One of the dangers you and I must be aware of is the danger of assessing our church the way some evangelicals in Texas assess their church. Often people among whom you live and work will say that they are Christians, but they misunderstand and do not value church membership. or the preaching of the Word of Christ. This is a very different type of problem than the type of problems that believers and church members in Ephesus 2,000 years ago faced. Their problem was more obvious, often vocal, sometimes violent opposition to their faith and to their church. Although sometimes vocal, we face a more subtle opposition to our faith, to our church, to the concept of church by those who claim to believe similar doctrines. The danger is that you might adopt their perspective and attitude, that you You yourself, under the influence of the culture in which you live, would fail to understand the place of church membership, the place that Christ's apostles gave to it, the place of preaching the word of Christ. Paul gave much instruction about these things, and we are looking at the instruction that he gave to the Ephesian church long ago. Now, be those problems as they may. We do face a problem that is all but identical to the one that they faced, and that is the problem of immorality among church members. Every church, every church member, every believer in Christ must adopt and submit to Christ's revelation of morality, what we call biblical morality. Not only do you live in a society that practices immorality and opposes Christ's commandments, but also you live in an evangelical culture that too often does not hold to Christ's ethical standard, either failing to preach it or failing to enforce it by the discipline he's ordained for his churches. Now, Paul, gave these instructions that we are looking at today that we've already read in the context of church membership so that not only would the believers in Ephesus think of the necessity of holiness on the personal level, but also holiness on the corporate and fellowship level. Our Savior, this is why the apostle wrote as he did, Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ would have us to be as concerned about both personal and corporate holiness because personal holiness is not an individual issue. It's not a private issue. It directly affects the well-being and the purpose of the local church where one is a member. Now, as we look at the passage that we are going to consider today, here in Ephesians 5, verses 1 through 7. I'm not going to cover completely. Love for Christ and love for what he loves, his people, moves every member of one of his churches to repent and keep repenting of his immorality and labor to glorify God in every aspect of his life. The question that we are faced with as we look into this passage today is this type of question. Am I willing to lose my life for his sake, for Christ's sake, for his church's sake, for his glory's sake? And the thing that moves the believer to answer yes to that question and to respond to that question with A labor in life is that Christ has loved us and given himself for us and shown his love in that way. Let's pray. Our Father in heaven, we bow before you this morning to in some way attempt to find the words to thank you that you have shown mercy to us, that you have loved sinners such as we are. You've been gracious to us. We are holy and completely, entirely undeserving of any attention from you, of any kindness from you. We come as those who rejoice that you have not dealt with us according to our iniquities. That you have not left us in the power and slavery of the evil one. But you have, in fact, transferred us from his kingdom to the kingdom of your beloved and dear son. You have favored us with the ministry of your spirit. And we know that all these benefits have come to us. Because you foreordained that Christ would come into this world and would give his life voluntarily. Vicariously. For sinful people. that those sinful people might live to your praise and to your glory. We come today, Father, asking that you might help us to better understand, increasingly understand how gracious you have been to us, how kind and generous you have been in your dealings with us, that we might be possessed with thankfulness. And in that thankfulness, We would find motive and reason to live for your glory as you've instructed us in your word. Father, we pray that as you have been at work in us through Christ. His word would be precious to us. His word would be like the words of life to us, more precious than gold and more precious than our necessary food. that his words would have such effective power, they would drown out all that which is crying around us day in and day out to ignore his words. Father, we thank you for the faithful text before us. We thank you for the faithfulness of the Apostle. We thank you for the Spirit. We thank you for Christ's work. I ask you to continue it in our midst today. In his name we pray. Amen. Paul continued here in chapter five to lay out his imperatives for church members by contrasting the new life Christ ordained for the members of the Ephesian church, contrasting that new life with their former way of living. Follow again with me, beginning in chapter 5 and verse 1. Therefore, be imitators of God as dear children and walk in love as Christ also has loved us and given himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for his sweet-smelling aroma. But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you as is fitting for