WHAT IN THE WORLD WERE YOU THINKING? (Eph 4:17-24)

The angels we have heard on high, sweetly singing o 'er the plains, and the mountains in reply echoing their joyous strains.

Gloria, in excelsis

Deo, Lord have mercy.

Gloria, in excelsis

Deo, Gloria, in excelsis

Deo. O 'er the land and the sea, in whose birth the angels sing, come, arise the

Lord, the newborn King. Gloria, in excelsis

Deo, Gloria, in excelsis

Deo. Nathan is wrecked about it.

Yes, this is, it's bittersweet, isn't it? We've been in here for two years, we've been blessed to have this space and God in His faithfulness as we have prayed and sought the

Lord, saying, where do you want us? At this point, He has provided. And so starting next week, we will be at the new location with actual parking and actual restrooms.

So please come and join us for that. You can bring friends and family that can celebrate with us.

But also, we have one more time to celebrate in this building. We will not have Wednesday night service this week, but we do have our

Christmas party, Friday night. Where is Brother Danny at? He's, all right.

Well, him and Miss Rhonda have been preparing a Christmas party for us this

Friday at six o 'clock, I believe, correct? Six o 'clock, it's going to be a chili cook -off. Bring your best chili.

And there's first, second and third prize for the best chilies. It is ugly sweater.

So apparently my wife has already ordered me an ugly sweater and she hasn't shown me what that is. So that's yet to be seen.

So ugly sweater, there's prizes for that. And then we also have, it's dirty

Santa ornaments. So bringing ornaments to give away as gifts. So looking forward to that.

That will be a time for us to be able to essentially say goodbye to this location, celebrate together, and in preparation for what

God has next for us. So, but in the meantime, while we're here, we're here to worship because it doesn't matter where we worship, does it?

What matters is, you know, you hear people make the statement, well, the church isn't a building. And they're so correct, the church isn't a building.

But the church also isn't the church without the gathering. And you need a place to gather.

So we have to have somewhere to be, but we are here today together, not neglecting the gathering of the saints.

And our desire is for each one of us, both covenant members and regular attenders, first -time guests, all of you, our prayer is that we would all grow in the knowledge and love of the triune

God. Amen? Amen. Well, before we start our official service off, we always pray for another local church.

And there's one that we've not prayed for here before, but is near and dear to us, being that it is a great connection to Pastor Jeremiah.

It is his grandmother's church in Salem, Arkansas, and your aunt, right? His grandmother and his aunt, he talked to the pastor there,

Corey Snyder, and said, hey, we'd like to pray for Emmanuel Southern Baptist Church in Salem, Arkansas.

And he sent some things that he wants prayer for. He was very specific about them, which was great. He asked that we pray for them as they emphasize this idea of Christ alone.

He's really trying to get the people in that church to fully grasp that, to pray that they would understand that truth, not just the doctrine itself, but the reality of the truth, to live it in Christ alone.

They've also been looking at the seven letters in Revelation and discussing the reality of Christ among His churches.

And they're examining their fellowship in light of Christ's interactions and seeking illumination on where they stand with Him.

He asked that we pray that they would lay their corporate sins down, that they would get exposed and properly repented and strive to please the

Lord with all that they do. He also asked for safety as him and his family leave

Thursday morning for Florida for vacation. And then one of the former elders is going to be preaching there that day, so he's praying that the truth proclaimed will have its salvific effect.

That's a great prayer request, isn't it? Good list. So let's go to the Lord this morning and pray for Emmanuel Baptist Church.

Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you. All the wonderful, glorious gifts that you've given us.

Not only have you redeemed us, your people, by the blood of your

Son, but then also you just continually provide for us as a good Father does.

We thank you. And God, we ask this morning for our brothers and sisters over in Salem, Lord, at Emmanuel Southern Baptist Church.

God, we lift them up to you this morning as we think about these prayer requests, as they've been striving to fully grasp, not just intellectually, but spiritually, and live out this great truth of Christ and Christ alone.

Lord, as they've been walking through looking at the warnings to the seven churches in Revelation and discussing this wonderful reality of Christ being amongst

His church, His church is, all as one, and that fellowship in light of Christ's interactions.

