Last week, we looked at the words of the psalmist David: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” We looked at the idea that a new year requires a new heart. Following that same idea, what I want us to do this morning is help us understand how we accomplish that goal of having a new heart. So what we're going to do this morning is look at Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 16, where the Apostle Paul very simply says that we are to be redeeming the time because the days are evil. I want us to look at this idea of redeeming the time because the days are evil.
We're going to define some words that are in this verse, and then put this verse in the context that it's written in. I think maybe what we're going to find is that we look at this verse from now on just a little bit
A New Heart by Redeeming the Time
When we read through the book of Ephesians, this honestly is one of those verses—Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 16—that gets read over quite hurriedly. It seems to be without a whole lot of discussion about the verse itself. And so we're going to look at it this morning and hopefully we'll be able to put these thoughts in line with the thoughts from last week about how we are supposed to have a new heart in this new year.
“Redeeming the time because the days are evil.” — Ephesians 5:16
Defining “Time” – Kairos, Not Kronos
What is it that we're talking about here in verse 16 of chapter 5 of Ephesians? We're going to start with this word “time.” It says redeeming the time. Is it talking about a particular time of day? Is it talking about from the hours of 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM we're supposed to be doing a certain thing? Well, not exactly.
The word that we would most associate with time or watches or the passing of minutes and seconds and hours, that's the word “Kronos.” And you can find that in many places in the New Testament; it's translated “time” quite regularly.
But this word is not Kronos. The word for time as it is in Ephesians 5:16 is “kairos.” It's probably not pronounced that way, but it's kind of spelled that way. So that's how we're going to pronounce it. And what this word means is an occasion, a set proper time, opportunity, or season.
But what is it that we're talking about? Paul says redeem the opportunities, redeem the season that you are living in, redeem the moments that come your way. And there's a reason for this. We're going to get to this in just a moment, but like I said, we're just defining some terms as we get started.
- Acts 24:25
We recognize this is Paul giving his defense before Felix there in Acts chapter 24. The “convenient season” that Felix represents is this Greek word “kairos.” He's not talking about a particular time of day when he has a convenient opening in his schedule. That's not what Felix was talking about. He said, “When I have a more convenient opportunity or when I have a better season that I can hear what it is that you have to say, Paul, I will call for you.”
Well, we know from the context that he called for Paul many other times, and none of those were to be obedient to the gospel's call for repentance so that he could have salvation. We know from the context that Felix was hoping that Paul would have offered him money to guarantee his release, and of course that did not happen. Paul didn't do that. But Felix says, “If I have an opportunity, when I have a better opportunity, I will call for you.”
- Galatians 6:9-10
It's found in both of these verses—the word “season” and then the word “opportunity” in verse 10 is this same word that we're talking about here from Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 16.
- Ephesians 5:16
Paul here in Galatians chapter 6 is speaking concerning how we cannot be weary in well-doing, in serving others, and as we have opportunities—maybe better put this way: when we make opportunities, we should be doing good to all those, especially those who are of the household of faith.
This word is not a new word appearing only a few times. In fact, it appears some 80-something times in the King James version, at least, of the New Testament. This word is particularly found four times in the book of Ephesians and translated “time” in each of those instances outside of verse 16. It's translated “time” even in verse 18 of chapter 6—it's translated with the word “always.”
- Ephesians 1:10
- Ephesians 2:12
We of course recognize chapter 2 verse 12—Paul's talking about the condition of those that are outside the body of Christ, outside the kingdom, and describes them very pointedly.
In chapter 5 verse 16, our text for this morning: “Redeeming the time because the days are evil.”
- Ephesians 6:18
Paul is not just deciding to use this word having not ever used it before, but this gives us an idea in other passages. I like to do this from time to time in my own studies and see how that word is used in the book that I'm reading, and maybe the chapter or series of chapters that I'm reading at that particular time, because then I can understand how the word's meant to be used. I can define a word by looking at a dictionary, but I can't always determine how it's to be used until I look at other places where it is used.
“Time” we're not speaking concerning the hands of a clock or the minutes and hours that pass by, but the moments and the opportunities that you and I come across.
Sometimes we have to make them for ourselves, but those that pass before us on a daily basis—we're supposed to be very intentional about how we use those times. Which leads us to our next word.
