How Then Shall We Live

How Then Shall We Live? Spring Valley Mennonite; May 9, 2021; Ephesians 4:17-24 I'll begin with wishing every mother here a "Happy Mother's Day!" It is good to be back after a week away. I'm sure you enjoyed Mike Hiebert this past Sunday. As we continue our study of the Book of Ephesians, we find ourselves in Chapter 4, beginning at verse 17. By way of reminder, these last three chapters major on Christian growth. Our attitudes and lifestyle are to change to reflect the righteous character of the Lord Jesus. We are enabled through the Spirit to grow into the image of Christ. But we all find that consistency in living in a righteous manner is difficult. Although the New Testament tells us that we have been given a new mind, a new will, a new heart, a new relationship with God, new power, knowledge, wisdom, perception, understanding, a new love, and a new citizenship we find ourselves restrained and inhibited in living in accordance with our new life. If you are like me, I find this somewhat confusing! I find myself in a situation like that of Paul in Romans 7: I want to do what is right and God-honoring, but often find myself doing just the opposite. As Paul is saying, "For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me." This passage in Ephesians sheds light on this problem. It centers on the fact that our renewed spirit resides in a body of sinful flesh. We are inhibited and restrained from living as we know we ought. But although we have residing sin, we do not have reigning sin. We no longer "have to" sin, although the influence of our flesh is strong. We are continually battling the flesh, although the final war has been won. While we have been given everything we need for life and godliness, it is up to us to make the choices leading to maturity. One of the most profound choices involves approaching life in a different way . We are, in the words of God, to put off the old and put on the new. God's desire is that we walk in the light instead of darkness. Jesus has told us that He is the light of the world, and those who follow Him are to walk in that light. When I was a teenager, I had a black-and-tan coon hound named Pat (black-and-tan is a breed of hound, not just his color.) Pat and I would go out at night to hunt. Coon hunting with a dog involves walking though the woods until the dog picks up the scent of a coon. The hound begins training the coon, giving off sweet sound of baying. You follow the sound, which changes when the quarry is treed. Then you take off running through the woods as fast as you can in the dark! Without a light it would be suicide, especially in the hills and valleys of the Ozarks where I hunted. Yet walking through those same woods squirrel hunting (Pat being a multi-purpose hound) was much different. As good as a flashlight is, it is nothing like sunlight. This world is a dark place, but Jesus has come as the light of the world. If we walk close to Jesus , living life to please Him, we won't stumble so as to fall into any of the stump holes of life. But if we walk in darkness, yielding to the desires of our flesh, we fall often and painfully. Our text comes from Ephesians 4, beginning at verse 17. (READ PASSAGE) We begin with noticing that Paul follows his pattern of stating a principle, then expanding on it. In verse 17 we have the statement that believers are to live differently than non-believers. Anybody with more than a very elementary understanding of the Bible could tell you that. No big surprise there-but the surprise comes when we see that the emphasis is not upon wrong actions, but on wrong thinking. Paul tells us that: I. LIFE-CHANGE REQUIRES A FUNDATIONAL CHANGE IN HOW WE THINK We have a great contrast in this passage: verses 17-19 describe those called "gentiles" while verses 19-24 speak of those in Christ. "Gentiles" is better translated "nations" which describes those of the world who do not know or follow God. The term has nothing to do with the Jew/Gentile division of humanity, for Paul has taken great pains to prove that there is no longer any division between Jewish and Gentile believers. Within the church we are one. I like the term "worldlings" for those outside of Christ. The great principle presented here is that Christians are to live differently than worldlings who are citizens of the Kingdom of this world. The problem is...it isn't easy! We all know that. But Paul goes much further than putting us on a guilt trip--he gives a procedure on how to live life differently. It all has to do with how we think. Bottom line: here's the application right at the beginning of the sermon: Life change begins with changing the way we think. Look at how many ways thinking is emphasized in these few verses: in verse 17, the worldling's walk is described as "in the futility of their mind" or thinking. Verse 18: their understanding is darkened; they are ignorant. This is contrasts with a believer who has first gained knowledge of Christ: he has come to know Christ (v. 20), with the emphasis on truth in verse 21. In verse 23 we are to be renewed where? In the "spirit or attitude of our minds." Life-change begins with changing the way we think. The way to develop as a Christian is to think differently than the worldling, a different worldview, a different philosophy of life. Paul takes pains contrasting the old and new ways of thinking. Like most things, if we don't understand what we are doing wrong, it is difficult to change it. We don't want to dwell on the negative very long, but there is benefit in understanding the underlying thought process of a worldling, for we are constantly in danger of slipping back into these patterns ourselves. II. WRONG THINKING LOOKS LIKE THIS How do those without Christ think? Ever wonder how someone can believe things which so obviously don't make sense? For example, take the myth of evolution. Or the myth of "more education" the idea that if people are given the right information, they will make the right decisions. This world of delusion is described by the term "futility of mind." One translation says, "They live blindfolded in a world of illusion." The New English Bible renders this phrase in verse 17, "Give up living like pagans, with their good-for-nothing notions." The word "futile" means "void of purpose or appropriateness." The world's way of thinking may be impressive or clever, but it is pointless. 