And our Bible reading this morning is taken from Ephesians
chapter 5, and we're going to read through verses 1 to 8,
Ephesians chapter 5, verses 1 to 8,
Ephesians 5, verses 1 to 8. The words will come up on
screen. For those online.
We encourage you to get a copy of the Bible and read the
Scriptures for yourself, but you will also see as well as hear
the words online. Let's hear God's word.
Be ye therefore followers of God as dear children, and walk in
love, as Christ also have loved us, and hath given Himself for
us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling
savour. But fornication, and all
uncleanness or covetousness, let it not be once named among you,
has become a Saints, neither filthiness, nor foolish talking
nor jesting, which are not convenient, but rather giving of
thanks. For this.
You know that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous
man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the Kingdom
of Christ and of God. Let no man deceive you with vain
words, for because of these things cometh the wrath of God
upon the children of disobedience.
Be not ye therefore partakers with them.
For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are you light in the
Lord walk as children of light. Amen.
We know that God will bless this reading of His own precious word
to our hearts. Now my text this morning is
taken from Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 2.
This is really a follow up sermon from the motto text of
last week and my theme today. I've entitled Christ's Atoning
Work and the Walk of Love. Now the apostle Paul repeatedly
describes the Christian life as a walk.
It's interesting that in this epistle, under the inspiration
of the Holy Spirit, Paul mentions this concept of walking
with God, which is our theme for the year. 7 times verse 2
chapter 2, chapter 2 verse 10 chapter 4 verse 1 chapter 417
chapter 5 verse 2, chapter 5, verse eight and five fifteen 7 *
7 I told you is the number of perfection.
The 5th reference is this command to walk in love.
Let's read it together and walk in love as Christ also have
loved us and given Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice
to God for a sweet smelling savour.
Now this is not accidental. Notice this command to walk in
love is anchored and rooted in the atoning work of Christ.
True Bible believe in Christianity is not something
merely we profess with our lips, but something we actually live
out with our feet. See the word walk here.
This command walk in love. This implies a relationship.
The Bible says can two walk together to except to be agreed?
Do you have to ask yourself, am I in a right relationship with
God? Do I, no one, love Jesus Christ
as my Lord and my Saviour? It implies a direction of
travel. It implies progress step by
step. It implies consistency.
It implies an end goal and a destination to be reached.
Where are you walking to? Well, we're walking from earth
to heaven. So let me repeat, the Christian
life is presented often in the Bible under the metaphor of a
walk. It's not merely 100 metre
Sprint. It's not merely A momentary
experience. This command to walk and love is
a command about a lifelong pilgrimage.
A pilgrimage that begins at the moment of true conversion, when
you're born again of the Holy Spirit and you've received
Christ as Lord and Saviour. A pilgrimage that continues on a
particular course and a pilgrimage that ends either in
the day of your death or at the second coming of Jesus Christ in
power and glory. Notice the word and and walk in
love. What did he say in verse one?
Be there for followers of God as dear children.
I told you last week the word followers means imitators.
Here's the children of God are commanded to be followers or
imitators of God as dear children.
And the next thing he says to them is this and walk in love.
And I want you to notice this. Paul doesn't leave love
undefined. He anchors it.
He roots it firmly in the atoning work of the Lord Jesus
on the cross. You see, true love or the love
of God in Christ is not defined by our culture.
It's not defined by one's emotions.
It's not defined by one's preferences or tastes.
No, listen to me carefully. True love is demonstrated.
It is defined. It is declared by the person
work of the Lord Jesus Christ. See, to understand what Paul
means, we must understand the terms in the text.
Walk in love. That's his command.
So we'll ask, hi, in what way? Here's the answer.
As Christ also have loved us and notice these words and have
given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a
sweet smelling savour. Now what does all this mean?
As I pondered this and I could have left this today because I
had another text in mind that I wanted to preach on, What does
it mean when I read this? It means that the Lord's work or
Christ's atoning work in the cross is indissolubly connected
to the Christians walk in love. Let me repeat that.
Christ's atoning work on the cross is indissolubly connected
to the Christians walk in love. Notice three things.
There's a test to be experienced and walk in love as Christ also
have loved us. There's a consideration here.
Think of the mention of the words and walk in love as Christ
also have loved us. You see, I believe today that
the whole of the Christian life is to be ordered.
