Be Imitators of God - Live a Life of Love - part 2

If you would, please turn back to Ephesians chapter 5. As you're turning there, I want to remind you of what we were singing. "All we have, all we need, all I want is you." That's a struggle for us to say that and pray that and sing that honestly, because there are so many things in life that we think we want, so many things in life that we feel like we need, and if we're not careful, even good things. We can put them above Christ. So I think that that is always a struggle for us to sing that and pray that and say that honestly.

So may we be a people who really strive to be able to sing that and say that from an honest and pure heart, only because God has brought us there. I enjoy that worship, as always. Now, last week we started this new section right here, starting in verse 1. I believe I said this last week that this new section starts with verse 1 and goes down to verse 14. Now, here in this new section, Paul's number one goal was that in writing these things, that these believers would be imitators of Christ in their everyday lives.

Simply, Paul was calling these Ephesians, these believers, and all who would read these words, he's calling them and us to be imitators of God. Don't we see that in verse 1? It's right there, "Therefore be imitators of God." Now, remember I pointed out that Paul gives a positive command here and a negative command in these verses. Now, I'm speaking specifically of verses 1 to 7. Starting in verse 1, Paul gives a positive. He starts the positive, and then starting here in verse 3, he gives and he starts the negative.

Now, starting in verse 3, we certainly do see Paul was calling these Ephesians and all who would read these words, he's calling us and them to put certain things out of our lives. He gives a list of do nots. And we can see that Paul definitely spends more time on the negative. Notice that, the positive verses 1 to 2, the negative verses 3 to 7. You might not realize it, but Paul wasn't trying to be just a bad news bear. But he puts these things, these negative commands that were so needed in a particular context. We talked about this last week.

And he put these things within a setting that would have and did motivate them to really want to obey these things, no matter how negative they may be. Now, last week I illustrated this by putting some negative commands within a positive context by using the example of marriage. I think this helps. And it really fits what we're studying as husbands, men, husbands. We should not commit adultery. We should not look at a woman lustfully, whether it is looking at pornography or even gazing across the aisle at Walmart. We should not covet another man's wife. Now, why?

Because we should see those negative commands about lust, adultery, and marriage, or adultery within marriage, within the context of our love for our wives, and ultimately our love for God. Our love for God, and our love for our wives, and our love for our home should motivate us to want to obey all of those negative commands. Ladies, wives, you should not commit adultery. You should not covet another woman's husband. You should not give yourself to another in any capacity emotionally or physically. Now, why?

It's because you should see the negative commands about lust and covetousness and adultery within the context of your love for God, and your love for your husband, and your love for your home. And look for those of us who are married. Our marriages should not be based primarily on negative commands. Do not look at pornography. Do not commit adultery. Do not lust after another. Look, that's a sad way to view marriage if that's all that you do. It's defeating. It's hollow. It's lifeless. Our motivation to obey all of those not commands should be rooted in what?

In a love for God, a love for our spouse, a love for what God has given us within our marriage, you see? Love. Love has to be the motivation, and not some love that we hear off the radio. No, I'm talking about a love that can only come from God. And it's the same with these negative commands that we're about to start here in verse 3. Now, last week we spent the entire message examining the positive, and I did that purposely. We could have gotten into the negative, but I wanted to make sure we got all that we could get out of these verses.

We took our time with verses 1 to 2, and we saw the wonderful context in which these negative commands are set. Now, if you didn't get that message last week, you need to go back and get that, because these two go together. But we saw that Paul called these Ephesian Christians to be imitators of God in their daily lives, and this was not simply obeying a set of rules. As loved are beloved children of God, Paul called them to live a life of love. With Christ sat as the great example before them. In love and out of love, Paul called them to imitate Christ by giving themselves up as Christ gave Himself up.

And he continued, he showed them that if they truly lived as imitators of God, they would indeed be a sweet-smelling aroma to God and to man. I called all of this their high calling, verses 1 and 2, their great example. That would be Christ in verse 2, their sweet aroma. But this isn't just their high calling, their example, or their sweet aroma. This is our high calling. We are to be imitators of God. Christ is our great example. As loved children of God, Christ is our great example before us in how to imitate God. And our lives should be a sweet aroma, a sweet-smelling aroma.

