If you were an Ephesian (and you are)

Ephesians 5 We have been commanded to be imitators of Christ And we have been given the ability to walk in love, as Christ has loved us And then Paul goes on to tell us how we can be that sweet smelling aroma Here are some keys to unleashing your love walk

Don’t even speak of uncleanness Fornication – any, any sexual exploitation of the opposite sex – This applies to men and women Covetousness – yearning for things other people have, not being content with what God has provided to you Paul says we shouldn’t even speak of these things

Remember, spoken words have power Filthiness, Foolish Talking, Coarse Joking – run away from them! These are obscene (morally hateful, physically or morally disgusting) Jokes at another’s expense falls into this category But rather, we should be giving thanks Those things stand in the way of our love

No inheritance in heaven Fornicators – does that include playing around with internet porn? Yes Unclean person – someone who glories in things of perversion Covetous person – always having an appetite for more, not content with what God has provided Idolaters – putting faith in things other than God

Filled with empty words Some fill the air with empty words of all that they think they know, or all they pretend to know (empty words are words without, or with only partial truth) Proverbs 10:19, 17:27, 29:20 Ecc 10:12-14 The motivation is often a need for attention, justification, puffing up self worth. Wrath of God comes upon it

And in summary Therefore do not be partakers with them Who was he writing this to? To the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus Remember where we started:

Ephesians 5 We have been commanded to be imitators of Christ And we have been given the ability to walk in love, as Christ has loved us And then Paul goes on to tell us how we can be that sweet smelling aroma Here are some keys to unleashing your love walk

The High calling It is not easy to walk in love The self centered human responses of fornication minded, uncleanness, covetous, filthy talking, coarse joking, idolaters, and empty words are all around us We are called to imitate Christ to be able to love like Christ. Anything that does not build up love tears it down