New Conduct—Paul contrasts the past with the present to demonstrate the radical disjunction between life before and after Christ. In the past Paul says we were not just surrounded by darkness; we were darkness (v. 8), part of the system that needed fixing. In stark contrast to the past is the new reality—Christ whose light illumines life.

• Verse 10—"Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord." The Greek term, dokimazō (Ro. 12:2—"discern what is the will of God"), has two senses: (a) "to test," / "to discern," as in testing a wine, and (b) "to approve," as in, after taste-testing all the wine entries, you decide that the best wine is a particular merlot! Paul calls his listeners to exercise intelligent discrimination in the culture around them, discerning what pleases God.
• What does it mean to live in the light of Christ? This lesson provides an internal compass for directing the life of a Christian: "for this light within you produces only what is good . . ." (Living Translation). No specifics; we are simply urged to do what would be the good and right and true thing to do even by our culture’s standards.

What other contrasts can you think of to capture the stark and radical disjunction between the former things and new life in Christ?

• Name some of the postmodern powers of darkness—systemic / corporate as well as individual—that stand opposite Christian faith and calling.
• Note how obvious some cultural practices are vis-à-vis Christian faith—drive by shooting, sweat shops in third world countries to fill the pockets of billion dollar industries in affluent countries, etc.
• But not all ethical potholes are obvious. Notice how Paul implores the readers to "try to find out" (v.10) what precisely is apropos to Christian faith and practice.
• Christine Roy Yoder (Professor of OT at Columbia Theological Seminary, Decatur, GA):

"Conversion has significant moral consequences: to seek to do ‘what is pleasing to the Lord,’ to be alert and resourceful, and to be moral agents in the world, standing over against excesses and abuses, exposing, taking no part. This is not the language of compromise, of smoothing-over, of going along to get along. It is a wake-up call, reminding those of us who may have forgotten to get on with the work of living as "children of light."

This passage would lend itself well to expository preaching; that is, work you way through the passage, offering examples, for instances, and vignettes to help your listeners visualize the before/after aspects of life in Christ.

• Begin by asking yourself questions that the text poses for you. Some of my initial conversation with this passage would yield questions like these:

How /why does coming under the tutelage and saving grace of Jesus lead to a behavior that is somehow different, somehow better, from the way one used to live life?

Will we all fall into the same Christian behavior patterns? Has this been standardized? What happens when we try to do that? How much breathing room do we have in the moral/ethical behavior aspect of Christian faith?

How do we know that we’re doing the right things, the true things that please God? A feeling? Pat on the shoulder? What?

• Spend some time interacting with Ephesians 5:8-14, asking questions, rummaging around, pondering the phrases and general drift of Paul’s arguments; go back and forth before ancient text and modern setting and listen carefully to what you’re hearing. A very refreshing sermon might simply be a sharing of what you’ve found and how you got there!

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1) New Proclamation Year A (Minneapolis: Augsburg/Fortress Press, 2001), page 178.