It is connected to, it is concentrated, lived out in the
realm of biblical love. We'll ask the question, what's
the yardstick? What's the standard by which to
ascertain and discern the validity of 1's Christian
profession? What's the yardstick to measure
the claim to be a Christian? Is it not here that true love is
the test? If we go back to First
Corinthians 13, Paul says this. Though I speak with the tongues
of men and of angels, and have not charity and become a
sounding brass or a tinkling symbol.
And though I have the gift of prophecy and understand all
mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faiths so that
I can remove mountains and have not charity, I am nothing.
And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I
give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profited me
nothing. Charity, that's the old English
word for love, Suffereth long and is kind.
Charity envieth not charity. Vaunteth not itself, is not
puffed up, does not behave itself unseemly, Seeketh not her
own, is not easy to provoke, think of no evil.
Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth.
Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeless all things,
Endureth all things. Every Christian profession,
every claim that we make, all of our activities rendered toward
God and rendered toward men are to be measured by the yardstick
of love. God is love and as children of
God we have just been commanded to be imitators of God as dear
children and walk in love. Now why mention this?
What does it really mean? How is this walk in love to be
manifested? Here is the summary answer.
The highest manifestation of God's love is that which we see
in the Lord Jesus Christ and his atoning work on our behalf in
the cross. And that brings us to John 3 and
16. For God so loved the world that
he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him
should not perish, but have everlasting life.
And the moment Paul drops in this command and walk in love,
we have to ask what way Paul? And here's the answer, as Christ
also have loved us. Christ, as we said last week, is
our patron. He's not saying walk in love
seems right in your own eyes or walk in love is defined by an
ungodly world. No walk in love as Christ also
have loved us. John Calvin rightly said the
cross of Christ is the true mirror of love.
If you want to know what true love looks like, then look at
Christ and the cross. Think of Him bearing the curse
of the law for sinners. The cross is not merely the
motivation for love. It is, but it's also and more
importantly, the greatest manifestation, the greatest
demonstration, the greatest declaration, the greatest
definition of what love is. Jesus Christ in his atoning
death in the cross, shows us something of the height, the
depth, the breadth, the length of God's love to us.
Notice this, in the midst of this highest appeal, walk in
love, in this section of what scholars call to be the
practical section of Ephesians, Paul introduces us to a very
tremendous statement, and that statement is about or on the
doctrine of the atonement. It can't seem to leave it alone.
So in the test that is emphasised, think of the mention
of walk in love. There's a consideration here.
Notice quickly. There's also a connection here.
You see, I believe this morning there's a direct link between
one's doctrine and one's duty. There's a link between duty and
doctrine. Duty and doctrine are
indissolubly linked together. They must never be separated.
Paul knows that one's doctrine is shallow.
Then one's duty will be distorted.
He knows that there's no point preaching doctrine if that
doctrine doesn't impact upon our lives, isn't lived out,
exercised, and experienced in one's duty.
There's no point in preaching duty do this or do that without
true doctrine to back it all up. And in this epistle, Paul has
proclaimed the doctrine of election.
He has set forth the doctrine of predestination, the doctrine of
adoption, the doctrine of our union with Christ, the doctrine
of regeneration. And it's usually divided up this
book into a doctrinal section, chapters one to three, a
practical section, chapters 4-5 and six.
And that's the way many people look at it.
Many professing Christians sadly neglected doctrine.
Doctrine has seen as being cold and shallow and careless.
But Paul doesn't neglect doctrine.
Paul isn't finished with it. When he ends in chapter 3 here,
he is dropping it in to us when we least expect it.
He was one of the most objective statements on the doctrine of
atonement and the doctrine of the atoning work of Christ.
Notice how this doctrine of Christ's atoning work is to
impact upon our duty. This is like a creedal statement
that impacts upon our conduct. And that's the connection.
You see, many people neglect doctrine and as seen in their
lives, their lives as cold and careless and shallow.
But we're not to neglect doctrine.
As we walk in love, we're to remember the connection to the
atoning work of Christ. Also here in the test that is
emphasised, there's a confirmation.
You see, the Bible is never satisfied with a mere general
statement on or about the love of God.
That's the trouble with the modern church.
They talk of the love of God. They say nice things, they say
smooth words, but when they talk of the love of God, it's usually
discussed in very vague and general terms.
They never properly define their terms.
They never properly presented in light of the atoning work of
Christ. And you see, for the past 50
years, many ministers have stood in the pulpits and they have
preached to the people and they have said, well, you know, I'm
not really interested in doctrine, I'm interested in
love. And they use The Beatles slogan
of their song, All you need is love.
