In Jason Dohm's sermon 'The Careful Walk of the Wise Believer,' based on Ephesians 5:8-17, he emphasizes the importance of believers walking wisely and circumspectly. The sermon begins with a discussion on the transformation from darkness to light through Jesus Christ and the need to walk as children of light. Dohm highlights the importance of wisdom, defined as knowing truth and how to apply it, and contrasts it with foolishness, which is walking without forethought or relying solely on personal inclinations. He explains 'redeeming the time' as making the most of every opportunity, especially in the context of the evil days we live in. The sermon calls for believers to understand and align with the will of the Lord, using Scripture as a guide for living a consistent and intentional Christian life. Dohm concludes with practical applications, urging believers to cultivate patterns of life marked by carefulness and forethought, seize opportunities to serve God, and grow in their spiritual walk.

Our sermon text for this week is from Ephesians chapter 5 verses 8 through 17, but I'm going to start reading from verse 1. Therefore be imitators of God as dear children and walk in love as Christ also has loved us and given himself for us in offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling aroma but fornication in all uncleanness or a coveragesness let it not even be named among you as is fitting for saints, neither filthiness nor foolish talking nor coarse jesting which are not fitting but rather giving of thanks. 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 let no one deceive you with empty words for because of these but for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience therefore do not be partakers with them for you were once darkness but now you are but now you are light in the world walk as children of light for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness righteousness and truth finding out what is acceptable to the Lord and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness but rather expose them.

For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. Therefore, he says, awake you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light. See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

The Title of the sermon this morning is the careful walk of the wise believer. The implication is that it is possible to be a believer and yet have a careless walk. Walk is a fool. Otherwise it doesn't make any sense why the Apostle Paul would be exhorting believers to a careful walk in wisdom. So this is an exhortation for us to be careful in the patterns of life that we cultivate and to walk in wisdom.

Our text begins, see then, so Paul is building on what he just said. I would take that back to verse 8, for you once were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light. So today's text is really in the shadow of that. If you are a believer it is because and it is only because Jesus awakened you from the dead and has given and is giving you light.

So if you have been darkness but now you are light in the Lord, see then that you walk in a certain way. That's the argument. So That's the argument. So as we come to our text, let's ask the Lord to help us. Lord Jesus, for Every single genuine believer in the room, you have awakened each one of us from the dead, called us out of our spiritual tomb and given us light.

We do want to be shown how to walk, taught how to walk, so that Christ might have the honor that he deserves for saving, for giving life. So I pray that you would do that in a significant way in my own heart, in the hearts of my brethren, that you would teach us how to walk. To walk with Jesus, to walk like Jesus. I pray this in Jesus' name, amen. Well, we have three verses, So we'll just take them one at a time.

Hopefully your finger is still in Ephesians chapter 5. Let me reread verse 15 and then we'll consider it. Paul writes, See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise. In this verse, Paul sets before us, walking in wisdom. So if you're taking notes on the handout, filling in blanks, wisdom fills in the blank.

Walking in wisdom, that's what Paul is calling believers to. Paul tells the believer, that's me, I'm a believer, so this is for me. If you're a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, this is fully for you. Paul tells the believer how to walk. Circumspectly.

And then Paul does this the courtesy of describing it for us, not as fools, but as wise. So let's unpack that phrase by phrase. The believer is to walk circumspectly. What does that mean? The Greek word means exactly, accurately, or precisely, diligently.

So the NASB and the ESV translates it carefully. So we have circumspectly, but it would be fine to translate it precisely or carefully. All of those would be good translations, are good translations. The idea is that carefulness and forethought are to characterize the patterns of my life. So if you look, everybody has patterns of life.

If you look at the patterns of my life, you go to school on me, study me, you should find that my life is characterized by carefulness and forethought. By the way, I've been substituting for many weeks now, patterns of life for the word walk. I was thinking about that this week and wanting it not to be misunderstood. It isn't that isolated events in the life of a believer don't matter so that your patterns of life matter a lot, that just isolated events don't matter. It's not that.