Lord, I pray for illumination for them. That they would see areas in their life as a church that may not be in line with the head of that body, which is

Christ, and that they would repent, strive to please Him. Lord, I pray for safe travel for Pastor Corey and his family next week.

And Lord, as that other gentleman stands in that pulpit to proclaim your word, I pray he does so boldly.

And I pray that you use that word to penetrate into the hearts and minds of your people, calling those to yourself and sanctifying those that are yours.

We thank you in Christ's name. Amen. Let's officially start our service this morning with our call to worship, which comes from Psalm 103.

It's the first eight verses. Bless the Lord of my soul. It's a psalm of David.

He says, Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me.

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits, who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who the

Lord is merciful and gracious. Sorry.

The Lord works righteousness. We got it.

This is user error. Come on. All right. He made known His ways to Moses.

The Lord is merciful and gracious. Praise the

Lord. He's abounding in steadfast love. Let's go to Him in a prayer of adoration as we prepare to sing.

Father, we bow before you, the one who is abounding in steadfast love.

God, you are love. We only know love because it is who you are, and you have expressed that amazing love to us through sacrificing your own

Son to redeem us. God, you are good. You are merciful and gracious.

You are kind. You are worthy of praise this morning, and we ask that as we sing, as we read your

Word, as we pray, as we proclaim these truths, as we fellowship,

God, I pray that you would mold our minds and hearts towards you, renewing our thoughts, conforming them into what you've called us to be and to do, into the image of your great

Son. We'll be honored in our worship this morning. Sing this with us.

You made the starry host. You made the starry host.

You chose the nights in peace. You made the evening skies.

You made the evening skies. You're the presence of the sea.

And nature's justifies his joy. Praise the

Lord. Praise the Lord.

Sing his praises on the air.

He's the Lord. He's the Lord.

He writes and ordains. From birth, he sings to us.

And everything that comes, praise the

Lord. Take the dust.

Take the dust. He's the

Lord. He's the Lord. He's the

Lord. Sing his praises on the air. He's the

Lord. He's the Lord. He writes and ordains.

From birth, he sings to us. And everything that comes, praise the

Lord. Heaven hears the sound of praise.

The King of heaven and earth hears his praise.

He's the Lord. He's the Lord. He's the

Lord. He's the

Lord. He's the

Lord. He writes and ordains. From birth, he sings to us. And everything that comes, praise the

Lord. Take the dust.

Take the dust. And everything that comes, praise the

Lord. And triumph over all.

He's the Lord. He's the

Lord. He's the Lord. He writes and ordains. From birth, he sings to us.

And everything that comes, praise the

Lord. And triumph

He's the

Lord. He's the Lord.

He's the Lord. He writes and ordains.

Come, let us adore Him. Come, let us adore

Him. Come, let us adore

Him. Give Him praise. For His heavenly glory.

He's the Lord. He's the Lord. He's the

Lord. He writes and ordains. From birth, he sings to us.

And everything that comes, praise the

Lord. And triumph Come, let us adore

Him. Come, let us adore

Him. Come, let us adore

Him. Come, let us adore

Him. He is worthy.

With our praise this morning, our scripture reading comes from 1 Peter 1, 13 through 15.

Where Peter is calling us to be holy. He says, Therefore, preparing your minds for action and being sober -minded, let your hope fully, or set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance. But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your doings.

This is Jesus, my creator. He is the

Lord, for heaven and hell to give. He is the joy, my righteousness, and my hope.

My strength, my joy, my day and night is He. To His side, oh, my hope is only

Jesus. For my life is holy and true.

Oh, how strange and divine to see Him on His body, and I will feel blessed in His love.

My son, the Savior, He will stay.

And when you are my Savior, trust me, for all

I need is now with me.

To His side, oh, my Shepherd will defend me.

For the deepest valley I shall overcome.

In my life, through Christ, will show

His love.

My son, the Savior, my hope is only

Jesus. To His side, oh, my sin has been defeated.

Jesus, now and ever, is my King. Though the chains

I see, I am free at night.

Though I long to follow

Him, He has said that He will bring me there.

And in that day, I know He will. Until I stand in joy again.

To His side, oh, my hope is only

Jesus. Oh, the glory evermore to Him.

