Ephesians 4:17-19
Renew You're
Thought Life
This whole process gets started with what we think. That’s why Paul wrote these familiar words.
“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” Romans 12:2 (NIV) Everything starts with our thoughts. I have to renew my mind daily.
“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5 (NIV)
This whole process gets started with what we think. That’s why Paul wrote these familiar words.
“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” Romans 12:2 (NIV) Everything starts with our thoughts. I have to renew my mind daily.
“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5 (NIV)
How do I take every thought captive and make it obedient to
Christ? As thoughts come into my mind, I
have to evaluate those thoughts and determine whether they are in fact
consistent with Jesus, the truth, and with His Word. If my thought meets that
standard, then I allow that thought to enter into my mind and I allow myself to
dwell on it. But if that thought is not consistent with Jesus and His Word,
then I need to reject it.
But that’s only the first step. I then have to replace that thought with something that is consistent
with the truth.
Let me give you an example. I’ll pick on us men this morning. Let’s say that you’re walking through the mall with your wife and you notice another attractive woman walking by. In Reader’s Digest several years ago this was submitted:
While my wife and I were shopping at a mall kiosk, a shapely young woman in a short, form-fitting dress strolled by. My eyes followed her. Without looking up from the item she was examining, my wife asked, "Was it worth the trouble you’re in?"
There is nothing wrong with noticing an attractive woman. But where we get ourselves in trouble is what happens next. As Martin Luther reportedly commented, “You can’t keep the bird from flying overhead, but you can keep it from nesting in your hair.” Unfortunately, for us as men, the look at an attractive woman often begins a thought process in our mind that is not consistent with the truth of Jesus and his Word.
So my first step is to immediately recognize that my thoughts are not in accordance with God’s truth. But if I stop right there, I’m going to be in trouble, because if all I do is to try to stop thinking of those wrong thoughts, what am I going to do? I’m going to keep thinking about them. I know we’ve all been there.
So the next step is that I focus on the truth, which is that God has given me a wonderful godly wife and it is through her that God is going to satisfy my God-given needs and desires. And when I do that I short circuit the process that might eventually lead me down a road I don’t want to travel.
Resist the Urge to be Self-Centered
I won’t belabor this point since we’ve talked about it quite a bit in our journey through Ephesians. But one of the best indicators that I’m headed down the road to a life of futility is when I begin to focus a lot on myself.
Although our culture urges us to “look out for #1”, Paul has consistently emphasized throughout his letter that the church is a body where every member is a part of that body for the overall good of the body, not just for themselves. Obviously we receive many benefits by being an integral part of that body, but the body does not exist to serve my needs, it exists to serve the purposes of the Head, Jesus Christ.
As we saw just a few moments ago, the last step in the process that lead to a life of futility is that God will give us over to our own, selfish desires. And while that might initially seem like it would be fun, we soon discover the emptiness, vanity, meaninglessness and futility of that kind of life. So when I begin to be overly self-centered, when I begin to look at everything only in terms of what’s in it for me, that ought to be a warning signal to me that I’m on the road to a place where I don’t want to go.
Refuse to Violate You're Conscience
God has given us a conscience to help us understand when we are violating his standards. That’s why when people commit acts that are wrong, they try to do them in a manner that no one else will discover what they are doing. Even unbelievers are usually not so brazen as to commit their sin right out in the open, at least not at first.
But when we consistently violate our conscience, it becomes “seared” so that it will no longer operate properly: “Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.” 1 Timothy 4:2 (NIV)
Once that occurs, it leads to the situation Paul describes in verse 19. Although the word “sensuality” refers primarily to sexual sin, it describes any uninhibited indulgence that is committed without shame and without concern for what others think or how they are affected. And as Paul points out, once a person gets to that point they live a lifestyle that is characterized by a continual lust for more.
Just because we are followers of Jesus Christ doesn’t mean that we are immune to going that far. In fact we probably all know fellow believers who allowed their consciences to be seared and eventually ended up at a place where they were so ruled by their sin that they no longer tried to hide it and they needed more of that sin – both in quantity and intensity – in order to satisfy their selfish desires.
