Sue J Love
Loyal
Ephesians 5:11-17 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)
“11Have no fellowship with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. 12For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. 13But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for everything that is illuminated becomes a light itself. 14So it is said:
“’Wake up, O sleeper,
rise up from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.’
“15Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 17Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.”
Fruitless Deeds of Darkness
What does it look like if we are to have no fellowship with the fruitless deeds of darkness? Well, the word “fellowship” means “to share in company with, i.e. co-participate in, be partaker of, identified with” (source bible hub). And darkness, in this context, has to do with sin, wickedness. And some of the fruitless deeds of darkness being referred to in Ephesians 5 are sexual immorality, impurity, obscenity, greed, and crude joking, etc. We are not to be partakers in such sins as these, but we are to expose them.
So, what does that look like to expose these fruitless deeds of darkness? It is certainly to call them out for what they are and to warn all those who profess faith in Jesus Christ not to participate in them, and to warn of the consequences of participating in such sins as these as a matter of habit. For to “expose” these deeds of darkness is to reprove, to refute, and to correct what is wrong about them and to convict and to convince all those who are caught up in them to cease from any and all participation in them.
The Disobedient
And who are the disobedient? They are all for whom sin is their practice, their habit, and not obedience to God and to His commands. They are all who have chosen their sins over God. And what kinds of sins do the disobedient do in secret? They could be many and varied, but the first sin mentioned in Ephesians 5 is sexual immorality, which is a sin for which it is very common to have been done in secret, which is very easy to do with the hand-held smart phone devices connected to the internet.
Many are those who are addicted to sexual immorality who hide their sins in secret. Many of them are morally unclean, liars, deceivers, adulterers, and the untrustworthy who lie and who cheat and who manipulate. They are the selfish and the self-indulgent who do what they do regardless of who gets hurt in the process. For they are mean, cruel, uncaring and malicious. And they are increasing in numbers as so many have gone the path of “cheapened grace” which gives them permission to keep on in their sin.
Pay Careful Attention
So, we are to pay careful attention to how we walk. For the days are evil. And our walk is how we conduct our lives, the things that we think and do and say by habit, in lifestyle. And we are to live not as unwise but as wise. And we get our wisdom from God the Father and the Son and from the Scriptures and from the Holy Spirit living within those of us who are of genuine biblical faith in the Lord Jesus. For they teach us the things that we must do and not do as followers of Christ. So we are not to be foolish.
For we learn in 1 John 1-3 that if we claim that we have fellowship with God, but yet we walk in darkness (sin), we are liars. If we claim that we know God, but we do not obey His commandments, in practice, we are liars. For it is not the one who claims He is “in Christ” who is “in Christ,” but it is the one who has denied self, died with Christ to sin, and who is now walking in obedience to our Lord and to His commands, in practice, and no longer in sin. We have the hope and the promise of eternal life with God in heaven.
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; 2 Corinthians 5:10,15,21; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:1-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]
The Fruitless Deeds of Darkness
An Original Work / September 15, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah
Hymn lyrics by William Williams, pub.1745
tr. by Peter Williams, pub.1771
Music by John Hughes, 1907
Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah,
Pilgrim through this barren land.
I am weak, but Thou art mighty;
Hold me with Thy powerful hand.
Bread of Heaven, Bread of Heaven,
Feed me till I want no more (2X).
Open now the crystal fountain,
Whence the healing stream doth flow;
Let the fire and cloudy pillar
Lead me all my journey through.
Strong Deliverer, strong Deliverer,
Be Thou still my Strength and Shield (2X).
Lord, I trust Thy mighty power,
Wondrous are Thy works of old;
Thou deliver’st thine from thralldom,
Who for naught themselves had sold.
Thou didst conquer, Thou didst conquer
Sin and Satan and the grave (2X).
When I tread the verge of Jordan,
Bid my anxious fears subside;
Death of deaths, and hell’s destruction,
Land me safe on Canaan’s side.
Songs of praises, songs of praises,
I will ever give to Thee. Amen (2X).
