Would you turn with me in your Bibles or your bulletins in Ephesians chapter five? I know that your bulletins have until the end of the chapter, but today we're going to focus only in six verses. The first six verses, Ephesians chapter five, verses one through six. This is the word of God. Therefore, Be imitators of God as beloved children, and walk in love as Christ loved us and gave himself for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among the 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 idolater 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. Let us pray. Our Heavenly Father, we thank you that as you call us to be your children, your people, You have given us a new heart. You have given us a new life. And you have given us also your revelation, your word, which is in front of us, that discerns what is in our hearts, that help us to see the truth of our struggles and challenges and difficulties. And you yourself reveal to us through these verses, how to address them and deal with them. We thank you that you have been gracious and merciful and patient. May you help us, Lord, to look at these verses and be ministered by them and be empowered by them to walk in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. We pray all these things in Jesus' name, amen. So as we noticed last week, or two weeks ago, in chapter four, Paul turned from the theological part of the letter, which is chapter one, two, and three, to the practical theological part of the letter, which are verses, or chapter four, till the end of the book. But what Paul does here is know that he turns from teaching theology, which is the study of God, to then, from chapter four, start to teach a list of commandments that he's sending us to do on our own. But what he really does is that from chapter four until the end of the book, he applies what he have taught in chapter one, two, and three in our lives. In the sense of how these spiritual blessings that are ours in Christ Jesus, because we have trusted in Jesus, have changed our lives. And what we see in these chapters are actually the fruits or the result of what Christ and what God has done in our life. So it is not that Paul is turning from the gospel of grace, chapter one to three, to the gospel of works, from the gospel of the good news to the gospel on you are on your own, now do this. But in these verses and the verses that we have read before from chapter four, We see great encouragement because we see, as we saw last week, that it's not just that God has made us new people, but he has also empowered us to be the kind of people that he has created in us. And especially in these verses, I think that there is something very special, important for us as Christians, because again, Paul does not just give us another list of things, that you should not do as a believer, but he actually through the verses, if you look at the details, he will give you or give you the root of the problem. Where is the problem that you have coming from that results on practicing these old garments lifestyle? And also through addressing the root of the problem, he also helped you to see how do you as a believer deal with removing or taking off these garments, these old garments. And as I talk about garments, remember last week we saw that what Paul is doing here is using this metaphor of old garments and new garments. The old garments are our practices or the things that we used to do when we were no believers. And Christ has already changed this in our hearts, but he's calling us to do what we are, or to be what we are, by taking off these old garments. These old pieces of garments, I would say, because you see, he addresses different aspects of our spiritual life. And He also exhorts you to put on the new garments, the new person you are in Christ. So we're going to start by looking at these six pieces of your old garments, of your outfit, your old outfit that you are called to take off. And what is interesting is that all these six pieces, even though they might not look like first sight, because you might see some of them that are similar, others that you might think, well, this is just Paul adding to the list of some other things that are important for you to consider. But actually, they are all part of the same outfit. They all fit very well together. It's like the parts that you dress and you try to match, they all match, even though they might not look like they match at the beginning. And we'll see that as we look at these verses. And especially, there is one of them that you could say that is probably the source of the others. And again, it looks like I'm talking coats because I haven't talked about anything yet. But you'll see what I mean as we go through these pieces of your old garments. So there are two that you can see them right away that they fit together. Before I say that, I want to say that I'm jumping ahead to verse three and no looking at verses one and two because we're going to look at these later. But one thing that I think that is important for us to know is that verses one and two could be actually part of chapter four in a sense. Because when you read verses 31 and 32, let all bitterness, wrath, and anger, and clamor, and slander be put away from you along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another as God in Christ forgave you. Then Paul says, therefore be imitators of God as beloved children and walk in love. as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. These things could be put together, because what Paul is saying, put off these old garments as bitterness and wrath, and put on being kind to one another, and look the example of God and the example of Christ who love us and love others as Christ love us. But verses one and two also have a connection with what he's saying afterwards. And we're going to look at this connection because it's very, very important. So we have here these two pieces of garments, as I said, that they