Dial In with Jonny Ardavanis - Christians Don’t “Kill Time,” They Redeem It

Episode Date: March 23, 2023

In this series thus far, Jonny Ardavanis has covered the themes of work, laziness, rest and sabbath. In the final episode of this short series, Jonny will examine the believer’s responsibility to ��redeem” their time. In Ephesians 5:15, Paul details that one of the predominant ways the believer evidences the transformation that has taken place in their life is how they steward their time. In this episode Jonny examines both the “why?” and the “how?” of redeeming our time.Watch VideosVisit the Website Follow on InstagramFollow on Twitter

Hey guys, my name is Johnny Artavanis and this is Dial In. In this series, we've been looking at the biblical themes of work, laziness, rest, and Sabbath. And in this final episode, I want to conclude that series by examining the use of our time. Paul says in Ephesians 5 that we are to redeem the time. And we're going to consider what that means and how we do that in this episode. So let's dial in. When I was six years old, I was the third of five children. There was Christine, she was the oldest, my brother Kyle was the second oldest, me in the middle, and then I had two younger sisters,

Lissy and Emmy. I had always, always, always wanted a younger brother. So when I found out that my mom was pregnant again, I was thrilled. And soon after hearing that my mom was pregnant, we found out that there wasn't just one baby within her womb, but two. My mom was having twins. And with that, my odds of receiving a little brother had doubled. And I remember one day that my dad took all of us kids to the park and my dad had us all sit down on the grass and he said, well, Hey kids, the first baby in your mommy's tummy is a, and he pulled out a pink diaper bag from behind him and said, girl. And I went and thought, okay, fine, but there's still another baby in there. It has to be a boy. And then my dad said, and the second baby, drum roll, please. And he pulled out another pink

diaper bag and says, another girl. And it was, as far as I can remember, the only time in my entire life where my brother and I both cried at the same time. We were officially outnumbered, five girls and two boys. I laugh at the moment in recollection because I cannot imagine a moment in my life nor that of my family's if we didn't have my baby twin sisters, Lindsay and Lauren, or as our family calls them, Binger and Bomber. And one of the greatest things about the twins is that they're identical and that for the longest time, everyone in their life had a very difficult time telling them apart. They look the same, they talk the same, and when they were little, their Sunday school teachers had to locate a birthmark on Lindsay's

shoulder in order to differentiate who they were from each other. But even though their teachers, friends, neighbors, and cousins had a difficult time telling them apart, I remember bragging as a little kid that my sisters looked nothing alike to me. Not only did they look different up close, but to me, they walked differently. From a great distance away, walking shoulder to shoulder, I knew the gait and posture of Lauren, and I knew the gait and posture of Lauren and I knew the gait and posture of Lindsay. There was something unique about their walk that distinguished them from each other. In that same way, the scripture says that the Christian has a distinct walk from that of the

world, not in regards to their gait or pace or hitch in their step, but in regard to their manner of life, the path they choose, the company they keep, and the direction by which their path is governed is different from that of the unsaved world. You might be asking, well, how? Well, for one, their work ethic is different. We talked about this already, but the Christian works with enthusiasm, integrity, excellence, and enjoyment, knowing that they model their maker when they work hard for his glory. The Christian's commitment to honoring the Lord in their labor sets them apart from the unsaved world. Furthermore, this is why laziness, as we examined, is an offense to God because it

reflects poorly on God's character as our creator. Now, as we continue to consider in this episode what distinguishes the walk of a Christian from that of the world, we need to now turn in our Bibles to Ephesians 5. Now, Paul in the book of Ephesians is expounding all that God has done for us in Christ. In Ephesians 1, Paul says that God called believers from before the foundation of the world. In Ephesians 2, we read of our spiritual condition before God intervened in our life, that we were dead in our sin, that we were children of wrath. But God being rich in mercy, it says in Ephesians 2, 4, and 5, because of his great love in which he loved us, made us alive in him. In Ephesians 3, Paul prays for the Ephesian church that they would begin to

fathom the mystery of the gospel and they would begin to grasp the height and the depth and the breadth and the width of the love of God. Now in those first three chapters of Ephesians, there are 66 verses, but there is only one command. And that command comes in chapter 2, 11, when Paul urges the Ephesian church to remember their former condition apart from Christ. Now, beginning in chapter 4 and running through the end of the book, Paul tells us how to live in light of all that God has done for us in Christ. And the second half of the book chapters four through six is filled with commands, but they all hinge on the first command he gives at the beginning of chapter four and chapter four, verse one, Paul provides the theme for the second half of the letter. He says, therefore, meaning in light of all that Christ has done, Paul says, I, the prisoner of

the Lord implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called. Paul gathers up everything he has said in the first three chapters and says, because of these realities, walk in a way that's worthy of the calling you have received from God. That being the calling to be one of his dearly beloved children. But how? How can we as Christians walk worthy of our calling? How can we walk worthy of the new position that we have in Christ? Well, as chapters four through six unfold, Paul explains that we walk worthy by walking in unity in chapter four, verses two through 16. He then says that we walk worthy of our calling by walking in newness of life in chapter four, verses 17 through 16. He then says that we walk worthy of our calling by walking in newness of life in chapter four, verses 17 through 24. Then he says that we walk worthy of our calling by

