Redeem the Time: The Wisdom That Seizes Every Opportunity

Introduction

There's a phrase Pastor Albert KOFFI has heard his whole life, one he has watched with his own eyes ruin people's lives: "I have time." We tell ourselves we have time to get trained, time to seize this opportunity, time to get right with God, time to share the gospel with that coworker. And then one day the door closes, health fails, the opportunity goes to someone else. This Sunday, August 3, 2025, visiting the congregation of his spiritual children, the pastor opens his text in Ephesians 5:15-16 and asks the question: are you a fool who lets time slip away, or a wise person who redeems every opportunity God places before you? Take these lines as a gentle but clear-eyed examination of how you spend your time.

Today's Text

"Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil."
, Ephesians 5:15-16 (ESV)

Outline of the Message

1. Biblical Wisdom: A Behavior, Not an Intelligence

• The pastor points out that the first three chapters of Ephesians are doctrinal: there Paul reveals the blessings God grants his children in Christ, we are redeemed, chosen, blessed (Ephesians 1). But starting in chapter 4, Paul moves to practice.
• "This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind" (Ephesians 4:17). God expects a behavior that matches the grace received.
• Biblical definition of wisdom: it produces behavior in line with God's principles and with human values in society. The fear of God is its beginning (Proverbs 9:10).
• Wise men and women know how to maintain a life of balance and sobriety. Fools, on the other hand, give themselves over to every kind of excess.

2. Redeeming the Time: The Present and the Future, Not the Past

• "Redeeming the time" is worded differently in other versions. The NIV says "making the most of every opportunity." The New Living Translation says "make the most of every opportunity." Other translations render it "make the best use of the present time."
• Watch out for a common misunderstanding: this is not about making up for the past. The past is past, with both its bad and its good experiences. Redeeming the time is about the present and the future.
• Simple principle: when you manage well the present God gives you, you gain ground for a glorious future. When the present is mismanaged, chances are the future will be wasted too, and you'll end up full of regret.
• The pastor tells the story of his uncle, in Yopougon (Ivory Coast). A skilled mechanic, trained by the Europeans who set up the Manutention Africaine. Back then, a plot of land in Yopougon Doukoure cost 50,000 CFA francs. His refrain was always: "I have time, my chance will come." He remained a tenant his whole life. He died leaving three children who, today, have neither education nor a stable situation. The father never learned to seize the opportunities when he had the means to.

3. "I Have Time": The Refrain That Ruins Lives

• The language of people who never redeem the time is always the same: "We have time. The time will come. My chance will come."
• But the Bible says: "A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps" (Proverbs 16:9). And Jeremiah 10:23 puts it this way: "O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps."
• Time does not belong to you. You are not the master of time. Only God is master of times and circumstances. Every wasted opportunity, every bit of time not put to good use, is always regretted eventually.
• The young people of the pastor's generation had the opportunity to raise their level of education. Many settled for a bare minimum. Today, they regret it. You who live in Europe, in Africa, or elsewhere, for every door God opens for you at work, in your studies, in higher education, in business, do not fall into the trap of endlessly singing: "I have time."

4. "Because the Days Are Evil": Time Is Moving Toward Its End

• Paul ties "redeem the time" to "because the days are evil." Non-Christians tend to think of time as cyclical, whatever happened today will happen again tomorrow, nothing will really change. The Bible does not view time this way.
• The biblical perspective is linear: time starts at point A and ends at point B. The Bible speaks of the end of the age. The world is moving toward its end.
• The pastor shares his own testimony: in 1984, he visited Ethiopia right after a war. A once-glorious city, in ruins. The hotel didn't even have running water. Today, several countries that once knew their glory (Libya, Sudan), look like nothing at all. What can be said of Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger? Things will not always stay as they were. That is exactly why we must redeem the time.
• When God opens a door, he wants you to walk through it, because tomorrow that door may be closed.

5. Sober-Minded for the Sake of Prayer (1 Peter 4:7)

• "The end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer" (1 Peter 4:7). Peter picks up the same theme as Paul: the end is near, so let us be wise.
• When the pastor was young, in Abidjan, drugs were barely spoken of. No one had a clear idea of what they even were. Today, they're found on every street corner, near high schools and universities. Lost, wandering people are everywhere.
• These things exist, but as Christians, we must not throw ourselves into them. A wise man keeps a balanced life so that he has time to remain in communion with his God.
• The Corinthians were not wise: they gave themselves over to excess, eating until they could barely breathe, while the brother next to them was starving (1 Corinthians 11:20-22). Paul rebukes them sharply for it.
• Whoever has no time for God is not a wise man. Whoever has no time to spiritually nourish his soul is not a wise man. Whoever has no time to prepare for his eternal future is not a wise man.