look like they fit very well together. One is fornia, and the other one is akatharsia. Fornia is sexual immorality, and akatharsia is all impurity. James Boyce would say that they together describe every kind of sexual sin, if you put them together. They describe every kind of sexual sin. But separated, they talk about aspects of sinful practices in sexuality. We have, first of all, phornia, which is translated in our Bibles as sexual immorality. In other parts where the same word appears, at least in our ESV, is translated as sexual immorality that includes different aspects of practices that are against God's will in terms of sexuality. But phornia is from where we get the word fornication. And if you were to read 1 Corinthians chapter 7 verse 2, you will see that there, even though our ESV Bible is translated as sexual immorality, it's clear that Paul is there talking about fornication because he's referring to the exhortation of getting married so you might not fall into temptation of same sexual immorality, fornia. Here, we don't know exactly the context, but it includes every practice or sexual intercourse outside God's will, which is marriage. It could be adultery, it could be fornication, or any other practices. Then on the other hand, you have akatharsia, which is translated as all impurity. And these are scenes of a grosser type of scene in sexuality. We find the same word in Romans chapter one, verse 24, when Paul is referring as how humans have fall into the scene of homosexuality. Again, both things are, in summary or together, they define every kind of sexual scene. So in other words, Paul is calling your attention that every kind of sexual sin must be a must not for Christians, for believers. And it sounds like this should be something obvious, something that, Paul, why do you even have to tell us that or tell this to the Ephesian church? We should know that. We know that this is something that we don't need to hear again. But the reality is that, for example, when we think about fornication, it's a struggle within the church of Christ. It's a struggle within the body of Christ, and Christians struggle with that. So it's very relevant for us, and even though these have been taught or exhorted about 2,000 years ago, Christians continue to struggle with the same issue of, if we think about fornication, as sex before marriage, or any other kind of sexual sin. Now you come then to covetousness, and there is where you think, well, Paul, I guess he's just trying to cover all the possible sins that Christians struggle with, and then he's just putting together a very comprehensive list of sins that you need to make sure that you put off from your own garment. But I think that covetousness is there in connection with what he has said before, which is sexual immorality and all impurity. Because covetousness is when you desire something that does not belong to you. And if you look at in the Ten Commandments in Exodus, you will see that it's in connection of no coveting or desiring the wife of your neighbor. So why is covetousness again connected with sexual immorality and all impurity? Because sexual immorality and all impurity is connected with sex within the law of God, which is the bond of marriage. And people that fall into sexual immorality and all impurity are prompt by coveting something that they were not supposed to look for because did not belong to them. So I think that that tell us why Paul is putting that scene there or that part of your outfit that needs to be put off. Now, then you might think like, then what would be then the connection between these three and the other three which are filthiness, foolish talk, and crude joking? I think that's something that help us in seeing the connection or putting these three, filthiness and foolish talk and crude joking in the context of sexual immorality and impurity is that Paul says after he finished with covetousness, he says, must not even name among you. that these things, sexual immorality and impurity, should not be even talked among Christians. So you could say that when Paul is saying or mentioning the other ones, filthiness and foolish talk and crude joking, he's referring to talking about sinful things connected with sexual immorality and all impurity that should not be named among believers. should not be even named among us, which is a strong exhortation. Now Paul, again, is listing these six pieces of your old garment, of your outfit, that you should put away, that you should put off and not put on. But then what is the root of the problem? what would you say, what do you think is the root of the problem? I think the root of the problem, even if it's not mentioned here in these verses, is that thing of being unsatisfied with what God has given to you. Is that you are not satisfied with what God has given to you. And how do we, or where do we get that? We get that from the word covetousness, right? Because there is nothing more clear than when somebody covet something is because he doesn't like what he has at home. When somebody's coveting something, it's because he's not happy with what God has given to him. And therefore, that moves the person to practice sexual immorality and all kind of impurity. Then, John Stott says these words. He says, a dirty mind express itself in a dirty conversation. A dirty mind express himself in a dirty conversation. And the Word of God teaches in Luke chapter 6 verse 45 that from the abundance of the heart speaks the mouth, right? This is why then we see that if you are unsatisfied with what God has given to you, then you covet these things that end being sexual immorality, phornia, akatharsia, all impurity, then you will end speaking about what is in your heart. In which way? With filthiness, foolish talk, and crude joking. So the root of the problem of all this sinful practices which are part of our old garment is that we are not satisfied, that we have no experience satisfaction with what God has