Defining “Redeeming” – Exagorazo
It says “redeeming the time” there at the beginning of the verse. What do we mean by this word “redeeming”? Well, it is the putting together of two Greek words. The Greek word is “exagorazo,” and it's from two words: “ex” or “ek,” out of or from, and “agorazo,” to buy up, to purchase, to redeem. And so what we're supposed to do is we're supposed to buy up or store up these opportunities that come our way for us to do certain things.
Why is that important? Well, because when that opportunity passes, we're not likely to get it back. We can't just say, “Oh well, I'll catch that opportunity the next time around.” Well, you might be in a different place among different people, and that's not the same opportunity that you let slip a while back.
We need to be mindful. We need to be redeeming the time because the days are evil.
Notice this word “redeeming” is not a new word to us. The particular word that we find here in Ephesians chapter 5 verse 16 is found in three other places in the New Testament.
- Colossians 4:5
- Galatians 3:13
Paul would write in Galatians 3:13, referencing Jesus, of course, dying on the cross. He was willing to become the curse that should have been meant for us. And by becoming that curse and hanging on that tree, he bought us back through his blood. His blood was the purchase price that—what did it buy us back from? It did not buy us back from sin. We tend to think that we're saved from sin when we become a child of God, when we become a Christian. We are not saved from sin according to the New Testament.
How do I know that? Because even as a Christian, you and I can sin. We're not saved from sin, but according to Romans chapter 5 and verse 9, we are saved from the wrath of God.
- Romans 5:9
Jesus, when he died on the cross, he shed his blood, which was the purchase price for us to redeem us back from the wrath of God, because that's what you and I deserved for violating God's law, for doing things that was the reason that put Jesus on the cross to begin with. We are redeemed.
We understand “redeemed” in this particular context.
- Galatians 4:5
That's what God did, what Jesus did for us. He made it possible for us to be adopted into the family of God as sons, having our sins washed away and bought back from certain punishment because of our sin.
We are to buy back. We should be redeeming the opportunities that come our way to live righteously in this world that does not respect God whatsoever. Society is very plain about what it believes and what it doesn't believe in.
We mentioned a moment ago that when opportunities pass, they may not ever come again.
When opportunities pass us by, then we lose track of a potential opportunity for salvation.
- 2 Corinthians 6:2
Now is the time, and we can't afford to let opportunities where our soul is at stake go by without making sure that we're in a right relationship with God.
This idea of redeeming—I think we understand what we're talking about here.
The Reason: Because the Days Are Evil
Let's move on in the verse: “because the days are evil.”
Society—I don't know if you've realized this or not. I don't think I'm the only one. Society is not on God's side. I hope that's not a shock to you. I hope that's not new information to you whatsoever. But society is against God. Society is against righteousness. Society is against morality. Society is against the objective truth that the Bible teaches. Society is against everything that is good, really, when you think about it.
There's not much that society stands for that God actually stands for. And the most uncommon now is human decency. Society's against that too. You can go out and you can do whatever it is that you want to do, and nobody can tell you that you're wrong and you should do otherwise.
And these are—we recognize these things to be the case, but do you realize that God has blessed us with the greatest blessing that we could possibly receive outside of the blood of Jesus Christ, and that blessing being opportunities, seasons, and times to accept salvation on his terms. That's the greatest blessing that we could ever have from God—are the opportunities and the seasons of our life, stages in our life, if you will, where we can turn to God and make our lives right with him. That's the greatest blessings that you and I have.
Why is it good to be able to grow old? Because I have more opportunities where I can turn to the Lord. Why are we told that the wise man Solomon said,
- Ecclesiastes 12:1
We're not gonna be any younger than we are today. We're only gonna get older from this point forward. So now is the time to seek after the Lord in your youth. It doesn't matter how old you are.
The evil days—we get bogged down sometimes with distractions, various things that try and separate us from the will of God.
Example of Redeeming from Acts: Paul in Ephesus
I mentioned Acts chapter 19. I want you to turn there now. We're gonna read a couple of verses. I find it good when I'm in a book like Ephesians, knowing that Paul went there on his missionary journeys, to go back maybe and look at where that happened and what took place in the book of Acts.
