EPHESIANS 4:17-32 22 SEPTEMBER 2024
So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. But you did not learn Christ in this way, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity. He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need. Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.
You have probably heard the old saying, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.”
Have you ever thought about what that saying implies? Not just for time in Rome but in everyday life – wherever we might happen to be.
The idea behind that saying is that if you are in a particular place with a group of people, you should act like and do the things they do.
So, if you are in a group of sophisticated people, you should act in a sophisticated manner.
If you are in the company of a group of rednecks, you should act like a rednecks.
And, if you are among a group of Pagans (Paul’s word for sinners), you should act like Pagans.
Whatever you do, you don’t want to stand out as DIFFERENT!
And, that is the world’s way of thinking as to how you can succeed. Join the crowd.
Conforming to the ways of the world is the way to survive, says the world.
That thinking, that picture of what the world sees as a successful way of life, should bother us as Christians in a mighty way,
Why? Because it is evil – wicked!
That way of thinking is opposed to Christ’s way of thinking; it is opposed to the way He taught. It is the opposite of the way Scripture teaches us.
But, from the worldly view, conforming to the ways of the worldly folks is the right way because people notice you, people like you, and that conformity makes it possible for doors of opportunity for jobs, new friends, and ways to prosper dollar-wise.
If we conform to the ways of worldly people, we could find ourselves in a number of situations.
Think about this especially important truth –
JESUS WAS KILLED BECAUSE HE DID NOT CONFORM!
For Jesus, not conforming to the ways of the world was fatal. Many people look at that and say, “See, I could be killed if I don’t conform to those around me. All kinds of terrible things could happen to me.”
But I have to look at the other side of that. Because Jesus didn’t conform to the ways of the world in His time on earth, He died. But we know He lives today, and because He conquered conformity, we can, too. And when we do, we have the hope of eternity with Him.
Now, let’s go back to Ephesus, where Paul addressed the church. These people were Gentiles—not Jews.
They were surrounded in that city by some very wicked people.
Rather than conform to our surroundings – if they are evil – we need to think differently; we need to understand more, and we need to have an open heart and mind to the things of God – not to the things of the world.
Now, if you are a parent and have young children, those children will eventually do something that you know is harmful to them or is against your beliefs.
Your reaction is to tell them they should not act in that manner or should not do the act that the child is about to do or has done.
What is the first thing that a child will ask? He or she will say, “WHY?
I have heard some parents say, “Because I said so!” That, while it is a convenient answer, it is almost never the best answer.
Our beliefs should be evident in our conduct.
In detail, here is what that means:
If my claim to be a Christ follower is not evidenced in the way I live my life daily, there is something radically wrong with my Christian walk.
If I am wondering why it is so hard and so narrow to follow Christ.
If I find myself being envious of people from my past life who seem to be enjoying their life outside of Christ without any consequences.
If any of that is a part of my thinking, there is something radically wrong with my Christian walk.
James Boice once wrote: “Therefore, if I am failing in the Christian life, what should trouble me is not that I am failing or that I have a problem, but that I have failed God and His important purposes for me.”
As Christians, we are Different. We are different because we have been schooled by Christ.
We live holy lives because we have been adopted into the Christ family and we have been educated by Jesus. In other words, we have been taught to be Different.
Truth is in Jesus. When Jesus is the subject of our lives, when He is the object of our lives, and when we live in His environment, we are confident that He embodies truth as He claimed He is.
And so, we have learned from Christ and because He allows us to have a personal relationship with Him, we honor Him by giving our lives over to Him.
Now, when all the above is true and active and alive in our lives, what do you think will happen?
Here is what will happen: It leads us to be Different from the people around us.
We want to be different! We want to live in a manner that makes us counter-culture.
In general, society in our country has created many sub-cultures.
In the 1920’s flappers appeared on the scene – dancing like no one had danced before in their outrageous costumes
In the 1950’s – some of us were around then – we saw the Presley craze, the “hoods”.