We've got to love one another. Let love be manifested among
men. Love your enemies.
But often times love is put up against Christian doctrine.
Now let me emphasise, and here's a confirmation, the Bible never
speaks of love in vague terms. It never speaks of love in a
sentimental, sloppy, sickly sort of fashion.
The Bible always confirms the terms it employs.
And the terms that it employs in this text, as in other places,
is firmly anchored and firmly rooted in the atoning work of
Christ. Remember what I've said to you
now. Our conduct is confirmed or
defined by our creed. And our creed, what we profess
to believe, has to have an impact upon our character or
upon our conduct. That's why Isaac Watts could
sing in the last verse of his hymn that we sang last week.
Love, so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my
all. That's the test that is to be
emphasised. I want you to think of the
second thing. Is this not only the test that's
to be emphasised, but the truth that's to be expounded.
Notice these words if you go back to our text and walk in
love as Christ also have loved us and have given himself for us
an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savour
as Christ has loved us. We'll pause there.
Who are the US? Who do you think the US is?
Paul was including himself. I put it to you.
I believe it's a reference to sinful men and women.
And here is the measure of his love, not just mentions it, but
here's the measure of it. And walk in love as Christ also
hath loved us, not just love his heavenly Father, not just love
the work that the Father gave him to do, not just have a love
for, say, the angels, no, for us sinful men and women.
And Martyn Lloyd Jones said this, we can never know the love
of Christ until you've grasped the doctrine of sin, until
you've grasped the truth about yourself as a Sinner by nature
and practise. You see, if you were just a very
good person, kind, generous, hardworking, considerate of
others, honest, wouldn't it be strange if you were not the
object of love? But that wouldn't tell you very
much about his love, if he only loved people that were good and
kind and generous and hardworking and considerate of
others and honest. But you see, this is what the
Bible says about His love. It says in Romans 5, verse 6.
For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ
died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man
will one die a peradventure for a good man.
Some would even dare to die. But God commended his love
toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us
much more than being now justified by his blood.
We shall be saved from wrath through him.
For if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the
death of his Son. Much more been reconciled.
We shall be saved by his life. And if you examine those four
pieces of scripture that I've given you, Romans 5 verses 6
through to 10, you will discover this is how God sees us.
God sees us as those who are without strength, who can't save
ourselves. God sees us as those who are
ungodly. Not only are we without God, but
with an anti God spirit and bias in our heart, He then sees us as
sinners. And what does sin send us?
Any want of conformity unto her transgression of the law of God.
He seizes as those who have transgressed as law, and He
designates us as enemies. For if when we were enemies, we
were heirs of divine hostility, and even in that state, without
strength to save ourselves, an ungodly Wretch with a bias
against God, who had transgressed God's law, who was
an object of divine wrath, in that state, vile, unclean, held,
deserving, guilty, a Sinner by nature and practise.
What do we read? Christ have loved us.
Here's the measure. Christ loves a world full of
sinful, messed up people. There was nothing to make Christ
to love us. We were vile, ugly, unclean,
foul, horrible creatures. Yet here's the sort of people
that he loved. Let that sink in.
Here's the reality of the truth that is emphasised.
Walk in love as Christ hath loved us.
Not only the reality of this truth, but think of this as an
act of work. You see, the Lord Jesus just
didn't allow certain things to happen to Him.
The first thing that Paul emphasises is this.
And hath given himself for us. When Paul's there and hath given
himself for us, Christ did something.
What did He do and hath given himself for us?
Christ was active in His atoning work.
This speaks of voluntariness. Christ was not a passive victim.
He didn't merely give up His possession on the throne.
He didn't merely give up his possessions.
He didn't merely give up His prerogatives in the Godhead,
much more He gave Himself not just things.
Remember what we read in Philippians 2.
Let this mind be also in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.
Verse 5, Verse 6. For being in the form of God,
thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself
of no reputation, took upon Him the form of a servant, and was
made in the likeness of men, and they found in fashion.
As a man he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even
the death of the cross. In all of that Christ was
active. In all of that Christ gave
himself. That means He gave more than His
position, more than all His possessions, more than all His
prerogatives. He gave himself the whole of His
being, His whole life, His whole person.
He He submitted and sacrificed himself.
The activity here was entirely positive.
