Ephesians 4:17-19
Recognize the Process
In this passage; Paul clearly describes a process. Just as our spiritual maturity is a process that doesn’t happen in an instant, going back to where we once were usually doesn’t happen all at once, either.
In this passage; Paul clearly describes a process. Just as our spiritual maturity is a process that doesn’t happen in an instant, going back to where we once were usually doesn’t happen all at once, either.
So I think it’s helpful
for us to understand the process that leads away from Christ. Although Paul
describes the process very clearly here in Ephesians, he goes into even more
detail in one in Romans chapter 1.
“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 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 men 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. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator-- who is forever praised. Amen.” Romans 1:18-25
When we look at this passage, along with our passage from Ephesians, we get a pretty good picture of the process that leads to a life of futility.
• Revelation
The process begins when God reveals Himself to us in some way. As Paul points out, that could be through His creation, but the primary means of God’s revelation of Himself is through His Word. And it is that Word that contains truth. Once that truth is revealed, every one of us has to deal with it. And if we don’t accept that truth and adjust our lives to that truth, it leads to the second step in the process.
• Rejection
As Christians, we don’t have a hard time recognizing that unbelievers have rejected the truth of God. But remember that Paul is writing here in Ephesians to Christians and he seems to be warning us against doing the very same thing. Unfortunately, as I’ve shared with you on many occasions, surveys consistently reveal that many of those who claim to be Christians reject some of the basic tenets of the gospel. We live in a culture that provides us with so many choices that we can pick and choose from and that mentality has infiltrated the church. But Christianity is not Baskin-Robbins where I can just choose the one or two flavors I want and reject all the others. We must take in the whole counsel of God’s word.
“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 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 men 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. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator-- who is forever praised. Amen.” Romans 1:18-25
When we look at this passage, along with our passage from Ephesians, we get a pretty good picture of the process that leads to a life of futility.
• Revelation
The process begins when God reveals Himself to us in some way. As Paul points out, that could be through His creation, but the primary means of God’s revelation of Himself is through His Word. And it is that Word that contains truth. Once that truth is revealed, every one of us has to deal with it. And if we don’t accept that truth and adjust our lives to that truth, it leads to the second step in the process.
• Rejection
As Christians, we don’t have a hard time recognizing that unbelievers have rejected the truth of God. But remember that Paul is writing here in Ephesians to Christians and he seems to be warning us against doing the very same thing. Unfortunately, as I’ve shared with you on many occasions, surveys consistently reveal that many of those who claim to be Christians reject some of the basic tenets of the gospel. We live in a culture that provides us with so many choices that we can pick and choose from and that mentality has infiltrated the church. But Christianity is not Baskin-Robbins where I can just choose the one or two flavors I want and reject all the others. We must take in the whole counsel of God’s word.
• Spiritual
Ignorance
Rejecting the truth of God leads to spiritual ignorance. And that spiritual ignorance gets reflected in our actions. Sometimes I think that we unwittingly push unbelievers away from our churches because we expect them to speak and act like Christians. But they just aren’t capable of doing that, as Paul makes clear in another of his letters: “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.” 1 Corinthians 2:14 (NIV)
Rejecting the truth of God leads to spiritual ignorance. And that spiritual ignorance gets reflected in our actions. Sometimes I think that we unwittingly push unbelievers away from our churches because we expect them to speak and act like Christians. But they just aren’t capable of doing that, as Paul makes clear in another of his letters: “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.” 1 Corinthians 2:14 (NIV)
But the same thing can certainly happen to us as followers
of Jesus, too. Once we choose to reject the truth of God, we begin to develop
spiritual ignorance in our lives as well.
• Hardened HeartsThe word translated “hardening” is a word that means to cover with a callous. Before the days of computers when I had to write a lot, I developed a very thick callous on the inside of my middle finger where the pencil or pen rubbed against it when I wrote. In fact, although it’s not as noticeable today, it’s still there. That’s exactly the picture that Paul is using here. The more that we reject the truth of God and the more that we become spiritually ignorant, the more calloused, or hard, that our hearts get. And the more calloused they get, the harder it is for us to even sense just how far from God we are getting.
• Complete Separation from God
Eventually, the hardening of our hearts leads to a complete separation from God. Again, we can easily see this in unbelievers who want absolutely nothing to do with God. But that same danger also exists for us as followers of Jesus Christ. The more hardened our hearts become, the harder it is for us to even sense the separation that results from us turning away from God.
• Given Over to Their Own Desires
If we don’t break this process somewhere along the way, we will inevitably come to the point where God will just turn us over to our own sinful desires. As Paul writes in Ephesians 4, we come to the point where we have completely lost all sensitivity to the point that we no longer even care if others even see us live that sinful lifestyle.
This is certainly not a pretty picture. But by understanding the process, we can take some concrete steps to short-circuit that process so that we make sure that we don’t get back to where we once belonged. More tomorrow, you are loved!
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