Removing The Old From Your New Life -Part I
Ephesians 4:17-24
A story is told of a young girl who accepted Christ as her Savior and applied for membership in a local church. "Were you a sinner before you received the Lord Jesus into your Life?" inquired an old deacon. "Yes, sir," she replied. "Well, are you still a sinner?" "To tell you the truth, I feel I'm a greater sinner than ever." "Then what real change have you experienced?" "I don't quite know how to explain it," she said, "except I used to be a sinner running after sin, but now that I am saved. I'm a sinner running from sin!" -Source: Our Daily Bread.
Unfortunately, there are many who have not learned the lesson that this little girl grasped so well. They may no longer be running to sin, but they are not running from it either!
In our selected text Paul tells his readers to “Put off the old man” and to “put on the new man” There are many verses in the Bible that point to a change after salvation. ...The Christian life is a changed life!
John Newton (who penned Amazing Grace) once said “I am not what I might be, I am not what I ought to be, I am not what I wish to be, I am not what I hope to be. But I thank God I am not what I once was, and I can say with the great apostle, By the grace of God I am what I am”
In verses 17-23 Paul draws a stark contrast between believers and unbelievers. I would like to look at these contrasts and preach on the subject “Removing The Old Things From Your New Life”
Verse 17 begins with “therefore” ...This refers us back to the previous text.
There are some benefits mentioned in the first 16 verses of this chapter.
Verse 1 tells us that we have been “called by God”
Verse 3 tells us that we are “united in the Spirit”
Verse 6 tells us that the “Lord is over all and living in us”
Verse 7 tells us that He has given us “spiritual gifts”
Verse 16 speaks of the “unity in the body”
These are just a few of the glorious truths found in this chapter. But what is the “Therefore” … there for?
Paul is saying that because of these benefits we are not to live like those who are lost.
We are to walk in a manner that is different from the world around us.We are to walk in a manner different than we walked before Christ.
There are 2 subjects revealed in this text that I would like to consider:
1) The Condition Of Unbelievers - Part I
2) The Counsel For Believers - Part II
We will only have time to consider the first of the two this morning.
I. The Condition Of Unbelievers
Paul says the believer is not to “walk as other Gentiles walk”. There are some clear distinctions between the saved and the lost. Consider:
A. The Condition Of The Unbeliever’s Mind - v17 ¶This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, 18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them,
Let’s begin with the phrase “walk in the vanity of their minds.” - The word “vanity” means “futility, emptiness, that which is wasted on nothing.”
Have you ever noticed that the unbeliever lives an empty life? Their time is consumed with the superficial. You can tell a lot about a person by the subject matter involved their conversation. Matthew 12:34 …out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. The lost (and unfortunately many carnal Christians) are infatuated with the things of this world. The lost man has a void in his life and will see to fill that void with: Sports …Recreation …Hobbies & time with friends, etc. There is nothing wrong with these things but they will never fill that void in your life. Also, many believers will seek to attain treasures in this life.
Lost man is often consumed with building his own kingdom. (Matthew 6:21 for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.) The unbeliever lives an empty life because his mind is corrupted by sin that dwells within.
Notice the phrase “their understanding is darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them” - He is saying that the lost live in “a state of spiritual darkness and ignorance” toward the things of God.
The unbeliever is:
a) Unresponsive to the things of God.
b) Unmoved by the truth.
c) Unfazed by right and wrong.
They love the dark, and pursue the works of darkness.- This lifestyle should not be difficult for the believer to understand. THIS IS WHAT YOU WERE DELIVERED FROM WHEN YOU WERE SAVED.
Titus 3:3-6 We were once foolish and disobedient. We were misled and became slaves to many lusts and pleasures. Our lives were full of evil and envy, and we hated each other. 4 But—“When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, 5 he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. 6 He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior.
I could sum this entire sermon up with these words “YOU ARE SAVED, ACT LIKE IT!” - That is what Paul is trying to get across, He is writing to believers who WERE SAVED, but WEREN’T ACTING LIKE IT!
