Identity 4 - I Should Be

Thank you. We're continuing a series here at Cross Connection in the book of Ephesians called "Identity." Today, we're looking at the ethic of the Christian, the person whose identity is found in Christ. How should they then live?

Open your Bibles with us to Ephesians chapter 4 and follow along. For those who hold a modern or post-modern worldview, there are questions surrounding morality and ethics. If, on one hand, you hold to a modernist worldview—the position that everything came into being through billions of years of random chance and mutation through evolution—then you have no basis or foundation for morality. There is no foundation upon which ethics are established.

On the other hand, if you hold to the postmodern position, then any sort of moral statement or ethical position is subjective and relative. Everything boils down to what is referred to as a situational ethic; whatever the situation determines dictates how you should respond. However, there is no absolute standard for ethics and no absolute standard for morals in this life.

This, of course, causes a pretty serious dilemma for those who hold to these positions, and there are an awful lot of people who do. These are the predominant worldviews of people in Western civilization today: the modern and post-modern positions. As a result, they find themselves in a serious dilemma. This was perfectly illustrated just a week ago on a television show that airs in the United Kingdom, a show called "The Meaning of Life."

In this television show, the interviewer, a man by the name of Gabe Byrne, sits down with prominent thinkers and celebrities. He asks them questions about their worldview and the meaning of life. Some of you may have even seen that just a couple of days before this aired, there was a short clip that went out on YouTube, and a lot of people posted it on their YouTube channels. In fact, I saw a few people here in this church who had put it on their Facebook wall.

In that interview, the interviewer was sitting down with a British comedian and actor by the name of Stephen Fry. Interestingly, Stephen Fry is an atheist in addition to being a comedian. The interviewer asked him this question: Suppose it's all true—religion—and you walk up to the Pearly Gates and you're confronted by God. What will Stephen Fry say to Him?

The answer that Fry gave seemed to completely stop Mr. Byrne in his tracks. He appeared almost speechless, not knowing how to respond. Fry's answer was, "I'll basically say to God, 'Bone cancer in children, what's that all about? How dare you? How dare you create a world in which there's such misery that is not our fault? It's not right; it's utterly, utterly evil. Why should I respect a capricious, mean-minded, stupid God who creates a world that is so full of injustice and pain? That's what I'd say to Him.'"

As you can imagine, Gabe Byrne just kind of looked at him, as if to say, "I don't even know how to respond." The problem is that Fry's answer, as an atheist, makes no sense whatsoever. His response borrows from the moral ethic of Christianity while standing in a position that denies the existence of God, who is the moral lawgiver. To stand in that position, one has no basis and no moral standard to say, "How dare you? It's utterly wrong; it's evil." Thus, Fry was admitting something profound.

In his moral declarations against God, he believes in an objective morality. As an atheist, he is tipping his hand that he can't possibly live in a world that does not have an objective moral standard. He does not want to live in a world that has no basis for morality and ethics. When he accuses God of being capricious, evil, and mean-minded, he is saying, "I believe that there is a moral code, that there is a moral law, and therefore there must be a moral lawgiver."

He really fell into one of the greatest blunders. The first is to never get involved in a land war in Asia; this one is only slightly less known. He fell into something that philosophers and thinkers have been pointing out for a very long time. In fact, if you've ever read "Mere Christianity" by C.S. Lewis, written 70 years ago, you know that he addresses this very thing. In the first chapter of "Mere Christianity," C.S. Lewis writes, "Whenever you find a man who says that I do not believe in a real right and wrong, you will find the same man going back on this a moment later." This is because he will transgress some sort of right or wrong and will say, "How dare you!" He will admit in that moment that there is a right and wrong.

This presents a serious dilemma, which is the reason I have stated over the last three studies in this series that I believe the Bible presents a better and more compelling answer. We here at Cross Connection believe that the Bible gives a narrative that proposes a better framework through which we can answer questions of morality and ethics.

You see, the person who holds to a modern or post-modern view has no basis for morality and ethics, even though they seek to live by moral standards. This lack of foundation is a serious problem. However, for the Christian, it is not a problem; we have a better framework.

