Lent 3 – Oculi March 12, 2023
Ephesians 5:1-9
Stinking Up to High Heaven
v.2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Dear friends in Christ, one of our previous pets was a cat named Hermione (yes, after the Harry Potter character). She was a black cat. She was tiny and cute, though not too cuddly. She loved to be outdoors. We used to have a long clothes line running the length of the back yard, and we would often attach Hermione to the clothes line in her harness so that she could wander more freely. However, one summer evening, Hermione accidentally got left outside. Normally, this probably wouldn't have been too big an issue, but on this particular night we had a local skunk wander through our yard. Hermione, being black, was well camouflaged at night, but she must have startled the skunk because in the morning when we discovered her—she reeked—she stunk to high heaven!—Pee ew! That skunk smell is NASTY!!!
Today, in our epistle reading from St. Paul's letter to the Ephesians, he continues his discourse on how Christians are supposed to be living their lives as sanctified and holy people—living new lives formed and shaped by faith in Jesus. He begins chapter 5:1-2 by saying, "Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God."
That is, since we are God's beloved children—the recipients of His undeserved kindness and favour—we ought to walk in that same kind of self-sacrificial love (appropriate for this season of Lent), remembering how Christ gave Himself fully as the required sacrifice to God for our sin—a sin offering—that was a pleasing aroma unto the Lord. Jesus' life was one of perfect love toward God and mankind. He fulfilled the Ten Commandments by always loving God and neighbor rightly—in the way God directs us to love in His Word. Furthermore, His atoning death on the cross whereby He suffered the wrath of God in our place, was received by the Father as the most perfect and pleasing sacrifice. Indeed, the Sacrifice of all sacrifices—the One Sacrifice that all other sacrifices pointed towards. Indeed, as the author of Hebrews notes (7:27), "[Jesus] has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for His own sins and then for those of the people, since He did this once for all when He offered up Himself."
Jesus, by offering Himself to God as the blood sacrifice for our sin, has taken away the guilt of our sin, washing us clean and making us holy in the sight of God, as Paul will make clear at the end of Ephesians 5. In light of this work of Christ then, it naturally follows that those who have been redeemed by Jesus—covered with the pleasing aroma of His sacrifice—will now live in love as Christ lives in love. Paul specifically goes on to mention is v.3-4 that the Christian is to not engage in sexual immorality or impurity (sex only in the confines of holy marriage between one man and one woman), nor covetousness (desiring those temporal gifts and blessings that the Lord has not granted you), nor disgusting or foolish talk or joking (crude jokes, uncouth speech of any kind that disparages other people or any of God's gifts); instead, our lips and mouths ought only to be used in praise and thanksgiving toward God.
Why is this so important, beloved? Is it because we set a bad example by our poor behaviour? Is it because it is unkind to act and speak in these ways? Yes, but there is even more to it than that. Paul says in v.5, "For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God." So, this is an eternal salvation issue. For those who do not walk in love as Christ walked in love, sacrificing of themselves for their neighbor, and living in accordance with ALL of God's Word, will not receive the Kingdom of God—will not be inheritors of heaven.
Whoa. This is a hard word for us to hear. We don't like to hear such things, especially when we know we are guilty of breaking these commandments of God. But, dear friends, this is what Lent is all about. Repentance over our sin and an emphasis on proper living—loving as God would have us love. For, by failing to walk as children of light, we fall into darkness. The darkness of sin that leads ultimately to eternal death in hell. While walking this earth, nonetheless, by forsaking God's Word we may become as those who are dead. No longer smelling clean and pure and holy before God, but sending up a stench that stinks to high heaven.
Indeed, as the writer of Ecclesiastes states so wisely (10:1), "Dead flies make the perfumer's ointment give off a stench; so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honour." Those who give themselves over to sin and licentious behavior end up stinking before the Lord—giving off a stench of death. As the King James version puts it so descriptively regarding the conversation between Martha and Jesus just before Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead (John 11:39), "Jesus said, 'Take ye away the stone.' Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto Him, 'Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days.'" He stinketh. How fitting. Our sin stinketh. WE stinketh up to high heaven.
And so we must repent. We must turn away from our sin and look to Christ who offered Himself as a sacrifice of pleasing aroma unto the Father. A sacrifice so pleasing that it not only covers over our sin, but cleanses us from all sin, making us a pleasing aroma unto the Lord, through the blood sacrifice of Jesus. Indeed, in speaking of the coming Messiah, Jesus, the prophet Ezekiel (20:41), declares from the Lord, "As a pleasing aroma I will accept you, when I bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you have been scattered. And I will manifest my holiness among you in the sight of the nations."
