Some books and articles written by Christians on various moral issues are so explicit that they almost do as much to spread as to cure the problem. We can give God’s diagnosis and solution for sins without portraying every sordid detail. 10 The penalty of wrath – that’s a third characteristic of one who is darkness; God’s penalty of wrath comes upon them. In Romans, chapter 1: “The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness.” In other words, the wrath of God is going to come on sin. And it talks about, verse 21, the people it’s going to fall on are those whose foolish heart was darkened. Those who are the fools, you see. Those who exchange the truth for a lie; those who didn’t want to retain God in their knowledge and went over to ignorance, and who did all kinds of evil things. Those are the ones. You say, “Well, I’m a Christian, what should characterize my life?” Goodness, righteousness, truth. Hmm - that’s terrific. You know, there were a lot of people, and still are, who claim to be in the light.“Oh yes, we’re in the light, we made a decision for Christ, we’ve been born again. Oh, I’ve been going to church for years. I’m very religious, very religious. I’ve given a lot of money to the church. I’ve been in a certain denomination since I was baptized, christened, confirmed, or who knows what. Oh yes, I remember when I received an award for learning the Bible.”You know, people have all that stuff, “I’m a church member.” But you know what the real test is? You see, the children of light are made manifest by the fruit of light. The children of light are made manifest by the fruit of light. There needs to be some fruit. That’s what he’s saying here. Which finally leads to the fact that people who do the deeds of Satan, under the dominion of Satan, come under the wrath of God, which - fourth and finally – leads to an eternal place of darkness. That’s the fourth characteristic of these people. The ultimate end is darkness. Matthew8:12 says, “They will be cast into outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Well, that’s the story of the darkness. They do the deeds of darkness, under the dominion of the prince of darkness; it results in coming under God’s judgment on darkness, which is an eternal hell, which is outer darkness. You want darkness? You can have it forever.

Essentially, to be in darkness is to be ignorant of God and his Word and to practice rebellion in regards to those things. The world is darkness, but the believer is light. He knows the truth about creation, the gospel, and God, and he lives in view of these realities that the world rejects. In this groundbreaking new work, international bestselling author Deepak Chopra and his coauthor Sarah Platt-Finger, yoga director at Chopra Global and co-founder of ISHTA Yoga, offer an illuminating program for self-realization, bliss, and wholeness. Combining a practical thirty-day program that will help you break limiting habits and belief systems with an in-depth exploration of fifty stimulating and restorative yoga poses, Deepak and Sarah provide a thorough and inspiring way to unite the mind, body, and soul. Stott, J. R. W. (1979). God’s new society: the message of Ephesians (p. 200). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. If you do not daily wrestle with temptations in the areas of money, sex, or power, it is only because you have surrendered to these temptations. Every Christian must confront our common pull to make idols in these areas. In this book, John Piper equips us to fight temptation by firing up our affections for the glory of God in Jesus Christ. He wisely shows us not only what to avoid, but how to rightly enjoy money, sex, and power as part of a life conformed to Christ through the gospel. I expect to give this book to many friends and fellow combatants in this spiritual war.

But what he’s saying here is this: if you’re really walking as a child of light, there is going to be some fruit there. There will be goodness, righteousness, and truth. And this will verify your life. Look at verse 10 – really great: “Proving,” or verifying, “what is acceptable to the Lord.” What is he saying here? You shouldn’t just teach what is acceptable to God, you ought to live it; you ought to verify it in your life. This is the joy of the Christian, to be a living example of God’s truth, to be a living verification of what is pleasing to God. People say, “Well, how do I know I’m a Christian? Or how do I know this person’s a Christian?” It’s verified in the fruit. It’s verified in the fruit.

This is why it is said: “Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” (Ephesians 5:14)This is a brilliant book. John radically re-thinks the dangers of money, sex and power and explains why our culture is enslaved to them—but he also shows that God had good purposes in mind when creating these gifts and they become more satisfying in themselves when we realize that He is more desirable than all of them. For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said: “Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” (Ephesians 5:8-14) Believers are in the light because they have been changed intellectually and morally. How can believers continually imitate God by living in the light? In this study, we will consider six truths about living in the light. Now what does light mean? What are we talking about? Very important, if we are to live in light we have to know what light is. Now, let me tell you very simply, light is a symbol in the Bible, and it is a symbol for two things, two aspects. First of all, it is used from the intellectual side, and secondly, it is used from the moral side. Intellectually, light refers to truth. Light refers to truth, intellectually. Morally, light refers to holiness. So it is the intake and the output. It is the truth and the life. Living in light, then, means living in truth and living in holiness. Receiving the truth and living a holy life.