When someone drives at a steady speed of 70 to 80 km/hr, they mainly focus on the road ahead. But if someone is driving slowly, they tend to pay more attention to the surroundings, even looking back and checking the rearview mirror to reduce their speed.
Paul says being a Christian is like a race to win a prize from God (Philippians 3:14). When we start in our Spiritual relationship with Jesus, it's like running fast and keeping our focus on Jesus. But as we go on, we might slow down and get distracted by the world, start comparing us with our worldly people and deteriorate in our spiritual life. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he gives warnings to the Church which is more relevant to our times.
Ephesians 4:17-19 (NIV) 'So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed. '
The instructions is for Christians who live a life like Gentile “So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do” . Its important to understand who are Gentiles
💡 Gentiles imply to those who practice idolatry and are ignorant of the true and living God. In the timeline of Paul, "Gentile" is a synonym for anyone who is non-Jew and is not one of the "chosen people".
Do not discount this message does not apply to you till you understand these 5 Warnings that Paul gives to each one of us.
Warning 1 - Ephesians 4:17 “futility of their thinking.” -
futility of their thinking - Which means our thinkings have become foolish. When we are in Christ, we are separated from the world and guided by the Holy Spirit to do things of God’s will. The "futility of their thinking" happens when Satan makes us compare our Christian life to how people in the world live (Gentiles) and convinces us that it's okay to tolerate and accept sinful behaviour.
How does Satan trick us into this trap? We often look at how people in the world live and think it's okay for us as Christians. It starts with our desires, not just sexual but for pleasure. This fills our minds and messes with our thoughts. It keeps nudging our hearts and ourselves to give in to sin, which leads to confused and misguided thinking, often called "futility of their thinking.”
For instance, when you're hanging out with friends or family, you might all start chatting. Some of these conversations can turn into gossip, where people talk negatively about others. While talking with friends is fine, gossiping is wrong. Gossiping can make people feel bitter and create a lot of tension in relationships with family and friends. Even though gossiping may seem common, it all begins with one small conversation, and it can lead to more negative emotions like anger, jealousy, and hatred if we allow it to take hold of us.
Many people watch TV and that's perfectly fine. However, today's TV shows / OTT series often depict family conflicts (Mother in law / Daughter in law conflicts, Siblings conflicts) , complicated relationships, and immoral behaviour (Live in relationship / adulterous stories), When we watch these shows , they can influence our thoughts and actions in a negative way, corrupting our minds ,leading to sinful behaviour. Satan can deceive us by making us believe there's nothing wrong with watching TV, but the real problem lies in what we choose to watch and how it affects our lives. These sins can be different for each person. For some, it might be drinking, for others, it could be drugs, adultery, or pornography, and the list continues.
Same thing happened with our early fathers Adam / Eve, Serpent deceived Eve by showing and made her mind swag from that thought Genesis 3:6-7 'When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realised they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. '
Warning 2 - Ephesians 4:18 “They are darkened in their understanding” & “separated from the life of God”
When we come to walk with God, the darkness in us flees away and we are let in by the Light of Jesus which makes us flee from Darkness, but here Paul says, after our futility of thinking or our understanding is darkened. “They are darkened in their understanding”
Gentile people have their eyes / mind darkened by Satan, so that they continue to be in the sinful life. The word describes the state of affair of how the gentile mind Is
Isaiah 44:18,20 'They know nothing, they understand nothing; their eyes are plastered over so they cannot see, and their minds closed so they cannot understand. Such a person feeds on ashes; a deluded heart misleads him; he cannot save himself, or say, “Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?”
2 Corinthians 4:4 (NIV) The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
When we come to Christ, he turns us from the darkness to get to light. In addition to this he takes away the power of satan who controlled us in darkness to give the power back to God.
Acts 26:17-18 'I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’ '
Spirit of Christ, makes our eyes open and from darkness to light, power of satan to God, its that power thru which we received forgiveness of sins.
The Warning Paul gives is after our futility of thinking or our understanding is darkened. “They are darkened in their understanding”, the next step is to separate from God and give the power back to Satan. Ephesians 4:18 “and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them”
Warning 3 - Ephesians 4:18 “Hardening of Hearts”
When you disconnect from God's way of life, your heart becomes tough. Once you give in to a sin like having a beer, your heart might convince you that it's just one time, even if it's happening repeatedly. This slowly makes your heart less sensitive, and you start moving from having one drink to regularly drinking in private, no longer seeing it as a sin.