So, God promised to gather His people together, and make them a pleasing aroma acceptable to Him. This He has done by manifesting His holiness in the person and work of His Son, Jesus, who is the one perfect sacrifice for the sins of the whole world! Indeed, Paul concludes chapter 5 of Ephesians by making the connection between Christ and His church as that between husband and wife, when he says (5:25-27), "Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her, that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the Word, so that He might present the church to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish."
Beloved, you ARE the beloved of God, more dear to Him than a wife is to her husband. Jesus gave Himself up for you, that by His blood sacrifice your sins might be cleansed—washed away in the water of Baptism—so that now, having been purified by Christ you might now be resplendent before Him—without any spot or stain of sin—no wrinkles to mar your robe of His righteousness—no stench of death—but only clean and refreshing sweet smelling life!
So, dear friends, beware of those who would come to you to "deceive you with empty words." That is, those words of the false teachers who preach to you only what your itching ears want to hear, rather than the truth of God's Word—the Law in all of its sternness—the Gospel in all of its sweetness. For those who listen to those empty words, reject God's Word, and so revert back to being sons of disobedience—children of Satan—children of God's wrath—children that stink of death—walking in the darkness of rebellion and sin.
Rather, Paul encourages us to "walk as children of light" for "you are light in the Lord." In Jesus, all the darkness of your sin and death has been scattered by the Light of His love and forgiveness and mercy. His light fills you with goodness and peace, leading you to abound in the fruit of light that is found in all that is good and right and true. So now you share the love of Jesus with your neighbor in Word and in deed. Loving them as Christ has first loved you. Fleeing from all sexual immorality and impurity, gross speech, and covetous desires.
So now you, beloved, who cling to Jesus by faith, are children of light—children who are a pleasing aroma unto the Lord—made so by the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross for you. So we do not act as pigs who enjoy wallowing in filth, but rather, having been cleansed by Christ's blood, we are clean and pure—sweeter smelling than any perfume—for we have been sanctified by the Lord Jesus—washed clean in Holy Baptism—and covered in the pure white robe of Christ's own righteousness. As His beloved children who imitate Christ, you are inheritors of the Kingdom of Christ and God—forever sending up by faith a pleasing aroma to the highest heaven. Thanks be to God in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Ephesians 5:1-9
Stinking Up to High Heaven
v.2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Dear friends in Christ, one of our previous pets was a cat named Hermione (yes, after the Harry Potter character). She was a black cat. She was tiny and cute, though not too cuddly. She loved to be outdoors. We used to have a long clothes line running the length of the back yard, and we would often attach Hermione to the clothes line in her harness so that she could wander more freely. However, one summer evening, Hermione accidentally got left outside. Normally, this probably wouldn't have been too big an issue, but on this particular night we had a local skunk wander through our yard. Hermione, being black, was well camouflaged at night, but she must have startled the skunk because in the morning when we discovered her—she reeked—she stunk to high heaven!—Pee ew! That skunk smell is NASTY!!!
Today, in our epistle reading from St. Paul's letter to the Ephesians, he continues his discourse on how Christians are supposed to be living their lives as sanctified and holy people—living new lives formed and shaped by faith in Jesus. He begins chapter 5:1-2 by saying, "Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God."
That is, since we are God's beloved children—the recipients of His undeserved kindness and favour—we ought to walk in that same kind of self-sacrificial love (appropriate for this season of Lent), remembering how Christ gave Himself fully as the required sacrifice to God for our sin—a sin offering—that was a pleasing aroma unto the Lord. Jesus' life was one of perfect love toward God and mankind. He fulfilled the Ten Commandments by always loving God and neighbor rightly—in the way God directs us to love in His Word. Furthermore, His atoning death on the cross whereby He suffered the wrath of God in our place, was received by the Father as the most perfect and pleasing sacrifice. Indeed, the Sacrifice of all sacrifices—the One Sacrifice that all other sacrifices pointed towards. Indeed, as the author of Hebrews notes (7:27), "[Jesus] has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for His own sins and then for those of the people, since He did this once for all when He offered up Himself."
Jesus, by offering Himself to God as the blood sacrifice for our sin, has taken away the guilt of our sin, washing us clean and making us holy in the sight of God, as Paul will make clear at the end of Ephesians 5. In light of this work of Christ then, it naturally follows that those who have been redeemed by Jesus—covered with the pleasing aroma of His sacrifice—will now live in love as Christ lives in love. Paul specifically goes on to mention is v.3-4 that the Christian is to not engage in sexual immorality or impurity (sex only in the confines of holy marriage between one man and one woman), nor covetousness (desiring those temporal gifts and blessings that the Lord has not granted you), nor disgusting or foolish talk or joking (crude jokes, uncouth speech of any kind that disparages other people or any of God's gifts); instead, our lips and mouths ought only to be used in praise and thanksgiving toward God.
