For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.
It is shameful even to mention the corrupt and vile deeds done in secret by workers of darkness. Those who believe are to have no fellowship with those unfruitful works but to reprove them, bringing them to light so they are made manifest and exposed. Those who were once darkness but are now light are to walk as children of light in all goodness and righteousness and truth, proving what is acceptable to the Lord and walking circumspectly as wise, redeeming the time and being filled with the Spirit. Wrongdoing in God's work and institutions is not to be cloaked or given fellowship but to be brought to light, criticized, corrected and purged away. The same shame requires purity in daily life, with reserve and modesty between men and women, refusal of inordinate appetite and selfish indulgence, and refusal to repeat or circulate the details of crime and licentiousness.
Secret Shame and Light
The hidden practices carried on by workers of darkness are corrupt and vile to a degree that merely talking about them brings disgrace. They are shameful even to mention, so shameful that decent speech should leave them alone. Those who were once darkness themselves but are now light in the Lord are to walk as children of light. That walk bears fruit in all goodness and righteousness and truth, and it keeps proving what is acceptable to the Lord.
Whatever is reproved is made manifest by the light, for light exposes secret deeds and brings them into view. That exposure is an awakening call to the sleeper to arise from the dead, with the promise that Christ will give light. Spiritual alertness therefore recognizes deceptive work done through human agents instead of fellowshipping with it.
The same context commands walking circumspectly, not as fools but as wise. It commands redeeming the time because the days are evil, understanding what the will of the Lord is, and being filled with the Spirit. The evil traits belonging to darkness will shut out of heaven everyone who cherishes them, while the traits of light will open the gates of the city of God to all who cherish them.
The passage in Ephesians 5:10-18 sets the character of the work for those who consent to be laborers together with God. They are to work in Christ's lines, using mental powers with purpose to make those within their influence wise and better, to uplift and strengthen the weak, and to make straight paths for the feet lest the lame be turned out of the way. The whole chapter containing the verse is one that ministers and church members must study and practice, because they are not practicing God's Word. Its call is to live by God's Word rather than conform to the world, to stand on Christ's side rather than the world's, and to turn from selfish indulgence.
Reprove Rather Than Conceal
The verse requires having no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness but rather reproving them, choosing separation and exposure over participation. The secret deeds done in darkness are so vile and shameful that even speaking of them is a disgrace, and light makes everything reproved manifest by bringing it to view. To reprove rather than join is to walk as children of light, proving what is acceptable to the Lord, walking circumspectly not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time because the days are evil, understanding what the will of the Lord is, and being filled with the Spirit.
Those who proclaim God's message must speak plainly and faithfully and expose evil rather than suppress the warning against it, even when human pressure or fear tempts them to be silent. At the St. Helena institution this meant that wrongdoing was to be brought to light and corrected rather than given fellowship. Applied there, the verse calls for regenerating power and spiritual life, for unlearning criticism and judging of brethren, for living by every word of God, for putting away lying and hypocrisy, and for receiving hearts of flesh instead of hearts of stone so as to be converted and saved.
Wrongs in the sanitariums must not be concealed but must be criticized and purged away. Likewise wrongs in God's work must not be cloaked but must be exposed, criticized, and purged away. The warning applies to recognizing Satan's deceptive work through human agents and staying spiritually alert, having no fellowship with shameful secret deeds but reproving them so exposure brings them to view.
Secret, concealed practices belong to evil's methods and are not genuine service to truth even when they appear to promote goodness or religious zeal. Such deception can be used to corrupt religious institutions and control people, and practices that cannot be brought into the open stand condemned as shameful.
Purity in Daily Life
The verse holds a lesson for the guidance of every married man and every married woman, calling each to search the heart as with a lighted candle, to reach a higher standard, to be wise unto salvation, and calling the faithful husband to show his wife special favor. The secret deeds of darkness are so shameful they should not even be talked about, and those who are now light in the Lord must have no fellowship with them but reprove them so that what is reproved is made manifest by the light. To walk as children of light is to prove what is acceptable to the Lord, to walk circumspectly not as fools but as wise, and to redeem the time because the days are evil.
The coarse, animal treatment of wives by husbands in the bedroom to gratify the man's animal nature is too shameful even to speak of. That secret abuse causes nine-tenths of the secret diseases and suffering of women and ruins the whole human structure. The verse requires reserve, delicacy, dignity and modesty between men and women, with no commonness in conversation, words, manners or attitude, especially by ministers and physicians. It forbids men physicians uncovering and treating the secret parts of women as base, familiar work displeasing to God, and directs that men must treat men and women must treat women in this line.
Obedience requires refusing inordinate appetite for unhealthful things, life-destroying practices, and extremism in pleasure and selfish gratification by lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God. Such obedience will bring collision with common opinions and modes of thinking and practice, because the body belongs to God to be kept a living holy sacrifice and must not be sacrificed with health, truth, righteousness and eternal life. The light makes manifest all reproved things, awakening the sleeper and rising from the dead so that Christ gives light, and calls to understanding what the will of the Lord is.
Since it is a shame even to speak of secret evil deeds, the horrible details of crime and misery need not be lived over in speech or print. Books that delineate Satanic practices by portraying enormities, cruelties, licentious practices, crimes and atrocities, including money-making stories of Indian warfare and similar topics and many more strictly historical works, give publicity to evil. There is Satanic fascination and bewitching power in such relations, acting as leaven in many minds, exciting in youth the desire to gain notice by wicked deeds and leading to the commission of similar acts. Such books might better be consumed than circulated and better never be read, and none who believe present truth should perpetuate their memory by publishing or circulating them.
