Ephesians 4:17-24

Don’t Walk Like Gentiles

Futility of Mind and Darkened in Their Understanding

A person that does not have a relationship with Christ is not even mindful of Him. He is so consumed with himself that the acknowledgement of God is not even on his radar. They don’t have the ability to think spiritually. This is why it is difficult to have a spiritual conversation with them. They just don’t get it.

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Chapter 1

For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

22 Professing to be wise, they became fools,

23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.

24 Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them.

25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

26 For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural,

27 and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.

28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper,

14 But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.

24 Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. 25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

26 For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural,27 and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.

28 And just as they did not see fit [h]to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper,

Excluded From the Life of God

Not only do they not know the things of God. They don’t want to know the things of God. This is why you cannot get them to read the Bible, go to church, or pray.

21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools,23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.

24 Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. 25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

26 For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural,27 and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.

28 And just as they did not see fit [h]to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper,

They are more consumed with their flesh than submitting themselves to the Lord.

Having Become Callous

To become callous means to have no feeling. The Gentile has no moral compass. They see no wrong in the way they live their lives. This is the person that can commit the most terrible crimes and feel no remorse for what they have done. People will often attribute this to “demon possessed”. It boils down to a heart of sin that is void of any sensitivity toward God.

28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips,30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; 32 and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.

No Moral Boundaries

They give themselves over to all Kinds of sensuality. A person without Christ that has become callous is a dangerous person. They are capable of doing anything. You can spot them by looking at the carnage that they have produced in their lives. They leave a path of destruction wherever they go. They use people to get what they want and then discard them.

Put Off the Old, Renew Your Mind, Put On the New!

Put off the Old

When you come to know Christ as your Savior, you put to death the old self. You stop doing the things that you use to do.

6 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? 2 May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?3 Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; 7 for he who has died is freed from sin.

This simply means that you stop doing what you use to do. Asses your life regarding how you behave relative to what the Bible says and make changes.

Renew Your Mind

When you come to know Christ your soul comes to life. This means that your mind can now receive the things that are spiritually appraised. You can now begin to have the mind of Christ.

For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.

Your mind is now able to be opened to a whole new world. You are now able to discern truth. Truth is found in God’s Word.

12 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and [e]acceptable and perfect.

Replacing your thought process takes time. You must replace the former things that influenced your thinking with the Bible. The Bible is always right. Other sources that are in conflict with the Bible are in error. Sources that line up with the Bible are credible sources that one may consider in transforming the mind.

Put On the New self

Not only do you need to put off the old and renew your mind, but also put on the new self. This requires action. When you begin to understand the principles and purposes of God, you should begin to walk in them. The christian faith is not just theology, but it is actively living your life following Jesus Christ. This is done by:

And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.