When I speak about the issues of morality and ethics, I am talking about what is right and what is wrong. If you have your sermon guide, point number one on your outline states that morality and ethics speak to what is right, what is wrong, and what one ought to do. Morality and ethics speak to what is right.

What is wrong and what one ought to do? For a very large segment of people who live in the Western world today, particularly in the United States and Western Europe, those who hold to a modern or post-modern worldview do not have adequate answers to questions of right and wrong, or how they should live their lives. They also lack good answers to the questions of identity, origin, and destiny, which we have explored over the last few weeks in the book of Ephesians. God provides some solid answers for these questions.

As we move into mostly chapter four today, we will begin to look at the purpose for the person who finds their identity in Christ, who understands their origin, and who knows what their destiny will be. How does this understanding affect their purpose? It is in this question of purpose that we encounter the questions of morality and ethics. How shall we then live? This is the classic question that needs to be posed to anyone with a worldview. If this is the way you look at the world, if this is how you believe everything works, and if meaning and purpose derive from this, then how should you live? How should that affect your life?

We must acknowledge that both Christians and non-Christians alike do not live perfectly according to any moral or ethical standard. We all fail at that; we all fall short of what is morally right and wrong. I have combined "moral" and "ethical" into a new word, "moracal," to emphasize this point. We all fall short, which is why we are in need of the grace of God. Grace is necessary because none of us live up to the perfect standard that is set before us, even though we have an internal understanding that we should.

C.S. Lewis discusses this extensively in "Mere Christianity," a great book. We all have within us an understanding that God has hardwired into us, which is called a conscience. This conscience reveals to us that there is a moral law and a moral lawgiver. Inside of us, we understand that there are certain things that are wrong and certain things that are right. We should do those things that are right and avoid those things that are wrong. However, we all fail at this; we all come short of it. Thus, we find ourselves in desperate need of grace.

The grace of God and the Bible reveal that God is gracious. The Bible answers the difficult question of our moral state: we are totally destitute of morality. Thus, that which we should do, we most often do not do. However, God is gracious.

We have considered who we were in Ephesians chapter 2. Specifically, in the first three verses, we saw that we were dead in trespasses and sins. Not only were we dead in trespasses and sins, but we were also enemies of God. We were walking according to the dictates of the devil, the spirit who is at work in this world. There is more to this universe, more to this cosmos, than science can see; there is more than meets the eye. There is a spiritual realm, and we will see it clearly when we get into Ephesians chapter 6 in a couple of studies.

This world, in certain ways, is governed and dictated by things that happen that we cannot see. If your identity is in Christ today, we were governed and directed by the enemy to do things that were in disobedient opposition to God. Therefore, being led about by our lustful desires and passions, we were subject to the wrath of God. That was the origin of those who are in Christ; they have come to the recognition of who they were.

However, that is not who they are anymore. In Ephesians chapter 1, we see that the Christian has a new identity. They come to understand that their identity is seated with or found in Christ. When they find that, they discover not only that they are in Christ, but also that there are certain things that are theirs as being one in Christ. They are blessed with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places, as Ephesians 1 says.

Not only that, but they are chosen, predestined, adopted, and accepted. They are redeemed, forgiven, given revelation, and granted an inheritance. They are given an eternal future. All of these things are the possession of the one who finds their identity in Christ, and all of this is by grace.

In our last study, we considered our destiny—not just our origin and our identity, but our destiny. What we shall be as Christians is not just in heaven; that is the ultimate destiny of the Christian. However, there is a destiny that God has for us right here and right now.

Destiny is to experience the power and presence of God here and now. We have the Holy Spirit of God resident within us as Christians. Christ dwells in our hearts, and as a result, that is what gives us the hope of glory to be with Him in eternity. However, right here and now, we can experience the power and presence of God in our lives today. We don't have to wait for that. As Christians, that is a part of our destiny.

Not only that, but we have from God wisdom and revelation. We have an enlightened understanding; our eyes have been opened, and we comprehend the vastness of His love—how wide, long, deep, and high the love of Christ is. There is no way that we could ever overuse the love of God. This is the experience that the Christian is to have; this is what they shall be or shall have in this life.