It's that consistency does matter. So it's not to devalue the importance of individual events in our life. It's actually to hold with great value a consistency of life. That's why Paul isn't talking in terms of isolated events in our lives, but he's talking in terms of a walk, the patterns of our life. Yes, individual events matter, but consistency is what Paul is pressing us towards.

We are not occasional believers. We are not sporadic believers. Look at me now, I'm on a hot streak. That's not to be the life of the believer. I think every believer who's walked with the Lord for any significant period of time knows something of hot streaks and cold streaks.

But what we're being called to is a consistency of life, cultivating a pattern of life that characterizes us, that is reliably us. Rises us. That is reliably us. So the believer in Jesus is to be a person who is careful and gives forethought, walks circumspectly. And Paul describes this in two ways.

First he says that the fool does not walk circumspectly. Walks circumspectly not as fools. So the fool does not walk carefully, does not walk with forethought. I think Proverbs 28 verse 26 will help us a lot here. Listen to Proverbs 28 verse 26.

He who trusts in his own heart is a fool. Take that Walt Disney. He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, but whoever walks wisely will be delivered." So walking wisely is the opposite of trusting in your own heart, which is being a fool. That fits perfectly with Jeremiah 17 verse 9, famous verse Jeremiah 17 verse 9, the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, who can know it? So the carefulness and the forethought of walking circumspectly is not just relying on my own thoughts.

That's not the kind of forethought. We're talking about thoughts that have been saturated in and calibrated by the Word of God, not just an honoring of our inclinations. It is foolish for a believer to allow himself or herself to be governed just by his or her inclinations. Did you hear that? It's foolishness for any believer to allow himself or herself to be governed only by these impulses that arise in every heart, believing hearts, unbelieving hearts, all hearts have impulses and to just be governed only by that is a recipe for a disaster.

Yeah, I go with my gut. I want to follow you around and put you on YouTube. There's going to be things that will be things to see in that life. A life just regulated by your gut. That is a recipe for disaster.

So Paul's first description of walk circumspectly is not as fools. Second, Paul affirms that the wise person does walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise. So he's equating this walking carefully and walking with forethought as Being walking in in wisdom and what is wisdom? Wisdom is having truth and knowing what to do with it There There are smart people brimming with truth, full of knowledge, who have no idea what to do with it. When you hear them speak and see them act, when you see how they order their lives you would never guess that they know these things although they can recite them to you perfectly they can recall them instantly but if you just follow them around and listen to their speech and watch their conduct and see how they order their lives, there's a disconnect between the truth propositions that they can rattle off in succession perfectly, but there's no impact on their life.

They don't know what to do with the truth. They're either unwilling to apply it or unable to apply it. So wisdom has to do with knowing truth but being able to apply it. As believers, we are to have truth. Jesus said to his father, your word is truth.

That's John 17. So it's no mystery where we find truth. Jesus says this word is truth. And we are to know what to do with it. Paul is actually helping us in the book of Ephesians.

Just think about the structure of the book of Ephesians. Chapters 1 through 3 are overwhelmingly doctrine. What is doctrine? Truth. But then, he doesn't just write these three chapters and sign off.

He then gives us chapters 4 through 6, which is the application. We have these truth propositions, overwhelmingly, in chapters one through three. What do we do with them? Paul doesn't leave us guessing. Actually, he's trying to lead us into wisdom by telling us how we apply these great truths of the faith, so that we don't end up like the smart person who can rattle off the truth propositions, but it has no impact on their life.

Paul is trying hard to save us from that. Even in the way he structures this letter. Scripture from cover to cover is actually full of both truth and leading us into the wisdom so that we can apply it. The scriptures are not just truth propositions to give us knowledge. Any entry-level Bible student knows that.