As the word says in Act 26:18 - They are separated from God to become like Gentiles, so that they are governed by power of Satan “separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.” Their hearts are hardened as a result of that. Go back to the old life. Galatians 4:8 (NIV) Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods.
Gentiles are filled with Lust, without the knowledge of God 1 Thessalonians 4:5 (NIV) not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God;
Romans 1 Explains the stages of how we are captured step by step Romans 1:20-21 'For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. '
When we're born, we have the ability to see the amazing qualities and divine nature of God in the world. Many people realise this but don't give credit to God. Instead, they think it's all about their own abilities. This repeated way of thinking hardens their hearts and makes them less receptive to God's grace and mercy.
Warning 4 - Ephesians 4:19 - “Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity”
Have you experienced a sense when you are given anesthesia, often they give that when they do pull a tooth out. We don’t feel the pain, but we know what’s going around us. This is the state of affair after the person’s hearts are hardened, they does not feel drinking is a Sin.
Its the insensitivity to one sin leads to commit many other new sins in ones life.
Satan takes pleasure when our hearts become insensitive to sin. In this state, he leads us to commit a variety of sinful acts. Picture a person who is deeply intoxicated and unaware of their actions. It's a state where we engage in wrongdoing without even realizing it.
Take a moment to reflect on yourself and discover the small faults you might be overlooking. Don't assume these are as grave as the sins committed by serial rapists or killers. Each of us has our own set of wrongdoings, and if we sincerely ask God, He can help us recognize them.
When you become less sensitive to sin, it can lead to behaving in ways that are far from normal. We hear about gang rapes or serial killers and wonder how someone could commit such brutal sins. It likely began with one small wrongdoing, and as the heart grew harder and less sensitive to sin, it escalated to more extreme actions. Thats why the word says “they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity”
Warning 5 - Ephesians 4:19 “they are full of greed.”
When you are in christ, there is a spirit of contentment, which does not long for things which are not needed. When you are in Christ, even in poverty there is happiness and contentment.
When the Christian living is lost to the Gentile life, we give in to animal behaviour. Have you watched any one feeding to a monkey, it is never content with what you give, it will take it and look for next one, they you give the next it throws the old and reaches to another one. This goes on and on as a result of its greedy behaviour
Paul’s context of Greed is too greedy to commit more sin after another sin. Once you fall into Lying, Gossip, Drinking, slowly that steps to give way to Adultery and others..
The Greed to commit more sins is fuelled from satan’s characters so that they cannot come out from his kingdom. Its more of the Self desire to satisfy themselves, they are wanting to get more of Lust / More of the sins to commit
Job 15:16(NIV) how much less mortals, who are vile and corrupt, who drink up evil like water!
Isaiah 56:11(NIV) They are dogs with mighty appetites; they never have enough. They are shepherds who lack understanding; they all turn to their own way, they seek their own gain.
If Greed thrives to Sins and indulges to do more, God will vomit them out. 2 Peter 2:10-14,21-22 'This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the flesh and despise authority. Bold and arrogant, they are not afraid to heap abuse on celestial beings; yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not heap abuse on such beings when bringing judgment on them from the Lord. But these people blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like unreasoning animals, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like animals they too will perish. They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you. With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed—an accursed brood! It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,” and, “A sow that is washed returns to her wallowing in the mud.”'
Let's take a look at our lives through these five warnings to see where we might have gone astray in our journey with Christ. Are we living a pure and holy life that pleases our Savior, or are we downplaying it, saying, "I'm just an ordinary person, not as bad as a murderer or a thief or someone in prison"? While we might not be in prison, we could still miss out when we face God on the last day. The calling from Jesus is to perfect every day.
If you're a Christian, it's important to remember that you're different from those in the world. Christ has saved you with his blood so you can lead a holy and pure life. Sometimes, your mind might tempt you to compare yourself to the worldly ways and lead an unholy life, distant from God. But God's purpose in redeeming you with his blood is to make you holy and pure and guide you towards greater purity. As the Bible says, seeking God requires purity.
Give yourself completely to God, and ask Him to search you for anything that might be hurting your relationship with Him. Pray for a spirit of repentance and the ability to recognise these areas, so you can become more holy each day as you follow Christ. Let Jesus' light shine in your life to help you become a better person.
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