given to us. And how do we know that? We know that because Paul gives you the answer for the problem. Think about this, if you go back in chapter four, And just look at the example of the last garment that you are to remove and then put on. You'll say, yeah, it makes sense what Paul says here. He says, let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you. So you think, so what am I supposed to put on? Yeah, logical, be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. You put off something that is a practice of your former self, and you put on something that is similar, but is godly, that pleases God. But here, Paul doesn't say that. He says, First of all, you go back to verse one, it said, but sexual immorality and da, da, da, da, da. You have to put off these things because this is not proper among the saints because it is out of place. And instead, put on, he says, let there be thanksgiving. And when you read that, you said, well, I think that if Paul, if you will have said sexual immorality, then you should set sexual morality, or do things within the bound of marriage. Paul is saying here, but instead, let there be thanksgiving. And here is where I think that Paul is teaching us, again, he's not addressing this as, hey, brothers and sisters, here I give you another list, so you just go and do it. on your own, but He's telling you, you know the solution. I'm telling you the problem and the solution is this. The problem is that you covet because you are unsatisfied, and because you are unsatisfied you are not thankful with God. And therefore what you have to do is you have to be thankful first. If you are thankful, that's what you put on, you won't be coveting. sexual immorality, impurity, and then as a result of that, you will be speaking from the abundance of your heart, filthiness, foolish talk, and crude joking. But what are you to be thankful for? Because it's like, is it as simple as, okay, I have these sins, and Paul told me just be thankful, and I just say, yeah, I'm thankful, and the problem is solved. Well, it's not as easy as that, right? It takes some work on us to meditate on what God has given to us. And there is what I want you to look at what Paul says in verses one and two. He says, therefore be imitator of God as beloved children and walk in love as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us. What are you thankful for? Christ gave himself up for you. And you who know what the gospel is about, understand that Christ paid an amazing price. A great price to save us. He gave his own life. He emptied himself. He took the form of a servant. He dwell among humans. He was humiliated by us and he went and died on the cross so we could be saved. Christ gave himself for you. I don't think that that's something that we should just hear the day we became Christians and we come to faith in Christ and become Christians, but this is something that we need to hear. We need to repeat ourself daily. This is why we go back to the Gospel, this is why any preacher should not be afraid of repeating the Gospel every Sunday. Because we all need to hear the Gospel every, not Sunday, but every day. The life of the Christian is a life of, when we think about our devotional life, we pray and we confess our sins again, and we ask forgiveness, and we find peace in the fact that Christ paid on the cross for our sins. that move your heart to be thankful. But not just that, look what he says. Here, Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Think about that. It was for God the Father that his son died on the cross for you and me who were his enemies, disobedient people a fragrant offering. That's actually, I think it's amazing. That's what we call amazing grace. It's amazing that God will be satisfied in seeing his son dying on the cross. But it's not just because of his sacrifice, but the fact that Christ did it and he was perfect That's what made Christ's sacrifice on the cross a fragrant offering. None of us could have done that because none of our sacrifices would have been a fragrant offering to God the Father because we were and we are imperfect, sinful people. Then let's go back to instead let there be thanksgiving. If you meditate on what Christ has done for you, if we think about what God has done for us and Christ has done for us and the love of God, this should move us to thanksgiving. And if that moves us to thanksgiving, Then I think that this start to remove from our hearts the covetousness, the unsatisfaction that we have from with the things that God has given us. And I'm just talking about the greatest blessing that every Christian has received, which is saving grace. Because we know that each one of us, we have received even more than that. Just think about all the things and the blessings that you have. And I'm not saying that you brothers and sisters and myself, we don't lack anything. We lack many things. I lack some things that you don't lack, and I have some things that you don't have, and you have some things that I lack, and vice versa. But all these things are things that we are to remember that have been given to us by God. We're called to what? To be thankful for first that Christ love us, that God love us, that we are today here as God's people, his people, and that God has blessed us in so many ways. And once you do that, then you stop coveting. And I'm not saying that's a simple thing to do, but that's the formula that Paul is giving to us today. Be thankful. as you are thankful and meditate on what you have received, then you stop coveting. And something important happened when you do that. Look what he says in verse five. He says, for you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure or who is covetous, and here, that is an idolater. You are basically moving your affection from that thing that is no God, that because of your covetousness, have become an idol in your heart, to the real God. So what we are really dealing with here is with