walking in love. Then he says we walk worthy of our calling by walking in sexual purity in chapter five, verses three through 14. But in this episode, we will look at one last way that we can walk worthy of our calling in Christ. And it's the longest section of this entire letter. Now, the theme of this long section that runs from chapter 5, verse 15 through chapter 6, verse 9 is grounded in what Paul says in verse 15. He says, walk not as unwise, but as wise. Paul says, if you want to walk worthy of your position in Christ,

then you need to walk in biblical wisdom. When Paul says that the Christian walks in wisdom, remember that our walk refers to how we live. And when Paul refers to wisdom here, he's not talking about what you know. He's talking about how you translate what you know to how you live. You can have all of the knowledge in the world and still be a biblical fool. Initially in verse 15, before Paul urges believers to walk in wisdom, he says, walk carefully, or this could be translated, watch out. In this context, it means to contemplate, to think about, to weigh carefully. And Paul is reminding them that you are no longer a child of darkness. You are no longer a child of wrath. You have been blood bought by the savior. You are walking in the

light. And because of this reality, you are to tread not carelessly, but carefully. This is absolutely crucial to every believer because one of the surest ways to ensure that you will live a life of a fool is by never stopping to think about the path you're on, about the way you live your life. Now, I have already laid out the structure for you. Paul is about to tell us how we are to walk in wisdom or what walking in wisdom actually looks like. And let me ask you, what do you think is the first way that Paul is going to distinguish the man who walks in wisdom from the man who walks in folly? What's the answer?

Well, Paul tells us the way they spend their time. Paul tells us in Eph they spend their time. Paul tells us in Ephesians 5, 15, therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise, redeeming the time. Now in your Bibles, it might say making the most of your time. But if that was what Paul wanted to say, he had perfectly good Greek words to say that.

But the word he actually uses is one Greek word, and that one word is often translated making the most of your time, but the Greek word is exagorazo menoi, and it means to redeem. Paul had already used this same word in Galatians when he said that Christ has, and here he uses the same word when he says, Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law. To redeem something means to buy. It means to purchase. It's the language of the marketplace. And here Paul is saying that one of the clearest ways that blood bought and redeemed sinners evidence the transformation taken place in their life is by redeeming, buying up, snatching up their time. Paul, for three chapters, laid out the precious truths of the gospel. And now that he has turned

a corner, he's beginning to describe distinctive hallmarks of the Christian's walk. We imitate our Savior as we walk in unity, in love, in purity, and in wisdom. And the birthmark of spiritual wisdom is a shrewd stewardship of our time. This isn't for super-duper Christians, but for the everyday child of God. Now, there are two Greek words that are used for the English word time. One of them is kairos, and the other is chronos. You recognize chronos because it's the word from which we get words like chronology. It refers to time as the passing successive moments

on the clock. It's like the way we use the English word time in the sentence, what time does the game start? That's the word chronos. But chronos is not the word that Paul uses here. The word Paul uses here is kairos, and it refers to seasons or epochs or periods. It's similar to how we use the English word time in Dickens' famous sentence from literature. It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. Now, Paul's not talking about specific moments, but about periods of our life, seasons of time and windows of opportunity. Paul is saying the time you have been given, the seasons you have been extended,

you're not to let them slip away. You are to redeem these moments, redeem that time. Christians do not kill time. They redeem it. Now, why do we need to redeem our time? Jonathan Edwards helps us in this regard by first of all telling us that we need to redeem our time, your time, because your time is very short on this earth. That's why it's so precious. The scarcity of any commodity drives the value of it. And more scarce than diamonds are a man's days. In the book of Job, Job says that his days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle. In Ecclesiastes, Solomon says that our life is but a vapor. It's like a mist. It's like a puff

of smoke. Your time on this earth is short. But not only that, secondly, your time is uncertain. In the book of James, James says, come now you who say, today we'll do this, tomorrow we'll do this, and we'll go make a profit. We'll live here, do this, do that. He says, you don't even know what your life will look like tomorrow. What is your life, James asks. It's like a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. We don't know how much longer we have. A month? A year? Question for you. Do you ever think about this?

You might have dinner plans this evening, but you might not even make it to dinner. The only thing certain in your life is that the time you have in this life is uncertain. You aren't promised 90 years or even another 90 minutes. So your time on this earth is short. It's uncertain. But third, once your time is gone, it is gone forever. It can never be recovered. Jonathan Edwards says, if men were as lavish of their money as they are with their time, if it were as common a thing for them to throw away their money as it is for them to throw away their time, we should think that they were crazy and not in the possession of their right minds. He says this, and it can be restored, but you can never buy back yesterday. You can never recover lost time.