That scripture is much more than just a series of truth propositions to be memorized, but that it comes with histories, wisdom books, all sorts of content in the scriptures to help us apply the truth propositions that are in scripture negative as well as positive meaning There's lots of Scripture where you can see, wow, that leads to disaster. That truth proposition has real implications if not applied or positively. These are the ways to honor the Lord. These are the ways in which it will go well with you. The Bible cover to cover is filled with truth propositions, but also the authors of scripture help us to know what to do with that truth, how to apply that truth.

So the believer is to walk circumspectly, carefully, with forethought. Not as a fool, simply out of his or her own inclinations, impulses, but as wise, being filled with truth and knowing how to rightly apply that truth. So that's what Paul is calling us to in verse 15. Now let me reread verse 16. Paul continues.

Redeeming the time because the days are evil. See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time because the days are evil. In this verse, Paul speaks of redeeming the time. Time fills in the blank on the handout if you're taking notes that way. Paul tells us what to do and why to do it.

What should the believer do? Redeem the time. What does it mean to redeem the time? It literally means to buy up the time. To collect up, to acquire time.

Strong's dictionary says this, figuratively to rescue from loss. That's a helpful way to think of it. To rescue time from loss. To improve opportunity. So really there are two things in view.

First there is the proper use of time. Rescue it from loss. Don't squander it, but buy it up, so to speak. Collect it up. Guard the minutes given to you for proper use.

Guard those minutes. Don't let them leak out, leak away, be lost. Time is one of the very valuable resources God has given us. It's in limited supply, and we should buy it up. We should keep it from being lost.

But if we just left it there, we would more or less be left with just a time management exhortation. Get busy. Stop goofing off. Stop wasting time. And that's included in this, but that's not all that's being said here.

Instead, we also have the second element in view, recognizing an opportunity and making the most of it. Even expanding our opportunities as we're able to. So it's not just about time, but it's about the events that happen during the passing of time. Yes, manage the time, buy up the time, collect up the time, guard the time, yes, But it's for a purpose. It's for recognizing and seizing and even expanding opportunities.

To what end? To bring honor to my savior. I once was darkness. I wasn't in darkness, I was darkness. But I was saved by a Savior.

And now I'm light in the Lord. And I am meant to shine. I'm not in light now. I mean that is true, but that's not what Paul said. He says I am light and I am to shine.

Otherwise it's like putting a light under a basket. This is what Jesus says in Matthew chapter 5. So, I should be asking myself, how should I shine? Where should I shine? To whom should I shine?

Now Paul tells us why the believers should redeem the time, because the days are evil. Because the days are evil. Paul did live in evil days and he was writing to believers in an overwhelmingly pagan city. The gospel had just barely come to Ephesus. But every era since Genesis chapter 3 when sin came into the world and mankind died spiritually can be described as evil days.

Some are more evil than others, but every era since Genesis 3 is accurately described as evil days. Every poor person born into this world is accurately described by Ephesians chapter 2, dead in trespasses and sins, walking according to the course of this world, by nature children of wrath. If You were born after Genesis 3, you were born in dark times. You were darkness. You were surrounded by darkness.

So the time of the Ephesians doesn't represent the bad old days. Until Jesus returns in the way that Paul is using the term, we're in the bad old days. Because sin is in the world and our nature is bent towards autonomy against God. Not autonomy just from God, but autonomy against God. So this applies to us in our time.

Don't see for the days are evil and think, well thank goodness we don't live in the time when he was writing in that horrible time to those people who were just barely out of paganism know it applies fully to us. It's interesting to note that Paul isn't calling for a circling of the wagons and a total withdrawal from contact with the world. Circling the wagons is a term that comes from the settling of the West. These wagon trains, a train of wagons would be headed out west to claim land. And if they were to come under attack by Indians, they would circle the wagons as a way of defense.

Everything stopped, and It was you on the inside and the enemies on the outside and never the two shall meet. But Paul isn't describing that here. He's not describing a circling of the wagons or a total withdrawal from the world. There isn't a hint of fear in this exhortation. Surprising when he calls the days evil, that there isn't even a hint of fear here.

