We’re Known by the Company We Keep

“Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.  Be ye not therefore partakers with them.”  Ephesians 5:6-7

The Apostle Paul was urgently cautioning the Ephesian Christians to be extremely careful about those to whom they gave their time and attention.  If what deceivers say sounds too good to be true, it’s probably a lie with a teeny bit of truth thrown in to make it believable.  Some folks have a “way with words”.  They know how to “sweet talk” others into accepting their words, notions, opinions, and ideas as the truth.  Why do they do this?  Sometimes they are seeking to gain money, fame, or power over others.  Deception is the standard method of operation (M.O.) for some politicians.  However, the main reason ungodly people seek to deceive, particularly deceive believers in Christ, is because the deceivers are being controlled by Satan, and he likes nothing better than to try and lead believers away from their commitment to Christ.

Everything in this world boils down to good versus evil.  Every path has two ways to travel:  the “strait” gate which leads to the narrow way to life and the wide gate which leads to the broad path of destruction (Matthew 7:13-14).  The term “strait” means “narrow, strict, and exacting”.  Strict means conformity to standards from which they cannot be deviated.  In other words, a Christian is not to deviate from what he or she knows is right.  The narrow way is the path of righteousness, but believers do not walk it alone.  If we depend on Christ and the Holy Spirit, They will keep us on the straight and narrow and keep us from veering off the narrow path into the realm of disobedience, idolatry, and indifference.  Disobedience leads to experiencing God’s wrath.  Because God is just, He cannot allow sin to go unpunished.  If a person has truly been born again and loves the Lord, he or she will not want to live in a pattern of sin.  A person who has no qualms about his or her sinful lifestyle apparently does not have the Holy Spirit living within them.  Otherwise, he or she would be the most miserable of all people.  Idolatry is anything that we put before the Lord in our allegiance.  Indifference means that we just don’t “give a rip”, and sometimes results in trying to be neutral or straddle the fence in spiritual issues.  Jesus implied in Revelation 3:15-16 to be either hot or cold, but don’t try to fake neutrality or be indifferent or lukewarm in one’s service to the Lord.  Let your yes be yes, and your no be no (Matthew 5:37).

Paul cautioned the believers to stay away from those who would try to deceive them.  When we choose to not keep company with those who are a bad influence on us or who try to involve us in their schemes and ungodly behavior, we will likely be called “holier than thou”, “goodie two shoes”, or other such phrases which others use to express how we have offended them by not joining in with their sinful behavior.  If the names hurt, it would hurt us much more to partake with them in their sin.  You never know but some could secretly respect and envy us for our stand, and perhaps our doing the right thing might influence them to seek a better way to live.  As always, it is our duty to pray for them that the Holy Spirit would convict them of sin, and they would repent and trust Christ.

Paul reminded the believers in Ephesus, and us, too, that we were once lost in the darkness of sin until we came to know Christ by grace through faith.  Every person that has been born into this world with the exception of Jesus Christ, is a sinner.  That’s a fact whether folks believe it or not.  It was the sin of Adam and Eve who disobeyed God, and we have inherited that sin nature.  They had a choice.  They could have said, “No” when Satan lied to them about eating the forbidden fruit, but had God allowed them to have children in their innocent state, at some point down the line of descendancy, Satan would have reared his ugly head, tempted, and convinced somebody to sin, and we would be right where we are now, sinners either saved by grace or sinners lost in sin.

The bottom line is that we can’t escape sin except by the blood of Christ.  Sin is always going to be with us until Christ returns to rule in righteousness.  Until that day, though, we are to walk in the light of Christ, keeping our eyes on Jesus, listening to the Holy Spirit, and living each day as if Christ would return at any moment.  Walking in the light of Christ carries with it the responsibility of bearing fruit of the Spirit:  love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).  The folks that bear these fruits are the kind of folks that I want to hang out with and also be a spiritual fruit bearer that others would desire to hang out with me.  How we know that God approves of our behavior is by studying His word and living by its precepts and avoiding those things of which He disapproves.  The Holy Spirit is with us to help us.  If we heed His voice, we will not fail.  It really does matter about the company that we keep.