In Paul’s day, people didn ’t just walk for exercise. “Walk” pictures our way of life, worked out in a daily, step-by-step process. This is Paul’s final use of the word “walk” in Ephesians (cf. To walk carefully, you must think carefully about how you will spend your life in this evil day. Paul writes (5:15-16, literal translation), “Therefore, look carefully how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, redeeming the time because the days are evil.” Note three things:Ī. To walk carefully in this evil day, you must use your time wisely (5:15-16). To walk carefully in this evil day, you must use your time wisely, understand the will of the Lord, and be filled with the Holy Spirit.ġ. If there is any repetition, hopefully it will serve to cement these vital truths in your thinking. Then in five subsequent messages, I plan to go back through them in more detail. Today I am giving an overview of these verses, which open a section that runs through 6:9. Paul gives us three essentials if we want to walk carefully in this evil day, to avoid spiritual disaster. They are flirting with serious danger, and yet they aren’t paying attention.
The days are evil!Īnd yet, many Christians just saunter through the minefield with no awareness of the grave danger that they face. We must choose our steps carefully, because the enemy has strewn the path with dangerous obstacles that will cause us serious harm if we are careless. Paul is saying that we must walk that way as believers. Or, if you’re a soldier on patrol in a minefield, you must know where the mines are placed and be careful to avoid them. You can’t say, “Is that a 10 or 100? Oh, well, it doesn’t matter. If you’re keeping the books for an organization or just balancing your checkbook, it is vital to be exact. Therefore, because of these dangerous waters through which we are navigating, Paul now says, “Look carefully how you walk!” Look carefully means to consider with exactness and precision. Rather are to expose the unfruitful deeds of darkness as sin and dispel the darkness by leading sinners to Christ.
We are not to cover our light and blend in with the darkness. Yet we are walking in a world that is morally and spiritually dark. “Therefore” points back to the preceding context, where we saw that as Christians, we are now children of light (5:8). That is Paul’s subject in our text: walking carefully as children of light in an evil day. You must have a means of direction, a source of power, and pay close attention to the chart. To navigate safely through, you must be very careful. There are dangerous rocks and reefs that can cause you to shipwreck your faith. The enemy has planted traps and mines to wipe you out. Without these, disaster is almost certain.
You would also need an accurate navigational chart and a means of determining your own location, so that you know exactly where the obstacles are and can avoid them. These two necessities become even more essential if you are navigating through dangerous seas. You may drift into rocks or hidden reefs. Or, if you can steer, but you have no power, again you’re in big trouble. You’re at the mercy of the wind and the currents. If you are cruising off the coast and lose your ability to steer, all the power in the world won’t do you any good. If you’ve ever done any boating, you know that it is essential to have a means of steering and a source of power.
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