His death was not forced by men. His death was not extracted due
to an unwillingness in his part. No, Remember what he says in
John chapter 10 and in the verse 17 after he had spoke about
being the Good Shepherd. He says, therefore doth my
father love me because I lay down my life, that I might take
it again. No man taketh it from me, but I
lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down.
I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received
of my father. Remember he said to Nicodemus
like as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, Even
so must the Son of man be lifted up the the the Bible tells us
that he said that he he must needs go to Jerusalem.
You see, he said for this RM come Christ's work was a real
work. Christ work was an active work
and when he died in the cross, His death in the cross was not
something that happened to Christ.
It was something Christ did because he was active.
I'll tell you something else. If you look again at the text
very quickly it says here an offering.
Did you pick that up? Ephesians 5 and two, an
offering. What is an offering?
It's a gift that is presented. Christmas has passed.
We presented gifts to one another.
It was offered to one another. It was received.
Christ gave up himself as an offering to God.
That means Christ was a willing offering.
The Old Testament animals that were sacrificed were brought
unwillingly, but Jesus Christ came to the cross willingly.
He wasn't dragged. He wasn't forced.
He came as an offering. And again, it's reinforcing and
teaching us what Christ has done.
He didn't die a victim of injustice.
He presented himself as an offering to God.
Notice the next word here and a sacrifice to God that draws it
directly from the Old Testament Levitical sacrificial system.
The word sacrifice indicates what?
What does it say to you when you read it?
Does it not say substitution? Does it not say bloodshed?
Does it not say identification? You see, when Paul used the word
sacrifice and the word offering, he was thinking about the Old
Testament teachings about offerings and the Old Testament
teaching about sacrifice. The Old Testament sacrifices
were temporary, they were repetitive everyday, they were
symbolic. But Christ's sacrifice was
final. It was once for all and of
course it was substitutionary. Whenever a worshipper came and
brought the animal, say it was a lamb, and he offered it to the
priest, the animal had to be free without blemish, no spot.
The priest. The high priest then placed his
hands and the head of the animal to symbolise the transfer of the
sins of the people to the head of the animal.
The animal became the sin offering and then the animal was
slain and the blood was taken and shed, collected in a bowl.
And the animal was slain because it had received the punishment
of death due to the guilt of the sins of the people.
And then the high priest was take the blood and he would
bring it into the inner sanctuary of the temple,
sprinkle it upon the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant.
And the body of the dead animal was then placed on the burned
altar in the outer court, and it was burnt and the smell of that
animal would would ascend up to God.
That's what Paul had in mind when he used the word offering
and especially the word sacrifice and the Genesis to
Malachi. The message of the Bible is
consistent because that's what happened to the Lord Jesus
Christ on the cross. That's what happened when he
died. His death was not symbolic.
His death was substitutionary. His death was vicarious.
His death appeased the divine wrath.
The Bible says without the shedding of blood is no
remission. And remember what we read over
there in the book of Hebrews and Hebrews 9 and verse 26.
We read this for then must often He have suffered since the
foundation of the world, but now once in the end of the world, He
appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
Not only was there an offering and a sacrifice, but notice
these words for a sweet smelling savour.
In other words, it brought satisfaction, it pleased God,
Christ once and for all sacrifice for sin.
God accepted it, God liked it, God was pleased with it, it
brought him joy and pleasure. God enjoyed it.
In other words, God the Father was fully, fully satisfied with
what the Lord Jesus had done. The law made certain demands.
The soul that sinneth it shall die.
And Christ came into the world and offered himself to God.
And Christ offered himself a once and for all sacrifice on
behalf of sinners, and that come up before God for a sweet
smelling savour and brought God joy and satisfaction.
The Bible says it pleased the Lord to bruise him.
I want to point out very quickly here, and I know where time is
going, Christ didn't die a passive victim of injustice.
Christ didn't die as a pacifist. You see, if Christ died as a
pacifist, it explains nothing about his cross, neither his
blood shedding his blood atonement, neither his curse
bearing, neither his satisfying the law of God, not even the
veal that's rent in the temple. And two, it explains nothing.
Christ didn't die as a pacifist resisting the violence of cruel
man. Christ didn't die as a martyr
for the truth. Christ didn't even die to
demonstrate what love is. Now it includes that, but that's
not the chief reason as to why he died.
Christ died as a once and for all offering and sacrifice for
our sins. And these erroneous views,
they're preached on in many pulpits.
