Introduction. (Read the reference)

Paul urges the Ephesian Christians in the strongest possible terms to live differently from non-Christians. So I tell you this, and insist upon it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do. The reason Paul states this so emphatically is because Christians in Ephesus were not noticeably different from their worldly contemporaries.

First of all, Paul deals with the distinguishing features of a worldly man or woman. Secondly, he deals with how Christians should deal with their old worldly way of life.

(B) The characteristics of a worldly man.

(1) A preoccupation with trivia.

Gentiles or, as we say today, worldly people are distinguished by the futility of their thinking. v17. Much of their free time is spent on trivia.

This is evident from a popular paper like the Sun. It is about: sport, fashion, gossip, scandal, celebrity and so. The TV schedules are no better. They are devoted to soaps, comedy, crime series, competitions like the X Factor, makeovers, quizzes and the like.

Some folk fill their lives with trivia. They talk it, read it, watch it, play trivial games on their computers and play trivial music on their iPods.

Christians need to examine themselves. We cannot work all the time, study the Bible all the time or pray and meditate all day. We need to unwind and relax. This can be helped by watching trivial programs on TV, reading a thriller or playing a game. However, we need to get the balance right. No Christian should be preoccupied and dominated by trivia.

(2) Hardness of heart.

Worldly people are the way they are due to the hardening of their hearts. v18.

A man who hardens his heart does not allow himself to be influenced by those things that should influence him.

There are many examples in the Bible. Pharaoh hardened his heart after each of the plagues and would not free the Israelite slaves. Joseph's brothers must have hardened their hearts against his pleas when they sold him as a slave to a passing party of Ishmaelites. The priest and the Levite hardened their hearts and left the man who fell among thieves by the side of the Jerusalem to Jericho road. The older brother hardened his heart and refused to go into the party being held to celebrate the return of the prodigal son. Worst of all, the inhabitants of Jerusalem hardened their hearts to the Lord of Glory for which they paid a terrible price.

So what are the influences the ungodly resist:

(a) The example of devout parents.

(b) The truth about Jesus taught first in Sunday school and later in church.

(c) The testimony of a friend or work colleague.

(d) The good work done by Christian charities.

(e) The many masterpieces created to the glory of God in the fields of architecture, painting, music and literature.

What is the result? If a person hardens their heart to the gospel it becomes callused or petrified. Paul describes it as having lost all sensitivity. All feeling is lost and consequently the ability to respond to the truth.

It is possible for Christians to harden their hearts to the truths proclaimed in Christ's Sermon on the Mount - truths that are demanding and costly to implement. We can dismiss as unrealistic what Jesus said about generosity, forgiveness, criticism, retaliation, legalism and possessiveness. If we do not obey Jesus then we certainly will not seem so different from the worldling.

(3) Ignorance of God and in the dark about spiritual things. They are hardened in their understanding - because of the ignorance in them.

This is very true! The non-Christian is in ignorance about many spiritual topics:

(a) The reason for God's hatred of sin.

(b) God's personal interest in us and expectations of us.

(c) God's policy of non-intervention when bad things happen.

(d) The nature and purpose of miracles.

(e) The way to pray.

(f) Why prayer is necessary.

(g) God's plan of redemption.

(h) The necessity of Christ's death on the cross.

(i) The nature of faith.

(j) Life after death.

I wonder how good we are as Christians when it comes to dealing with subjects like this?

(4) No living relationship with God. Separated from the life of God. v18.

Non-believers do not have God as their father nor have they been adopted into his family. They miss out on a filial relationship with God. Consequently worldly people have no real confidence in, or experience of, God's provision, protection, comfort, guidance or compassion.

It is possible for Christians to have a deteriorating relationship with God through lack of prayer, irregular worship and wilful disobedience. If such is the case the Christian often becomes indistinguishable from the non-Christian - something Paul feared was happening among the Ephesians.

(5) Self-indulgence. They have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more. v19.

Now this may be true of some worldly people. It is easy to believe of drunken teenagers staggering out of bars and nightclubs in the early hours of Saturday or Sunday morning. But it is only a minority of non-Christians who give themselves over to every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.

Most unbelievers in Britain are like my brother Philip, or my friend Tommy, who take a pride in their work motivated in part by service to others, love and support their families and enjoy innocent leisure pursuits like cricket, gardening, bird-watching and so on.

So what are some of the manifestations of self-indulgence today? Here are some suggestions:

(a) Greed - manifest in overcharging, bumper bonuses, perks, expenses, corruption and tax avoidance.

(b) Extravagance - spending more on self than necessary or warranted; over spending on status symbols: home furnishings, electrical equipment, cars, clothes, dining out and the like.

(c) Living for numerous small treats and several bigger ones. Making sure there is always something to look forward to: a theatre or cinema visit, a weekend break, a holiday abroad, a mega sporting occasion ... .

(d) Putting personal happiness and fulfilment before family obligations. This can lead to abandoned children and abandoned parents.

(e) Opting for ease and idleness in retirement - or even before it!

We need to ask, how self-indulgent are we? To what extent are we different from those in the world?

(C) The Christian's response to a worldly lifestyle.

(1) Jesus taught us to abandon worldly values.

Verses 20 and 21 in the passage are not particularly clear in the NIV. The Living Bible conveys the sense better: But this is not the way Christ taught you! If you really heard his voice and learned from him the truths concerning himself.

I would put it even more simply: This is not what Christ is teaching you - if you listen to him and follow his example.