When your grace is complete, still my lips shall repeat in my life.

When your grace is complete, still my lips shall repeat in my life.

Through Christ. Christ.

Thank you for this church,

Bonnie. Good morning.

It is a privilege to stand before you today and be able to expand on God's Word. I tell you,

I've really been looking forward to it. And it's not up there yet, but we will be in Ephesians 4, 17 through 18.

And no, Mike, that's not a misprint or a misnomer. Eight verses. So if I go a little long, how about a little grace?

Considering somebody preached seven sermons on three verses. I figure I should get just a little.

But hopefully to be able to cover this an adequate amount of time. In this section,

Paul is focusing, and what I want to focus on is what went on in your thought process before you were saved.

What changed that thought process? And what should your thought process be today?

What should it be today? So as we go through this, I kind of want you to focus, and I will kind of elaborate on what's going on in your mind.

That's what Paul is talking about. And I named this sermon after probably one of the most frequent asked questions, especially if you're a parent and you have a child that's anywhere above the age of reasoning,

I'm sure you've asked them this. What in the world were you thinking?

And usually you get the response, I don't know. It's hard for somebody to say that.

That's right. But you know, the funny thing about that question is the question actually answers the question.

Because usually when you ask that, they're doing something wrong, right? They were thinking in the world.

So what in the world were they thinking? They were thinking in the world. So let's jump in.

Ephesians 4, 17 through 24. Now this I say and testify in the

Lord, that you must no longer walk as Gentiles do in the futility of their minds.

They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardness of their heart.

They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.

But that is not the way you learned Christ. Assuming that you have heard about Him and were taught in Him as the truth is in Jesus.

To put off the old self which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires and to be renewed in the spirits of your mind.

And to put on the new self created in the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

If you abound in prayer, please. Lord God, Heavenly Father, I just pray that you will guide us in preparing our minds for action.

That we would be sober minded, setting our hope fully on the grace that will be brought to us at the revelation of your precious

Son, Jesus Christ. That we will be obedient children and not conform to the passions of our former ignorance.

But as He who has called us is holy, we will be holy in all our conduct.

Father, I ask that you give me the ability to communicate what is good, what is right, what is true, and in doing so expose what is false.

Amen. Well, as I said, the

Apostle Paul here is focusing on what we're thinking. What is going on in our minds.

And he is focusing on the contrast between the sinner who has thinking about what is false, what is a lie, and Christians that are thinking what is true.

What is the truth. And this is a great contrast in the Bible. We've talked about this a lot of times.

As Paul likes to say it, the difference between light and darkness. This contrast is the most fundamental difference between those who are lost and those who are saved.

And the reason for this contrast is because of a radical transformation that takes place in a person when they come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

When they are regenerated by the Holy Spirit and they experience salvation. This radical transformation is supernatural.

It's miraculous. It's a complete change in our nature. It is not an add -on to what we already have.

It's not an update such as your heart 2 .0. And it's not an improvement or a modification.

It is a total transformation that goes on inside us.

Our heart of stone has been replaced with a heart of flesh. It's a miracle of creation wrought by the

Holy Spirit and by the power of God in our lives. Our old heart has departed and now we have a new heart.

We have a new mind. We have new knowledge, new wisdom, new understanding, a new perception.

We have new desires. You now have knowledge of what is the truth.

Where before all you had is what was a lie. In 1 Corinthians 2 .14,

Paul talks about this. He says, The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God for they are folly to him.

He is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.

So note here he says, They do not have the capacity or the ability to understand things that are spiritually concerned.

They don't have the ability to understand what is the truth. Well in the two verses preceding this he talks about the regenerate man.

He says, Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the spirit who is from God that we might understand or we might know the things freely given to us by God.

And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom. It's not from us but taught by the

Spirit interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.

See all of this points to a changed nature. Our nature is no longer the natural person which by logic points to a changed behavior.

And that is the outcome that Paul is seeking in the last three chapters of Ephesians.

If you remember in the first three chapters of Ephesians he's talking about doctrine, principle, things that we're to apply to ourselves.

But now he's challenging us to change our conduct and the way we act and the way we behave.

And behind that is the way we think. He's going from principle to practice, from doctrine to application, and from orthodoxy to orthopraxy.

