Off With The Old... On With The New

There is a popular Naval Incident shared:

A captain's order in a crisis carries authority because of their rank. A famous story tells of a battleship Captain encountering a light while at sea.

He sends a message, "Change your course 10 degrees south." The reply comes: "Change your course 10 degrees north."

He replies: "I am a captain." "Change your course 10 degrees south." The reply comes: "I am a seaman third class, Change your course 10 degrees north."

The captain replies: "I am a battleship. Change your course 10 degrees south." The reply: "I am a lighthouse. Your call mate"

The authority of the lighthouse's message is absolute, it will not waiver.

For illustration purposes, Paul as he writes this letter is a seaman third class, yet the power and authority in which he delivers his message is not based on Paul’s rank as a missionary, church planter, elder, or an apostle, but rather that he is delivering a message on the never changing, all powerful, all authoritative, unwavering WORD OF GOD… this is not Paul’s opinion.

You and I may consider ourselves the Captain of our own ship, the one who sets our own course, but no matter how high and mighty we may think ourselves… it is you and me who need to humble our hearts, our thinking, and as we hear these Words of God, be willing to alter course.

Ephesians 4:17-24 begins this course altering passage in a clear and powerful way…

Ephesians 4:17–24 NLT

With the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused. Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him. They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity. But that isn’t what you learned about Christ. Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.

The Thesis Statement…

Our passage today really serves as an introduction to a long logical segment of morals for our lives in light of being fellow members united in Christ’s body. These imperatives beginning in Verse 4:17 and go through to 6:9.

Actions

Relationships

Family

Let me just state here today clearly… the Bible, God’s Word, is to be obeyed, not just read, studied, heard, or be aware of. James 1:22

James 1:22 NLT

But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.

Paul has goes to great lengths to demonstrate what God has done for believers (BELIEFS) and now he is stating what those who’s faith is in Christ Jesus what they need to be doing (BEHAVIOR) in light of all God has done.

For this reason Paul states that he is writing with “the Lord’s authority”!!!

This is not just Paul’s opinion

This is not just a good idea

These things we will be looking at are His directives to His children

Paul makes a broad statement saying we are not to live as the Gentiles do (or the way of the world).

In Chapter 2 Paul called them the “walking dead”… dead in our sin.

In 4:1 Paul begs them to live a “life worthy of thier calling” in the positive

Now Paul states “do not live like, the walking dead, the Gentiles” this is in the negative.

To “live” like or to “walk” as many translations state

A walk is each step along the way, one foot after another… our christian walk (not just talk)

The NLT states because they are “hopelessly confused”… I feel this is a weak translation. Other translations state, because of “thier futility of thier mind”

FUTILE THINKING: useless, lacking content, empty

In Romans 12:2 speaks to us changing how we think because of Jesus Christ

No longer futile or empty or useless but … rich, full of hope and useful!!!

Their minds and Hearts:

Paul describes thier hearts and minds here well…

Full of darkness ( the inability to perceive or understand)… sin does this to a mind

“God gives life” vs 18 a good life, but in thier dark mindset they “close thier minds” there is an “ignorance”

Their minds, thier thinking is darkened by sin… then Paul looks to thier hearts…

Their hearts he says are “hardened towards God”…

A choice of stubbornness, a callousness towards God

How sad that the more and more God reaches out the more they in a stubborn heart push God away

How dangerous to build up a calloused heart towards God

Romans 1:24 states that due to this hardness, “God gave them over to the shameful things thier hearts desired”

How scary that God would let us have what we desire.

Scarier yet is the fact that Paul is warning believers not to live like this! We can come to places in our lives that we allow our hearts to be hard towards God!

We are called to live, to walk for Christ but Paul here is saying that the Gentiles live for:

Lustful Pleasures

Eagerly!!! practice every kind of impurity

All with “NO SHAME”

Paul opens his thesis to this section of his letter stating “live no longer” … we can fall into this living. Verse 20 begins with a contrast “BUT”… you and I are called to a contrast

The Summary of How…

I do not want to over complicate yet I also do not want to understate the importance for us as believers to put into practice this principle:

Paul states what we live with in the world

Its thinking, its passions, its desires

Paul CONTRAST this with what they learned about Christ (DOCTRINE / TEACHINGS)

The world the majority are going one way… you go the other

The world is in the dark, thier thinking, thier desires, thier actions, thier hearts… you be the light

The world walks in the flesh… you walk in the Light of what you learned about Christ

Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.”

Psalm 119:105 NLT

Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.

Paul gives us a summary of HOW we are to live as Christ… there are two things needed:

One… Throw Off

This is both an imperative and an urgent matter

You can almost cringe thinking of these garments Paul is describing

sin-FULL nature… former way… corruption, lust, deception

Illustrate shedding putrid clothing!!!

You don’t want to keep clothing like that

It is concerning when we find this clothing comfortable… leads to that hardened heart

There is a contrasting word here… “INSTEAD”

Two… Put On

There is something NEW… BETTER!!! The way Paul states this we now, BECAUSE OF CHRIST, have the choice… “renew our thoughts and attitudes”

There is a NEW NATURE

It looks like Christ

We are to clothe ourselves in Righteousness and holiness

We are to “look” like God… later Paul will state we are to imitate Him

We put this on, our thinking is on Christ, we give control to the Spirit, we imitate God almighty

No longer is our thinking ignorant, futile, empty…

No longer do we live in the flesh

The problem we have is that often new clothing seems less comfortable than our old cringy rags…

Looking like Christ doesn't make us fit in

Looking like Christ will make us stand out

Looking like Christ may feel awkward in situations

Looking like Christ is NOT POPULAR…

1 John 3:11 “This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another.”

1 John 3:11 NLT

This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another.

John 15:18–19 ““If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you.”

John 15:18–19 NLT

“If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you.

2 Timothy 3:12 “Yes, and everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.”

2 Timothy 3:12 NLT

Yes, and everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.

Luke 6:22 “What blessings await you when people hate you and exclude you and mock you and curse you as evil because you follow the Son of Man.”

Luke 6:22 NLT

What blessings await you when people hate you and exclude you and mock you and curse you as evil because you follow the Son of Man.

Romans 12:14 “Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them.”

Romans 12:14 NLT

Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them.

Closing

May I caution you if you are feeling TOO COMFORTABLE in this world!

It could mean your heart may be hard

It could mean your going incognito, camouflage… pulling out those old soiled clothes of sin and self

It could mean that you don’t truly believe what you say you do… “what we believe will play our in our behavior”

As you contemplate this, and future messages from Ephesians, let me remind you…

Don’t pollute your thinking to think it is okay to pull out those old soiled sin filled putrid clothes

REMEMBER: GOD is a lighthouse…(HE IS: unchanging, unwavering, and His Word is ABSOLUTE!)

He will not alter His course… Will you?

It’s your call church…