Ephesians 4:17-32 The Old Life and New Life

Ephesians 4:17-32     The Old Life and New Life

• Main Theme.
• After we accept Jesus Christ as our savior, we are given a new life and our old life is put behind us.
• The walk of the believer - What we do with our life after we accept Jesus?

• An obedience and to walk with Christ daily.
• Similar to a marriage in that it is a commitment for a lifetime and we make a vow as well.
• Likened to not high we jump but how straight you walk when you are on the ground.
• I do not know what tomorrow brings, but I do know who holds tomorrow.    (Gary Hirshberg - CEO of Stoneyfield Farm - Headline for an article he wrote about Global Warming)
• The Old You.
• Aimless.
• Heathen Gentile who was walking aimlessly in life.  We were looking for significance and a sense of purpose in our life.

• The Book of Solomon - Solomon was constantly looking for a meaning in life but everything he found was senseless.
• Senselessness and Blindness.
• We had been blindfolded in a world of illusion.
• We lacked the capacity to understand the things of the Spirit.   (I Corinthians 1:18-30, I Corinthians 2:14-16).
• Shamelessness.
• Guilt is involved with sin but we need to get past the feelings of guilt.
• Baal and Ashtoreth - Worship for Fertility.
• Ephesians - Greco/Roman lifestyle and ways to worship.
• Jewish history - Stoning for Adultery.
• Sensuality is being pushed in our culture.  (1 of 9 marriages are broken by Adultery).
• The New You - A whole new makeover.
• Putting on the new man by applying the truth of God, discipline, righteousness, and holiness..   (II Corinthians 5:17-21, Romans 6:1-14)
• Putting away the old sinful nature through repentance.
• Knowing what you have turned from, leaving your old walk and actions.
• Renewing your mind - where the battle is won and lost against sin.
• If you sow a thought you reap the action (habits, lifestyle, character, and destiny).
• God loves us the way we are, God accepts us.   But God also loves to changes us as well, cleanse us.
• Putting away lying and speak the truth.
• 90% of people regularly lie, 36% of all lies involve the hurting of the other people..
• Proverbs 6:16-19.
• Putting away aggravation and put on indignation (being angry without sinning).
• Righteous anger.
• Jesus and the money changes in the Temple.
• After the Glory of God not your personal anger.
• Our modern culture ways of calling good evil and evil good in our culture.
• The Christian Faith being attacked.
• People lying to our young people about moral and spiritual values.
• Putting away stealing and start sharing.
• 1 out of 3 people steal something from a hotel.   Taking items from work, stealing time from work, making long distance phone calls from work.
• Putting away corrupt speech and putting on kind speech.
• We live in a culture that compromises on what is acceptable to say.
• 1946 movie - It’s a Wonderful Life
• The Phrase ‘Garlic Eaters’ was removed as it was deemed unacceptable speech.
• Bitterness, wrath, and clamor (Gossip)..
• Clamor grieves the Holy Spirit and is responsible for breaking up friendships, ruining marriages, and pits members against one another in church.
• Pray over these items and let it go. (Psalm 141:3)
• Overview.
• These verses best describe what Christianity is and what it is not.   
• Verse 4:17-19   The non-Christian Life
• We all need the light of Christ as our eyes are darkened by our human way of thinking.   Without Christ we have deliberately chosen to live contrary to God’s original design for humanity.
• Strongholds are not a sudden decision, but come gradually.   We take the first baby step at questioning the Word of God.  The second step involves rationalizing some habit that we refuse to give up, which includes a subtle rebellion with God’s word.  We then become more insensitive to the conviction of the Holy Spirit and next losing sensitivity for God.  Finally, we no longer have feelings for God.
• Addictions start slowly, one step at a time and they continue to grow.   You begin to promise yourself you won't do this again, but yet you continue to do so in private while feeling dirty.  You then begin to crave it to where you begin to lose all sense of shame.  The addiction at this point has claimed its victim.
• The sinner at first comes to the point where you can not reason with them.   The sinner deliberately ignores the truth.  The sinner finally becomes callous or hardened.
• We start down the road of destruction once we rebel against God.  We turn aside from God’s will, we choose not to live according to his standards and principles.
• Verse 4: 20 - 24   The Christian Life.
• When Jesus comes into our life, he radically changes us.
• A Christian is someone who freely acknowledges his own failure, his fallenness, and his sinful nature.   He lives by faith, not by sight, feelings, or emotions.   God gives us a new heart, mind, nature, and a way of life when we become a Christian.   A Christian lives a life of renewal and repentance.   He must make a daily choice to live in his new identity in Christ.   He remembers his sinful nature of old and he remembers where he came from and where he is now.
• We all will be tempted to return to our old ways.  We need to remember our old life of sin and how our King, Jesus, has transformed our lives.
• Verse 4: 25 - 32   The Old Life Versus the New.
• Old Life - Corrupt and led us to ruin and destruction.   New Life - A new creation in Christ.
• Old Life - Dominated by uncontrollable and undisciplined pursuit of self-indulgent pleasure.   New Life - Righteous, holy and pure, a lasting pleasure rooted in a love of God and a love for others.
• 5 Contrasts of Before and After.
• Without Christ - Perpetual lying, cheating, destroying the reputation of others, a life of deception and falsehood.   With Christ - Speaking the truth of love for one another.
• Without Christ - Uncontrollable anger, rage, resentment, bitterness, a selfish hostility that lashes out whenever pride is injured.    With Christ - Not sinning when we are angry   (Ephesians 4:26).
• God’s anger at sin and injustice.
• Our righteous anger on behalf of the weak and helpless, those who suffer injustice and persecution, and not getting angry on our own behalf.
• Bitterness results from not settling our anger with others.  By allowing bitterness into our life leaves the door open to Satan to step in and use that bitterness for evil.
• Without Christ - Stealing, taking what is not ours, violating the rights of others, and bringing harm to others.   With Christ - Letting yourself do good work with your hands so that you have something to give to others in need, and focusing on giving rather than getting.
• Without Christ - A life of cursing and abusive speech.   With Christ - We offer encouraging words to others that help build them up instead of tearing them down, and speaking words more consistent to Christ instead of Satan.
• Without Christ - A life full of bitterness.   With Christ - Being kind to one another, tender hearted, and forgiving one another just as God and Christ have forgiven us.
• Bitterness has a way of taking root in a person’s life (Hebrews 12:15).
• Can I go to a person who has hurt me deeply and give them a hug and truly mean it?
• Bitterness can choke the life out of your soul.  It removes our joy and love for others.
• Conclusion.
• Are we emotionally involved in the moral and spiritual battle going on in our culture?
• Great reforms were accomplished in history by rightly channeled righteousness and Godly anger.
• Abolition of Slavery.
• Early Education reform.
• Childhood Labor reform.
• Civil Rights reform.
• We need to know the difference between sinful anger and righteous anger (Ephesians 4:26).
• God has never held a grudge against us even though we have deserved his wrath.
• We deserve judgment but God offers us forgiveness.
• We live a life of sinning in rebellion to God but Christ died on the cross for our sins.
• Quote from John Wesley: “Give me 100 men who fear nothing but sin and who deserve nothing from God, and I care not whether they be clergymen or laymen, they alone will shake up the gates of Hell and set up the Kingdom of Heaven upon Earth.”