Why is this so important, beloved? Is it because we set a bad example by our poor behaviour? Is it because it is unkind to act and speak in these ways? Yes, but there is even more to it than that. Paul says in v.5, "For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God." So, this is an eternal salvation issue. For those who do not walk in love as Christ walked in love, sacrificing of themselves for their neighbor, and living in accordance with ALL of God's Word, will not receive the Kingdom of God—will not be inheritors of heaven.
Whoa. This is a hard word for us to hear. We don't like to hear such things, especially when we know we are guilty of breaking these commandments of God. But, dear friends, this is what Lent is all about. Repentance over our sin and an emphasis on proper living—loving as God would have us love. For, by failing to walk as children of light, we fall into darkness. The darkness of sin that leads ultimately to eternal death in hell. While walking this earth, nonetheless, by forsaking God's Word we may become as those who are dead. No longer smelling clean and pure and holy before God, but sending up a stench that stinks to high heaven.
Indeed, as the writer of Ecclesiastes states so wisely (10:1), "Dead flies make the perfumer's ointment give off a stench; so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honour." Those who give themselves over to sin and licentious behavior end up stinking before the Lord—giving off a stench of death. As the King James version puts it so descriptively regarding the conversation between Martha and Jesus just before Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead (John 11:39), "Jesus said, 'Take ye away the stone.' Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto Him, 'Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days.'" He stinketh. How fitting. Our sin stinketh. WE stinketh up to high heaven.
And so we must repent. We must turn away from our sin and look to Christ who offered Himself as a sacrifice of pleasing aroma unto the Father. A sacrifice so pleasing that it not only covers over our sin, but cleanses us from all sin, making us a pleasing aroma unto the Lord, through the blood sacrifice of Jesus. Indeed, in speaking of the coming Messiah, Jesus, the prophet Ezekiel (20:41), declares from the Lord, "As a pleasing aroma I will accept you, when I bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you have been scattered. And I will manifest my holiness among you in the sight of the nations."
So, God promised to gather His people together, and make them a pleasing aroma acceptable to Him. This He has done by manifesting His holiness in the person and work of His Son, Jesus, who is the one perfect sacrifice for the sins of the whole world! Indeed, Paul concludes chapter 5 of Ephesians by making the connection between Christ and His church as that between husband and wife, when he says (5:25-27), "Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her, that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the Word, so that He might present the church to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish."
Beloved, you ARE the beloved of God, more dear to Him than a wife is to her husband. Jesus gave Himself up for you, that by His blood sacrifice your sins might be cleansed—washed away in the water of Baptism—so that now, having been purified by Christ you might now be resplendent before Him—without any spot or stain of sin—no wrinkles to mar your robe of His righteousness—no stench of death—but only clean and refreshing sweet smelling life!
So, dear friends, beware of those who would come to you to "deceive you with empty words." That is, those words of the false teachers who preach to you only what your itching ears want to hear, rather than the truth of God's Word—the Law in all of its sternness—the Gospel in all of its sweetness. For those who listen to those empty words, reject God's Word, and so revert back to being sons of disobedience—children of Satan—children of God's wrath—children that stink of death—walking in the darkness of rebellion and sin.
Rather, Paul encourages us to "walk as children of light" for "you are light in the Lord." In Jesus, all the darkness of your sin and death has been scattered by the Light of His love and forgiveness and mercy. His light fills you with goodness and peace, leading you to abound in the fruit of light that is found in all that is good and right and true. So now you share the love of Jesus with your neighbor in Word and in deed. Loving them as Christ has first loved you. Fleeing from all sexual immorality and impurity, gross speech, and covetous desires.
So now you, beloved, who cling to Jesus by faith, are children of light—children who are a pleasing aroma unto the Lord—made so by the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross for you. So we do not act as pigs who enjoy wallowing in filth, but rather, having been cleansed by Christ's blood, we are clean and pure—sweeter smelling than any perfume—for we have been sanctified by the Lord Jesus—washed clean in Holy Baptism—and covered in the pure white robe of Christ's own righteousness. As His beloved children who imitate Christ, you are inheritors of the Kingdom of Christ and God—forever sending up by faith a pleasing aroma to the highest heaven. Thanks be to God in Christ Jesus. Amen.