So lets do that:

(a) Jesus was not the purveyor of trivia. He taught kingdom values concisely and with great style. There is no better guide for living than the Beatitudes.

(b) Jesus stressed the vital importance of putting the truth into action. He said: "Everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and if fell with a great crash." Mt7v26.

(c) Jesus came to make God known. For example, Jesus taught that God takes a personal interest in each one of us. Even the hairs on our head are numbered. No Christian is in ignorance of God.

(d) Jesus proclaimed that ALL who believed in him would become by right the children of God.

(e) Jesus urged believers to live disciplined lives and in everything aim to please God. The Master said to his disciples: "So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.'" Lk17v7to10. He also told them to deny themselves, take up the cross and follow him. We are to emulate Jesus in serving others. He did not come to earth to be served but to serve and he expects us to follow his example.

(2) We are to put off the old self - the old worldly way of life. You were taught with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; v22.

(a) Note, it is something we have to do. The old self is not put off automatically or without any effort on our part.

We have here:

• A source of confusion. I rely, to pass muster on the day of judgement, upon Christ's imputed righteousness.
  Jesus, Thy blood and righteousness
  My beauty are, my glorious dress;
  Midst flaming worlds, in these arrayed,
  With joy shall I lift up my head.

  Now although I might be wise to rely on Christ's righteousness this does not absolve me from making every effort to obey Jesus and put off the old worldly way of life.

• A shock. Why isn't it easier to abandon the old life? If we are believers we are born again and indwelt by the life-giving Spirit. A Christian passes from death to life and from darkness to light. Surely it should be easy to put off the old worldly style of life!

  When I was a teacher a time came in the education of the pupils when they could opt to study Geography further or opt out of doing so. Those who opted for Geography would take a GCSE examination in the subject. There were always some pupils who thought they had done the main thing when they chose Geography as one of their options. They chose the subject to please old Mr Reed - they had done what really mattered - now it was up to him to get them through the exam. They could just sit back and let the teacher do all the work. The few pupils who thought like this never did very well!

  The same can be true of new converts. They think they have done the hard bit in making a commitment to Jesus. They have trusted in him for salvation. Now it is up to Jesus to get them safely to heaven. It is all of Grace - there is nothing for them to do! So these highly immature believers carry on with their old worldly way of life.

(b) A new attitude of mind is needed. To be made new in the attitude of your minds.

Christians HAVE to stop thinking about themselves and start thinking about what God wants and how to please Jesus. Believers need to comply with the promptings of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit comes along side the Christian to enlighten, guide and empower. But the Spirit won't do it all for us! He's like the friend who offers to help with a task. The friend doesn't expect to do all the work himself!

(c) The old self must be put off. Paul paints a terrible picture of the old self. It is being corrupted by its deceitful desires.

The desires of the old self promise pleasure, fulfilment and lasting satisfaction. But the promise is not kept. Nowhere is this better seen than in that old, old story of mankind's fall in the Garden of Eden. When Eve saw that the forbidden 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. Gen3v6. We all know the outcome!

Perhaps it is as well to identify some of these deceitful desires:

• The desire for success. But each success leads to the desire for another. A man is rarely satisfied with one promotion - he wants another one.

  The desire for success can corrupt. It can make men and women ruthless, demanding, hard and arrogant.

• The desire for the nicest and best possessions. This is an incredibly difficult desire to satisfy. There is always something better to have - the latest car model, a bigger house, nicer furniture, a new kitchen, the latest gadget, another work of art .... .

  This desire, too, corrupts. It results in materialism, possessiveness, discontent and pride. Some people are pathetically house proud or car proud. Detective Grim in the comedy, 'The Thin Blue Line,' spoke for many men when he tried to explain his rage and indignation by saying, "He dinged my motor." There was no crime more despicable.

• The pursuit of personal happiness. This is a never ending pursuit. We have to keep doing the things that make us happy because happiness is fleeting. When I was a decent cricketer, a good innings brought me much happiness but the feeling didn't last. The next time I played cricket I needed another good score to be happy again.

  The relentless pursuit of happiness corrupts. It makes us selfish and self-centred. We become preoccupied with: Me, me, me, me, me.

• The pursuit of entertainment. If our lives are geared to an endless diet of entertainment I am afraid we shall become shallow, idle and useless.

• The desire for popularity. We shall find it a thankless task if our aim is to be men pleasers and adored by all. There is always someone else to impress.

  How this desire corrupts! Integrity is lost, respect is forfeited and we shall eventually acquire a reputation for untrustworthiness and unreliability.

(3) We must put on the new self. Put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

This is not something that occurs without any effort on our part. It is not like the imputed righteousness of Christ. No, the new self is put on as we obey Jesus. Sometimes we forget the third part of the Great Commission: "Teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." If we obey Jesus we shall become like God - both righteous and holy.

What makes God righteous and holy?

(a) He hates what spoils us. So we should live in a way that helps men and women lead better lives. See exposition on Blessed are the Peacemakers.

(b) He is concerned for the oppressed, down trodden, disadvantaged and handicapped. In the Old Testament God instructed the Israelites to help the widow, fatherless and alien. They were to remember that God had delivered THEM from slavery in Egypt.

Jesus made it clear that his followers should feed the hungry, cloth the naked and visit the sick and imprisoned.

(c) He is merciful. God does not treat us as we deserve. His plan has always been to redeem mankind. So we should show mercy towards those who ill-use us.

We shall put on the new self insofar as we become more and more like God and his dear Son. It takes time and practice!