Well, so let's get started. In the first section I've named it The Old Man Walks in Sin or Darkness.

And that's verses 17 through 19. Now this I say and testify to the Lord that you must no longer walk as the

Gentiles do in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them.

Due to the hardness of heart. They have become callous, have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.

If you go a little bit further in Ephesians in chapter 5, Paul sums this up in verse 8 in seven short words.

At one time you were darkness. Now this doesn't say at one time you were in darkness or what one time you were of darkness.

It says at one time you were darkness. That was your nature. Darkness. So as usual,

Paul is starting off with the negative side here. He's talking about the Gentiles. And this is the negative side of the contrast of darkness and life.

The sin, the evil, the unbelief, the futility of mind, the ignorance, the hardness, the callousness, the sensuality, the greed, and the impurity.

And he starts off by saying, now this I say and testify to the Lord that you must no longer walk as the

Gentiles do. So Paul is calling attention to this important concept that he's trying to get us to understand.

And when he says he testifies in the Lord, he's actually implying that he is in communion with the

Lord. He is speaking as one who has access to the mind of Jesus Christ.

And of course we know that he does. He uses this term Gentiles, and basically this is a term that's used in the

Bible to explain that the pagans are lost. That these are non -Jewish people and they are people that are lost.

But he uses this term walk. Do not walk as the Gentiles used to.

And this is not just talking about your outward life, but also your inward life.

It's all the manifestations of life. Inward and outward, seen and unseen.

It's not only the way you act, but your inward self. The way you think in your mind, and the way you feel in your heart.

Well he goes on to say that this is how the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind.

So here we have this word, what is going on inside their mind. Now this word, the

Greek and the Hebrew, when they use this term mind, you've got to modify that by their philosophy and the theology of the time.

The way the Greeks and the Hebrews thought, and the way that they worshipped. Hodges said, and he explains it real well, the use of this word involves the unity of the soul, which forbids any such marked distinction between its cognitive and emotional capacities.

So he's saying there's no distinction between the way you think and the way you feel, or your passions.

He goes on to say the scriptures speak of an understanding heart, and the desires of understanding.

They recognize that there's an element of feeling in our thinking, and an element of intelligence in our feelings.

Therefore the use of the word mind does not refer to the intellect, to the inclusion of feelings, nor to the feelings to the inclusion of the intellect.

It includes the reason, the understanding, the conscience, and the affection. So when he's talking about mind, he's talking about everything that is in us.

The way we think, the way we feel, the way we process information. And he says that these

Gentiles are in the walk, in the futility of their mind.

So he's giving a description of what this mind, these emotions, these thought processes are.

And he says it's a futility, or another word that means the same thing in Greek, is vanity of their minds.

And this is talking about a mind which fails to produce the desired result. That which never succeeds.

That which is useless, or amounts to nothing. So he's saying when they're using their minds, it amounts to nothing.

He's stating that the regenerate, in regenerate, our lost person thinks and resolves everything based on his own thinking.

On his own experience. On his own self. Everything that he believes originates from within them.

They have become their own authority. They determine everything by their own standards.

And we see that today everywhere around us in the world. What they identify as.

Some identify as a cat. What their reality is. Well my reality is what

I think. My truth is my own truth, they say. And then of course, what their truth is.

Their truth is based on their own thinking and their own emotions. And what is the result of this?

The lost is walking in their own darkness. And that's what Paul says in the next verse.

Verse 18, They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to their hardness of heart.

Paul talks, kind of expands on this in 2 Timothy, in chapter 3, says,

Always learning, never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. So these men are also opposed to the truth.

Men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith. So they do not know the truth.

Their truth is their own selves and what they think. They're corrupted in their mind and they are disqualified regarding the faith.

Here Paul gives us the mark of the natural man. The old man, what we once were.

They have become the blindness of the mind, their own mind, and the hardness of their own heart. And this is due to original sin.

What happened back in creation when man fell? Because of original sin, man became dead and trespasses in sin.

They experienced a spiritual death. They lost their ability to see the facts as they really are.

They exchanged the truth for a lie. They lost the ability to reason on a spiritual level.

They became darkened in their understanding. They were separated from the truth.

