Shameful Even to Mention

Carl Trueman shares this quote from Peter O'Brien's commentary on Ephesians, regarding Ephesians 5:11-12:

"The earlier expression, 'the fruitless deeds of darkness' (v. 11), is a general one and could include sins done openly as well as those committed secretly. Such a description focuses on their evil character - they belong to the realm of darkness - and the fact they are utterly futile. These 'works' are the sexual vices (perhaps even perversions) mentioned in v. 3, not immoral pagan religious rites, as some have suggested. They are now described as 'the things done in secret': those who commit them (i.e., the 'disobedient' of vv. 6, 7) do not want their sins to be brought out into the open (cf. John 3:20). But their dark deeds are so abhorrent, Paul asserts, that it is 'shameful' even to mention them, much less to do them. He utterly repudiates these sexual sins, but desires to convey their seriousness without mentioning the details of the depravity. Paul and his readers knew what they were, and he will not dignify them by naming them. Instead, he wants the light of the gospel to shine through the readers' lives and expose these deeds for what they are" (The Letter to the Ephesians, pp. 371-72).

Trueman applies this text to our Christian culture: "Here's a question: would it make any difference to you, any difference at all to the way you talk, to what you watch, to the way you 'engage culture', if Eph. 5:12 had never been written?"