As we imitate Christ in the church and in the world, our lives should be a sweet aroma to brothers and sisters, to God and to others. I remember the title of the message from last week out of verses 1 and 2. It was about "Be imitators of God, Live a Life of Love." Now with all of that in our minds and hearts, let's turn our attention to verses 3 to 7. This would be the negative commands. Let's go back and read the verses. Paul says, "But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness, nor foolish talk, nor crude joking, which are out of place.

But instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure or who is covetous, that is an idolatuer, has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words. For because of these things, the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not become partners with them." Now you see how we will approach the verses, how we're going to break them down. And as always, I do encourage you to take notes. And I say those things because we need to get all that we can get, not just this morning, but in the days and weeks to come.

We will see Paul's strong prohibition in verses 3 to 4, and we will see Paul's sure punishment in verses 5 to 7. So let's start off with the verses. Paul gives us, number one, this strong prohibition. Now here it is obvious that Paul is addressing sexual immorality and sinful speech. And we can be tempted to jump right into the negative commands and disconnect from or move past all that he is given. But that would be a mistake. If we disconnect from verses 1 to 2 or leave verses 1 to 2, we miss so much of what Paul is teaching here. So keep that in mind as we get into this strong prohibition. I guess I can say it like this.

Let's stay tied to the verses and we will. But here in verses 3 and 4, Paul gives us quite a few prohibitions, but I've grouped them in the two. First, the prohibition against sexual sin. Paul gives this prohibition against sexual sin. Look at verse 3. But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you as is proper among the saints. Now here Paul was and he is contrasting between Christ's love and the world's love.

He is making a contrast between Christ and his selfless sacrificial love against this Christ's less self-indulgent love that comes from the world, it comes from the sinful flesh, and it comes from the devil. And notice that Paul gives several, several prohibitions. We see them in three words. He uses this word sexual immorality. I know in our English translations it can be two words, but in the original it's one. He uses this word impurity and covetousness. That's from the English Standard Version. The New American uses the words immorality, impurity, and greed. The King James says fornication, uncleanness, and covetousness.

We need to see what Paul was saying here. This sexual immorality, it was and is a general term. And it speaks of all kinds of sexual sin. But not sexual sin is defined by men and mankind and culture. This speaks of sexual sin as defined and determined by God. Now I want you to do an exercise with me. Look around you in your mind, not necessarily here this morning physically. But think about our society. Look around you in our world. Think about the society in which we live and how our society defines and determines what is right and wrong about sex and human sexuality.

The world in our society is redefining what is acceptable in regards to sex and human sexuality in some unbelievable ways. But biblically, scripturally, as defined by God and God alone, we need to see what this sexual immorality refers to. The scriptures clearly teach that all sex before marriage and outside of a marriage is sin. It is immoral. Jesus said in Matthew chapter 5 starting in verse 27 that to even look at a woman lustfully is forbidden. It is adultery by God's standard. And look at the contrast before us. The world says look at pornography, it's okay, it's good.

The sinful world even tells you that pornography can be good for your marriage. But God calls it adultery. There's no way around it. And this applies to men and to women and young people, all. And if we do any study in the scriptures, we will easily see God's standards regarding these things. 1 Corinthians 5.1 says that any kind of incest is a sin. Yes, it says incest is a sin. Some of you may be surprised that the scriptures even address that. 1 Thessalonians 4.3 says that immorality or sexual promiscuity is a sin. 1 Corinthians 6.13 says relations with a prostitute is a sin. And John 8.41 says that illicit sexual relations, that's a sin.

We see that in John 8 as Jesus deals with this adulterous Samaritan woman. What a question here. What about homosexuality? You know, the culture around us is telling us that homosexuality is just an alternative lifestyle for some. And we are hearing more and more so-called experts tell us that homosexuality is even good. There is even a segment of the so-called church telling us that Jesus accepts homosexuality. We can even find homosexual affirming churches and ministers today. Well, I'll tell you what God says. He says that homosexuals will not inherit the kingdom of God. 1 Corinthians 6.9.