They were alienated from God. And they have now a heart of stone and that's their hardness of heart.

See in the beginning, man was created in God's image. And we'll talk more about that in verse 24 where it says, talks about the likeness of God.

But as a result of original sin, that image was distorted. It was blurred. It was blemished.

A scholar said when he's talking about what was lost at original sin says, being estranged from God by sin, he was likewise deprived of his share in the blessing which can only be had in God.

Instead of wisdom, holiness, truth, and righteousness, the endowments with which in his likeness to God he was clothed, there came upon him the dreadful plagues of ignorance, weakness, filth, vanity, and unrighteousness.

And I really like the way he describes this. In the likeness of God he was clothed.

And we will visit that a little bit more in some of the following verses. The most devastating effect on the fallen man is what happened in his mind.

He lost the ability to understand, to reason beyond himself. He can only reason with what's within him, not anything beyond himself.

2 Corinthians 4, 4 says, in their case, the God of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ who is the image of God.

Their minds are blinded. And in the next verse, verse 19, this explains the tragedy of unbelief, the tragedy of the person who makes himself his own

God. It says, they have become callous and have given themselves up to the sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.

And this is a result of a darkened understanding. They have become callous.

This is speaking of a moral and spiritual callousness. They no longer care.

They've become numb, apathetic, insensitive. Their conscience has become seared and they no longer have the ability to restrain themselves.

They get to a point where they just don't care about what they're doing. And this word, consciousness, which is a very important word for us to understand, literally means knowledge with or co -knowledge.

The idea testifies to the fact that man has an instinctive built -in sense of right and wrong.

And Paul talks about that a lot in Romans. That man has this built -in consciousness that tells us what's right and what's wrong.

But their consciousness has become callous. It is God's early warning system for the soul concerning evil.

I once listened to a really good sermon that Jeremiah Johnny Mack preached.

And he was talking about the four restraints of evil that God has given society.

And he outlined them. He said, well, God has given us the family and this is a relational restraint.

And the force behind this restraint is discipline. When you discipline your children, you're teaching them right from wrong.

Another restraint is civil order or authority, and that's a cultural restraint.

And the force behind it is jail or death. Then God has given us the church, which is a spiritual restraint.

And the force behind that, of course, is a changed heart or a transformed heart. And then he's given us a conscience.

And that's a personal restraint. And the force behind that is guilt. So when man's consciousness becomes seared or callous, that guilt is no longer there.

It is no longer for them the way they behave. When the restraint of consciousness breaks down and the consciousness becomes callous, then the next progression in the sequence of sin is abandonment.

And that's what Paul tells us in verse 19b. He says, they have given themselves up.

They have abandoned God. They have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.

And the truth is, when man abandons God, God abandons man.

If you would, turn in your Bibles to Romans chapter 1. I want to read a section of this just to give you an idea of this cycle or this progression of sin and abandonment.

Most of you are probably familiar with this passage. And I believe this is Paul's mic drop moment on what the progression of sin actually is in the lost person's life.

So I'm going to start in verse 21. For although they knew God, they did not honor

Him as God or give thanks to Him. But they became futile in their thinking and their foolish hearts were darkened.

Claiming to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

First time, therefore God gave them up in the lust of their heart to impurity to be dishonored or be dishonoring their bodies among themselves.

Because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the creator to dishonorable passions.

I mean, who is blessed forever. I'm sorry. For this reason, God gave them up to dishonorable passions.

The second time, God has given them up. For their women exchanged natural relations for those who are contrary to nature.

And the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passions for one another.

Men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God the third time,

God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.

So God has abandoned them. They did not see fit to acknowledge God. They did not see fit to acknowledge the truth.

And this is pretty sobering. This progression of sin. But praise the

Lord for His grace. Praise the Lord for what Pastor Nathan talked about in chapter 2.

Two words. But God. Praise the Lord for His grace.

So this leads us to the second point I have today. And that's the regenerate man has learned

Jesus or the truth. And that's in verses 20 and 21. But that is not the way you learned

Christ. Assuming that you have heard about Him and were taught in Him as the truth is in Jesus.

So this is the fourth time that we've seen in Ephesians that Paul uses this conjunction but.

