Welcome to a firm foundation presented by Princeton ministries with Doctor Ken Smith. This is Carol Smith, Ken’s wife. Please enjoy.

Let us pray. Our God, we ask now that the words of my mouth, the meditations of our hearts, would be acceptable in your sight, for we ask it in Jesus’s name, amen. It’s an old story. It’s called the Princess and the Pea. And apparently, they knew in that old legend that the true princess could sleep on a mountain of mattresses. And if one single pea were placed on that bottom mattress, it would become such an irritant that at the end of the night, she would not sleep restful. And so the important question in the morning, as all of the attendants come to the one who says that she’s the princess, they ask her, how did you sleep? And all of those who were not, the princess said, I slept like a baby. It was a wonderful sleep. But then enters the true princess.

She says, my sleep. Why? There was a lump in my bed, and I couldn’t sleep all night. The princess had royal sensitivity to something that in the eyes of everyone else, was very small, unnoticed. But for her, it was a lump in the bed. We live in a world where there is not simply a pea under a mountain of mattresses. We are living in a day where a bag of peas has been placed in each of our beds. And yet there are many who are able to say, I sleep like a baby. I don’t even notice the bag of peas that I’m sleeping on. We have all around us every day a myriad of lumps, from dirty stories to cursing to television. It seems to flow into our homes. Endless sewerage we find in our world in which we live.

As we drive here and there, adult bookstores, we find all around us home videos that have within them what we would call pornography. Initially, 70% of the home video market was pornography. Today it is about 20%, simply because of the great production of other types of videos. We live in a world where we have taken for granted words like divorce and homosexuality and unfaithfulness. In one study, we find that 21% of our high school graduates remain pure sexually upon graduation, meaning 69% admit to impurity. If we are breathing the air, there is something foul. There is something that stinks. And yet, as Christians, we live with a world, in a bed filled with peas.

And as Paul in the book of Ephesians closes his verses of concern about immorality within the world, he says to Christians, awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light. Now, the apostle Paul in writing the letter to the Ephesians in chapter five, verse one tells us that we are to become imitators of God, that we are to follow him, that we are to know his example, that we are to be faithful. And then we read these jarring words in verse two, where he says, as we walk in love, as Christ also loved us and has given himself up for us, and offering a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling aroma. But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you as is fitting for saints.

The world of Paul was a world in which the temple of Artemis, the one of the seven wonders of the world, existed. And it was in that temple at Artemis, in Ephesus that Homer, in referring to Artemis, who was the goddess of fertility, Homer called her the lady of wild things. And it was the temple of Artemis that was in the city of Ephesus. And what happened in the temple of Artemis? Well, there was temple prostitution. There were tens of thousands of tourists who came to Ephesus to go to the temple to take part in that worship of Artemis. It was in the city of Ephesus, according to acts 19, that Paul’s preaching became so powerful that many in the city of Ephesus believed in Christ. And what was the consequence? Suddenly, the attendants at the temple of Artemis dropped off.

The silversmiths who stood on the steps of that temple, who made their money by selling small statues of Artemis, began to lose their commerce. And finally, they became so enraged that they called all of the craftsmen together to drive Paul out of the city of Ephesus. Now, we are told that we are to put away fornication. Now, the word fornication in the Greek comes from the root word porneo. Porneo, from which we derive the word pornography. Porne is translated a harlot, and graphene is to write. And so we find that the meaning of pornography is the writing of a harlot. And it was into this pornographic world that Jesus Christ was born. It was into that pornographic world that the apostle Paul ministered at Ephesus. And it is in this pornographic world that you and I, as Christians, are called to live.

You say, well, I’m not so sure that this is a pornographic world. Why, I don’t receive any of that literature. I don’t go to any of those movies. I don’t know what you’re talking about. Well, perhaps some facts. In the United States of America, pornography is now a $6 billion industry across the United States. There are over 18,000 adult bookstores. Did you know that in the United States of America. There is an association called the Adult Film association. And they have determined that they will only show in those motion picture theaters, x rated films. As of last count, the number of those theaters was over 800. There are now over twelve cable services that a person can have in their home that are purely pornography. And so that sewerage is flushed into the home.

We find that there are at least 80 pornographic magazines in distribution throughout the United States. We live in a world that is filled with the nuance or the outright pornographic material that surrounds us every day. Now, Paul in verse three says, but fornication, all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you as is fitting. The saints. We all know that the Bible teaches very clearly that adultery is a sin. Adultery is the sin of having sexual relations between married people who are not married to one another. We find, too, that in the scripture there is clear teaching against incest. That is, the relations between family members has been clearly outlawed. But for those who are single, the question is often raised, but what about between consenting adults? Surely that’s all right. The Bible has nothing to say about that, does it?

The word fornication is the word that is used in the scripture to talk about sexual relations between unmarried people. The scriptures teach that the sin of fornication not only should not be practiced among Christians, but it is the sin that should not even be spoken of among Christians. The scripture makes it very clear that no unrepentant fornicator will enter heaven. And that may sound hard upon our ears when we live in such an emancipated era, but Paul tells us in verse four, not only is fornication and uncleanness and covetousness, not even to be named among Christians, but he tells us, neither ought filthiness nor foolish talk nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, be accomplished by Christians. Now, we want to make sure that we don’t make the mistake of thinking that Paul is saying to us, we can’t laugh.