And within the Mosaic law, homosexuality was called an abomination. And the punishment for that sin under the Old Covenant was death. We see that in Leviticus 18.20. And you might say, "Well, Pastor, that's in the Old Testament. The New Testament says otherwise." Well, 1 Corinthians 6.9 clearly says that those who practice homosexuality will not inherit the kingdom of God. And even before the giving of the Mosaic law, homosexuality was a sin, clearly. Now, I want you to think about how much God shows us that he hates homosexuality and all of these same-sex perversions. Think about what happened in Genesis 18 and 19.

It was God himself who brought hell down from heaven to judge those who were committing those sins. And think about it. God himself, he brought hell down from heaven to judge those who were committing those sins when he destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. So first we see the prohibition against any and all. You need to write down those words. Any and all, sexual immorality, all of it. Any and all, sexual activity before or outside of a marriage is prohibited. Any and all types of sexual activity is prohibited. But then this word, impurity. This word, impurity. The King James says uncleanness.

Now, this term is even more general than this term, sexual immorality. This impurity speaks of anything that is unclean or filthy. At times this word is used in the New Testament to describe physical things. In Matthew 22, 37, Jesus used this word to describe a rotting body in the grave. But spiritually, this impurity refers to moral impurity. It speaks of sexual rottenness. Again, other times this word is used in the New Testament and it is always used in connection with sexual sin.

And to flesh out what this is speaking of, this impurity encompasses any and all kinds of sexually immoral thinking or ideas or ways of thinking, as well as any and all kinds of immoral ways of living. Now, a question here. Again, I'm asking you to think about your life. How many situations and circumstances come our way each day? In each of those circumstances and situations are temptations to think impure or unclean thoughts sexually. How many situations come by us each day? And how many ways can we be tempted to think and to speak or act in a sexually impure way?

You might be at the office and there might be a secretary there at the office and you could be tempted to behave in this way, maybe even think in this way. Some of you guys, you might be with your friends at the deer camp or the fish camp or playing golf. And you know, some of this kind of language comes up and you can think about acting and talking and thinking this way. You know, with the television remote in our hands, we see this kind of behavior and language and thought all the time. It can prompt us to think in these ways. Ladies, you can have these temptations as well. So we see this second prohibition.

The first prohibition was against any and all sexual immorality. And the second prohibition is against any and all impure ways of thinking, impure ways of talking and living. And notice Paul says all impurity. He isn't leaving the window cracked for some small impurity. He is speaking of all uncleanness. But there is one more prohibition, this covetousness. The new American uses the word greed. But think about it. Isn't that out of place? I mean, does that fit? I mean, doesn't greed have more to do with money and maybe possessions? Really and truly, this will sneak up on us. There's a whole lot we need to see here.

But this greed speaks of a sinful desire to have more and more and more. When used in connection with money, it speaks of a sinful love of money. We could understand that. But when it is in connection with immorality and these things before us, he's speaking of a greed or a greediness that can speak of desiring more and more and more. So Paul is connecting this greediness with impurity. Paul is speaking of a greed for more and more impurity, more and more immorality. And at the very essence, that is what any form of sexual immorality truly is.

All sexual immorality, all impurity is a greed and a greediness for more and more and more of what is not rightfully yours and ours. I like how John MacArthur explains it. He says, "Immorality and impurity, those two words, are but forms of greed in the realm of sexual sin." He says, "They are manifestations of sexual covetousness and express counterfeit love, masquerading as some beautiful good and rewarding love." So third, we see the prohibition against greediness as it is connected with immorality and impurity.

And some of you here this morning, you need to see that greed and greediness is at the heart of your sexual immorality and the impurities that are going on in your mind. Yes, even your sexually impure thinking and ideas are greediness. You are coveting something that does not belong to you and it is all out of a greedy heart mixed in with a sexually immoral and impure heart. And some of you have never seen this before. So look at this strong prohibition in the area of sexual sin and sins. See how I grouped them together. But look at how strong and thorough this prohibition is.

