11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.
Since Christians are of the light, they are to expose works of darkness (vv. 11-13).
11 And have no fellowship
“Fellowship” means to take part in, to share together, to partner with. Believers do not share unbeliever values and actions. We cannot avoid friendship with non-Christians, but we can reject their values.
with the unfruitful works of darkness,
Christians walk in the light whereas non-Christians walk in darkness. Darkness bears no fruit; it is “unfruitful” in its values. Sin has a tendency to terminate itself.
Sin is “works,” whereas light produces fruit. Fruit flourishes in the photosynthesis of light. Sinful “works” is plural (Ga 5:19) whereas “fruit” is singular (Ga 5:22). Fruit needs light to grow; it cannot grow in the absence of light.
but rather expose them.
Light exposes darkness. Christians as children of the light are to “expose” or reprove darkness. The idea is not that the believer is to become a moral reformer in society but that the light that he has as a believer rebukes the non-Christian.
Exposing the dark here does not mean to denounce darkness but to shed the light of God’s truth on it. Truth will not allow any rationalization of sin but will make it transparent; it will be seen in its true character. Negative condemnation is not sufficient to make fundamental change; the light of God’s eternal truth can make the change.
PRINCIPLE:
Light is fundamentally incompatible with the values of darkness.
APPLICATION:
Children of light are fundamentally incompatible with the values of children of darkness and their sin. Compromise with light puts a dark hue on our witness. Paul even warned believers not to associate with other believers who walk in the dark (1 Co 5:9f).
It is not enough to be passive toward the dark; we must shed light where darkness resides. This is especially true regarding sins of degeneracy. Christians must point out what is degeneracy because degeneracy will distort the social order.
Hi,
I’m currently studying at a bible college which is very liberal and I hate it. Some of the staff support gay marriage, another believes in glorifying men and is a prosperity preacher, others are passive and lax with morality, and sometimes the work itself is against the values of the bible. I hate the place. Almost all the students are liberal and do not understand holiness. I’ve been trying to discern if I made a mistake going there, and I should leave before spending any more student finance money there, or if God wants me there. This verse seems relevant. I will surely be challenging and exposing things, but would God even want me in such a dark place?
Aaro, thanks for your blog. I would suggest that you find a Bible college that operates with integrity. It would be best to wait till the end of the semester before you transfer so that you can get the credit for your current semester. The problem with a Bible college like you describe is that they do not take the Bible or even God Himself seriously. It has to affect their system of interpretation, theology and worldview.
DOES THAT MEAN YOUR SPOUSE TO WHO DONT BELIEVE AND WALKING IN DARKNESS
Linda, when it comes to your spouse, you can find the principles for relating to an unbelieving husband here: https://versebyversecommentary.com/1-peter/1-peter-31/ Be sure to keep studying until you reach verse 6. Verse 7 relates to the husband.
Does this mean “good meaning” christians should start making videos and posts on social media to pull down other christians and christian ministers? Because i see how they can be wrong and judge unrighteously and then causing lots unnecessary and damaging consequences such as confusion, division and therefore can lead God’s flock astray instead. This is so disturbing to me. Thanks.
Everythingbaby, I believe you missed my point Note this statement: “The idea is not that the believer is to become a moral reformer in society but that the light that he has as a believer rebukes the non-Christian.” The emphasis is on the idea that light has the power to overcome darkness, that is, truth corrects error. Here is the point: “Exposing the dark here does not mean to denounce darkness but to shed the light of God’s truth on it. The truth will not allow any rationalization of sin but will make it transparent; it will be seen in its true character. Negative condemnation is not sufficient to make fundamental change; the light of God’s eternal truth can make the change.” The emphasis was especially on non-Christian degeneracy.
What about Elders in the church who push their pastor to resign, and leave their church out of the equation as to why. This seems dark and secretive. Especially a pastor who loves Christ and shows it with his theological teaching.
Michele, there is not enough information to determine the right or wrong of what the elders did. There are times when it is best not to make public what was wrong with the pastor.
Grant, I watch Tucker Carlson. He can, at times, get political, but for the most part does expose darkness that is afoot in our country and the world. So in a way, his show is exposing darkness. He often has guests that speak to sound Christian principles with respect to what is going on. I view this as good material as long as it stirs up righteous indignation but not anger leading to malice (Eph 4). It’s very good to know the truth about what’s going on. It may even prepare us for coming persecution. Who can say? My main study focus is the Word, but I do like to stay informed about what’s going on out there. I view TC as a good source for this. I would like your thoughts. Thankx!
Jack, I do not watch Tucker very often, but it is encouraging that there is media out there that counters the overwhelming bias of the liberal media, as seen in the exposure of FBI corruption and Twitter yesterday.
Would you consider it an improper interpretation of this scripture to use social media to expose the evils in Hollywood? Even so far as to expose the behaviors of soecific named performers themselves as being satanic?
Eldonna, I do not see any Scripture that would prohibit it.