Walking in Holiness

We heard last week about how we are called to live in unity with one another. That the body of Christ is important to us and to our spiritual growth. Now, he is going to describe the standards by which we are to live in this new society in Christ. These unified people, the church, are to be holy, and now we will see what this purity looks like.

The Basis of Living a New life

In the former way of life of deceit

Futile thoughts (incapable of producing anything useful)

There was emptiness. You can think of it as vanity or without purpose.

Romans 1:21–23 (and even all of Romans 1:18-32) “For though they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or show gratitude. Instead, their thinking became worthless, and their senseless hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man, birds, four-footed animals, and reptiles.”

In the way of the world there is no purpose to morality, it is just foolish thoughts and actions. It “seems” right, but there is no true purpose behind what they believe.

Darkened in the understanding

Their “reasoning” process had been corrupted.

Ignorant of the truth and hard hearts

Because of their separation from God they didn’t have the perception to recognize they were sinning.

It wasn’t an “innocence” rather a refusal to acknowledge that God’s way is best for them. They alienated themselves from God and were unable to see the destruction that was being caused by this way of life they were on.

They refused to listen when God spoke, even when God spoke truthfully, they wouldn’t let it penetrate their hearts. This leads to deadness in their souls, and to a life or reckless living.

There is something in our brains, when we are presented with evidence that is contrary to what we want to believe. We often don’t drop it and move on, in fact we hold even stronger and angrier than we were before.

I’ve always believed that if you want to know how strong someones convictions really are, notice how calm they are when someone confronts them with their beliefs. If someone disagrees with them and they get angry and hostile the more they are unsure about what they really believe.

This go for Christians too! As Christians, we shouldn’t be angry when someone disagrees with what we believe we should openly invite people ask questions and be willing to give honest answers.

This led to them becoming callous to the truth and diving more into wicked things where it would only get worse. They had become apathetic to the truth, having no desire to change or regret. Instead they were proud of their sinfulness. So because they were unwilling to change God allowed them to continue in their sin.

Paul says they gave themselves over to “promiscuity” which is sins of a sensual nature. You can think of the way that people want to “sexualize” themselves. The best descriptor someone can use for you is “Sexy”, so much so that it is wrong for you to consider someone not “sexy”. And because they gave themselves over to this it started the “practice” of every kind of impurity. The promiscuity became their business, their occupation, what they focused their time on. It became their total identity. And then they got greedy with a desire for more and more. It means they started coveting what was not theirs to take. They weren’t satisfied with what God had given them, they needed other things too. They became consumed with themselves, everything is about their desires, it was about “loving themselves” as the way to fix their problems.

-Some people might tell you what is going on in our culture is “new” but none of it is new. That is just ignorance of history.

-Relationships now are not about the person you are in a relationship with, it is not about what they can give you and what they allow you to do. There aren’t “boundaries” in relationships, everything goes. You can sleep with someone else as long as your partner says it is okay.

-But then this thinking starts to move into other parts of our life. They start to believe lying is find, that is okay to have hatred towards someone as long as they “Deserve” it and we never forget the terrible things they have done. People steal and they feel totally justified in stealing from others. People speak with no filter, saying whatever they want in front of whoever they want and that is your problem if you don’t like it not mine. People hold on to bitterness and anger and slander of others.

-But Paul is going to show us that there is a better way for us to live, a kinder way.

In the New way of life in the truth

Paul uses the language like that of someone learning at a school to describe this process of becoming a new person.

Came to know Christ

Learning about True Doctrine of God

Romans 16:17 “Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who create divisions and obstacles contrary to the teaching that you learned. Avoid them,”

1 Corinthians 4:6 “Now, brothers and sisters, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying: “Nothing beyond what is written.” The purpose is that none of you will be arrogant, favoring one person over another.”

Why is this important? Because the truth is in Jesus

It isn’t just “a” truth, but “the truth” is in Jesus. Jesus is the “embodiment of truth.”

The most important truth in the world is that Jesus died and rose again and in so doing forgives us of our sins and brings us eternal life.

But also that Jesus is Lord over all creation and that He calls us to new life with new desires.

Heard about Jesus

Others had told them them the truth of the Gospel.

It could also be said they “heard Him” that is Jesus spoke them Himself through the Spirit.

Taught by Jesus

Better said “taught in Him” that is they had communion with Christ through the church that led them to the truth.

This shows it is a continual growth, you don’t know everything at the beginning, you learn and grow.

The Practical Work of a New Life

Just as they recieved Jesus they are now to walk in Him. Colossians 2:6 “So then, just as you have received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to walk in him,”

We will see this as Paul says that those who believe the truth “take off your former way of life”. What we saw earlier was their former way of life.

-But in repentance Paul says that we reject this old life and we have a radical change following Jesus.

-This means that you can’t keep the old self around, because the old self is only going to hinder you. If we keep on the old self we never allow the new self to actually take form.

The old self is:

-Corrupt

-Dominated by lust and uncontrollable passions

-Deceitful

The new self is:

-New, according to God’s image

-Created in righteousness and holiness

-In the truth

So how do we take off this old self?

We experience new creation

We are renewed in our minds

-This is a consistent, upward building of a new self towards God.

-We need our minds to be continued to be renewed.

-Like a lobster shedding

Three important features of the practical steps of new life

They concern our relationships

We can’t be renewed in a vacuum, it is the context of our relationships with others.

This gets back the idea of unity with one another

Each has a negative prohibition with a positive command

Putting away lying, speak the truth

Be angry and don’t sin, don’t let the sun go down on your anger

Don’t steal, honest work

No foul language, but only what is good

A reason is give for each

“we are members of one another”

“Don’t give the devil an opportunity

Don’t tell lies, tell the truth

We should be people others consider to be honest and reliable. Not just people who don’t lie, but who seek truth.

Specifically, as the church we are to be honest.

Fellowship is built on trust, and trust is build on truth

Don’t lose your temper, but even in anger be righteous

Notice that anger isn’t a sin, but in anger we can sin.