Look at verse 3, "But sexual immorality and all impurity or greediness or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among the saints." God, through Paul here, says these things must not be even mentioned or named or thought of among God's people. He is saying that those sins in any and all forms, they cannot be tolerated or justified in any way. But why would we entertain this? I mean, we can push back from "do not commands," isn't that right? What should be our motivation here? Is it because we love rules? Is it because we love "do not commands"? Is it because we love even the commands out of the Scripture?

"Do not commit adultery. Do not lust after a woman who is not your wife." Yes, we should love those commands, but we miss it if we stop there. It must be that we are truly seeking to be imitators of God as beloved children of God. You see the difference? It must be that we are striving to live in the love of God. With Christ before us as our great example, we must be seeking to give up ourselves to Christ as He gave up Himself. You see? The motivation means so much. And listen, I want to speak to three groups of people before we move on. Teenagers, listen close. The temptations for immorality and sexual immorality abound.

You cannot hide from it. It's all around you. And you need to take real concrete precautions here. Oh, listen, if you've just come to faith in Christ, I would urge you not to even entertain having a boyfriend or a girlfriend for quite a while. Why? Because you need to grow in your faith. When you first come to faith in Christ, sometimes you are at great risk to fall here. Run from these things. These things must not be even mentioned in your lives. And look, some of the teenagers here listening to me this morning, you're talking to people of the opposite sex that you know you have no business talking to.

Men, what about what you look out on your phone? What about what you watch on television when your wife's not around? What about the language when you're playing golf with your friends? What about the music you listen to and you sing along with as you drive down the road? Is it impure? Is it speaking about immorality? What does the text say? These things should not be even mentioned among you and among us, even in our thinking. Women, you as well. And why? Because we love God. It is God that has saved us. And we should be motivated by that love to be imitators of Christ. But then second, the prohibition against verbal sin.

We see this in verse four. This is what I call the prohibition against verbal sin. Look at verse four. "Let there be no filthiness, nor foolish talk, nor crude or coarse joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving." Now here Paul continues to contrast between Christ's love and the world's love. And he is showing the Ephesians and all who would read and study this that in living a life of love as beloved children of God, imitating Christ, they are to love and show love at how they talk. Just like before here, Paul gives them several prohibitions. We see these prohibitions in three words as well.

Paul uses this word "filthiness," "foolish talk," and "crude joking." The New American says "filthiness," "silly talk," and "course jesting." Now this "filthiness" refers to general obscenities in speech. It can be described as "filthy language" or "disgraceful language." Now the root meaning of the word here actually expresses that which is shameful, that which is disgraceful. And this can be used in a broad meaning. But being that Paul used it here, obviously in dealing with speech, it is obvious that Paul was aiming at disgraceful speech. Paul was and is aiming at shameful or filthy language.

Now if you have ears on the side of your head, if you are not deaf at all, you will notice that we hear so much obscene speech all around us, it is inescapable. It is so common. If we're on the Internet, if we're on social media, if we're watching the television, if we're talking to our neighbor, if you get together with people in the marketplace, you're just going to hear this. And my question here isn't, "Do you hear disgraceful speech?" But my question here is this, "Do you engage in this speech?" Personally, do you use obscene speech, disgraceful speech, filthy language?

It's even popular in Hill to use obscene speech in certain segments of the church today. Yes. For some, it's the way they communicate. Even some pastors use obscene speech in their sermons and in their books and in their conversation and in their blogs. And we must examine all of that up against what the Scripture says, and I don't care how famous they are and who defends them if the Scriptures say it's sin, it's sin. But before us, we just got to ask this question, "Do we talk like this?" It is one thing for us to identify how others use obscene, disgraceful speech, but it's another for us to identify if we do this.

So first, the prohibition against any filthy talk. Look at verse 4, "Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which is out of place for you." Paul clearly says that there should be none of this filthy talk. Now, listen to what he says in Colossians 3.8, "But now you must put them all away, anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth." But then this foolish talk, King James says the same thing while the newer American uses the phrase "silly talk," and that might catch your attention, silly talk. And this word is only used here in the New Testament, and it comes from a word that simply means stupid.