idolatry. Idolatry that started with insatisfaction with what God has given to us, and I don't think that that's that new. Think about Adam and Eve. God gave them everything. Was it bad news that he said, don't take off this tree? No, they have everything. And yet, they went and took off the thing that they were not supposed to. And these things become an idolatry. Sexual immorality, impurity, covetousness. Now, We're looking at here, I mean, scenes that are in connection with our sexuality, but this is applicable to every single area of our lives. Because if we start to be thankful, if we start to meditate on what God and Christ has given to us, and then move our hearts to thankfulness, this is the way, if we go back to the list of garments that we are supposed to remove in chapter 4. This is what is going to help us there as well. Now, Paul also gives us some additional reasons for working on this. First one, we are called to be imitators of God. Therefore, be imitators of God. And this is the only part in the Bible where you find this sentence. We're called to be imitators of Christ, or imitators of Paul, as Paul imitates Christ. But here, Paul is giving us that the standard is that we are called to be imitators of God. And you will say, how can I be imitator of God? God is God. He is God. He is divine, and we are not. But we know that God created us according to his image, and he has putting us on attributes that were communicated to us. And an example of that, in the context of what Paul is saying, when Paul is saying, be imitators of God as beloved children, and walk in love, that's one of the attributes that God put in us when he created us according to his image. So we are exhorted to be imitators of God, but also, Look what he says in verse five, 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. I remember very well working or talking with some of my charismatic friends in Colombia that believe that you can lose your salvation or gain your salvation depending on your works, and this will be one of the verses that they will quote when we were having this argument. But actually, Paul is not talking about people losing salvation. He's not saying here that those who are sexually immoral, impure, and who is covetous are kicked out of the kingdom of God. He does not say that. He says they have no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. He's saying they actually are not part of the kingdom of God. And we see that also in these two key sentences, one in verse three and the other one in verse four. He says, at the end of verse three, as is proper among the saints, among saints, and in verse four he says, which is out of place. It doesn't belong to us. We have been transformed. So it's almost like we are wearing something that is no part, doesn't look good in us, because it's not part of our real outfit. It doesn't represent what we are. And finally, here Paul also exhorts you to be careful about this. that don't let anyone deceive you. Look what he says, verse six. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. So who can deceive you? I could say at least three parties. One is your own mind. Your own mind will try to deceive you. Finding excuses for these things is not that bad. Well, God understands. God is merciful. He will understand. Or, you know, your mind can find all kind of excuses to justify any of these things. And I have seen it when I have heard the testimonies of Christian leaders who have fallen to sins. They explain how in the process their minds deceive them, justifying what they were doing. But who else? A false teacher. And maybe Paul was referring here to false teachers. And we've seen that example in South America. In Brazil, one denomination, one preacher that became famous and had a big church in Brazil, and they have churches here in South Philly as well, started to use the letters of Paul to say that we are saved by grace, therefore we are free of doing anything we want. A false teacher can try to deceive you. But also, the world, the devil, and the flesh, they are in collusion all the time to deceive your mind that you are okay following the course of the world. That Christians need to adapt to our culture because our culture has evolved. But remember that those who practice these things have no inheritance in the kingdom of God. And this is not going to change. If Christ has not come in 2,000 years, the same word is gonna be preached. We pray that it will be in this church here from this pulpit. But we hope that Christ come soon, right? So we see, brothers and sisters, that we have here a beautiful thing in front of us. Instead, let there be thanksgiving. It's an invitation and it's an exhortation to meditate, to think about what Christ has done for you, what Christ has done on the cross. One of my favorite hymns is Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus. And there is this sentence that says the things of this world will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace. Let's look at the grace of Christ. And let's look at also, not just the spiritual blessings, but all the blessings that we receive daily. The fact that we are here and those that are online are watching is a blessing from God as well. Let's pray. Dear God, we thank you for being patient kind and loving. We thank you for loving us before the foundation of the world, giving us new life in Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. We thank you for being your people. And we ask forgiveness, Lord, for not being thankful many times, for taking for granted. You have taught us this year that many things that we thought were ours, we're realizing that they are just a gift from you. The fact that we can come together as your church, as your people, have fellowship and worship you together is a blessing. Help us, Lord, to be more thankful so that this will help us as well to remove these old garments that are in our lives. We pray all these things in Jesus' name, amen.