saints. neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things The wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore, do not be partakers with him." I want you, first of all, to give some consideration to the concerns that the apostle had as he approached his subject. What was he thinking as he wrote this section of the letter? Now, this is a brief letter. So I don't think it's a stretch at all here to see that his concerns, the things that he's expressed so far, come to bear as he began to list out these particular sins. So let's remember a little of this. He wasn't charging them to pursue holiness because he doubted God's sovereignty to rule their lives. He firmly held to those things about which he wrote earlier in the letter. God sovereignly ordained their salvation. God sovereignly predestined everything to accomplish his purpose. I think we should never get far away from what was said in chapter one in verse eleven. I think this is of great comfort to every believer. In him also we have obtained an inheritance being predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will. Paul was not doubting those things. However, Paul wanted the church there to know. He wanted them to be aware, to understand. To use their knowledge of God. To move them to obey God rather than to use that to twist their lives into some excuse for lawlessness. He was giving shape to this new religion. New in Ephesus. In many ways, new in Gentile history. This religion has a particular look to it. And he was tying, as he spoke to them, he tied his comments to God's previous revelation. I'll show you some more of that as we go along today. So Paul is bringing to bear, bringing all his concerns with him as he goes into these statements. We must remember this context. Also, he has God's purpose for Christ's churches in mind and how their behavior will detract from or work to promote the glory of God. He was concerned about each church member's own responsibility and its impact on the church as a whole. How they thought of their religion and their faith in Christ of Christianity and the purpose for Christianity should have direct bearing on how they would behave and live their lives. So he's concerned about these things. The morality of the church members there at Ephesus would directly affect each other. would directly affect their purpose for being a church. They must be the one new man. They must be the one body, as he spoke of earlier in chapter two, living together for the glory of the God of grace. Now, in addition to these, he had begun to deal with Christian morality already in this book. He dealt with what we might call the first table of the law issues beginning in chapter one, all the way through the mid part of chapter four. He explained to them that they were elected and predestined to salvation. Why? To worship God. To worship God as he has revealed himself. They were a community of worshippers of the one true God and of his son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Why had they been predestined to adoption? To the praise of the glory of his grace. Why had they been predestined to faith in Christ, as he said in chapter one and verse twelve, to the praise of his glory? Why were they sealed by the spirit under the day of redemption for the praise of his glory? Why had the middle wall, a partition been broken down? They might, as one new man, freely come into the presence of God. He explained to them that in believing in Christ, they had become part of God's household, this one new man. In believing Christ's Word, they were a new temple or a dwelling place of God. They were where God, was worshipped. Notice what he says in chapter two and verse 10, for we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. At least part of this concept of good works is what he says later in that same chapter, in whom the whole building being fitted together grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the spirit. The new covenant. Does not mean. Everything. That had been given previously was gone. In God's progressive revelation. We were seeing then that God, as he had ordained and prophesied, was going to bring Many of all the Gentile nations with the Jews together, this new man, this new Israel of God. To be worshipers of God, surely this is inherent in the ultimate purpose for which he made all of them into Christ's church, as he said in chapter three, to recall this in verse 10 in verse 10, to the intent that now the medical wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Paul. Is concerned. About how they thought of God, the sovereignty of God and their responsibility before him, how they thought about the purpose of the church and how their behavior would impact that purpose, he'd begun to deal with Christian morality in what we would call these first table of the law issues. Now, in chapter four, as we get to the middle of the chapter, he transitioned his instruction from the first table issues, what we call the first four commandments, to the rest of the law, to the second table issues of the law. Since God had made them right with himself and in that right with all other men who made up this body of Christ, their treatment of both God. And one another. Was changed. They were to think of themselves, I am one body, doesn't matter what nationality you are. We are together. Believers in Christ and his church, for them it was there in Ephesus, for us it's here in Mansfield. It doesn't matter the nationality. Our behavior with one another has been changed by the