From that understanding, we recognize that we were dead in trespasses and sins. We were enemies of God through following after the lusts of our sinful nature. But now we are in Christ, redeemed and forgiven, and we have been given revelation and all of these great things. We shall be with Him in eternity, and we shall experience His power and presence right now.

How does that affect the way that we live? How does that affect our purpose today? We come to this section of Scripture where we talk about what we should be as the recipients of this grace. I would like you to stand with me and open your Bibles. We are going to look at a number of different verses in Ephesians chapter 1, chapter 2, and primarily in chapter 4 to establish this aspect of what we should be.

Ephesians chapter 1, beginning with verse 4: Paul writes, "Just as He (God) chose us in Him (Jesus) before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love." He chose us that we should be holy. Now, skip over to chapter 2, verse 10: "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand."

Should walk in them. Chapter 4, verse 1, Paul writes, "I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you" or "I beg you to walk worthy of the calling wherewith you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with all long-suffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."

In verse 14, he states that we should no longer be children tossed to and fro, carried about with every wind of doctrine by the trickery of men and the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting. In verse 17, he continues, "This I say therefore and testify in the Lord that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them and because of the blindness of their heart."

Those who are past feeling have given themselves over to lewdness, to work uncleanness with greediness. In verse 22, Paul instructs that you put off concerning your former conduct the old man, which grows corrupt according to deceitful lusts, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your

We would see in part today and in the next two studies how this affects our purpose, how this changes the way we live, and what this gives us in terms of morality and ethics. God, enlighten our eyes and help us to comprehend these things, and then to put them into practice by Your grace. At the end of the day, all of this is according to Your grace and by Your power, because we are weak and insufficient. We confess, Lord, our weakness and our need for You to work in us. So work in us, we pray, for we ask this in Jesus' name. And all God's people said, "Amen." You can be seated.

In the 13 verses that we just read, we find seven different areas: Ephesians 1, Ephesians 2, Ephesians 4, and Ephesians 5. These passages provide the elements, the basis, and the foundation for the ethic of the Christian—what Christians should do and how they should live. In proposing or submitting this ethic or moral position for the Christian, it needs to be stated, as I alluded to in our prayer, that these things are based upon God's strength at work in us.

We need to comprehend that He has enabled us to do what He is calling us to do here in this passage. In our next study together, we will see that He is going to provide very clear, practical counsel and exhortation regarding how we are to live. Those instructions may seem impossible to someone who is of their natural mind or still holding on to the old understanding of their life before Christ. However, I was just reading in the Gospel of Mark again last night that what is impossible with man is possible with God. Therefore, whereas we may think it impossible to do these things, with God, it is perfectly acceptable for Him to enable us.

Say this is how you are to then live. He begins with something that seems completely impossible as He calls us to a life that seems far greater than anything we could ever do. The life of the Christian is one that is to be characterized not only by a new comprehension, a new understanding. We saw it last week that He has enlightened our understanding; our eyes are open. We were blind, but now we see.

So, the life of the Christian is not only to have a new comprehension of things, a new understanding, an enlightened understanding, but it is also to be characterized by living out something new. Our lives should be changed—the way that we live, the way that we interact with others, the way that we respond to people, and the way that we conduct ourselves in this life. Life is to be conducted differently.

They that are identified in Christ ought to live according to a new morality and ethic. The Christian life is not merely some ethereal mindset; rather, it is a very practical reality. It's not just lived in your head. A lot of people think that Christianity is just a change of mind and a change of thinking, but it actually is a transformation of the way that we live.

If your identity is found in Christ today, if you're a Christian, if you've been redeemed, forgiven, accepted, and adopted—if all those great things of Ephesians chapter 1 are true of you today—then you should be identifiable by Christ's likeness. People who don't know Him should see in us that there is a transformation, that there is a difference.