And it's used to introduce something that is contrasting than what has been previously said.

You know in Ephesians 2 .4 I just talked about he stated but God. And this was after a big litany of walking with a prince of power and living in sin.

And now he's saying but that is not the way you learned Christ. So he is moving from one position to another.

And he's talking about learning Christ or the way you learned Christ. And this word in the

Greek can mean the process of learning. But it can also mean to come to know that you have come to know this.

The verb learned is actually in the orist tense. Adam I threw that in for you.

Which indicates a single unrepeated act. So what Paul is talking about here is the same thing he talked about back in chapter 2 verse 4 when he said but God.

What he is saying is you have learned Christ. You have become regenerated.

You have received salvation. He's talking about that moment when your thinking completely changed.

When your heart changed. When your mind changed. It's when we've been given the mind of Christ by the

Holy Spirit. You see learning Christ knowing about Christ is not natural. It is not something that we can do on our own.

It is not based on our natural ability. But we've been given the mind of Christ by the

Holy Spirit. It's a supernatural act. Peter talks about this in his second epistle.

In chapter 1 he says His divine power has granted to us all things.

And you can plug in there the truth. His divine power has granted to us the truth that pertains to life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises.

So that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature. Having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desires.

So through this act of regeneration we've obtained the knowledge of the triune

God within us. It is in our very nature. Christ is in us.

And as we've been talking about all the way back to the first of Ephesians we are now in Christ.

First Corinthians Paul says For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?

But we have the mind of Christ. Our mind has changed.

In verse 21 Paul goes on to say Assuming that you've heard about him and were taught in him as the truth is in Jesus.

Well this assuming it is not necessarily talking about that he's expressing doubt about something.

But what he's doing is he's taking it for granted. He says I know and I take for granted that you've heard about him and that you were taught in him.

You have heard his voice and you've been taught by Jesus Christ and received the truth with the understanding of your heart and your mind is what he's saying.

First Timothy Paul writes This is good and it is pleasing in the sight of God our

Savior who desires our people to be saved and come to the knowledge of what?

The truth. So we've been throwing this word around quite a bit. This word the truth.

What is the truth? Well if you look up the definition in the

Greek it says it is the reality lying at the basis of an appearance.

The manifested absolute essence of a matter. The manifested absolute essence of a matter.

And this is an objective definition. Now I looked up in the Oxford Dictionary and of course they gave me a subjective definition which is actually a definition based on feelings and experiences or opinions.

And it says the fact of belief truth is a fact or belief that is accepted as true.

So I talked a little bit to Jeremiah about this about what's the deal here. They're borrowing from in the definition they're borrowing from the word that they're trying to define when they say that it is accepted as true.

I mean how can you do that? Because you're trying to figure out what the definition is. But the basic thing here is it is not something that is real.

It is a belief to them. It is what they think is the truth. But the reality is the truth is completely outside of us.

You cannot base the truth on human experience or what is inside you.

Truth can only be sourced in God. Now I want to make a profound statement.

Truth is directly tied to faith. Truth is directly tied to faith.

Hebrews 11 .1 says Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for the conviction of things not seen for by it the people of old receive their commendation.

By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

And it's not by accident that he goes all the way back to creation. What he's saying is hey,

God created it. He's the only one that knows it. Truth has to be based on God.

Faith is a firm conviction producing a full acknowledgement of God's revelation as truth.

He must be the source of our truth alone. He knows all things that he created

Jeremiah, barring from Van Till exhaustively. We do not.

The only thing we know is what God reveals to us through his word.

God is never changing. The truth is fixed. It is established. And this goes back to when

God said I am that I am. One of the things he was trying to get across when he said that was

I will always be I am. I will never change. I am that I am.

As God is truth if we are to be true he must be the basis the standard, the foundation, the beginning and Jeremiah the presupposition of our truth.

So where is this truth found? Well it says it in verse 21.

It is found in Jesus. Praise the Lord. We can find the truth in Jesus.

And I looked through the Bible and I found where it speaks of three different truths. It's basically the same truth but in different ways that correspond with Jesus Christ.

The first is the truth of Jesus. And this is actually the historical truth of the person and work of Jesus Christ.