2 Corinthians 4:4 tells us that Satan, the one who rules the world system, "has blinded the minds of the unbelieving that they might not see the light of the gospel..." The Christian must choose the basis on which to live his life. If we are to follow Christ, we must be willing to have our mind continually, thoroughly, and drastically reorganized, our outlook on life drastically altered. It has been well put: "Christianity is not merely a change in outward actions, a bit higher moral or ethical level. Christianity is a revolutionary change of government which results in a radical change in behavior." And it involves how we view life-how we think. What is it that makes human thinking so pointless, futile, so lacking in ultimate significance? Verse 18 explains that in our natural state, humans are "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..." Like a cloud passing over the sun obscures it, the worldling's thinking is shadowed, obscured, and darkened. The Bible continually uses the illustration of light and darkness as metaphors for truth and ignorance. The worldly man's thinking is obscured by ignorance, and without being enlightened by God, it is pointless and futile. It is like the worldling finds isolated pieces of the puzzle of life but lacks any idea of what the final picture is to be. Why is he ignorant? Because he is incomplete. There is something missing, a part of his being which does not function. It is his spirit. He is spiritually dead, and since his spirit is blank, darkened, and obscured, he lacks the ability to perceive truth. At this very moment we are surrounded by radio and television signals, but we do not hear them because we lack a tuning mechanism to receive them. The worldling lacks the ability to receive spiritual input from God for his spirit is dead. And in his ignorance, he rejects the life God offers, and cuts himself off from the one single thing he needs to become complete. So, he remains spiritually dead. But if he is ignorant of God, can he be held accountable? Note the phrase: "due to their hardness of heart." Man is born ignorant and cut off from the life of God, but he remains in that condition because of the hardness of his heart. God has revealed Himself to man through Jesus Christ, but the hardness of his heart keeps him from responding to God. That is why it is so difficult for an adult to turn to God, and why children's ministry is so needed and effective. Verse 19 says that with time a callous is built up. And this "callous" prevents any sensitive response to God. He continues down that path to sensuality and impurity, never satisfied yet always craving greedily for more. This is the philosophy and life of the worldling. That is what we are to avoid. The good news of the gospel is that God reaches through that ignorance and darkness with the light of Salvation, and God makes us alive! Ephesians 2:4-5: "But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved). Therefore, because we have been given new life: III. THE OLD WAYS ARE TO BE DISCARDED, AND THE NEW PUT ON In great contrast to the ugliness and futility of the old life, we are to put on the new. When Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, the first thing our Lord said was "unbind him and let him go..." "take off those grave clothes and let him be free." He was alive but bound by the rags of death. When we are born spiritually, we are not meant to continue to be clothed in the grave clothes of the old life. Verses 20-21: 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." In contrast to darkness and ignorance, we have truth and light. Jesus said "I am the way, the truth, and the life..." He is THE truth; truth is found nowhere else. Jesus also said in John 8, "If you continue in my word...you shall know the truth and the truth will make you free." We have heard the truth, we have been taught the truth...now, we are to leave that old life behind, that old way of thinking, that old set of values-and do what? VV. 22-24: "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." Put off the old; put on the new. And this shall set us free! Free to be all we were created to be! Free to live with purpose and joy and security! This freedom in Christ begins and continues with a change of mind, of thinking differently that we did before. A crucial fact from this verse comes from the description of the old self: it is being corrupted, present tense. Our old fleshly nature cannot be redeemed. It stays with us and must be continually "put off." In the same sense, the "putting on" is constantly needed; we know this because the tense of the verbs "put off" and "put on" speak of continual action. Let's examine this new way of thinking: first notice a recognition of the pull of the old life. Our old nature, the "old man," or the flesh hangs around and continues to call to us. Paul is telling us to constantly and consistently recognize and reject these old ways and patterns of thinking. Understand this is not speaking primarily of wrong deeds, but of attitudes which lead to wrong actions. Wrong thinking causes the problem. "As a man thinks in his heart, so is he." The very simplest of words are used here for a simple process: we are to "put off" the old and put on the new. We discard and divest ourselves of these wrong attitudes like would take off a set of dirty clothes. The corruption of life comes from this wrong thinking: the former manner of life is