One of the ways it is put in the Scriptures is by the Apostle John. He says those who you used to run with think it's strange you don't run with them anymore. They think there's something different about that person. We were friends for 20 years, and then all of a sudden, they went to church, and now they're completely different. That difference shouldn't be that you just shunned them and now they won't spend any time with you, but they should see some practical change in your life and in my life. If that's not there, then...

Then there hasn't truly been the new birth experience. As I said in our study several weeks ago, it was one of the points when we were in chapter two. You must have this experience, or you are not saved. Why? Well, Ephesians chapter 5, verse 5, Paul says this: "For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man who is an idolater has any inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ and God."

A person who continues to live as they lived before they found their identity in Christ is an indication that they have not truly come to find their identity in Him. They are not seated with Him in heavenly places; they are living out their existence merely for the earthly pleasures that are available.

The Christian ethic, or "I should be," which is the title of this message, is first found in the opening words of Paul in Ephesians chapter 1, verse 4. There he says that as Christians, we should be holy and without blame before God in love. We should be holy and without blame. Some of your English translations might render this as "holy and without spot" or "holy and without blemish."

The idea is something that people in the first century, who were living in a Greco-Roman world or Hebraic culture, would have understood. However, here in the 21st century, there may be a disconnect. You and I are not accustomed to, and probably never have in our lives, going to offer a sacrifice—an actual bloody sacrifice. But in the first century, that was normal fare for everyday life. Whether you were a pagan living in Ephesus or a Hebrew living in Jerusalem, it was common to go and offer sacrifices.

If you were living in Ephesus, you would probably go and offer an animal sacrifice of some sort to Diana, to Aphrodite, or to Apollo. You would take this offering, kill it, and give it to the priests or priestesses there as an offering. If you were in Jerusalem and you were Jewish, you would go to the temple and offer a sacrifice to God for your sins. That sacrifice needed to be without spot or blemish; it had to be blameless and was to be inspected. The Levites, as God instructed in the Book of Leviticus, were to inspect these sacrifices and ensure that they were without spot.

Spotless, blame us not only that they were to be holy. Now, holy in the context that is said here is not perfect, but holy in this context is to be consecrated or set apart. It is to be set apart for temple worship, set apart for the sacrifice.

Although "consecrated" is not a word that you probably use on a normal basis, the concept is something that we can grasp merely by understanding the idea of a savings account. How many of you have a savings account, even if it has a zero balance? How many of us have a savings account?

A savings account is something many of us can relate to. How many of you have ever saved for a big purchase, like a vacation or a new car? If you haven't, you should. I should see more hands! You save for something, and you get your check. You realize that your check is gross and net, and you look at your net. You take a part of it and put it in the savings account because you're saving for a vacation or a new car. That money, which was a part of the net, is now consecrated; it's set apart, it's holy. It's not to be used for anything else.

This is a very real reality for me and for many of you who are self-employed. I'm not self-employed, but the way my finances are set up, I have to self-withhold my taxes. If you're self-employed, you understand this: you pay quarterly. It doesn't come right out of your check. For the rest of you, you don't even think about it because you see gross and net, and you don't really care about the gross because the net is what you actually get. The gross, well, you don't really know because the government takes some immediately.

Every quarter, I'm supposed to write a check to the United States Treasury. I have to write that out, "U.S. Treasury," sign my name to it, and put it in an envelope to ship it off. When I sign that, it's like, you know, no one likes to do that. Jim Van, my CPA, is saying, "Yeah, you better sign up!" So it goes off.

Now, that money throughout the year goes into a savings account, and it looks like there's a lot of money in that savings account. But it's consecrated; I can't touch it. It says "U.S. Treasury" on it. It's consecrated.

So here, Paul says that as a Christian, your identity is found in Christ. You are to be, you should be holy, consecrated, without spot or blemish to God. Before Him, you're set apart for Him, and this without spot or blemish means you're not...

Attached to any other thing, nothing else holding on, nothing else depleting the resource, you are fully and totally consecrated to Him. This is what Paul encourages, or begs, the church to do in Romans chapter 12, verse 1. He says, "I beseech you, I beg you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you would present your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service." It's the only right response. In response to Him redeeming, forgiving, accepting, and adopting us, our only right response is to say, "I am completely giving myself over to You, and I'm not going to be attached to any other thing in this world." That is the ethic of the Christian: to be completely dedicated to God.