Paul is not saying that Christians ought to be so dull witted that they never smile. No, he’s not saying that. Malcolm Mug ridge, who was converted in England and was an agnostic for most of his life and then came to Christ. He was the editor of Punch magazine for many years. Mugridge said this, I certainly expect that on the day that I am ushered into the very gates of heaven, there in the midst of the great saints of faith, in the midst of the eternal glory of being able to praise God with hosannas. In the midst of all the singing and praise, there will be the unmistakable sound of laughter. And so the Christian church ought to be a place of laughter. But Paul tells us to be very cautious about the things to which we laugh.

He reminds us that we are not to laugh at filthiness or foolish talking or coarse jesting. What Paul is speaking about here is what is referred to as the double entente in French, in English, the double intent. You all have heard those jokes that make half the room laugh and the other half blush. That is the type of talking that Paul says ought not to occur from Christians. We should not be speaking in filthiness or coarsely, but rather be speaking in love and encouragement in the things of Christ. Harry Ironside, who was the pastor several years ago at Moody church in Chicago, tells about a dinner party that he was invited to. And at that party he went with one of his friends from the church.

And after the dinner and everyone had finished their dessert, the women left the room, and a man whom Ironside did not know said, well, fellas, the ladies are gone. Anybody hear this one? And just as he was about to tell a joke, the friend of Ironside said, my friend, just a moment. It’s true the women aren’t here, but there is one here who has more tender ears than even the most concerned woman, and that is the Holy Spirit of God. Will he want to hear your joke? The man felt the conviction, and he said, I guess not. And they went on to talk about other things. But Paul wants us to see that our conversation ought to be seasoned with words of encouragement, of love, as opposed to words that cause us to wince, words that are double intended or even more grossly filthy.

He says, those things ought not even to be mentioned among the assembly of Christ church. He tells us in verse five, 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. It’s interesting that in several places in the scripture, Paul joins together those who are fornicators with those who are unclean and those who are covetousness who are covetous. And he says that they are all idolaters. You ask, well, what then, the sin of pornography? Who then is being idolized? Why, it’s the idol of man himself, man who becomes the idolater and looks upon others for his own fascination. Verse six, he says, let no one deceive you with empty words.

For because of these things, the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience, those who would want to enjoy the fruits of the flesh. Christ makes it very clear that you will have no part of my kingdom. And the only remedy for those who enjoy the fruit of the flesh is to confess that sin and to ask for the forgiveness of Christ and to turn from that way of life to the way of life of Christ. The fruit of the spirit, he tells us in verse seven, do not be partakers with them. You mean to say that if I know that someone is a fornicator or unclean or covetous, that I am not to be a partaker with them? In other words, that I should not go with them to be involved in those activities? That is exactly what he is saying.

Flee from evil. Have nothing to do with the works of darkness. Shall we sin that grace may abound? Never, says Paul. Never can we say that I have developed a habit over years of watching and receiving pornographic material and say, but I am a Christian, and I can ask for God’s forgiveness every time that I look upon that material. Never. Alexander McLaren said, there is no real religion without virtue. If a godly man is not a good man, that man’s Christianity is vain. For there are fruits of darkness. And he reminds us of them in verses eight and nine. For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light. For the fruit of the spirit is in all goodness, righteousness and truth. So there is a tree which grows, which is a tree of unrighteousness.

That tree is rotten. Its branches do not hold green leaves. They are all withered. And at the end of those branches are to be found foul fruit, a fruit that is being eaten by mankind, a fruit that is filthy and vile. But he tells us that there is another tree, another fruit, and it is a living tree. And at the end of the branches are to be found beautiful green leaves, healthy and nourished. And at the end of that branch is to be found fruit. And what is the fruit that is born on that tree? He tells us it is the fruit of goodness and righteousness and truth. Paul tells us that even though we live in a world that is filled with one form or another of pornography, that there is a way for a Christian to live victorious, even in that world.

He tells us that there is a goal that we can have. It’s a noble goal. It is a goal that will produce the good fruit. That goal is found in verse ten. Try to learn, says Paul, what is pleasing to God? If I were to ask you, what is the purpose of your life? Where is it all headed? What in one sentence would be theme of your life? I think Paul gives us here a very good theme. He says, let this be the purpose of your life, to learn what is pleasing to God. Now, if we learn what is pleasing to God, that will have tremendous consequence on how we live our life.

James Audubon, who was perhaps the greatest ornithologist that we have ever seen, the studier of birds, and throughout his lifetime, his goal was to capture by painting the birds of America. Now, he says that while I was paddling a canoe, while I was shooting a raccoon, while I was felling a tree, while I was crossing a stream, I had one goal, that goal to put together the greatest book of American birds that has ever existed. Let me ask you, what is your one goal in life? Is it to learn what is pleasing to God and then to do it? If it is, that will have a profound effect on the way you live every day, hour, and minute of your life. Every decision then will be focused upon my purpose, which is to learn what is pleasing to God.