When Paul was there, and Ephesus was a city much like many of our cities, believe it or not. It had its moments of brightness, but it had its moments of dark areas and dark streets, if you will, where bad things could happen to good people and so on. But notice Paul is there preaching in Ephesus.
“And he went into the synagogue, and spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God. But when divers were hardened, and believed not, but spake evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus. And this continued by the space of two years; so that all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.” — Acts 19:8-10
Paul is here in Ephesus for a little over two years and three months, according to these verses anyway, at one specific time. And for three months, he's able to be in the synagogue with the Jews where they would normally meet, and he is able to dispute with them. He's able to debate with them, he's able to study with them. Notice what it is that he studied. Notice it says there in verse 8 concerning the kingdom of God.
No doubt he's reaching back into the Old Testament text and he's giving them prophecies concerning the coming of the kingdom, and no doubt he's speaking concerning his instance where he met the Lord on the way to Damascus, Acts chapter 9. And no doubt he's going to deal with his conversion, and no doubt he's gonna talk about how he's separated by God for the very specific purpose of speaking to the Gentiles, to let them know that they have the same hope in the kingdom of heaven as the Jews do.
And he does this for three months, and some of them get tired and they notice what it says that they do in verse 9—they hardened their hearts. They were done. They didn't want to hear about it anymore. They didn't want to hear about this new kingdom. They didn't want to hear about Jesus. They just wanted to follow after the law of Moses or their version of the law of Moses, and not have to worry about being right with God.
And so he leaves in that instance and he begins to speak in the School of Tyrannus for another two years.
The evil days come to all of us, including the Apostle Paul there when he was in Ephesus. Distractions—probably the biggest, most effective tool of the devil is just this one word: distraction. If he can distract us from doing what God wants us to do, then he's won. If he can distract us by taking our minds off of maybe the word of God, maybe our obligations in the kingdom of God, maybe our responsibilities in the home, and we can just be in tune to whatever mind-numbing entertainment we want to be a part of, then the devil's won.
But we can't afford for that to happen. We can't allow that to happen on our watch.
These distractions come in the way of some leading us or trying to lead us directly away from God. You know, there's no sense in following this God. He does not love you. He does not really care for you at all. Maybe they'll just tell you that there is no God. For some that works. But sometimes it's elevating self above God or putting something else in the place of God.
What do we mean by that? You think idolatry is only something that the Bible talks about in the Old Testament that destroyed the nation of Israel and Judah and it cannot destroy us as New Testament Christians today? Oh, it absolutely can. And the greatest idol that we have to fight—it's not an engraved image. It's not a golden calf, if you will. It's ourselves. And you and I are the greatest false God that we have. And for some, that's enough to remove them from God, convince us that we don't have time, we don't have opportunities to serve God because we have to be busy taking care of ourselves, pleasing ourselves.
Will you hear me this morning and hear what Paul is saying? We need to be redeeming the time because the days are evil.
Redeeming the Time by Walking Circumspectly
Now, how do we add all of this into the context in which it's written?
- Matthew 6:33
Now let's fit this into the context in which it is written. You go back a verse to verse 15 there in Ephesians chapter 5, and we are encouraged to walk circumspectly.
- Ephesians 5:15-21
He says to walk circumspectly. I'm sure we all have a ready definition for what the word circumspectly means, but just so that I can remind myself, we're gonna say that it is an adverb, then it comes from this Greek word “akribos,” and it means diligently or perfectly or carefully.
Paul, what do you mean that I need to walk carefully or diligently or perfectly, not as fools, but as wise? Well, that's exactly what he says.
You realize that there are many that say that we don't have to worry about whether we get the doctrine right in the religious world. We don't all have to share the same understanding of the word of God. We don't have to apply the scriptures the same way that some other people do. There's some that say that. And it leads to all sorts of false doctrines being introduced into the religious world, and we're constantly trying to fight against those things, and rightfully so.
But it leads us then to many believing that it's not important to walk according to what the Bible says. I can just make up my own doctrine and say this is what the church believes, and then go this way. I can make up a religion all to myself, and I can say, well, I'm following the tenets of what I believe, but that doesn't mean that it's right with God.