Now, the interesting thing is that God doesn't force it. Twice here, Paul is pleading with the Christian to willingly do it, which is phenomenal. The Bible reveals that God redeemed you and me; He purchased us. We are His possession; we are not our own. Yet, He has also maintained the free will that you have and that I have. Throughout the New Testament, there are these statements where we see someone—Paul, Peter, or James—pleading with the Christian to willingly offer what is rightfully God's back to Him.

Paul says we should be holy and without spot before Him in love. He goes on in chapter 2, verse 10, and reveals that as Christians offered to God in Christ Jesus, we should walk in the good works that God ordained for our lives. He says this was established before the foundation of the world, which is an interesting concept. What is revealed in this section of Scripture is that before God created you, He had a plan for you. He has created good works for you and for me; He has ordained good things that we are to do. Paul is begging, if you will; he is asking us to do that. We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God ordained beforehand that we should walk in them. The implications here are clear: you should do that. That's your right response.

An ethical response to walk in the good works that God prepared beforehand for you is essential. Why should we do that? Well, number one, it's pleasing to God. We find this in Colossians chapter 1, verse 10, which states that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.

Why should we walk in these good works? Because, number one, it's pleasing to God, and number two, it's glorifying to God. Turn in your Bibles to the first book of the New Testament, the Book of Matthew. Let's look at Matthew chapter 5, beginning at verse 13 for context.

In Matthew 5:13, Jesus says to His disciples—many of your Bibles have these words in red, indicating that they are the words of Jesus—"You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden, nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven."

You are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God ordained beforehand that you should walk in them. Why should we walk in them? It's pleasing to God, and it glorifies Him. It exalts Him when we do what we are created to do.

Now, what exactly does this look like? What does it practically mean to be holy, consecrated to God, with nothing else depleting the resource, and to be walking in the good works that He prepared beforehand? What does that practically look like?

The worthy walk is a walk of practical holiness. Point number three on your outline: the worthy walk is practical holiness and not ritualistic righteousness. It's practical holiness and not...

Ritualistic righteousness is a concept that has been explored throughout the history of faith. There are certain rituals and sacraments that Christians observe in a manner similar to the Old Testament practices of the Jewish people, who worshiped God through rituals and sacraments at the temple. However, God conveyed an enlightening message through the prophet Samuel to Saul. In First Samuel, chapter 15, God expresses that He desires less burnt offerings and sacrifices, but rather obedience. "Obedience is better than sacrifice."

Not only did Samuel communicate this to King Saul, but he also relayed these words to David. Many years later, David echoes this sentiment in the Psalms, reinforcing that obedience is indeed better than sacrifice. Therefore, practical holiness is more valuable than ritualistic righteousness.

The challenge we face is that, due to our fallen nature, we are often drawn to religious rituals. We find comfort in these rituals because they make us feel holy. Engaging in acts of penance and repentance can give us a sense of righteousness. However, God desires to see obedience and practical holiness in our lives.

In Ephesians, chapter 4, verse 1, Paul writes, "I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you." He begs and prays that we would walk worthy of the calling with which we have been called. How should we walk? Not with prayer and fasting, although those are good practices, but with all lowliness and gentleness. Paul emphasizes the importance of long-suffering, bearing with one another in love, and endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

In these verses, Paul outlines five key aspects that constitute a worthy walk of the calling to which we are called, if we are in Christ. The first aspect he mentions is to walk in lowliness. The literal understanding of this word "lowly" is to have a deep sense of your moral littleness.

A deep sense of your moral littleness is essential to understand that you have nothing good to offer. This realization leads to a humble position, which our culture often rejects. We do not like humility and humbleness, but God loves humility. Why? The Scriptures say He draws near to one who has a humble heart.

A worthy walk is one that is walked in a deep sense of your moral littleness. The best way to come to this understanding is to recognize who God is and how great He is. When you behold His greatness, you see yourself in light of Him and realize how far apart the two are. Therefore, Paul instructs us to walk worthy of the calling with which we have been called, in humility.