Caution: This link may contain ads
“11Have no fellowship with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. 12For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. 13But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for everything that is illuminated becomes a light itself. 14So it is said:
“’Wake up, O sleeper,
rise up from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.’
“15Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 17Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.”
Fruitless Deeds of Darkness
What does it look like if we are to have no fellowship with the fruitless deeds of darkness? Well, the word “fellowship” means “to share in company with, i.e. co-participate in, be partaker of, identified with” (source bible hub). And darkness, in this context, has to do with sin, wickedness. And some of the fruitless deeds of darkness being referred to in Ephesians 5 are sexual immorality, impurity, obscenity, greed, and crude joking, etc. We are not to be partakers in such sins as these, but we are to expose them.
So, what does that look like to expose these fruitless deeds of darkness? It is certainly to call them out for what they are and to warn all those who profess faith in Jesus Christ not to participate in them, and to warn of the consequences of participating in such sins as these as a matter of habit. For to “expose” these deeds of darkness is to reprove, to refute, and to correct what is wrong about them and to convict and to convince all those who are caught up in them to cease from any and all participation in them.
The Disobedient
And who are the disobedient? They are all for whom sin is their practice, their habit, and not obedience to God and to His commands. They are all who have chosen their sins over God. And what kinds of sins do the disobedient do in secret? They could be many and varied, but the first sin mentioned in Ephesians 5 is sexual immorality, which is a sin for which it is very common to have been done in secret, which is very easy to do with the hand-held smart phone devices connected to the internet.
Many are those who are addicted to sexual immorality who hide their sins in secret. Many of them are morally unclean, liars, deceivers, adulterers, and the untrustworthy who lie and who cheat and who manipulate. They are the selfish and the self-indulgent who do what they do regardless of who gets hurt in the process. For they are mean, cruel, uncaring and malicious. And they are increasing in numbers as so many have gone the path of “cheapened grace” which gives them permission to keep on in their sin.
Pay Careful Attention
So, we are to pay careful attention to how we walk. For the days are evil. And our walk is how we conduct our lives, the things that we think and do and say by habit, in lifestyle. And we are to live not as unwise but as wise. And we get our wisdom from God the Father and the Son and from the Scriptures and from the Holy Spirit living within those of us who are of genuine biblical faith in the Lord Jesus. For they teach us the things that we must do and not do as followers of Christ. So we are not to be foolish.
For we learn in 1 John 1-3 that if we claim that we have fellowship with God, but yet we walk in darkness (sin), we are liars. If we claim that we know God, but we do not obey His commandments, in practice, we are liars. For it is not the one who claims He is “in Christ” who is “in Christ,” but it is the one who has denied self, died with Christ to sin, and who is now walking in obedience to our Lord and to His commands, in practice, and no longer in sin. We have the hope and the promise of eternal life with God in heaven.
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; 2 Corinthians 5:10,15,21; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:1-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]
The Fruitless Deeds of Darkness
An Original Work / September 15, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah
Hymn lyrics by William Williams, pub.1745
tr. by Peter Williams, pub.1771
Music by John Hughes, 1907
Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah,
Pilgrim through this barren land.
I am weak, but Thou art mighty;
Hold me with Thy powerful hand.
Bread of Heaven, Bread of Heaven,
Feed me till I want no more (2X).
Open now the crystal fountain,
Whence the healing stream doth flow;
Let the fire and cloudy pillar
Lead me all my journey through.
Strong Deliverer, strong Deliverer,
Be Thou still my Strength and Shield (2X).
Lord, I trust Thy mighty power,
Wondrous are Thy works of old;
Thou deliver’st thine from thralldom,
Who for naught themselves had sold.
Thou didst conquer, Thou didst conquer
Sin and Satan and the grave (2X).
When I tread the verge of Jordan,
Bid my anxious fears subside;
Death of deaths, and hell’s destruction,
Land me safe on Canaan’s side.
Songs of praises, songs of praises,
I will ever give to Thee. Amen (2X).
Caution: This link may contain ads