There has to be a standard. In fact, there is a standard, and we have it. It is the word of God. So what Paul is saying is we have to be careful how we look at the word of God. We have to be careful to make sure that we understand what the word of God says. Because we're going to be judged the way that we follow the word of God. We need to be mindful of that particular idea.
Evil Days May Mean Strong Doctrine, But a Heart Issue
Ephesus was known for sound doctrine. We need to realize this and we need to emphasize this. When you study the book of Ephesians, you need to put Acts chapter 19 and the book of Ephesians and then Revelation chapter 2 all together. When you study the book of Ephesians, when you read about these Christians that are in Ephesus, why? Because that's the places where we find information that's going to help us understand this particular passage.
- Revelation 2:1-4
Oh, what a commendation from God concerning how faithfully they stuck to the gospel that had been delivered to them.
Now you and I know it doesn't end there. Even though your doctrine is right, your attitude is wrong, your emotions toward me are wrong because they don't exist anymore. You don't feel anything when you come before me in worship. That didn't say we're supposed to be led by our feelings, but each one of us should feel when we come here to worship God based off of what we read and study, sing and pray, have opportunity to focus on the Lord's Supper should cause us to feel a certain way.
Ephesus was strong in doctrine; they had a few things that they needed to fix.
Acts chapter 19 verses 8 through 10—we've talked about this already—driving Paul out of the synagogue and forcing him to continue his teaching. And still the School of Tyrannus was there in Ephesus and he did that for the space of two years.
Redeem the Time Being Filled with the Spirit
But as we wrap up, how is it then that we're supposed to be filled with the spirit as we read about there in verse 18 of Ephesians chapter 5, where he says, “be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit.”
I want you to appreciate something for me. The words “be filled” as you find them there in verse 18 are an imperative. Now you find those words twice: “be filled” and then “be filled.” You find it again. What's the only difference in one of those? It has a qualifier: “Do not be filled.” That negative word there means in anything that leads up to you being filled this way is the way that I don't want you to be filled.
So what's he saying? Do not begin the process of being filled with wine. Don't let that be the reason you do what it is that you do, but you need to be filled—that's an imperative—with the Spirit of God.
You and I are supposed to have the Spirit of God within us. We're supposed to. It's a commandment. It's something that we're supposed to be.
So how do we accomplish that? We need to remember that Paul is contrasting worldliness and true wisdom. He's contrasting foolishness and being wise.
How to Walk Wisely to Redeem the Time
So as we close this morning, we need to answer this question and the lesson will be yours: How do we walk as wise and not as the unwise?
Well, the answer is given in the context in which we read. Notice beginning in verse 19 is through congregational singing.
“Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.” — Ephesians 5:19
God is not concerned with the tone of your physical voice, but God is concerned with the melody that comes from your heart of singing praises to him, worshiping his name, and encouraging one another. When we sing praises to God, that's what we're supposed to do.
Congregational singing in verse 19.
Also the giving of thanks in verse 20: giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—probably the most overlooked command in all of the New Testament among Christians throughout the entire world is the idea of giving thanks to God. We say thank you when we offer prayers for the food, and we say thank you in public prayers maybe quite often, but how often in your daily life are you thanking God for the many blessings, in the trials you've overcome and your ability to now face more trials? The trying of your faith, according to James, works patience.
- Ephesians 5:21, 22-23
"Redeeming the time because the days are evil." We need to focus our attention more on what's going to get us to heaven than what we're going to eat for lunch and dinner and breakfast tomorrow. We need to spend more of our time focused on how we can create opportunities so that we can make sure that our lives are in line with the way God wants us to live, and that we have opportunities to go and teach others so they can have salvation as well.
How are you doing at redeeming the time? Are you one who lives your life on your terms, doing life your way? And when you get to the other side, it's going to be your wish that God accepts you into eternal life.
Or are you willing to submit your wishes, your wants, your priorities, and surrender them to what God says is more necessary—being a part of the kingdom that He said He was going to establish, hearing His word, believing it, repenting of your sins, confessing your faith in Jesus, and being baptized in order to have your sins washed away.
If we can assist you, if there's things in your life that you need to seek the prayers of the congregation for, then we would encourage you to contact us.