resurrection power. They can work through each of the commandments as they listen to the apostolic instruction. When you pick it up in chapter four and verse 25, therefore, putting away lying, you see it, don't you? Do not. Let yourself be involved in uncontrolled anger, be angry and do not sin. These are sixth commandment, eighth commandment, ninth commandment, 10th commandment issues. In that instruction from the apostle, they would learn how to live a lawful Christ directed life first in their interactions with one another and then out from there with the unbelieving and idolatrous among whom they lived. They were no longer to live like those people, no longer to live like they had before. Something new has come, this new man. Now, these are Paul's concerns as we get to chapter five. He's going to instruct them further, but these concerns are involved. We see very abstract things in some way, the sovereignty of God. Highly spiritual things. That apply to how they would treat one another in the church, how they'd speak with one another. Very practical treatment of their relationships is now going to... He started that in chapter 40. He's going to continue this and carry it on out. In this, they saw how the things they accepted by faith made earthly obedience crucial. We pick it up in chapter 1, in chapter 5, verse 1. Therefore, be imitators of God as dear children. They're thinking of God, as Paul has instructed them. They're thinking of the purpose of the church. They're thinking of morality, the imitators of God. Now, as Paul began to work through this thing of accomplishing these ends, these concerns that I've just spoken of in the last few minutes, he continued with the theme that he had previously introduced. And that theme is how one walks in the world. And you see this as he picks this up in several places. He called the members of the Ephesian church previously, we notice this, to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called. Chapter four, verse one. In verse 17, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk. He wants him to think. And in more practical terms, and so these are transitional statements and statements that help us think in a particular way. In this next section of the letter, he once instructed them, as we've just read in chapter five, and walk in love. In verse eight, in chapter five, he's going to say walk as children of light. In verse 15, walk circumspectly. Each is a facet of the overall imperative of being imitators of God. Each with its own nuance, but each an essential part of the whole. With Isaiah. There had been this similar cry of heart and mind that we often have in prayer. I am a man of unclean lips. I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips. I am undone. Now, that's something every believer understands. But because of that, that profound repentance of mind and heart and soul, they desire to hear and to learn and to follow God's call, be holy as I am holy. So when he says to them, be imitators of God as dear children, they're with him. That's fleshed out with these concepts of Walk in a way that's worthy of the calling with which you were called. Walk no longer as the Gentiles walk. Walk in love. Walk as children of light. Walk circumspectly. Paul did not teach them that they were gods, that they were to live a life imitating the true God. And how they lived, the lifestyle that they adopted, So each of these, these walk in love, walk circumspectly, walk as children of the light, walk worthy. Each is an essential aspect of putting on the new man created according to God in true righteousness and holiness. Each is concerned with these things of putting off the old man and putting on the new man. Paul was concerned that they remember why God reconciled and resurrected and reconciled them. That we should be holy and blameless before him, as he said in chapter one. In other words, that the image of God would be restored in Christ's redeemed one, so he says, therefore, the imitators of God. Now, if one has come to Christ, one is ready to listen to this, one is ready to embrace this instruction. This is welcome. One is not. These words mean nothing. If one is not brought to Christ, has not come to Christ, has not been made new in Christ, resurrected and raised and reconciled, he's going to argue with it. So Paul, with these great concerns that he have, with the explanation he's already given about why their behavior must be holy, began to speak to them as we've read here in Chapter 5. Now, I want you to notice something. I mentioned this last week. Paul's exhortations to personal and corporate holiness are always undergirded with biblical motivations. Therefore, be imitators of God as dear children and walk in love as Christ also has loved us and given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling aroma. Again, first among the motives for holy living that he gave these believers was the motivation supplied by God's generous love for his elect. That's always the case. That's always the situation. Did you notice it in our unison reading? If you look at the unison reading, how does he start in verse 13? First, and this is the Apostle Peter. Therefore, gird up the loins of your mind and be sober and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. What's he bringing to bear there? He'll go on later. Peter will go on later and before he finishes that section, mention again the work of Christ on the cross. As we have here in Ephesians five. A statement, a profound beauty. What does he say? And walk