When The Church Starts Talking Like Pagans—Remember, You Are Light

Text: Ephesians 5:1-9                 

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

This morning, I feel like I should ask you to stand up, stretch a bit, and maybe even do some jumping jacks. The reason is that the Apostle Paul has some rather strong words for us today. Our reading from the Epistle to the Ephesians is heavy. It is profound. And it demands our attention.

You see, the Apostle Paul is not giving us a light devotional thought or a vague encouragement today. Instead, he is drawing a sharp line. He is speaking in a way that is very clear, very blunt, and very direct.

So, let’s get right to the point that Paul is making:

You Christians do not belong to darkness. You are not pagans. You do not belong to sin, death, or the devil. Instead, you belong to God Almighty. You were bought not with gold or silver but with the holy and precious blood of Jesus Christ and with His innocent suffering and death.

The baptismal liturgy says it best: all your sins, which have been inherited from Adam and which you yourself have committed, are drowned and killed in the waters of your baptism. And so, in baptism, you were separated from the multitude of unbelievers. You were made holy in Christ. You were placed into the safe and secure ark of the Christian Church.

Bluntly stated, the devil does not ride you. When you were baptized, you were snatched out of darkness and made to be slaves of Christ. The devil does not ride you—Christ does. You belong to Christ. 

Listen to a portion of our Epistle reading again: 

“At one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.”

Notice what Paul says there. He does not say that you once lived in darkness. He says that you were darkness. That was your identity. Apart from Christ, you were not merely influenced by darkness—you were a part of it.

But now something has happened. Christ intervened. Christ claimed you. Christ washed you. Christ marked you with His name and placed you into His Church.

And if this is true—and it certainly is—then we as Christians should not give unnecessary attention, discussion, and energy to things that belong to darkness.

But what exactly does this mean?  Let me give you a real-life example.  

Several years ago, I was talking with another LCMS pastor here in North Dakota. He had gotten into quite a conflict with four or five prominent families in his congregation.

The issue began rather simply. He told these families that their children and grandchildren would not be able to participate in the Christmas program unless they attended church. He also had the audacity to tell confirmation students that if they did not attend class or church, he would not confirm them. And then he made another decision. He and the Elders worked to remove individuals from church membership who had not attended church in over ten years.

Now, logically speaking, that makes sense, doesn’t it? If someone doesn’t practice for the Christmas program – if someone does not study the Small Catechism – if someone wants nothing to do with the church for over a decade and they won’t return phone calls from the pastor, then it is hard not to conclude that they – perhaps – either don’t like being a Christian or don’t want to be a Christian.   And so, logically, not confirming them and removing them from membership is a very rational thing to do.

* * *

Now we must acknowledge that there are situations where people struggle to attend church. There may be unresolved conflict. There may be difficult work schedules. There may be spiritual wounds or grief. These situations must be handled with patience, compassion, understanding, and care.

* * *

But in the case of this pastor, the families he was dealing with were not struggling. They were simply neglecting the Church; they were even a bit hostile to the Word of God. 

And so, what happened?

A large conversation erupted throughout the congregation. Members began debating whether the pastor’s policies were too rigid. Soon, people were discussing LCMS membership practices. The conversation shifted to questions like this: 

Is going to church required to be a Christian? And if it is required, how often does someone need to attend to be saved?

Then the conversation shifted again. 

Is Sunday School necessary, or is the Divine Service enough?

Then it shifted again. 

Does watching church on television or the internet count?

Before long, the entire congregation was tangled up in increasingly foolish debates.

I remember sitting with this pastor over coffee as he lamented the situation. At one point, he said something that struck me. He said, 

“Am I being unreasonable for expecting Christians to act like Christians? Why am I being attacked for wanting my flock to receive God’s Word and Sacraments?  Why is it so bad to simply want Christians to come to God’s house?”

After talking through the situation, we came to a sobering realization. Those four or five families were not acting like Christians. They were not thinking like Christians. They were not speaking like Christians. Frankly stated, they were acting like pagans.

And worse than that, they pulled the entire congregation into pagan arguments and pagan justifications that had no business being in the church to begin with. That is to say; conversations were happening that were completely out of place among Christians.

Eventually, that pastor addressed his congregation directly. He said, 

“I am not going to engage in these conversations anymore, and neither should you. These discussions do not belong in the church. Christians love God’s Word. Christians do not despise the church. Christians do not slander Christ’s church.”

From that point forward, he simply refused to engage those 4-5 families in their pagan justifications.  

Why?

Because these families and their talking points were completely out of place.

And that is precisely what the Apostle Paul is addressing in our epistle reading from Ephesians.

Paul’s point is clear. There are certain wicked things that should not be entertained in the church. They should not become topics for endless discussion.

Now, let’s be clear about something. The church must teach the truth and confront error. The Apostle Paul himself does this throughout his letters. He exposes false doctrine and warns about sin in Galatians and 1 Corinthians. But what we are talking about here is something different. You see, there are times when giving attention and discussion to certain things actually allows sinful ideas to dominate the conversation. When that happens, darkness begins to feel normal. What should be clearly condemned begins to sound like just another perspective.

Dear friends, this is dangerous because clear sins do not need to be debated. They do not need focus groups. They do not need to be sent to conventions with overtures for votes. They simply need to be rejected. The reason why… some things are not fitting for Christian discussion to begin with. They belong to the kingdom of darkness. They belong to sin and not to Christ.

So, what does this mean?

It means there are certain sins and corrupt ideas that are so contrary to Christianity that entertaining them as legitimate possibilities is foolish.

For example, same-sex marriage is not marriage. It is a myth. For the Christian, it does not exist. There is nothing to debate about same-sex marriage; Scripture clearly condemns it as sin.

Abortion is not compassion. It is the taking of a human life. There is nothing to debate as well.

The same is true for important teachings of the faith. 

Scripture is the final authority for doctrine and life. Human reason does not overturn it. Culture does not overturn it. Personal experience does not overturn it. Case closed. 

Salvation does not depend on human works, merit, or decision but Christ alone. We do not need a voters’ meeting or synodical overture to settle this.  

The pastoral office is not a platform for social experiments – we will not transgender the office of pastor with the ordination of women or justify it in the name of equality – full stop.   

The Lord’s Supper and baptism are not symbolic and powerless rituals that are up for deliberation.

In other words, we are not going to take a vote on these things at a voters’ assembly, or discuss them in committees, or debate them on social media, because our consciences are captive to the Word of God.

Baptized Saints, Christians do not dabble with intellectual curiosity about darkness. Our posture toward sin is intentionally closed. Once something is clearly condemned by God, it does not become a matter for endless speculation, conversation, or debate. But instead, you and I repent of the sin boldly; yes, you repent and are returned to where you belong – your baptisms. 

And the reason for this is what we heard at the beginning of this sermon.

In holy baptism, you are beloved children of God. You belong to the light. You belong to Christ. You belong to righteousness.  

Baptized Saints, you belong to Christ’s kingdom because you once were darkness, but now, in the Lord, you are light.  Therefore, live as children of the light, giving darkness and sin no voice, not attention, no inroad, and no refuge.  

In the name of Jesus. Amen.