Ephesians: The New Life

Thanks for joining me here at Grace Outpost.  Today will be a milestone in my life; I am walking in my commencement ceremony for my Bachelors of Arts in Christians Studies.  As I look back over my journey to graduation and my success in school, it has to do with a choice, much like what Paul talks about in Ephesians 4:17-18.  Paul talks about the difference in living a life that is redeemed through Jesus and contrasts this with the way we once lived.  The reality is that it is a choice to live differently and this choice should be compelled by our relationship with Jesus. 

In Ephesians 4:17 Paul states that we should no longer live as the Gentiles, which the Ephesians were Gentiles, so he is telling them that they are to be something new now.  In Ephesians 3:6 Paul shows us that both Jew and Gentile believers are united in Christ into one body.  In 4:18 Paul gives us the cause of living as a Gentile, he states that they don’t understand living a godly life and are alienated from it because of their hardness of heart and in the NLT it says they have closed minds.  The ESV says that they are ignorant because of their harden hearts.  I like the way the NLT puts verse 19:

Ephesians 4:19 They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity. (NLT)

In other words they never have changed the way they live their daily life.  He goes on in verse 20-22 stating that we must throw off our old selves.  Throughout Scripture we run into a word that many of us are familiar with, Repent.  To repent means to turn around, to go in the opposite direction.  The connotation of the word is far beyond mere sorrow for what you have done, it is an action as well; one must go in a different direction.  Jesus told the woman caught in adultery to go and sin no more, which essentially sums up the idea of repentance. 

Jesus frees us from slavery to sin, before becoming believers and having the Holy Spirit dwell in us, in many ways we were slaves to sin, beholden to our corrupt nature as human beings.  We are now free living by the power of the Holy Spirit, we are able to resist temptation and flee sin.  This does not mean that we are able to be completely sinless, we will always need our Savior and we now that the sanctification process takes a lifetime with Jesus promising to complete that work in us. 

Paul goes on to give examples of what he is speaking about.  The thief should no longer steal, but instead work honestly; we should not participate in corrupting talk, but only speak words that build others up.  Paul continues his thoughts in to Chapter 5.  Chapter 5:1 he says therefore be imitators of God.  This is how we begin to stop living as Gentiles, be an imitator of God.  Walk in love as Christ loved us.  Do not participate in filthy talk or crude joking.  That one hits close to him, I remember a conversation me and one of my best friends had many years ago saying that surely God must have a sense of humor to justify our love for inappropriate comedies and yet had we known Scripture better, we would have seen that God had answered that directly right here in Ephesians.  Paul tells us that anyone who is sexually immoral, impure, or covetous, has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ.  He finishes this thought with a warning to let no one deceive you with empty words, or rather words that lack this truth.

We are forgiven by crazy grace, but there is an expectation to turn from your old life.  Our love for Christ should lead us to change!  So many people pray a prayer to Jesus for forgiveness, but never move to the repentance portion, they grow up deceiving themselves thinking that they are saved.  We cannot earn our salvation, but we must be changed in our heart, we must desire to be like Christ.  Jesus is telling you today that he does not condemn you, now go and sin no more.  Will you choose to change direction; will you lean on the Holy Spirit for guidance?


“Father God, I thank you so much for everyone reading this.  I know that you love each person here and desire that each person here to come back to relationship with you.  Lord we thank you for the free gift of salvation through the sacrifice of Jesus and the inheritance to which we are granted access through adoption.  Father help us to be like Christ, help us to change our direction in life, help us through off our old selves and live our new lives in you.  We pray these things in Jesus’ name, Amen.”

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