and in love, as Christ also loved us and has given himself for us. Christ's love was not just given in words, but demonstrated. It was proved in that he gave himself for us. You can see this almost identical phrase said very personally by Paul in Galatians 2 20. The life I live now in the flesh. I live by faith in the son of God. loved me and gave himself for me. He anchors and roots everything he's going to say about the pursuit of holiness in Christ, in his work and in his crucifixion. He designed, Christ designed his work to be a work of offering and sacrifice Now, I think this is one of those texts, and I'm not going to spend a lot of time developing it, that indicates that the Gentile converts in the early church understood the Old Testament. They read the Old Testament. He doesn't have to give a long explanation about Levitical rituals and ceremony rituals in the Old Testament, does he? He just simply refers to it. As Christ also has loved and given himself an offering and a sacrifice to God for sweet smelling aroma. It brings the whole picture into bear. Of the Israelite bringing the lamb to the temple. Under the instructions of the priest laying his hand on the head of the lamb. The priest bringing the knife and slitting the throat of the lamb. The blood being spilled and caught in the dish. And then the lamb being dismembered and put upon the altar and burned and the smoke and the fire goes to heaven. Now, it's not a pretty picture. But they understood this was a sweet smelling aroma to God. as Christ gave himself as the Lamb of God to be sacrificed for all those, so to speak, who put their hand on his head for the guilt of all his people. And there on the cross, the sacrifice was offered up. And the Father in heaven received that sacrifice as a sweet-smelling aroma. What does that mean? It means He accepted that work. It means He accepted what Christ had accomplished. And therefore, He accepted the people in whose behalf the sacrifice was made. Now, I cannot overemphasize this. Keep all your pursuits of holiness and biblical morality and obedience to the word squarely resting on this truth, on these doctrines of the work of Christ in your behalf. That's why he brought this out over and over and over again. Paul assured them that the Father accepted Christ's work. Christ particularly purposed to fulfill the Father's just demands. He meant for His work to be an acceptable work. He and the Father had covenanted to that end together. One to do the work and the other to accept the work. As he says elsewhere, Christ was made to be sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. Now, in the midst of instructions on holiness, in the midst of laying out obligation, in the midst of laying out lists here of behavior. Paul would have them think again that the father had accepted the son's work on their behalf. And so he had accepted everyone on his behalf. That work was done. Proving that nothing remains to be done either by Christ or by those he redeemed, nothing remains to be done to satisfy divine justice, to fulfill divine predestination. Now, this is good news for centers. Never, never forget this. I have to ask you, are you awakened to this? The fact that there is one who has been sent by the father. One who willingly came. One who took the father's wrath upon himself on the cross and behalf of sinful people. One who was not a sinner became sin. But those who are sinners. might become righteousness before God. Are you awakened to that? Does that mean anything to you? And if it does not, I plead with you. Understand there is no other sacrifice for sin. And if you refuse Christ and if you refuse that work which He has done, whether He spoke of here to these people long ago, if you refuse that work, Something does remain upon you. Guilt remains upon you. And God will hold you account. For your life. And God will deal with you according to your iniquities and sins. And the wrath of God will be poured upon you. He's going to mention it later in this in this text, in verse six. But no one deceive you with empty words for because of these things, the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. That phrase sons of disobedience is a phrase that's a biblical phrase about the unbelieving of the unbelieving, describing those who are outside of Christ. The wrath of God. Is upon those. To refuse Christ. Now, this is why Christians love to hear the gospel. It's why Christians as a pastor speaks about the gospel and about Christ and Christ's work are praying, Father, cause them to hear, cause them to understand, cause them to hear and come to Christ. Because they have heard and come to Christ. I encourage you, brothers and sisters, listen to these words as Paul spoke to these people, as Paul wrote to these people, excuse me, He chose his words carefully, intending to provide them the right motive, the right context for obedience. The right to silence every objection, to secure their full agreement, their full cooperation and their full discipline to follow these commandments. Why? Because of Christ, because Christ gave himself, because Christ loved them. Now, Paul came to this text. He's going to list out various sins here. He comes with great concern about the purpose of the church. He comes with great concern that they see the importance of very practical things about how they deal with one another and live their lives. He's coming, laying out before them biblical morality. He wants them to enter into a particular way of walking, a particular way of living their