6. The Lesson of Noah, Lot, and Esau

• Jesus himself reminds us of this: "As it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all" (Luke 17:26-27). In the days of Lot, they bought, sold, planted, and built, until the day fire fell on Sodom (Luke 17:28-29).
• God is not saying that building, doing business, or trading is wrong. What can be wrong is being so absorbed in those things that we no longer have time for him.
• Esau made his stomach his god. His shrewd brother Jacob offered him his birthright for a bowl of lentils. Esau told himself: "I am about to die, so what use is a birthright to me?" (Genesis 25:29-34). He did not die. He ate, he lived on, and he lost everything. There are things we brush aside, believing they'll be of no use to us, only to realize later how much they would have served us.

7. "The Wise Wins Souls" (Proverbs 11:30)

• "The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise" (Proverbs 11:30). One of the best ways to redeem the time is to win souls for the kingdom of God.
• This is the message Jesus gives Peter: "I will make you fishers of men" (Matthew 4:19). It is also the command of the master of the feast: "Compel them to come in, that my house may be filled" (Luke 14:23). "Compel" here means "persuade," through the good news, never by force.
• The more people you win for the kingdom, the less your life will have been lived in vain. You will not have wasted your time, you will have redeemed it.
• The pastor tells the story of a brother who came to church with his hands in his pockets, never lifting a finger to serve. In a dream, he is carried into eternity. An angel shows him the beautiful houses of others, then shows him his own: a construction site with no foundation, greenish bricks. "This is what came from every time the others worked in the church and you did not bother." He wakes up at 4 a.m., runs to the church, and starts wiping down the benches. No one needed to say a word to him: he had understood everything.
• The pastor also warns: when we fail to bring the good news to those around us, they sometimes come to us bringing what they carry instead, insecurity, violence, ideology. Going to them with the gospel is part of redeeming the time.

8. Christ, the Model for Redeeming Time (Matthew 11:19)

• "The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children" (Matthew 11:19).
• Christ was criticized by the religious leaders. His every action was constantly judged. And yet his whole ministry was a demonstration of wisdom, the wisdom that redeemed his time.
• He accomplished in three and a half years what we could not accomplish in thirty. He crossed the whole of Palestine with the good news, going from place to place, doing good, healing the sick, freeing the oppressed (Acts 10:38). His detractors, meanwhile, accomplished nothing.
• And in the end, he was able to say: "Father, I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was" (John 17:4-5).
• May we, too, one day be able to say: "Lord, I have accomplished the work you entrusted to me. Receive me into your glory."

Key Takeaways

• Christian wisdom is not an intelligence, it is behavior in line with God, beginning with the fear of him.
• Redeeming the time is not about the past. What matters is what you do with the present and what you build toward for the future.
• "I have time" is the refrain that has ruined generations. Time does not belong to you, God alone is its master.
• Sobriety is not a luxury. Without it, you will not have time for prayer, for nourishing your soul, or for preparing for eternity.
• Winning souls is one of the best ways to redeem the time. The wise wins souls.

Personal Application

• What doors has God opened before you right now (studies, training, work, service in the church) that you keep putting off by telling yourself "I have time"?
• Does your weekly schedule include real time set aside for prayer and the Word, or is it swallowed up by business, screens, and distractions?
• Is there someone around you (a coworker, a neighbor, a family member), to whom you know you should speak about Jesus, but haven't yet dared to?
• Look back over your year: what opportunities did you fail to seize? Without dwelling in guilt over the past, what concrete step can you take this week so the present produces a better future?
• If God called you home today, could you say, like Jesus: "I have finished the work you entrusted to me"?

Verses Cited

• Ephesians 5:15-16: See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
• Ephesians 4:17: This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord.
• Proverbs 9:10: The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.
• Proverbs 16:9: A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.
• Jeremiah 10:23: O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself.
• 1 Peter 4:7: The end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.
• Luke 17:26-30: The days of Noah, the days of Lot.
• Genesis 25:29-34: Esau sells his birthright for a bowl of lentils.
• Proverbs 11:30: The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he that winneth souls is wise.
• Luke 14:23: Compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.
• Matthew 11:19: Wisdom is justified of her children.
• Acts 10:38: He went about doing good.
• John 17:4-5: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.

FAQ

What does "redeeming the time" in Ephesians 5:16 really mean?

Redeeming the time does not mean recovering time already spent, the past is past, it cannot be recovered. The expression is about the present and the future. The NIV translates it "making the most of every opportunity," other versions render it "make the best use of the present time." When you manage your present well, you gain ground toward a glorious future.

Why does Paul say "the days are evil"?

Unlike a cyclical view of time, the Bible teaches that time is linear: it starts at point A and ends at point B. It is moving toward its end. Peter confirms this: "The end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer" (1 Peter 4:7). The doors God opens today may be closed tomorrow. Failing to seize opportunities means preparing yourself for regret.

How does a Christian concretely redeem their time?

Three areas stand out in this teaching. First, seize the opportunities God opens (studies, work, training, service), without telling yourself "I have time" (Ephesians 5:16). Second, remain sober and balanced so as to keep time for God, for prayer, for fellowship (1 Peter 4:7). Third, win souls for the kingdom: "He that winneth souls is wise" (Proverbs 11:30). Christ accomplished in three and a half years what others would not accomplish in thirty, that is the model.