“Walk as children of light…And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light” (Ephesians 5:8, 11-13).
Because of its inspired simplicity, there is a host of Bible passages which are impossible to misunderstand. This does not necessarily mean they are easy to do, just that they are easy enough to comprehend. The passage above is a great example of the Scriptures’ “challenging simplicity”.
The fellowship of the children of light requires:
Purity. It excludes certain things from any association—all of the unfruitful works of darkness.
Courage. It necessitates certain action—a plain-spoken reproof/exposure of such shameful activities.
Wisdom. It mandates wisdom—reproving the unfruitful works of darkness needs to be done so as to expose and condemn the evil without encouraging curiosity in an untoward way. The Bible’s examples of this type of wisdom are impeccable. Noah’s sins of drunkenness and immodesty are recorded in a factual, straightforward way; however, they are not reported so as to tantalize and tempt its reader into evil imaginings. Ditto for the accounts of the perverted deviancy of the Sodomites in Lot’s day, David’s fornication with Bathsheba, Amnon’s rape of his half-sister Tamar, and Absalom’s public defilement of his father’s concubines.
The fellowship of the children of light has three distinct traits: purity, courage, and wisdom.
So easy to understand.
So challenging to do.
