This sermon expounds the strong contrast between spiritual light and darkness and explains what makes the difference and how we can use discernment. Paul reminds his readers that those who know Christ used to be darkness, but now are light in the Lord. This has moral implications.

We reference some passages in Isaiah that predict that light will come to the peoples of the world through Israel’s messiah. Jesus Christ fulfilled these prophecies. Those who believe the gospel are people who are to “walk in the light.” This means we cannot live like the sinful world around us. The Bible has various ways of explaining the radical change of status that happens for believers. We explore these. This light is not the “inner light” of false, mystical teachings, but objectively changed lives through Christ. One of the fruits of light that Paul mentions is “truth.”

We explain why discernment does not happen be deciding who is a “nice person.” Many “nice” people teach wicked doctrines that will lead people to spiritual death. The truth is in Christ and is found in the Bible. Discernment means putting spiritual claims to the test to determine if they are genuinely from God. It takes true discernment to know what is pleasing to the Lord. We explain what that means and what it looks like. It means changed lives that are not like the sinful world around us.