For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. Ephesians 5:12
Connected with the worship of heathen deities are the vilest of rites. The Bible informs us of the fiery child sacrifice that accompanied the worship of Moloch (2 Kings 16:3), and also of the whoredom attending the worship of Baal (Numbers 25). While the Bible briefly mentions these sins, it is light upon the grisly details. By this we may understand that God desires us to be aware of His displeasure at such wickedness, but does not want us to be deeply acquainted with it.
Before Paul arrived to spread the gospel, Ephesus was given to idolatry. This Grecian metropolis was home to many who practiced the ‘curious arts’ of divination, as well as a body of tradesmen who made shrines of Diana (Acts 19:19, 24). In the 5th chapter of his letter to the Ephesians, Paul identifies some of the sinful festivities of that city, and admonishes the believers to ‘have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them’ (Ephesians 5:1).
The phrase, ‘unfruitful works of darkness’, seems to be an allusion to the degrading rites practiced by the heathen. Under cover of nightfall, in woodland groves and underground tunnels, the Greeks engaged in their abominable religion. Paul declares that failing to turn up to these ceremonies was not enough for the converts at Ephesus. Rather, the Christian was to ‘reprove them’ for their practices.
Like the believers at Ephesus, we are to make an avowed stance against false religion, and openly denounce it as evil. But the power of the Christian’s reproof is not in his knowledge of the specifics of this world’s depravity, or his ability to explain the intricate details of a certain line of wickedness. On the contrary, Paul declares that we are not to elaborate upon these things, saying that ‘it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret’ (Ephesians 5:12).
In the dark recesses of the internet, the avid researcher may amass great knowledge of ‘those things which are done of them in secret’. More recently, disturbing facts regarding the abuse practiced by world leaders have been divulged by the mainstream media. It is not God who desires us to become well acquainted with ‘the depths of Satan’ (Revelation 2:24). God desires that we be ‘wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil’ (Romans 16:19).
While we are not to be ignorant of Satan’s devices, the battle with evil is not won by knowing evil, but by knowing good. In his admonishment to the Ephesians, Paul declared that ‘all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light’ (Ephesians 5:13). Darkness is dispelled by the admittance of light. In order to help those who have been overcome by darkness, we must manifest the light to them. In order to do this, we must become deeply acquainted, not with the lying works of darkness, but with the truths of the Scriptures. Thus fitted, the Christian is empowered to help the willing soul find his way out of any and every snare of the enemy.
Christopher Sparks