The Bride is Blessed with God’s Moral Compass

1. Read: Ephesians 5:1-2

2. About the Text:

1) God and Christ are the source of all goodness and morality.

2) We must imitate God in our behavior as a child imitates his father and mother.

3) Jesus love, as demonstrated in His sacrificial life and death, is essence of that behavior.

4) This love becomes the basis for our moral behavior as Christians.

3. Ref. to S, T, P, O, and A.

1. The lost Gentile world cannot be the standard of morality.

1) Their thinking is futile/empty/vain/self absorbed.

2) Their understanding is darkened.

3) They are alienated from the life of God.

4) They are ignorant of morality.

5) Their hearts are blinded to righteousness.

6) They are past feeling guilt for their wickedness.

7) They give themselves to lewdness.

8) They work uncleanness with greediness.

2. Christ does not teach us to so live.

1) Learning about Christ teaches us differently.

2) We must hear what Christ teaches.

3) We must be open to Christ’s teaching us the truth.

4) The truth from Christ entails putting off the old man of sin.

5) This old man will continue to grow corrupt by deceitful desires.

6) Christ teaches us to be renewed in our spirit of our mind.

7) This means putting on the new man.

8) This new man was created by God in true righteousness and holiness.

1. We must stop lying and start telling the truth to each other.

2. We must stop letting anger control us but instead control it.

3. We must stop giving place to the devil but give place to God.

4. We must stop stealing and start working and giving to those in need.

5. We must stop corrupt speech and start speaking graciously.

6. We must stop grieving the Holy Spirit and start being sealed by the Spirit.

7. We must put away bitterness, wrath, anger, evil speaking, and malice.

8. We must start being kind, tenderhearted, and forgiving.

9. Christ is the standard of forgiveness.

10. God and Christ are the standard and model of behavior.

1. God condemns fornication.

2. God condemns other sexual impurity.

3. God condemns covetousness.

4. God condemns filthy, foolish, foul, and unfitting speech.

5. God condemns idolatry.

6. Those who behave in this way do not have a place in God’s kingdom.

7. If someone says otherwise about these things, he is a deceiver.

8. God’s wrath will fall upon the disobedient who practice these things.

9. Do not be partakers with those who do these things.

1. By bringing us out of darkness and into the light.

2. By giving us the fruit of the Spirit.

3. By telling us what is acceptable to the Lord.

4. By not having fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness.

5. By exposing the unfruitful works of darkness for what they are.

1) They are shameful.

2) They are exposed by the light.

6. By waking us up to the reality of God’s ways in truth.

7. By bringing us out of spiritual death and into spiritual life.

8. By pointing us to the true source of light, Christ.

1. The Bride is Blessed with God’s Moral Compass . . .

1) God’s Moral Compass is not Corrupted like the World’s.

2) God’s Moral Compass Corrects

3) God’s Moral Compass Condemns

4) God’s Moral Compass Clarifies

2. Invitation