Well, how should we respond then to the darkness that’s all around us? Paul tells us in verse eleven that there are two things that we must do. First, he says, have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness. And so he gives us first, this guide have nothing to do with those things that are filthy. Secondly, he tells us in verse ten that we are to expose those things. Now, there are many ways in which we live our life where we unwittingly have fellowship with darkness. We don’t even notice it. We’re like the princess who didn’t even notice the pea. We unwittingly have fellowship with darkness when we do the same things that the world does, and we practice the same darkness as they. Also, if we counsel other people to sin, although we ourselves have not sinned.

Or if we consent to others sin and never speak about it, or if we assist others to sin, or if we applaud and laugh at others who sin in darkness, or if we do not try to prevent those who are in darkness, all of those are unwitting ways in which Christians have joined in to support works of darkness. We say to ourselves, why, I personally have nothing to do with those things. But what you want to do, that’s fine. And so all around us, a world of darkness is growing, where Christians are feeling more and more removed as though we are foreigners in a strange land. There was a drummer boy who worked as the drummer leading the armies of England. And he was captured by a group of rebels.

They took the drummer boy and they said, what we’d like you to do is be our drummer boy. With that, the young boy, he leaped into his drum that was lying on the ground. He broke the skin. And he said to those men, God forbid that the kings drum should be sounded for rebels. As Christians, God forbid that we, as the vessels of the living God, should be used to promote or encourage or assist in the works of darkness. Rather, we are told to. Did you realize that in Hebrews eleven seven, we learned that Noah, by his righteous life, just as people saw him and watch the way he lived, we read that Noah condemned the world. One man, one example of the power of God exposing darkness. We expose darkness by our words. If we are silent, we do not expose darkness.

But if we speak and say the words of Christ, it is exposed. We also expose the works of darkness by our example. Someone was telling me recently about being in a movie theater, and a mother was there with her children, and she came to see a g rated film. And as she was sitting in theater, suddenly they began to show the coming attractions. And the coming attractions were not g rated. They were r rated. And this mother sat for a few seconds, and then she understood what was happening. And she stood up in the movie theater and she says, I don’t have to watch this stuff. I came into this movie theater to see a g rated film. Why do I have to be exposed to this? And she took her daughter and walked out. We are told to expose that which is dark.

Now, let me ask, would you think it too far if it was suggested that the works of darkness have so taken over our minds that we’re not even aware of how dark the world is around us? If I was to suggest to you, I think it’s immoral for actors and actresses on television even to act in an immoral way, what if I were to take it even one step further and say, I think it’s immoral. If within a television situation comedy, a man who is not married to the woman who he is in the acting to be married to, if she is depicted as being pregnant, would you say, well, I think you’re carrying it a little too far? Certainly they can do that.

In an interview with Danny Thomas recently, he told what the standard of American television was in the 1950s and sixties. He says, this was the standard. It was against the standards of television to depict a husband and wife who were both actors and actresses, as being pregnant. It was not lawful, according to their standards of conduct, for that to occur. And so for the first 15 or 20 years on television, that was never seen. Do you know the first time that was changed with Lucy and Desi Arnaz when she gave birth to their little son? And that was acceptable to the standards of American tv. Why? Because they were married to each other, and they were not pretending to be a family, but they were a family, and that could be represented on television. Have we come very far since those days?

What now is being shown on television? What are actors and actresses pretending to do and to be? And we say, why, that’s okay. I would remind you it was only 15 years ago, 20 years ago, that it was not acceptable to those who produced the television programs of our country. Have we slipped you be the answer. Finally, we are told in verse 13, but all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. I heard recently about a pastor who was on a train, and the train was going into New York City, and he was in a suit, looked like a businessman. And seated by him were a group of men who began to talk about where they were headed in New York City. They said, we’re going to the red light district.

And they started to talk about it, and the man sat silently. And then finally, one of the men turned to their quiet partner in the compartment and said, hey, what are you doing? Would you like to come with us? And the minister responded by saying, I’m a man who fears God. No, I don’t want to go. Do you know, in that compartment, there was silence until finally the men moved away. The apostle Paul wants us to look at where we are in a world that can be characterized as a world filled with one form of pornography or another. And as Christians, that we would have eyes to look upon the world in which we live.

And just as Jesus had a word to say, and the light of his word shone in those dark places, and as Paul’s words shot out in light in those dark crevices, you and I, as Christians, are called upon to be the light of the world, to cast the light of Christ in all of those places where there’s darkness. Can you feel the peas in your bed? And Paul says, awake, o sleeper. Feel those lumps and have a royal sensitivity to those things that surround us. May it be for Christ’s sake. Amen.

Thank you for listening to affirm foundation presented by Princeton ministries. This programming is supported by you, the listener. You may go to our website, princetonministries.org, or send your donation to Princeton ministries Post Office box 2171, Princeton, New Jersey 08543. That’s Princeton Ministries Post Office box 2171, Princeton, New Jersey 08543. The Lord bless you and Doctor Smith looks forward to hearing from you.