In the 1960s, the “flower children” appeared. They were different. There were flowers everywhere, tie-dyed everything, listening to the Beatles, and men growing their hair longer.
Of course, the chant of the ’60s was “Make Love, Not War.” And the sexual revolution began.
They were all what I meant when I said sub-cultures became popular.
All of these sub-cultures, after some time, became the norm and were no longer different.
To state it a bit plainly – What has become the norm in our culture, and where do we, as Christians, fit in?
That is what Paul is addressing in his letter to the church in Ephesus.
Look at Ephesians 4, verse 1 again:
“Therefore, I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called.”
We can translate that to mean to us: “walk worthy of God’s call.”
Or we could translate it plainly: “You are Christian, so live like it.”
That is so very important for the Body of Christ.
Contrary to the practice in some “Christian bodies,” there are not hundreds or thousands of little bodies of Christ scattered all over the world.
There is only One Body of Christ. Parts of the One Body meet and worship Him all over the world.
They are scattered by location, but they are not scattered as “branch bodies.”
There must be unity among them and a spirit of love and cooperation among those who embrace the Gospel as presented in the New Testament.
If Paul had a closing line – and we’re not closing here – but if Paul had a closing line this would likely be it:
“WALK WORTHY OF YOUR CALL BY BEING DIFFERENT FROM THE WORLD”
The words Paul uses in the passage – Ephesians 4:17-32 speak of the futility of thinking; we are darkened in understanding, ignorant, having hardened hearts.
Paul’s message could be summed up in one short statement –
LIFE WITHOUT JESUS IS MEANINGLESS!
I can’t imagine any more horrible situation than the one Paul writes about here.
Futile thinking – futile means having no useful purpose – completely ineffective.
Darkened understanding and ignorance have excluded Jesus from their lives.
Ignorance – cluelessness, obliviousness, having a lack of knowledge or awareness.
Hard Heartedness – lacking sympathy; lacking kindness
All of these combine to become an accurate picture of life without God.
All these descriptions could have been written today.
But the real question is: Why are we surprised that the world is behaving like this?
Scripture tells us that the evil one is in control of the world, but that doesn’t mean that God has no control over the world.
But Satan is ruling on this earth – for a time.
And Christians have to live in this world, but Christians are not to be OF this world.
And that is where we know we are to BE DIFFERENT!
At the same time, we are to be about the business of doing what we can to change the world with our influence and with the Truth that is Jesus, the Savior of the world.
Hear Ecclesiastes 1:2-9
Meaningless! Meaningless! Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless!”
The Teacher in Ecclesiastes is seeking the meaning of life. He looked at wisdom; he looked at pleasures; he looked at work; he looked at riches ---- he found no understandable answer - and so he came to this conclusion:
“here is the conclusion of the matter; Fear God and His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.”
He could only find meaning in God!
Where are you seeking meaning in your life? We look for it in all kinds of different places, even today.
Wise men – doing just what makes us happy, even if it is for just a moment in time: our jobs; money.
The world looks to those places for meaning and happiness.
As Christians, our attitude must be - Oh, how sad that someone would live and die without knowing Jesus.
We know that life with Jesus is transforming.
And to know that we must know that knowing “about Jesus” is just knowing facts about Jesus.
To live a life that is transformed requires a Relationship with Him – knowing Him personally.
That is why He came to earth. He was known in the Law. But those under the Law hadn’t seen Him or known Him.
In Jesus's coming to earth, we have the opportunity to know him – up close and personal.
We can know the truth by knowing Jesus, and that makes all the difference.
It is transforming! It is life-changing! Romans 12:2 –
“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
That is what happens when a person has heard the Gospel and recognized they have sin in their life. That person realizes that only God, through the blood of Jesus Christ, can remove that sin as they are buried in baptism, raised to begin the greatest life as their sins are washed away – pure and living in Jesus.
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