Yes, stupid. It is the word that we get our word moron from. Simply, this speaks of stupid talk or stupid speech. It speaks of silly or stupid chatter. This would be the speech of a fool like we see in the Proverbs. I like how William McDonald describes it. It's really catchy, but he's very accurate. He says this is empty conversation worthy of a moron. It's true. He says, and it may even include gutter language. Yes, gutter language. And again, if we can hear it all, we hear this kind of language everywhere in our society. But my question is it, do you hear it? My question is, do you use it?

So second, we have the prohibition against foolish talk. It's right there in verse 4. This kind of speech is worthy of a moron. It's not worthy of a Christian. This kind of speech that it's seen in the life of a fool. We see it in the fool and it shouldn't be in a Christian. Paul clearly says that no foolish talk should come from the mouth of a believer. The prohibition is clear. And last, this coarse jesting or crude joking. Now, scholars tell us that outside of this context, this usually means something positive. But it is obvious that here in this context, it's negative.

And this carries with it the idea of turning something around, turning a situation into something sinful. This carries with it the idea of taking something that is said or done or some situation and turning it into something obscene. Scholars tell us that this can be insinuating and suggestive speech, even using humor and wit. Simply, it is twisting things into something impure and immoral. And again, my question is, do we hear this at all? My question is, do you do this? Do you use your wit? Do you use your humor to twist something into something that is alluding to something obscene or immoral?

The third, we see the prohibition against crude or coarse joking. This turns things into something impure, immoral or obscene, even using humor, insinuation, sarcasm, all of those things. It is prohibited. Now, again, this question, what should be our motivation here? Should it be because the text says, oh, it's just a do not command? Should it be out of do's and don'ts or rules? No. It's out of love. We are to be imitators of God. Why? Because God says so? No. Because we are beloved children of God, and He says so. We are to be striving to live in the love of God.

And a question I have here as I pause in the motivation, did Jesus ever use obscene, filthy language? Well, if we're imitators of Christ, should we? Oh, it's in vogue for many pastors to talk like this, many so-called Christians. My question is, if we're imitators of Christ, did Christ talk like this? And with Christ as our example, we are to give up ourselves as Christ gave Himself up. So look at this strong prohibition in the area of speech and language. Look back at verse 4 again. Let there be no filthiness, nor foolish talk, nor crude joking, which are out of place. In other words, they're out of place for you as believers.

But instead, let there be thanksgiving. Paul says that there should be no filthy talk, no foolish talk, no coarse joking, unless you're mad. Unless you're out with the boys playing golf. Unless you're a famous pastor and a Christian and a writer, and you just need a little shock value to communicate your point. No. He says none. But Paul says the opposite. Not just do not do this. He gives the opposite. He says the opposite should be coming out of the mouths of God's people. He says those things are out of place in the lives of the believers. And he goes on to say that thanksgiving should be coming from the mouths of believers.

Now, what is this thanksgiving? It has to do with speech, yes. But it has first to do with attitude. It has to do with a thanksgiving that is at the very foundation of our attitude as believers. The center of this attitude of God's people should be a heart of thanksgiving. I like how one writer described this attitude. He said this kind of thankful attitude turns the heart's attention on God, on His grace, and on God's desires and not on self, you see. And it is out of this thankful heart that thankful speech flows. So look at all these negative commands here. Paul gives quite a few prohibitions for all believers. Yes, for us.

And my question is this. Do we see any of these things in our lives? They are prohibited. They should not be in our lives. And folks, we should examine what we say. We should examine what we think. We should be honest. We might need our spouse to help us here. We might need someone in our small group to help us here. We might need to draw close to a believer who really knows us. Oh, but remember our motivation. It's relational. It's not about keeping the rules. It's out of a love for God as beloved children of God. Why should I obey the negative? Because I love God first and foremost.

So number two, as we move through the Scriptures, Paul gives us this sure punishment. We see this in verses 5 to 7. Let's look back at our verses. "For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous, that is an idolatrer, has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore, do not become partners or partakers with them." Now here Paul is making a transition from the prohibitions to the punishment. And in examining the punishment, Paul is actually doing three things.

