Ephesians 4:17-19 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)
“17So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18They are darkened in their understanding and alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardness of their hearts. 19Having lost all sense of shame, they have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity, with a craving for more."
Showing Contempt and Defiance
“Gentile” was a term used to describe non-Jews under the Old
Covenant. So it was also a term used to describe the ungodly. And that is how
it is being used in this passage of Scripture. But the ungodly are not just all
who make no professions of faith in Jesus Christ, but they are all who,
regardless of what their lips profess, for whom sin is still their practice
(deliberately and habitually) and not obedience to God and to His commands. And
to “walk” has to do with our life practices, how we live day in and day out.
And what this is teaching us is that, if we are of genuine
biblical faith in the Lord Jesus, we must no longer live like the ungodly,
still living as slaves to sin and not as servants of righteousness and of God.
For those for whom sin is still their life practice, and not obedience to God, they
are not of God, they do not know God, and they are not saved from their sins. For
their hearts are hardened against God and His will and purpose for our lives,
and so they continue to walk in sin and they do not surrender to the will of
God.
And in our world today, and within the gatherings of so many
worldly “churches,” so many who profess faith in Jesus Christ with their lips
have lost all sense of shame, and they have given themselves over to sensuality
for the practice of every kind of impurity, with a craving for more. For so
many are being taught that lip service to God assures them eternal life with
God regardless of how they live. But that is a lie! And so many who claim to be
Christians are living in sexual immorality in full contempt against God.
Even though they know right from wrong, they choose their
sinful practices over obedience to God and to His commands. And they choose
sexual addiction in place of a pure and loving relationship with their spouses
and with Jesus Christ who gave His life up for them to deliver them out of
their addiction to sin. For they are the selfish and the self-indulgent who
love their sins more than anything else, and in place of love for God and for
spouse, thus showing absolute contempt to them both with their hard hearts.
Ephesians 4:20-24 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)
“20But this is not the way you came to know Christ. 21Surely you heard of Him and were taught in Him—in keeping with the truth that is in Jesus— 22to put off your former way of life, your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23to be renewed in the spirit of your minds; 24and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”
The Truth in Christ Jesus
As followers of Jesus Christ, we are not to live like what
was described above with regard to the ungodly. By faith in Jesus Christ we
must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin and to self and
suffer for the sake of righteousness), and follow our Lord in obedience to His
commands. We are to put off our old way of living in sin and for self where we
were yielding to sinful and deceitful desires of the flesh. For Jesus put our
sins to death with Him so that we will now repent of our sins and obey God in
life practice.
Jesus gave His life up for us on that cross to deliver us
out of bondage (addiction) to sin and to empower us to live godly and holy
lives for the praise of God. So, by His grace, and in His power, by biblical
faith, which comes from God, we must put to death our former way of living in
sin and for self so that we can now serve God with our lives in walks of
surrender to His will and purpose for our lives. For by faith in the Lord Jesus
we are created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness, by the
Spirit.
For God’s grace, which is bringing us salvation, is training
us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled,
upright, and godly lives in the present age. For Christ “gave Himself for us to
redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own
possession who are zealous for good works.” “For we are His workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we
should walk in them.” (See Titus 2:11-14; Ephesians 2:8-10)
And we learn in 1 John 1-3 that if we claim that we have
fellowship with God, but yet we walk in darkness (sin), we are liars. If we
claim that we know God, but we do not obey His commandments, in practice, we
are liars. For it is not the one who claims He is “in Christ” who is “in
Christ,” but it is the one who has denied self, died with Christ to sin, and
who is now walking in obedience to our Lord and to His commands, in practice,
and no longer in sin. We have the hope and the promise of eternal life with God
in heaven.
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts
26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans
8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 1
Corinthians 10:1-22; 2 Corinthians 5:10,15,21; Galatians
5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14;
Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24;
1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:1-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation
3:1-22]
Hard Hearts or Renewed Minds?
An Original Work / September 13, 2026
Christ’s
Free Servant, Sue J Love
As the Deer
By Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1
As the deer panteth
for the water
So my soul longeth
after You
You alone are my
heart's desire
And I long to
worship You
You alone are my
strength, my shield
To You alone may my
spirit yield
You alone are my
heart's desire
And I long to
worship You
[A Prayer of Devotion to God Alone]