Paul actually frames it in terms of opportunities. Redeem the time. Opportunities. Redeem the time. Recognize and seize upon and expand opportunities for the days that are evil.

Jesus said it this way, I will build my church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. Matthew 16 verse 18. Paul agrees. Good job Paul. That's good ground to occupy, agreeing with Jesus.

Jesus will build his church and the gates of the enemy will not be able to withstand his people and their push. The days are evil, okay? So we should walk circumspectly, Not as fools, but as wise. This will inform how we engage this world. So that we can be wise as serpents, but innocent as doves.

But at one and the same time, believers look for opportunities and seek to maximize them, seek to expand them. Here's what the Expositors Bible commentary says. I think it's helpful. The Bible commentary says, Here the commodity to buy up is time. To make use of every opportunity to live wisely, not foolishly.

Paul conveys a sense of urgency by using this verb, live rightly now as you are able. Shine as lights, expose sin, and use all chances to live wisely now. Urgency is mandated because these are evil days. These are the days in which the devil wields great power, chapter 2 verse 2, and implements grand schemes to defeat God's people, chapter 6 verses 11 and 12. We're coming to that, the full armor of God.

Likewise, the Gentiles engage in evil of every kind, chapter 4 verse 19. In such days, the world throws many obstacles in the way of believers who seek to live godly lives, and they will need to be vigilant on every occasion. That's a helpful way to think of what Paul is saying here. Let's give Jesus the last word in this verse. Here's what Jesus says in John chapter 9 verse 4.

Jesus says, I must work the works of him who sent me while it is day. The night is coming when no one can work. Night here is figurative speech for death, the end of your life on earth. So Jesus, knowing that there was an end to his life on earth, felt this urgency to work the works of him who sent him while he had this life. It's a limited time and We'll rest later.

We'll rest for eternity. Jesus had this sense of compulsion to work the works of the one who had sent him while the opportunity existed. Followers of Jesus do likewise. We have time. And if we have time, then we have opportunities To recognize, to seize upon, to expand as we're able.

17, the last verse in our range, Ephesians 5.17. Therefore, do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Therefore, do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. In this verse, Paul sets before us walking with an understanding of the will of the Lord. He begins saying, therefore, as a consequence of what he just said, in light of what he just said and then he gives us a contrast not this but that don't be unwise think this is a repetition of not as fools but as wise but and this is the counter to being unwise, understand what the will of the Lord is.

To have knowledge and to know what to do with it is to understand what the will of the Lord is. The believer isn't just to wander aimlessly through life letting whatever happens happen. We aim at ends. We have objectives that we pursue. We aren't just wandering aimlessly through life just letting things happen to us.

Whatever happens, happens. We have this great filter that Paul gave us in verse 10. Finding out what is acceptable to the Lord, or finding out what is well pleasing to the Lord. Either of those would be a good translation of the Greek. That's the great filter.

What would please the Lord? Again, I've been saved by Him, so now His agenda is my agenda. What would please Him? I'll do that. Whatever it is.

If He would show me that it would please Him, I would desire to do it. Wisdom is being filled with truth and knowing what to do with it. And this serves that great filter, what would please the Lord. Let me give you three applications. One.

Are the patterns of your life being cultivated out of carefulness and forethought which is informed by the right application of truth. That's a mouthful. Let me say it again. Are the patterns of your life, your walk, being cultivated out of carefulness and forethought, which is informed by the right application of truth. You know truth, you're filled up with truth from scripture, and God has shown you what to do with it.

So that you're actually not just knowledgeable, but you're wise. Because you know what to do with the truth that you know. In other words, does that characterize you? When you think about your speech patterns, your action patterns, how you order your life, Is it rightly described by carefulness? Are those things flowing out of carefulness and forethought?