He is reminding them, he is warning them, and he is commanding them. We will see that the prohibitions and the punishment are obviously all related. This is all tied together. But first he reminds them. He reminds them in verse 5. Now here Paul is reminding the Ephesians of things that they certainly did know. Now the English Standard says, "For you may be sure of this," but the New American says it better. It says, "For this you know with certainty." And that is because the original language literally reads, "For this you know knowing." This simply tells us that Paul was reminding them of things that they certainly did know.

And they did know that God does not tolerate these sins. They did know that sin has no place in the lives of God's beloved. And notice what sin he is speaking of in verse 5, and how it repeats what is said in verse 3. Look at verse 5, "For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure or who is covetous." Verse 3, "But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetous must not be even named among you." See how it's the same? Simply Paul is reminding them of the surety of this punishment that they knew.

He says that everyone who is sexually immoral, impure, and greedy for these things will not inherit the kingdom of God. He is saying that anyone and everyone who lives their lives characterized by these sins, they are greedy for these sins. They will not inherit the kingdom. We need to understand what this language of the inheritance means. In the Scriptures, this inheritance speaks to what one receives as a gift from God. This inheritance speaks of a gift that is possessed, but it was given by God. And this is not the only time we see this language in this language of inheritance. I referenced this earlier in 1 Corinthians 6, 9 and 10.

Paul says, "Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived here. Neither the sexually immoral, nor adulterers, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God." Paul even says this in Galatians 5, 21. So we see this sure punishment. Paul says that those whose lives are characterized by these sins will not be given the gift of the kingdom.

He says that those whose lives are a pattern of habitual immorality, impurity, and greed associated with those things, they will not even be a part of the kingdom. And note this, it doesn't seem that any of these within the church were involved in these sins. Otherwise, Paul would have spoken to them like he did to the Corinthians. Now, my question for you this morning is this. Is your life characterized by these sexual sins? Is your life nothing but a pattern of habitual sexual immorality, impurity, and greediness in connection and for those things?

If that is you, God says you will not even be given the gift of the inheritance of the kingdom. And you need to see that. And then second, he warns them in verse 6. We see that he warns them in verse 6. Notice, "Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience." Now, in this warning, Paul is actually strengthening what he has just said in the reminder. But in this warning, Paul calls them not to be deceived. They could have been deceived.

He says, "Don't be deceived by those who try to reason that those who do habitually commit these things are somehow Christian." Now, some of you will get this. Do we not see so-called Christians trying to reason that God accept these sins and he accepts those people who live lives that are characterized by these sins? Oh, listen, church. There are so many in the professing church that are trying to deceive folks this way. You need to see that this will be an ongoing temptation within our lives and for us as a church, and that is to be deceived here. But notice what Paul was doing here.

Paul says their arguments of those who are trying to deceive are with empty words. He says that because of such sins, the wrath of God comes upon those who are sinfully disobedient. They are actually the target of God's wrath. And although Paul does not specifically describe this wrath, it is certainly referring to God's eternal judgment. But look, if your life is characterized by these sins that Paul has been unfolding here, this is a warning to you. God's wrath is coming for you. God's wrath is directed towards you. You are in the crosshairs. And notice that with this warning, Paul is adding to the surety of the punishment.

He said in verse 6 that those whose lives are characterized by such sins will not inherit the kingdom of heaven. And here he says that God's wrath comes upon those who practice these things habitually. I see this as a twofold punishment. They do not have a heavenly inheritance, and they certainly do have a wrathful inheritance. So we see this warning. Paul calls these faithful Christians not to be fooled by the empty arguments of those who deny these things. And it's interesting this word empty. You know what it means? Empty. It means their arguments are void of what? Truth. They might have reason, but they do not have truth.

And then third, he commands them. Look at verse 7. "Therefore do not become partners with them." Here Paul moves from explaining the sure punishment that waits for those who practice such sins. He moves from the warning to avoid those who argue that God accepts such sins and those who practice those sins, and then he moves to a firm command. Paul commands them, "Do not partner with them." The King James, the New American says, "Do not be partakers with them." And the meaning of this is simple. It means do not partner like one would partner in a business relationship.