It is shameful even to mention the corrupt and vile deeds done in secret by workers of darkness. Those who believe are to have no fellowship with those unfruitful works but to reprove them, bringing them to light so they are made manifest and exposed. Those who were once darkness but are now light are to walk as children of light in all goodness and righteousness and truth, proving what is acceptable to the Lord and walking circumspectly as wise, redeeming the time and being filled with the Spirit. Wrongdoing in God's work and institutions is not to be cloaked or given fellowship but to be brought to light, criticized, corrected and purged away. The same shame requires purity in daily life, with reserve and modesty between men and women, refusal of inordinate appetite and selfish indulgence, and refusal to repeat or circulate the details of crime and licentiousness.
Secret Shame and Light
The hidden practices carried on by workers of darkness are corrupt and vile to a degree that merely talking about them brings disgrace. They are shameful even to mention, so shameful that decent speech should leave them alone. Those who were once darkness themselves but are now light in the Lord are to walk as children of light. That walk bears fruit in all goodness and righteousness and truth, and it keeps proving what is acceptable to the Lord.
Whatever is reproved is made manifest by the light, for light exposes secret deeds and brings them into view. That exposure is an awakening call to the sleeper to arise from the dead, with the promise that Christ will give light. Spiritual alertness therefore recognizes deceptive work done through human agents instead of fellowshipping with it.
The same context commands walking circumspectly, not as fools but as wise. It commands redeeming the time because the days are evil, understanding what the will of the Lord is, and being filled with the Spirit. The evil traits belonging to darkness will shut out of heaven everyone who cherishes them, while the traits of light will open the gates of the city of God to all who cherish them.
The passage in Ephesians 5:10-18 sets the character of the work for those who consent to be laborers together with God. They are to work in Christ's lines, using mental powers with purpose to make those within their influence wise and better, to uplift and strengthen the weak, and to make straight paths for the feet lest the lame be turned out of the way. The whole chapter containing the verse is one that ministers and church members must study and practice, because they are not practicing God's Word. Its call is to live by God's Word rather than conform to the world, to stand on Christ's side rather than the world's, and to turn from selfish indulgence.
Reprove Rather Than Conceal
The verse requires having no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness but rather reproving them, choosing separation and exposure over participation. The secret deeds done in darkness are so vile and shameful that even speaking of them is a disgrace, and light makes everything reproved manifest by bringing it to view. To reprove rather than join is to walk as children of light, proving what is acceptable to the Lord, walking circumspectly not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time because the days are evil, understanding what the will of the Lord is, and being filled with the Spirit.
Those who proclaim God's message must speak plainly and faithfully and expose evil rather than suppress the warning against it, even when human pressure or fear tempts them to be silent. At the St. Helena institution this meant that wrongdoing was to be brought to light and corrected rather than given fellowship. Applied there, the verse calls for regenerating power and spiritual life, for unlearning criticism and judging of brethren, for living by every word of God, for putting away lying and hypocrisy, and for receiving hearts of flesh instead of hearts of stone so as to be converted and saved.
Wrongs in the sanitariums must not be concealed but must be criticized and purged away. Likewise wrongs in God's work must not be cloaked but must be exposed, criticized, and purged away. The warning applies to recognizing Satan's deceptive work through human agents and staying spiritually alert, having no fellowship with shameful secret deeds but reproving them so exposure brings them to view.
Secret, concealed practices belong to evil's methods and are not genuine service to truth even when they appear to promote goodness or religious zeal. Such deception can be used to corrupt religious institutions and control people, and practices that cannot be brought into the open stand condemned as shameful.
Purity in Daily Life
The verse holds a lesson for the guidance of every married man and every married woman, calling each to search the heart as with a lighted candle, to reach a higher standard, to be wise unto salvation, and calling the faithful husband to show his wife special favor. The secret deeds of darkness are so shameful they should not even be talked about, and those who are now light in the Lord must have no fellowship with them but reprove them so that what is reproved is made manifest by the light. To walk as children of light is to prove what is acceptable to the Lord, to walk circumspectly not as fools but as wise, and to redeem the time because the days are evil.
The coarse, animal treatment of wives by husbands in the bedroom to gratify the man's animal nature is too shameful even to speak of. That secret abuse causes nine-tenths of the secret diseases and suffering of women and ruins the whole human structure. The verse requires reserve, delicacy, dignity and modesty between men and women, with no commonness in conversation, words, manners or attitude, especially by ministers and physicians. It forbids men physicians uncovering and treating the secret parts of women as base, familiar work displeasing to God, and directs that men must treat men and women must treat women in this line.
Obedience requires refusing inordinate appetite for unhealthful things, life-destroying practices, and extremism in pleasure and selfish gratification by lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God. Such obedience will bring collision with common opinions and modes of thinking and practice, because the body belongs to God to be kept a living holy sacrifice and must not be sacrificed with health, truth, righteousness and eternal life. The light makes manifest all reproved things, awakening the sleeper and rising from the dead so that Christ gives light, and calls to understanding what the will of the Lord is.
Since it is a shame even to speak of secret evil deeds, the horrible details of crime and misery need not be lived over in speech or print. Books that delineate Satanic practices by portraying enormities, cruelties, licentious practices, crimes and atrocities, including money-making stories of Indian warfare and similar topics and many more strictly historical works, give publicity to evil. There is Satanic fascination and bewitching power in such relations, acting as leaven in many minds, exciting in youth the desire to gain notice by wicked deeds and leading to the commission of similar acts. Such books might better be consumed than circulated and better never be read, and none who believe present truth should perpetuate their memory by publishing or circulating them.