I’m sure most of have heard this statement before, but it bears repeating once again: Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you wanted to stay, and cost you more than you are willing to pay.
So which words of Paul do you want to follow today – the words of Paul McCartney that urge you to get back to where you once belonged or the words of the Apostle Paul that say “Get Back? – Never!” I know which Paul I’m going to choose. You are loved!
Let me give you an example. I’ll pick on us men this morning. Let’s say that you’re walking through the mall with your wife and you notice another attractive woman walking by. In Reader’s Digest several years ago this was submitted:
While my wife and I were shopping at a mall kiosk, a shapely young woman in a short, form-fitting dress strolled by. My eyes followed her. Without looking up from the item she was examining, my wife asked, "Was it worth the trouble you’re in?"
There is nothing wrong with noticing an attractive woman. But where we get ourselves in trouble is what happens next. As Martin Luther reportedly commented, “You can’t keep the bird from flying overhead, but you can keep it from nesting in your hair.” Unfortunately, for us as men, the look at an attractive woman often begins a thought process in our mind that is not consistent with the truth of Jesus and his Word.
So my first step is to immediately recognize that my thoughts are not in accordance with God’s truth. But if I stop right there, I’m going to be in trouble, because if all I do is to try to stop thinking of those wrong thoughts, what am I going to do? I’m going to keep thinking about them. I know we’ve all been there.
So the next step is that I focus on the truth, which is that God has given me a wonderful godly wife and it is through her that God is going to satisfy my God-given needs and desires. And when I do that I short circuit the process that might eventually lead me down a road I don’t want to travel.
Resist the Urge to be Self-Centered
I won’t belabor this point since we’ve talked about it quite a bit in our journey through Ephesians. But one of the best indicators that I’m headed down the road to a life of futility is when I begin to focus a lot on myself.
Although our culture urges us to “look out for #1”, Paul has consistently emphasized throughout his letter that the church is a body where every member is a part of that body for the overall good of the body, not just for themselves. Obviously we receive many benefits by being an integral part of that body, but the body does not exist to serve my needs, it exists to serve the purposes of the Head, Jesus Christ.
As we saw just a few moments ago, the last step in the process that lead to a life of futility is that God will give us over to our own, selfish desires. And while that might initially seem like it would be fun, we soon discover the emptiness, vanity, meaninglessness and futility of that kind of life. So when I begin to be overly self-centered, when I begin to look at everything only in terms of what’s in it for me, that ought to be a warning signal to me that I’m on the road to a place where I don’t want to go.
Refuse to Violate You're Conscience
God has given us a conscience to help us understand when we are violating his standards. That’s why when people commit acts that are wrong, they try to do them in a manner that no one else will discover what they are doing. Even unbelievers are usually not so brazen as to commit their sin right out in the open, at least not at first.
But when we consistently violate our conscience, it becomes “seared” so that it will no longer operate properly: “Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.” 1 Timothy 4:2 (NIV)
Once that occurs, it leads to the situation Paul describes in verse 19. Although the word “sensuality” refers primarily to sexual sin, it describes any uninhibited indulgence that is committed without shame and without concern for what others think or how they are affected. And as Paul points out, once a person gets to that point they live a lifestyle that is characterized by a continual lust for more.
Just because we are followers of Jesus Christ doesn’t mean that we are immune to going that far. In fact we probably all know fellow believers who allowed their consciences to be seared and eventually ended up at a place where they were so ruled by their sin that they no longer tried to hide it and they needed more of that sin – both in quantity and intensity – in order to satisfy their selfish desires.
I’m sure most of have heard this statement before, but it bears repeating once again: Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you wanted to stay, and cost you more than you are willing to pay.
So which words of Paul do you want to follow today – the words of Paul McCartney that urge you to get back to where you once belonged or the words of the Apostle Paul that say “Get Back? – Never!” I know which Paul I’m going to choose. You are loved!
No comments:
Post a Comment