Listen to what John says on this subject - 1 John 1:5 ¶This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
Because we are saved, we are to be different! Unfortunately, the things that are common in the world have become common in the Church.
Many in the church are a corrupt as those outside of the church.
There are two causes for this problem:
1. Many church members need to get saved!
2. Many saved church members need to remove the old from their new life!
THIS IS NOT AN EASY TASK, IT IS A BATTLE BETWEEN THE FLESH AND THE SPIRIT - Romans 8:5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
The problem of the Christian life is based on the fact that so long as the Christian lives in this world he is, so to speak, two trees—the old tree of the flesh, and the new tree of the divine nature; and the problem itself is, how to keep barren the old tree and to make fruitful the new tree. The problem is solved by walking in the Spirit (C. I. Scofield, in MacDonald, William ; Farstad, Arthur: Believer’s Bible Commentary : Old and New Testaments.
How do you remove the old from your new life? How do you ensure that your mind is focused properly on the things above? WALK IN THE SPIRIT!
We have seen the condition of the unbeliever’s mind, now lets examine:
B. The Condition Of The Unbeliever’s Heart - v18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: 19 Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
1) Their Hearts Are Callous - v18b Because of the blindness of their heart
I would like to draw your attention to the phrase - “the blindness of their heart” - Blindness - {G} "hardness," literally, the hardening of the skin so as not to be sensible of touch. ...This speaks of one to whom the truth has been revealed but one who refuses to acknowledge or accept that truth.
Where there is spiritual "life" there is feeling; where there is not, there is "hardness."— Unbelievers have “hardened their hearts against the truth” Ultimately they have hardened their hearts against God.
Paul says that “Because of the stubbornness of their hearts, they are separated from the life that they could have in Jesus Christ”
The lost man remains in the darkness and depravity of his lost state. We are told that the lost are “dead in trespasses and sins,” Eph. 2:1.
The unbeliever seeks to gratify the lusts of the flesh and the mind - Ephesians 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
We have a clear description of the “Lust’s of the flesh” in - Galatians 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
The point Paul is trying to make in Ephesians is to REMOVE THE OLD FROM YOUR NEW LIFE! Not only is the lost man’s heard callous, we will also see that:
2) Their Hearts Are Corrupt - v19 who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
Notice the phrase - “be past feeling.” That phrase means that they “have lost their sense of pain.” (Ex. A Leper)
The lost man does not possess any guilt or shame over his sin. He is consumed with the desires of the flesh. We have examined that his heart is callous (or hard) As a result, he has no sensitivity toward sin. This leads the lost man further into wickedness, evil & sin.
This breads “lasciviousness.” In his life
“Lasciviousness.” is a life given over to open sin. (Literally a life of shameless sin)
This is a mindset that says, “I will do what I please, when I please, with whom I please, and I don’t care what anyone says or thinks about it.”
Things that people used to whisper about behind closed doors are now celebrated in today’s society.
1) Abortion - Thousands marching to defend it.
2) Homosexuality - People coming out everyday (Boy scouts aren’t even safe!)
3) Gay marriage - would never have been thought of 2 decades ago. (now legal is many states)
4) Living together - Majority of people today do this
5) Adultery - Every T.V show promotes it.
We must take a stand and heed the warning to “not walk as other gentiles walk”
The unbeliever is his own god, and he lives to worship himself. He is only concerned with gratifying the evil desires of his flesh.
In these few verses Paul has shown us how the lost live. We have seen “The Condition Of The Unbeliever”
The born again child of God is to be different! We are to “put off the old man, & put on the new man” Like the little girl in the opening of this sermon, we all struggle with sin. But t he question is “are you even putting up a fight?” Do you struggle with the flesh? Does it even bother you when you sin?
One old fashioned preacher put it this way. “Look at your life before you were saved. And if you is, what you was … YOU AIN’T!!!”
But if you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are saved, I encourage you to look at your heart, consider your life, and if you possess any of the attributes that we have seen thus far …. “REMOVE THE OLD FROM YOUR NEW LIFE!!!