lives. He calls it walking in love, walking in light, walking circumspectly. Walking worthy. And he wants them to come to these particular laid out commandments. With the right motive. With the right understanding. It would be enough if he laid upon them their responsibility as creatures. But with believers, he especially calls them to be imitators of God because they are now, because of the work of Christ, dear children. Part of the family. So Paul then continued to instruct them. in biblical morality. Covering next some of the more obvious immoral behaviors practiced in the city of Ephesus. Behaviors practiced formally by the members of this church. And we get into this, these few verses here. Paul in particular deals with seventh commandment issues. You shall not commit adultery. That's his focus here. Now, he had just said to them, walk in love. In the modern mind, love and commandment are enemies. They were not enemies for Paul. And as he spoke to them, he did not want them to be enemies in the thinking vision church members. Jesus, just excuse me, just as Christ demonstrated his love and gave himself for them. That love motivated and obligated them to love Christ and give themselves for him. Body and soul. The sins that Paul listed here were their former conduct, the old man they must put off. And I say to you that this is a crucial step if they were to aggressively love Christ and aggressively love Christ's people. It's not all positive. This is why later on in chapter six, he's going to say we are in a war. We are in combat every day. Well, this is this is part of it, folks. That we are to love. And walking in love has a particular substance to it. We saw some of it last week, put away lying, be angry and do not sin. Let him who stole steal no longer. Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. And now today, walking in love means fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness. Let it not even be named among you as is fitting for saints." Obligation and love. And for the believer, we understand that. He gave himself for us. We are ready to give ourselves for him. And that means, but fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you as is fitting for saints. Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. You see, there were things that typified and marked them before that no longer must be the case. As those who love God. As those who, because of that love of God, love his people. They were to have no tolerance for lawlessness privately or corporately. You see, most of these things he's referring here take at least two, don't they? Do not let it be named among you. Who's the among you? It's the church. It's church members. It's those who have come to Christ. It's those who believe in His sovereignty. It's those who see the purpose of the church. It's those who love biblical morality. Now, what's he talking about here? Well, I'm just going to kind of introduce these today. We'll come back and look at some of this later. Fornication. Fornication is generally, but not exclusively, any heterosexual sex outside of marriage. Now, don't you dare. believe the lie of the evil one that God is anti-sex. God made us sexual. God says later on, the apostle in Hebrews said, and marriage is honorable in all, in the bed, undefiled. But whoremongers and adulterers God will judge. So he says, don't let fornication even be named among you. Uncleanness, this is a more all-encompassing term, referring to sexual impurity of all kinds, including all variants that were practiced in the pagan religious rituals. They involved themselves in all kinds of uncleanness prior to hearing the gospel. Covetousness, now in this context, Covetousness here is a more comprehensive concept for all of us. It's not focused so much on material greed. We certainly know that that's prohibited. What he's talking about here is that greed for control and possession of others and aggressive self-indulgence that takes advantage of others and uses them for one's own purposes. That was typical. Filthiness, it's another comprehensive concept, primarily sexual indecencies, things that made one ashamed. We're very thankful, aren't we? That even though Roman culture was not Christian culture, There were some aspects of the law of God written on the heart of man that were still used and codified and respected. But that was being broken down and destroyed and had for long. Here comes Christianity, the preaching of the gospel. He wasn't concerned to change that society. What he preached and taught did change. that took centuries. But here he says filthiness. Don't even let it be named among you. These are immoral practices. They're inconsistent with being Christ's redeemed ones. Idolatry. Anything in which we worship the gift instead of the giver of the gift. In particular, making sex a precious gift of God. That which we worship rather than the Creator. Foolish talking. This is conversation that plans and approves of the sins he's spoken of here. It's foolishness. It's similar to what he said earlier in chapter four. It comes out of the futility, the uselessness of the thinking of an unbeliever. Maybe very intellectual and very intelligent. But it's foolishness. It brings the wrath of God. It ought not be in the lives of those who claim to be a follower of Christ. Coarse jesting. Making light of that which is a breaking of God's law. Joining in with the unbelieving who joke about immoral practices with no real rebuke of those practices. Your life. And your words ought to rebuke everything