How Distance Impacts Lifestyle...

At the church where I serve, we have been spending our time together looking at a letter that is recorded for us in the New Testament of our Bibles called the book of Ephesians. As we go through this letter, our hope and our prayer is that God would enable us to see our true identity, the identity that He designed us to live in, so that we would live our day to day lives in light of our true identity.

This week, I would like for us to spend our time together by picking up where we left off last week. And as we jump into the next section of this letter that is recorded for us in the New Testament of our Bibles called the book of Ephesians, we are going to discover another timeless truth regarding our identity as a follower of Jesus that has the potential to change how we see our true identity, the identity that God designed us to live in, so that we would live our day to day lives in light of our true identity. So let’s discover this timeless truth together, beginning in Ephesians 4:17:

So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentile also walk, in the futility of their mind,

Paul begins this section of his letter to the members of the church at Ephesus with a seemingly strange phrase: “So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord”. Now this phrase, if communicated in the language that we use in our culture today, would have sounded something like this: “I have something to say in light of what I have just said about the fact that the worth of our identity should drive us to live in a way that is worthy of our identity as a follower of Jesus. And I want you to know that the Lord feels the same way about what I have to say”.

Paul then reveals exactly what he and the Lord had to say to the members of the church at Ephesus: that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk. Now, as we discovered last week, when Paul uses the word walk here, this word refers to how we conduct and live out our day to day lives. Paul here is urging the members of the church at Ephesus, and followers of Jesus throughout history to no longer live out their day to day lives like the Gentiles live their day to day lives.

 In other words, as followers of Jesus, we are not to live out our day to day lives like those who do not know Jesus and who are far from God live their day to day lives. Now a question that could be running through your mind is “why not? What is wrong with me living my day to day life like those who do not know Jesus and who are far from God? What difference does it make? And is there a difference?”

 In the verses that follow, we see the Apostle Paul reveal for us three specific characteristics that mark the lives of those who do not know Jesus and who are far from God. First, in the second half of verse 17, Paul explains that those who do not know Jesus and who are far from God walk in the futility of their mind. When Paul uses the phrase, futility of their mind, this phrase refers to a state of being that is without use or empty.

Paul’s point here is that those who do not know Jesus and who are far from God live their lives with a mindset that is without value and that is focused on worthless things. Paul then reveals for us the two other characteristics that mark the lives of those who do not know Jesus and are far from God in Ephesians 4:18-19. Let’s look at it together:

being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of  impurity with greediness.

Now to understand what the Apostle Paul is communicating here we first need to define some terms. The phrase “being darkened in their understanding" in the language that this letter was originally written in, literally means to become darkened or blinded in the understanding or comprehension of truth.

And it is here that we see the Apostle Paul reveal for us the reality that those who do not know Jesus and who are far from God live their lives in a way that is blind to the truth. Instead of clearly seeing and understanding what is true, they live their lives according to the stinking thinking of untruth.

But not only are those who do not know Jesus and that are far from God live their lives with a mindset that is without value and that is focused on worthless things and that is blind to the truth. Paul also explains that those who do not know Jesus and who are far from God are excluded from the life of God. Now to be excluded means to be estranged or alienated from someone. And that someone, according to Paul, is God.

Paul then explains that the reason that they are estranged and alienated from God is because of the ignorance that is in them. Now when Paul refers to the ignorance within them, he is not saying that those who do not know Jesus and are far from God are stupid. Instead, this phrase conveys the sense of a lack of gratitude and obedience to God as a result of not having a relationship with God. It’s not that they do not know about God. Instead it’s that they do not want to know God.

And it here that the Apostle Paul reveals for us that reality that those who do not know God and who are far from God live their lives separated from God as a result of their selfishness and rebellion. Now a natural question that arises here is “well Dave why are they separated from God as a result of their selfishness and rebellion? Why do they have a lack of gratitude toward God and a lack of obedience to God that separates them from God?”

Paul then provides the answer to these questions when he uses the phrase “because of the hardness of their heart”. When Paul refers to the heart, he is referring to the center  and the core of our beings. In addition, the word hardness conveys the idea of a rigidness, an inflexibility. So a hardness of heart is a stubborn rebellion in the very core of one’s being.

Paul’s point here is that those who do not know Jesus and who are far from God live their lives with a lack of gratitude and obedience toward God as a result of a hardness toward God that produces a stubborn rebellion against God. And as a result of that hardness toward God that produces a stubborn rebellion against God, Paul explains in verse 19 that they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness.

Now when I first began playing the guitar, I remember that after playing my fingers would be in pain. However, over time, as I practiced, I began to experience less pain. The reason that I experienced less pain was due to the fact that my fingers began to build up calluses’. And those calluses’ caused me to no longer feel the pain of pushing down on those metal strings. And in the same way, those who do not know Jesus and who are far from God have become callous so as to not feel any feelings of guilt for their selfishness and rebellion.

Paul’s point is that those who do not know Jesus and who are far from God live their lives with a lack of gratitude and obedience toward God as a result of a hardness toward God that produces a lifestyle of rebellion against God. And in Ephesians 4:19, we see the Apostle Paul reveal for us three ways in which those who do not know Jesus and who are far from God participate in a lifestyle of rebellion against God.

First, Paul explains that those who do not know Jesus and who are far from God have given themselves over to sensuality. When Paul uses the word sensuality here, this word refers to a lack of self constraint that results in conduct that violates all bounds of what is socially acceptable.  Paul’s point is that those who do not know Jesus and who are far from God willingly participate in a lifestyle of license that lacks any self restraint.

Second, Paul explains that those who do not know Jesus and who are far from God have given themselves over for the practice of every kind of impurity. Now to practice something is to engage in an activity or behavior with a sustained interest so as to get better at it. I mean we practice something to improve at it, don’t we? In this case, what was being practiced was every kind of impurity. Now impurity refers to a state of moral corruption. Paul’s point is that those who do not know Jesus and who are far from God willingly participate in a lifestyle of corruption in every aspect of their lives.

Third, Paul explains that those who do not know Jesus and who are far from God have given themselves over to greediness. Greediness, simply put, is a desire to have more than one’s due. In other words, those who do not know Jesus and who are far from God willingly participate in a lifestyle that is driven by selfish desires that are never satisfied.

Paul here is urging followers of Jesus throughout history, to no longer live their day to day lives like those who do not know Jesus and who are far from God.  Paul is urging followers of Jesus throughout history to no longer live their day to day lives with a mindset that is without value and that is focused on worthless things.

Paul is urging followers of Jesus throughout history to no longer live their day to day lives in a way that is blind to what is true. Paul is urging followers of Jesus throughout history to no longer live their day to day lives with a lack of gratitude and obedience to God that is dues to a hardness towards God that produces a practiced lifestyle of rebellion against God.

So here is the question: Have I just described how you live your day to day life? Are these the characteristics that mark your life? Because, as Paul points out, these are not the characteristics of a follower of Jesus. These are the characteristics that mark the life of a person who does not know Jesus and who is far from God.

Now you might be wondering “well Dave, what does a life that is worthy of our identity as a follower of Jesus look like in one’s day to day life?” Tomorrow, we will see the Apostle Paul provide the answers to these questions...