"For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them"- Ephesians 5:11
In Genesis 3, Satan deceives Eve into doubting the truth she believed about not eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. In the moment she takes a bite of that seemingly sweet, delicious apple, they no longer live in the light. Darkness clouds every action they make in the future. Now, after rejecting their ability to be fully exposed before God, they cover themselves, they hide and they live in secret. Secrets are the antithesis to the relationship God wants us to live with Him. God wants us to live in the light, having no secrets with God and others. When something is in the dark it is hidden, difficult for others to discover. When we shed light on our actions, especially the sinful ones, we reestablish our connection with God. God knows everything we have done, are doing and will ever do. Why be fake with Him? To have an intimate connection with God, according to this verse, we need to not only expose our deeds before God but also others' deeds. This is where judgment comes in. In today's society, however, judgment is frowned upon because people have misinterpreted what it actually means. Judgment is stating that something is right or wrong. This type of judgment is important. This is the same of what a judge does-- assesses whether an action is right or wrong against the law. We should judge against another law-- the bible. Condemnation, however, is different. Condemnation is to state someone is a horrible, awful person and their actions can never be redeemed. That is what Satan does-- points an accusatory finger at the believer in disdain, deceiving them into believing what they cannot move beyond what they have done. Condemnation is and will always be covered under the blood of Christ. Judgment exposes actions. Condemnation destroys the actor. In order to grow into maturity, we must not only judge the fruitless deeds of people, but also expose them. What fruitless deeds do you need to expose to God?
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