So you're not just reacting to things as you go through the day, but you're aimed at God's objectives for you, understanding what the will of the Lord is. Probably for most of us, if you've been walking with the Lord for a while, your answer is, sort of. Sort of marked by carefulness and forethought. Sometimes marked by carefulness and forethought. Our desire should be for growth there.

To growth in walking circumspectly. Two, let me give you homework. I usually don't give homework. I'm giving a little homework. This is an easy one.

Robert says bring it. He's willing to do your homework. Here's the question. What are two ways that I can collect up and guard the time God has given me to seize and expand kingdom opportunities. I'm aiming at something concrete here.

I really do want you to do your homework this afternoon. Maybe you can do it in families or not. What are two ways? Number one. Number two.

That I can collect up and guard the time that God has given me to seize and expand kingdom opportunities. I've already thought of my two, you don't get to know them. Or you can ask me later. You don't get to know them from the pulpit. And they're not big.

This is sort of like when we were talking about foolish talking, of course jesting, and I said it sort of feels like Mount Everest to me. So I just want to take a step and make some progress. I feel somewhat the same here. This sort of feels like a big mountain to climb. Okay.

So name two things. They don't have to be mammoth things. Identify something where you can collect up some time that has been leaking away and use it to seize and expand Kingdom opportunities. It should be easy to do. If you can't think of two, Heaven help you.

Heaven help you. Number three. How are you doing at calibrating to the will of the Lord? At understanding what the will of the Lord is. You do have to calibrate to that.

That is another thing where you can't just be governed by impulses and inclinations. I do believe that we are led by the Holy Spirit. We're coming to the text next week. Be filled with the Spirit. That's real.

He does lead us our lives. I'm just saying, you cannot fully trust every impulse and inclination and blame God for those. You know what I mean? I blamed God for many of my own inclinations. And I don't want to do that anymore.

So we do have to calibrate to the will of the Lord, understanding the will of the Lord. Here's what Martin Lloyd-Jones says. Of understanding the will of the Lord. Paul says it here in the Epistle to the Ephesians, Chapter 1 and Verse 4. So Lloyd-Jones says, in Ephesians 1-4, Paul has already opened up this vein of talking about what the will of the Lord is.

So he quotes it, According, as he has chosen us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. Then Lloyd-Jones says this, holiness is always the characteristic of the Christian. This is what the will of the Lord is. This is what He wants me to be. He wants me to be somebody who will act as light in this world and the Bible is full of instruction to me about what to do and what not to do.

Read the Ten Commandments. Read the Beatitudes. Read the Sermon on the Mount. That is the will of the Lord. To know the will of the Lord, I say, you have to read your Bible.

Meditate on the law of the Lord like the man in the first Psalm whose delight is in it and who meditates in it day and night. That's the man who knows the will of the Lord. Know it thoroughly and then apply it. If you want something further, here it is. Look at the Son of God as he lived in the world.

We're to try to live like that to follow his steps who did no wrong. And We should add the leading of the Spirit to that, and Paul is coming to that in next week's text. God, we know by experience that it is possible to be a real believer and yet to have lives that are characterized by carelessness and by thoughtlessness, and to walk foolishly. This is why this exhortation comes to us here in Ephesians 5. So we want to receive that exhortation and to look around in our lives for ways in which we've been careless and thoughtless.

And to grow. We do want to grow. We do want progress in the faith. God I pray that you would help us to recognize opportunities more than we've ever recognized them, to seize them, to boldly seize opportunities more than we ever have, and to find ways to expand the opportunities to live for your son in this world. So that others might know what we know, be blessed with what we've been blessed with.

See you as you are, That you might receive the glory that you ought to have. Pray that you would help us, Lord, to make progress. Here we stand in some ways at the foot of Mount Everest in these different categories, finding ourselves very far from what we're exhorted to. Okay? God help us to take concrete steps today.

Maybe it will be many, many years in the future when we've made the type of progress that we wish would already have been established in our lives, but at least give us some progress today. We pray. Help us to not be satisfied with any less than progress. Pray that in Jesus' name, Amen.