that's against the law of Christ. They ought to know that of you. That ought to be typical of us together. Foolish talking, coarse jesting, these reveal a soul in rebellion. Often preceding the immoral practices, but then accompanying them. None of these are suitable behaviors, rather giving of things. That's the right garment for holy ones to wear. Now, with these imperatives, Paul brought to the fore the implication of trust in God, contentment in his providence, in his revelation. They were to be content in their creaturehood. They were to be content in their gender. They were to be content in their status. Married or single, they were to be content with their spouse. Obeying him. Regarding all of these things. Thankful. That God is so worked in their lives. And if that would be the outward expression of their trust in Christ who loved us and gave himself for us. That's the idea. Now, there's much more that can be said. I just need to make a few applications to here to finish, though, and then we'll come back to some of this. First of all, Christians have the best reason. A compelling reason for living by God's law. Grace makes us want to live by the law of our creator. Grace wants us to make, makes us want to live by the law of our Savior. Keep grace in its proper place, build your understanding of grace and of the work of Christ and the Father's acceptance of that work. So you will find fresh motive for obedience and you need that every day. Every day, think upon Christ. Every day, think upon what he has done. Every day, think about the Father accepting and loving what Christ has done on your behalf. Every day, think to yourself, there's nothing I need to add to the work of Christ. There's nothing I can add. It'd be a blasphemy to attempt. But that work moves me in obedience. Christians are not moved to live a moral life in order to earn or keep God's favor. We are His dear children. Our motive is one of love. God's love in Christ for us moves us to live our lives for His glory. doing those things that please Him. And everything around you is at war with this. For a few moments each week, we have this haven, this refuge, where Christ's Word is loved and sung and prayed and read and preached. And we find our souls nourished and strengthened May God give us grace as we go from here to remember these things. Because as soon as you leave this day and this hour, what happens? You're assailed once again. You're tempted once again. Grace. Let me encourage you. Grace with obedience produces joy. Immoral acts are grievous to his people because they mark his elect as if they are not his people, as if they are outside his grace, as if they are not of his kingdom, as if they are not imitators of God, but of the evil one. No wonder we're grieved in the wrestling with sin week in and week out. No wonder we're grieved when we in any way give in to this. It is good that it is so. Let me hasten on with a few more things. Christians live by the revealed will of God. I want to get that in your thinking. You've heard it preached over and over. I'll preach it again. Your other pastors will preach it again. Christians live by the revealed will of God, just like Christ did. His precepts are our fixed standards of morality because they are fixed standards of morality. We love them. Now, it's true, our society was heavily influenced by Christian theology and Christian practice and that influence. We ought to be very thankful for this, at least in a small way, continues. Even when people wrestle They wrestle in a Christian context often because we're Western culture. I understand that breaks down. I'm not going to press it over much. But that's there. But realize that our society, to a great extent, has rejected biblical morality. Moral relativism is promoted by our entertainment and news media, educational system and our government. It's like there's a single voice of lawlessness. And it comes into us every day in a myriad of ways. The ascendance of false beliefs and the almost universal assumption that there is no objective definition of sin, there is no devil, there is no judgment in hell, all men are saints. These assumptions have made a fatal cocktail which our society has imbibed to the point of a drunken moral stupor. That's what we live in the middle of. In this, we are hearing of and being told to accept immorality of the worst sort. Immoral words advocating immoral behavior. It's a slippery slope leading to gross immorality and slavery. That's where we live. Now, let's don't sugarcoat it. Unless God intervenes, men will choose the bondage of simple indulgence over liberty every time. In light of this, you and I must remain even more alert to the dangers of foolish talking and coarse jesting and the immorality he listed here, being ever vigilant to be holy in our behavior toward and with one another. Right here in this community, in this fellowship, in this context. And then we can work on, as we do that, being the same with those who are outside Christ. Now, you know this. I've got to mention it real quickly in closing. If you refuse his holy standards, do not profess to have the benefits of his electing love and grace. I'll leave that for you to think about. He calls his churches and church members to constant repentance, to be saints, holy ones of God, distinctively Christian in this age. Why would I repeat these things to you? Read the text. Chapter five, verse two. and walk in love as Christ also has loved us and given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling.