Living Wisely Series

Eph 5:15-21 LIVING WISELY

Eph 5:15-21 ESV

15Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Paul has been talking about our WALK as Christians since chapter 4.

• 4:1 “… walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.”

• 4:17 “… you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds.”

• 5:2 “And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us…”

• 5:8b “Walk as children of light…”

• 5:15 “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise…”

This is the 5th WALK in this section.

• It is important to get our DOCTRINES right (Eph 1-3), but equally, if not more important, to live out what we believe rightly.

We are often accused of being hypocritical, more so than people of other faiths, because we TALK LOUD. We speak of what we believe and yet fail to live up to it.

• It would seem better not to have said it in the first place and give no room for people to charge us.

• But we need to speak the TRUTH of what God has said. We cannot change that.

• Rather, we have to walk in a manner worthy of that name Christian. We have to watch our actions and behaviours and live up to what we preach.

We can, by God’s grace and the help of the Holy Spirit. We are born again in Christ and we can live by God’s ways if we live carefully and wisely, led by His Spirit.

• Paul tells Timothy 1 Tim 4:16 “Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.”

1. MAKE CAREFUL AND WISE CHOICES

Paul urges the Ephesians to be imitators of God. They need to watch their conduct.

• 5:15“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise… ” 5:17”Do not be foolish…”

Paul has been using CONTRASTS – walking as believers and not Gentiles, in the light and not darkness, and now… in wisdom and not folly.

• If we cannot live up to what we believe, then we are stumbling blocks. Our conduct does not sync with our beliefs.

• The consequence of that is great - we are hypocritical and Christianity loses its credibility. We pray that by God’s grace, we will always WALK the TALK.

We need to be careful and wise in making choices.

• Wisdom in this context is about making choices that align with God's will and values. As Christians, we behave and act like Christ and our Father in heaven.

• We need to give equal emphasis, if not more, to the CONDUCT of our lives as we do with the DOCTRINES we proclaim.

How I wish that our knowledge would simply translate into our lives and shape our conduct, automatically, but that’s not the case.

• We can be disobedient and carnal, self-centred and proud. If we are still free to choose, then we need to make careful and wise choices in life.

As the words of Paul have shown – to the Ephesians and also to the Corinthians - believers need to be reminded, corrected and encouraged to do what is right.

• Paul has been urging them to 4:1walk WORTHY, 4:17no longer like Gentiles, 5:2walk in love, 5:1be imitators of God, 5:8bwalk as children of light…

• And now, 5:15walk carefully and wisely. It is proactive and intentional.

• We have to think about the choices we make so that we can live godly lives and do that which is 5:9good, right and true.

HOW?

• 5:16 “…making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 5:17Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”

2. LIVE PURPOSEFULLY in the light of God’s will

Make the best use of every opportunity to do the will of God because we know it.

• The context of "the days are evil" suggests that it’s the wisest thing we can do – to seize the time while we still can to fulfil the will of God.