words He spoke over Jesus at His Baptism, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” But then the Father has one more thing to say – a command to give – “Listen to Him.” That’s not just friendly advice. The previous week, Peter had been rebuked by Jesus Himself for saying that Jesus shouldn’t die, “Get behind me Satan.” Now, Peter is rebuked again by God the Father for telling Jesus to stay away from Jerusalem and death. God says, “Listen to Him!” And the disciples hear this and are terrified.

Now, which of us does not have the same kind of weakness that Peter had? How often do you think you know better than God? You sin, but instead of confessing it for the rebellion that it is, you try to self-justify your actions. You judge God for being hard-nosed because of the things He has declared are evil. You think you know better than God how to raise your children, run your bank account, drive your car, and what to look at on the internet. Every time you complain, covet, and get angry, you are bucking God’s commands and setting yourself above God. It’s all idolatry, and we are all guilty. Stay in your lane. You don’t know better than God. You don’t get to tell God how things should be. Stay in your lane, and repent.

The voice of the Father from heaven says, “Listen to Him,” and crushes Peter’s conscience along with yours and mine.

Transfiguration - Rise and Have No FearBut here is where all of this is leading: Jesus comes to Peter, James, and John cowering in their sins and touches them. And notice what He says. He doesn’t continue to rebuke Peter. Jesus doesn’t say, “See I told you so.” Instead, Jesus says, “Rise,” the same word Jesus used when He spoke about His resurrection.“Rise, and have no fear.” Of all the things our Lord could have said, He says, “Rise, and have no fear.” Jesus is resurrecting Peter from his sin.

And Jesus stays in resurrection mode. As they are coming down the mountain, Jesus says, “Don’t tell anyone about what you saw until I rise from the dead.” There, Jesus speaks about His death. But it almost seems as though this is the first time the disciples realize Jesus says that as the Messiah that He will die and rise again. Christ will rise again.

Despite your objections; despite your idolatrous thinking that you know better than God; despite your continual, obstinate, insubordination against God; Jesus knows what you need. You need His suffering, the shedding of His blood, His death, and His resurrection. You need exactly what Jesus is here to provide for you right now. Here is His body, given for you. Here is His blood, shed for the forgiveness of all your sins. Here, Jesus gives you Himself to be your Savior. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.