The Coming of the Light (6)

And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. Ephesians 5.11

Start here
The Word of God is described as a lamp (Ps. 119.105). It shines the light of God by which we make sense of all the rest of our experience in the world (Ps. 36.9). The more we shine the light of God into our lives, the more we can expect it to revive and renew our souls, so that what we think, desire, and value comes to expression in good works appropriate to our circumstances, glorifying God. This was Augustine’s experience in that sudden garden moment so many centuries ago, and it is what God intends for each of us as citizens in His Kingdom of light.

But the first effect of the light of truth, as it shines into our lives, is to reveal whatever may be hiding in the darkness. Light exposes darkness before it banishes and overcomes it (Rom. 7.7). Sin is still present in our lives, even though we have been redeemed and forgiven (Rom. 7.21-25). If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth of God is not in us (1 Jn. 1.8).

Pockets and crannies of darkness exist yet in your soul, and the Kingdom of light must overthrow these as well.

So we should expect, each day as we shine the light of God’s Word into our lives, that it is going to reveal areas of lingering darkness. When this happens, we must not run from the light, but welcome it, confessing our sins and repenting of them, so that we might overcome the evil that yet lingers in us with the good works of love and God’s will revealed in His Word (1 Jn. 1.8-10; Rom. 12.21).

Then here
But exposing the works of darkness is not simply a matter of our souls. The light shines in us so that we might refract that light to the world, in our ways and circumstances. As the light of the world, believers must not hide their light under some basket of reticence or by turning a blind eye to evil; rather, we must shine the light of truth into all the dark places of life, so that wickedness, vanity, and futility of every sort are exposed for what they are.

And this aspect of our calling as citizens in the Kingdom of light has two foci.

First is our responsibility to one another. Christians are called to stimulate and encourage one another to love and good works (Heb. 10.24). But we must not hesitate to point out the sin which we observe in one another as well.

When the apostle Paul saw Peter and Barnabas slipping into sinful practices in Antioch, he didn’t hesitate to call them on it, and to do so publicly, since their offense was public (Gal. 2.11-14). This is the first step in church discipline, in which we recognize that we are our brothers’ keeper, and we take responsibility in love to help one another put off the old ways of darkness and sin and put on the Lord Jesus Christ.

But isn’t this exercising judgment on someone else? And aren’t we told not to judge others?

We’re warned against judging others in any way that we would not want to be judged (Matt. 7.1, 2); but Jesus commands us to judge with righteous judgment (Jn. 7.24), and one of the results of doing so will be to expose sin for what it is, as Jesus Himself did.

It is loving as Jesus loved to challenge our fellow citizens in the Kingdom of Light to recognize where they are betraying their calling and failing to live in the freedom which is ours in Jesus Christ. This is a pastoral ministry in which we shepherd one another with the truth of God’s Word into greater and more consistent brightness in His light.

We are made for the light, not the darkness, and it is our calling and duty to help one another walk in the light as Jesus is in the light.

Finally here
But Christians are also called to expose the darkness of the world. This is a prophetic ministry, in which we expose every dark and wicked way, bringing to light transgressions against the Word of God and offenses toward the holiness of Jesus Christ.

We must not be shy here but bold, like the prophets of old, to say to the unbelieving world that its ways are not God’s ways and that if they persist in them they will ultimately have to deal with Him. And this calling falls not just to preachers, writers, and Christian intellectuals; every believer must take responsibility, as Paul explained to the Ephesians, for exposing the works of darkness in this unbelieving age. Wherever in your Personal Mission Field darkness is robbing people of the light of truth, you need to bring the light and joy of Christ there.

This does not require that we be condemning and angry. We must always speak the truth in love (Eph. 4.15). But we must be clear and uncompromising where the Word of God is being transgressed and the will of God flouted by our unbelieving age.

As citizens in the Kingdom of light we must work to expose the darkness wherever we find it – in ourselves, our fellow believers, and in this age of unbelief and darkness, in all its words and ways. As children of the light, we must prepare ourselves both to receive and to refract the light wherever the darkness reigns to rob people of the full and abundant life God intends.

For reflection
1.  People don’t like to have their sins pointed out to them. Does this mean we should just look the other way and hope that God will deal with them? Explain.

2.  If we are being bright, warm, and consistent in bringing the light of Christ into our Personal Mission Field, it is inevitable that darkness will be exposed. How should we prepare for being effective light-bringers where needed in our lives, churches, or world?

3.  Meditate on Matthew 5.14-16. What are some ways we hide our light “under a basket”? How can believers help one another not to do this?

Next steps - Preparation: “Here…here…here…” Review these three points in our lives where we are called to expose the darkness. Do you see this in your own life? Can you think of some ways to improve?

T. M. Moore

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.