Fourth, we are to redeem our time because we have work to do. In John chapter 9, Jesus is nearing his crucifixion. The sun is setting on his life, and we hear an obvious sense of urgency as his life comes to a close. Jesus says in John chapter nine, verse four, we must work the works of him who sent me while it is day. The night is coming when no man can work. And as long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. Jesus is communicating to his disciples then and through his word to his disciples today. If you're a Christian, you have been given a calling. Jesus says, we must work the works of him who sent me while it is day. You are to live in light of the calling you have received from your God. And as long as you have breath in your lungs, you must do that

work. Night is coming, meaning death is coming. And when we die, we will not and cannot work any longer. The believer is not thrust into obscurity, but is given a clear assignment. We are to accomplish the work given to us by God as long as we are on planet earth. In Ephesians 2, verse 10, Paul says, We are his workmanship, created for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Paul says, there is a reason why you listening wherever you are and whoever you are, there is a reason you are on this earth. And it is that you would work the works that God has assigned you to do. God, before time began, had you in mind and knew not only your

name, your birthplace, and your idiosyncrasies, but knew the good works that he had created you specifically to do. Have you ever asked the question, why has God left me here? What is my mission in life? Do you have a sense of direction in your life of why God has called you to be here and to do this or to do that? Well, the answers to those questions are clear within God's word. We will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. And the question will be, did we or did we not do the work assigned to us? Fifth, we are to redeem the time because Paul says to redeem the time because the days in Ephesians 5.15 are evil. 2,000 years ago, Paul writes and says that the days are evil. What was true then is true now. The days we live in are truly evil. I don't think I need to convince you

of this reality. Turn on the news. We live in wicked days. And Paul is saying that the Christian is to take stock and carefully consider the evil days we are in and to redeem the time God has given to you within those evil days. Maybe at times you go, man, I wish I was growing up 40 years ago or 200 years ago or man, it really stinks to have to raise kids now in this culturally corrupt environment. But the Holy Spirit speaks to you through the living word of God and tells you to redeem and make the most of every opportunity you have been given in these evil days. Every era and every period has their own evil and every Christian can say with Mordecai, maybe you are here for such a time as this. These evil days are the evil days

that God has entrusted me to live in and be a gospel ambassador for. Time is short, hell is forever, and God has created me in order to redeem the time in the here and now. So maybe you're asking, how do we do this? How do we redeem the time? Well, first of all, we are to remember that we will give an account to God for how we steward and spend our time. Our life is like an hourglass and we only have so much time left. In Matthew, it says that we are going to give an account for every careless word that we utter. How much more so then will we give an accounting to God for how we stewarded the time that he has given to us? Secondly, we need to consider how we spend our time. And when I say that we need to consider our time, we need to actually think through this. People count the calories they consume, but rarely ever evaluate the time

that they spend. Listen to Jay Oswald Sanders in his book, Spiritual Leadership. He writes, after making a generous allowance of eight hours a day for sleep and rest, he says, there are three hours a day for meals and social interaction, 10 hours a day for work and rest. He says there are three hours a day for meals and social interaction, 10 hours a day for work and travel on five of those days. There still remains no fewer than 35 hours unaccounted for in every single week. He then asked the question, what happens to those hours? He's saying you work 10 hours a day, you eat every single day, but what are you doing with the unaccounted hours in your life? How are those extra two days in the week invested? He then says this, the whole of man's contribution to the kingdom of God might well

turn upon how those crucial hours are employed. They will determine whether one's life will be commonplace or extraordinary. I have a question for you. How do you spend those hours? Maybe you go to work in the morning and maybe you're home by six in the evening. The question is, how do you spend each evening from 7 to 11 p.m.? Are those hours being submitted to the lordship of christ or are those your hours paul asks us to consider how are we spending our time third we are to implement godly discipline there is no such thing as a spiritually mature person who is not spiritually disciplined in the way that they use and employ their time fourth we are to ask the lord that he would help us to live our life in a wise manner. In Psalm 90 verse 12, I previously did an episode on this very psalm.

Moses prays and he pleads with God, teach me God to number my days that I might present to you a heart of wisdom. We need to ask God to help us redeem the time before us. We need to sing with the hymn writer, take my life and let it be consecrated Lord to thee. Take my moments and my days, let them flow in endless praise. Fifth and finally, we need to learn how to rest. We covered this in our previous episode, but learning to rest and the one day that God has given us for Sabbath and admiration of the Lord

is a precious gift to us. The way we make use of this one day has a radical effect on the way we use the rest of the days in the week. In the Christian calendar, the week doesn't end with rest as we crash or it's the week. In the Christian calendar, the week doesn't end with rest as we crash or it's the weekend. In the Christian calendar, the week begins with rest. And that rest we have at the beginning of each week affects and shapes the way we want to use our time. God in the garden

implemented a rhythm where we are to one day out of seven rest, where we cease from our endless production and from our endless distraction, and we actually rest and spend time with God and spend time with our fellow man. God has given you this one day, and if you don't use this one day well, you won't use the other six days well as you attempt to steward your time. Do you desire to walk in a manner worthy of all that Christ has done for you in the gospel? Then you need to redeem your time. You need to use it for Christ.

You need to use it for his glory and for his kingdom. Stay dialed in.