Paul grasped this concept well. In Ephesians 3:8, he refers to himself as "less than the least of all the saints." He understood his littleness, which is particularly interesting given the name change that occurred in his life. Initially, he was known as Saul of Tarsus, a Hebrew of the Hebrews and a Pharisee of the Pharisees. At some point, his name changed to Paul.

There are various interpretations of this name change; he was transitioning from a Hebrew culture to a Greek culture. However, it is fascinating to consider the meanings of the names themselves. Saul means "one who is desired," while Paul means "little." This change signifies a transformation, which should also occur in the life of a Christian.

Not only is the worthy walk characterized by lowliness, but it is also marked by gentleness, which is sometimes translated as meekness. This quality is classified as one of the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5:23 and is identified as a characteristic of Jesus. In the Sermon on the Mount, found in Matthew 5, He says, "Blessed are the meek."

Additionally, Paul mentions long-suffering. The worthy walk is one that is walked in patient endurance and steadfast constancy. Interestingly, the word long-suffering is very similar to the word forbearance, which follows closely in meaning.

Nobody likes to suffer for a long time. No one wants to suffer for a little time, but suffering long has the same sort of connotation as forbearance. There is an interesting and subtle nuanced difference between long-suffering and forbearance.

You see, long-suffering seems to be suffering through difficult circumstances, but Paul says in Ephesians chapter 4 that we are to forbear with one another in love. Forbearance is suffering with difficult people. How many of you know it's easier to suffer difficult circumstances than it is to deal with difficult people? It is. Yet, the worthy walk is one of patient endurance through difficult circumstances and forbearance with difficult people in love.

Such forbearance is done in pursuit of unity. Paul says we are to endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. The worthy walk is characterized by lowliness, gentleness, long-suffering, and forbearance with one another while pursuing unity.

Why should we pursue unity? The answer is given in the following verses, Ephesians 4:4: "For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in you all."

Do you see the repeated word "one"? One body, one hope, one Spirit, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God. What are we being told? There is one body in Christ, and there are to be no schisms, factions, or divisions. The problem is that there is more than one individual that makes up the one body, which means that if we are not careful, we can become free radicals and cause schism, faction, and division.

So, Paul says we must endeavor to keep the unity of the body. It takes work to forbear with one another. Let's be honest: there are some people in this room that you probably just don't like, but they are a part of the body. Therefore, we are called to forbear with one another, even in their weaknesses, issues, and problems, while endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit.

The spirit calls us to walk in a worthy manner, one that is pleasing and glorifying to God. As Christians, we should embody humility, gentleness, patience, endurance, and a pursuit of unity. Furthermore, we are called to grow up in our faith. This idea is clearly stated in Ephesians 4:14, which encourages us to walk worthy of the calling with which we have been called, exhibiting all lowliness and gentleness.

In verse 14, we are reminded that we should no longer be children. We are urged to grow up and not be tossed to and fro, carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, and by the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting. This maturing process should be evident in our lives; it should be clear that we are growing up.

As verse 17 tells us, we should no longer walk as the Gentiles walk. Paul is writing to a group of Christians in the city of Ephesus, most of whom were formerly pagans. While they are still Gentiles, they are now Christian Gentiles. Paul makes a distinction: they are no longer to walk as the rest of the Gentiles or those who do not believe, who do not pursue righteousness, and who do not forbear and endure.

How do the Gentiles walk? Paul describes their walk in verses 17 through 19. They walk in the futility of their minds, with darkened understanding. They are separated from God due to ignorance and blindness, fully engaged in lewd, unclean, and greedy behavior. This is not how we are to walk. While their understanding is darkened, our understanding has been enlightened; our eyes have been opened.

Therefore, we are not to walk like this any longer, because that is who we were, not who we are. Things have changed, and it should be evident in our lives.

Evident and so, the worthy walk is practical holiness. It's not just a ritualistic righteousness. How do we do this? How do we measure this out and walk this out?