Paul was calling them not to connect with or partner with such professing believers. We see the very same thing in 2 Corinthians 6, 14. Paul says, "Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers for what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness, what fellowship has light with darkness." And it's sad, very sad, but we see this all over the so-called Christian world today. It's really the end thing to do. I'll give you an example. There was a big story that broke this past week that involved the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. And the story was this.

They were partnering with this group that obviously affirmed all sorts of sexual immorality and homosexuality. Now I'm thankful that the president of the North American Mission Board did back off of that partnership. In my mind, I thought, shouldn't he know these verses? So Paul's command here is plain and simple. He calls these Christians not to partner with those who argue without the truth of God's Word that somehow these things are permissible. So in summary, look what Paul was saying here. He was stating this sure punishment of those who commit such sins as a pattern of life. And he was reminding them of these things.

He was warning them not to be deceived by the empty arguments of those who accept and promote such things. And he was commanding them not to partner with those who lower God's standards here. And again, this is going to be and will be and is a huge temptation for the church. And that is to lower the standards here. And this is how it proceeds. You begin to accept it one by one. Oh, you have someone in your family, you accept them. And then when you accept one individual and another individual, then lo and behold, you begin to partner with them.

And you might not realize it, folks, but there are churches in this town, so-called churches, that do this even today. Now as we finish out this section of the message, look at what God, through Paul, is calling us to do in the negative commands. He is calling us to put these things out of our lives. He is calling us to keep these things out of our lives. He is saying, "Do not do these things." He's saying all sexual immorality and impurity and any greediness associated with those sins. God tells us that these things are not to be a part of our lives as the saints of God. You know what the word "saints" means?

It just means "holy separated people." And He is calling us to put these things out of our lives, to keep these things out of our lives. All obscenities, all foolish speech, any coarse joking. But instead, God is calling us to have hearts of thanksgiving, which produce what? Thankful speech. And what should be our motivation? Love. Not a worldly love. Not a boyfriend and a girlfriend love. Not even a love that you have for your wife. No. As beloved children of God, we should run to these commandments and run to these expectations and run to these standards. We should want to imitate God, not the world.

We should want to study God and study Christ so as to imitate what we see in God and in Christ. Remember the great illustration with our homes and our spouses? Oh, it illustrates it wonderfully for us. Now, as I close, I want to issue a call. We must accept the reality of the sure punishment that awaits those who habitually live like the world. I need to repeat that. We must accept the reality of the sure punishment that await those who are characterized by these sins. They habitually live like the world. This judgment is sure. The punishment is to come. It's not inaccurate to say they are in the crosshairs of God's wrath.

And embracing this negative reality, it should motivate us to love God all the more, and it should motivate us to warn those who are in the crosshairs of God's wrath to come. I'm so thankful that when I was lost in living like we see in these verses, someone came to me and said, "You are going to hell. You are going to punish for all of eternity because of the way you live." They were God-sided with these things, and they were motivated by a love for me and a love for the Scriptures. But if this is you, listen, please come to Christ. You can be forgiven. Some of you have turned over a new leaf for years, trying to rid yourself of these sins.

You never can. You're a slave to sin. You're a slave yourself. You cannot do these things on your own. You need Christ. You need to repent and place your faith in Christ. You need to believe in Christ. Oh, but for you to do that, you've got to die to your sin. You've got to die to yourself. You've been fighting these things for years, and you must come to Christ. So I urge you, come to Christ. Come to Christ. And not just so you'll be free from these sins, but so that God can get the glory out of your life that he deserves. Listen, friend, a part of the truth of this message is this.

If you reject Christ, and you reject Christ, and you reject Christ, and you are judged according to the standard, and you are judged in eternity, experiencing the wrath of God for these things, he will get glory out of that as well, too. He will get glory out of that as well. Now, what's the title of the message? It's part two of last week. Be imitators of God. Live a life of love. It comes right out of the text.