Denounce them, turn away from them.
Close up your ears, because they've all emerged, because men
are in denial about God's holiness and God's divine
justice and God's divine wrath. See, let me point something out.
If God is not truly holy, then sin doesn't deserve God's wrath.
If sin doesn't deserve God's wrath, then there's no sacrifice
or offering for sin that's needed.
And if there's no propitiation, no sacrifice for sin, if there's
no proportionary substitutionary sacrifices needed, then the
cross is merely symbolic. Here's the Apostle Paul.
He explicitly states Christ's death was an offering, a
sacrifice, a sweet smelling savour.
Not to man, not to human conscience, not to the Church,
not to the devil, but to God. Christ's death fully satisfied
God's justice. It completely removes our guilt.
So young people, let me emphasise this.
Jesus Christ didn't die merely to show us what love is.
He died to satisfy God's divine wrath and justice.
And that's why when the Bible says he shall see if the travel
of his soul and shall be satisfied.
Isaiah 53 verses 10 and 12. The primary purpose of the cross
was not towards men, but to God. To satisfy divine holiness, to
satisfy divine righteousness, the law had to be upheld and the
Lord Jesus on the cross perfectly accomplished eternal
redemption for sinners. One final thing.
We've talked about the mention of walking love.
I've given you the measure of love.
There's a test here to be emphasised.
There's a truth here to be expounded, but there's a
testimony here to be experienced.
Notice these words and walk in love as Christ also have loved
us and have given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to
God for a sweet smelling savour. In light of this, if you think
of the mention and the measure, ask yourself what is the meaning
here and walk in love. What does walk in love mean?
It means that this walk in love is not something coerced, not
something manipulated, not something self-serving.
It's a sovereign, sacrificial, supreme, steadfast love.
It's a love that flows from a heart that's been transformed
and changed by the grace of God. Because Christ's sacrifices
finished and complete and accepted, we can now walk in
love before God. We can walk in love not to earn
God's favour, but because God's favour has been freely given.
We love out of a sense of gratitude, not obligation.
We love out of a sense of security.
We are in Christ. Christian love has to be
sacrificial. Christian love is not
self-serving. Christian love remembers never
atoning because only the blood of Christ atones for sin.
It's the blood of Christ to see us.
If I put it this way, to walk in love is to live out the
Christian life with your life being constantly shaped by the
cross work of Christ. Remember what John Calvin said
and he made it abundantly plain for us so that we can
understand. The cross of Christ is the true
mirror of love. As we look into that mirror we
are to reflect that love of Christ.
She walking in love will never avoid the offence of the cross
at all costs. To walk in love means that we'll
never refuse and accept peace without peace with God.
And the peace of God to walk in love means that we'll refuse to
be soft in sin. So it's not to avoid offence at
all cost. It's not to refuse truth for
peace or receive truth for peace.
It's not to be soft in sin if Christ gave himself voluntary,
if Christ gave himself as an offering and a perfect obedience
to God, if Christ gave himself as a sacrifice of
substitutionary and vicarious and a sweet spelling savour, it
was pleasing to God on our behalf.
So then we must display something of that love of
Christ. The fruit of our love to God has
to be the life of Christ lived out within us.
Remember what we read as we close in the words of Second
Corinthians and I've tried to keep the references as short as
possible in Second Corinthians chapter 2 and verse 14.
We read this as we finish now. Thanks be to God, which always
causes us to triumph in Christ and make manifest the savour of
His knowledge by us in every place.
For we are under God a sweet savour of Christ and them that
are saved and in them that are perishing.
You see, Christ just didn't die to manifest love.
Christ crosses not just a display of divine affection
alone, but the accomplishment of divine redemption.
And as we live for Christ, we must look to Christ's
sacrificial death. We remember the Old Testament
Saints were saved by grace through faith in the personal
work of Christ. It's the same Christ, the same
blood, the same gospel. And our walk and love is to be
shaped by a voluntary obedience. It's to be shaped by a life of
self denial. It's to be a shaped by
confidence in the finished work, and it's to be shaped by
steadfastness and seeking the highest good of others.
So when we're commanded to love God, when we're commanded to
love our neighbour as ourself, we can't do that in our own
strength and power. We can only do it by the grace
and help of God, through the example and the cross of Christ,
the atoning work of Christ, and the walk of love.
May the Lord take these few words, stumbling as they are,
and bless them to our hearts at this particular time.