Living as a follower of Jesus is spelled out clearly. We have no excuse. There are 17 steps in Ephesians 4:17 - 5:21 that get to the heart of our behavior. Read and pray.
The Christian's Lifestyle: Our Behavior
"So I tell you this . . . that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do..." (Ephesians 4:17)
This succinct command quickly is followed by a sweeping
description of the impotent mind of the Gentiles of that day
in contrast to the utterly changed condition of the believer
(whether Jew or Gentile). The non-Christian Gentiles had a
darkened perceptive ability, rendering them alienated
because of the ignorance that was in them, and an overall
blindness of their heart which was the root cause of their
inability to function, even to feel, in the same way as the
children of God (Ephesians
4:18-19; compare Romans
1:21-32; 2
Corinthians 4:3-4).
The saint of God, however, is told to discard the old man
and to put on the new man (Ephesians
4:20-24), as though that simple picture of a powerful
reality is adequate instruction to fulfill the earlier
command. No longer is the child of God to be corrupt by the
deceitful lusts of his or her old condition, but having
learned Christ and been taught by Him, is to be renewed in
the spirit of (their) mind. A transformation is now possible
through the new mental (intellectual, spiritual) abilities
given to us by Christ (Romans
12:1-2; 1
Corinthians 2:16).
The new man, which we are responsible to wear like a
body-enveloping cloak, is created for us by the omniscient
Creator in righteousness and true holiness. We have been
given a specially created new man to wear (externally
visible), which will show (exhibit, demonstrate, make clear)
the spiritual difference between the Gentiles and the saints
of God.
The seventeen commands which follow (Ephesians 4:24-5:7) address every aspect of the
Christian walk, all relating to a lifestyle of truth, giving
specific contrast between the unbelieving Gentile and the
saint. Henry M Morris III www.icr.org
The Christian's Lifestyle: Our Behavior
"So I tell you this . . . that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do..." (Ephesians 4:17)
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