decayed, foul, dead, selfish, unhappy, and restless. These are the things which make life miserable. We recognize these things by the way they operate: they are "deceitful lusts." It is unfortunate that we usually associate the word "lust" with something sexual. And while that is true, lust is much more than just that. Lust really means any urge or basic drive. The word "urge" is better: deceitful urges. The old nature expresses itself in deceitful urges, which come to us often. Galatians 5:19-20 gives us a list of the "deeds of the flesh"; "immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, and carousing." We may have put aside such things but there are also more subtle urges. There is the urge of materialism, to fulfill ourselves with accumulating possessions. Our old way of thinking says that we can be happy if we possess things. But God's Word tells us that owning things can never make us happy. Yet who among us does not have such urges daily? If you have traveled on an airplane, you remember the flight magazine, which is a thinly disguised advertisement for an amazing array of overpriced merchandise you never knew you needed! We look and feel the deceitful urge to buy. To fret and worry over what might happen is also a function of the flesh. Or there is the urge to be recognized, or to be vindicated, or to be the center of attention. There is the deceitful urge to react with hurt feelings when less sensitive people rub us the wrong way. The urge to react and not let anyone push us around, the urge to extract revenge when wronged, the urge to rationalize or make excuses when we have been wrong. There is the urge to feel superior to others-more intelligent, more educated, more competent, more informed, more theologically correct... These are the urges of "deceitful lust or urges" which come from our old former way of life. And we are to reject them, put them off and put on a new set of attitudes. The growing and maturing Christian may feel these urges just as strong as he did before becoming a Christian, but he has learned this truth: the old man of which these attitudes were a part was judged and put to death on the cross of Jesus Christ. That is the truth of Romans 6:6: "knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, that our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin... Jesus took all these things upon Himself, He became sin for us-so we could live in newness of life. And this newness of life begins-and continues with changes of thinking. There is a word that is used over and over again in the New Testament, which means exactly that: is the Greek word metanoia. "Meta" means change, as in metamorphosis, and "Noia" means mind, as in paranoia (confusion in the mind.) Metanoia is translated in the New Testament with a single word: repentance. Salvation begins with a change of mind-it means taking a different direction in thinking. We usually think of repentance as confessing sin, but repentance really comes before confession. We change our minds from thinking something is right to thinking it is wrong. Repentance is needed daily as we battle the old flesh which resists change. Romans 12:2: "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." Of all people on earth, only the Christian has the ability to lay aside the old way of his former life to adopt a new set of attitudes. That old flesh with its urges no longer needs to be in control. We have been regenerated-changed. It is time to take off the old graveclothes and to walk in newness of life. Romans 8:12-13: So, then brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh-for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. Dying in this context means death to our spiritual vitality. Colossians 3:10: (you) "have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the one who created him..." The new set of clothes is setting right in front of each one of us. We have Christ already. Our new urges to love, to serve, to patiently endure, to understand God's ways, to accept with love difficult people, to laugh instead of getting irritated, to not demand our own way, to be faithful in difficult times-these are part of our new nature. Verse 24: it has been created-it is already part of you. It results in a true righteousness free from pretense. God has given to you and to me the ability to walk in newness of life. But for anything new to come the old must be put off. When our attitudes are controlled by the old fleshly nature, the new cannot be expressed. The Holy Spirit is waiting for us to put these things off so He can rush in and fill us with the Wholeness of Christ. It comes down to a choice. Am I going to put off the old way of thinking, to reject these deceitful urges, and accept the right thinking seen in God's Word? Are we going to put off the old and put on the new? It works, or God wouldn't have said it. It all begins with changing our minds, of renewing our minds by rejecting the old, putting it off, and putting on the new manner of thought. One very valuable way to renew our minds is through spending time in God's Word. The Word of God read and obeyed establishes new thought patterns, defeating our fleshly urges. It also reveals the thoughts and intentions of our heart, as Hebrews 4:12 instructs, so we can put our wrong thought patterns away. This morning, as we examine our lives, we may find that we have lapsed into some old ways of thinking. In Christ, we have the ability to "change our minds-metanoia-repent" and turn away from worldly urges. We can embrace the new mindset that I am a child of the King and will walk in His ways. I will put off the old and put on the new, understanding that this is not a "once for all" type of thing; the flesh is part of us until we die. But once we understand the need to put off the old and put on the new" and begin thinking a different way, we can continue to live in the fullness and freedom of our new life. 2