Well, as Christians, we must consciously and intentionally put off, like taking off a garment, the old ways, the old man. He uses the metaphor to put on the new man. Ephesians tells us to put off the old man and put on the new man, which is created in holiness and righteousness to walk in practical holiness and righteousness.

Next week, we're going to get into the particulars. What does this practically look like in chapter four, the end of chapter four, and on into chapter five? What are the specifics of the put-offs and the put-ons that the Christian is to do? Here, he merely proposes the fact that you and I need to put off the old man and put on the new man.

How does this happen? Well, I suggest to you that it begins with the renewal of the mind. This is why Paul, in Romans chapter 12, says, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you would present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service." Then he says in verse 2, "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove"—and another way to translate that is "that you may display"—"what is the perfect will of God."

But it begins with the transformation of the mind. How does that happen? You can look at Ephesians chapter 5, verse 25, for a clue. There, Paul is talking about the church as the bride of Christ. Ephesians 5:25 states that God's aim, Christ's aim, is that He might sanctify and cleanse her, the bride of Christ, the church, with the washing of the water by the word. Jesus prayed in John 17:17, His high priestly prayer, "Father, sanctify them by Your truth; Your word is truth."

So, this practical transformation, this practical holiness, begins, point number four, with a mental makeover. It needs to be like an extreme mental makeover.

Practical holiness begins with a mental makeover. It doesn't end there, but it starts with that transformation of the mind. As we move into the next section, the end of chapter four and on into chapter five, we look at what we can be in Christ. By His power and strength, we can be angry and not sin. We can let those who stole steal no more. We can let no corrupt communication proceed out of our mouths, but speak that which is right. I'm giving kind of a trailer to where we're going. We can be that in Christ because it's His power at work in us, but it begins with the transformation of the mind—a mental transformation.

Well, why is this important? Why is all of this ethical morality for the Christian important? The answer is given in Ephesians chapter 5, verse 8. If your identity is in Christ today, then this is true of you: Ephesians 5:8 says, "You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light."

Final point, and we're done: point five. We must be what we are in Christ. Now, that may sound grammatically strange, but here's the awesome thing. You see, God in heaven, because of the righteousness of Christ and the work that Jesus did on the cross, sees you today—if you're in Christ—as positionally holy and without spot. He already sees you as holy and blameless. Why? For He who knew no sin became sin for us, that we might be the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. Second Corinthians 5:21 says so.

God in heaven sees you, if you're in Christ today, as positionally holy and blameless. But how many of you recognize that you are not practically holy and blameless? Double hand that one for sure. He sees us that way, and so we need to be what we are in Christ. You once were darkness, but now you are...

Light in the Lord. You are light in the Lord, so now walk as children of light. That is the Christian ethic; that is what we should do. In our next study in Ephesians chapters four and five, we're going to consider that we can lay aside every weight and sin that so easily ensnares us. We can put off the old man and put on the new man. We can lay aside life-dominating sins to walk in practical righteousness before God.

Will we ever fall and trip up? Yes, and He is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us of all unrighteousness when we come before Him and say, "I blew it for the 490th time." But He has called us to live in a way that is excellent, so that other people in the world look on and say, "They're different." Not just because they use funny language, but because they are completely transformed. May it be that God makes us what we should be. Amen.

Would you stand with me as we pray and ask for that specifically? Father God, I thank You for Your Word; it is clear. Lord, we have a moral inclination in our hearts because You have given us a conscience that bears witness to who You are. It accuses or excuses us and shows us the areas of our lives that are not right. It reveals to us the things in our lives that are inconsistent and incongruent with Your nature.

So God, I pray that as we come in contact with those things, as we realize those things, we would confess them to You and that You would make us new. If anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation; all the old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new. Make that true in my life and the lives of my brothers and sisters here.

Lord, I know standing here in this place today there are people who have life-dominating sins. There are things that make their practical life before You today not holy and without spot. So Lord, I pray that You would enable, by Your power, them to consecrate themselves to You and to experience the transformation of Your Word by the work.

Of Your Spirit and for Your glory, that You would be pleased with the offering of our lives. We ask this in Jesus' name, and all God's people said, "Amen."