That he actually came to earth he lived on earth he died on earth and he was resurrected from the earth.

So that is the truth of Jesus. John 6 .38 says For I have come down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.

Jesus was an historical figure. He was, that is the truth. And he was the truth.

So we have the truth of Jesus. And then we have the truth in Jesus. And that is the moral truth or the excellence or the holiness the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

This is the opposite of what is false or what is a lie or what is sin. 2

Peter 1 .3 says His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence.

So we have the truth of Jesus the truth in Jesus and then what Paul says here the truth is

Jesus. And that is what we have been talking about. The foundation, the standard of all things.

Colossians 1 states For by him all things were created in heaven and on earth visible and invisible whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities all things were created through him and for him and he is before all things and all things hold together.

Jesus spoke of this in John. He said I am the way the truth and the life.

No one comes to the father through me except through me.

If you had known me you would have known my father also. From now on you do know him and you have seen me.

You see the Gentiles they walk in the futility of their minds they are darkened in their understanding.

Alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them and it's due to the hardness of their heart.

They have become callous, given themselves up to sensuality, greedy they practice every kind of impurity.

But we have hearts that are encouraged knit together in love.

We've reached all that have reached all the riches in full understanding of the knowledge of God's mystery which is

Christ Jesus. So knowing this knowing what we were knowing what has changed us what has changed our way of thinking what are we to do?

Well Paul tells us in the next section. The new man walks in righteousness or light.

And this is verses 22 through 24. It says we're to put off the old self which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires and to be renewed in the spirit of your mind and to put on the new self created after the likeness of God and true righteousness and holiness.

So before I gave you the first part of Ephesians 5 .8 where it talks about you were darkness now here

Paul is summing this up in the second part of Ephesians 5 .8. He says now you are light in the

Lord walk as children of light for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true.

So when Paul talks about to put on and to take off I think it's obvious he's talking about a change of clothes.

They were to take off the old dirty ragged filthy clothes and put on the new clean unsoiled clothes.

So in the Greek here Paul has actually given us three infinitives. He's saying to put off to be renewed and to put on.

Now when you look at this and several scholars pointed this out the use of the language in Greek in the context points to the one time act of regeneration.

It points back to what he was talking about in Jesus Christ. But there are other scholars that say this also should be taken as imperatives addressed to Christians part of our sanctification.

And the reasons for that is that if you go to verse 25 which is right after what we're talking about here.

Paul begins a long list of things to put away and things to put on. He talks about putting away falsehood putting away anger putting away sin along with many other things.

But here and the way I'm going to approach it is that Paul is talking about an actual act of sanctification.

In verse 22 he says put off your old self which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires.

Once again Paul is starting with the negative as he usually does. To put off, to lay aside to renounce, to remove.

We're to put off or lay aside these old echoes of the sin nature which we still carry with us.

We're to put off that old man that old manner of life that we had. Our old principles our old world view your old company and your old nature.

And he says for that was corrupt because of deceitful desires. This corrupt speaks of destruction.

Then he goes on to say and be renewed in the spirit of your minds. Put on your new self created after the likeness of God through righteousness and holiness.

So now Paul moves to the positive what we should do once we've taken off what we should put on.

And he says be renewed. And this is when it talks about renewal in the Bible.

It is generally speaking of an act or the work of the Lord in our lives. Paul says in Romans 12 do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.

That by testing you may discern what is the will of God and what is good and acceptable and perfect.

So he's talking about renewing your mind. Do not be conformed to this world. Take off the old man.

And he talks about being renewed in the spirit of your mind. And he's not necessarily talking about the

Holy Spirit which it is true that the Holy Spirit gives us power to accomplish this.

But he's talking about our interior life which needs to be renewed. It's not merely our outward habits our modes of life our interior principles.

It's talking about your reasoning. Your understanding. Your mode of thinking.

Your biblical view. That which gives you character. That which makes you in Christ.

And he tells us to put on that new self created after the likeness of God or created after the image of God in true righteousness and holiness.

So Paul has given here to us a clear understanding of what was lost in original sin.

That which is gained back in salvation. We are renewed unto the likeness and the image of him that created us.

The image of God that man was created in it did not just consist of a rational nature or immorality or dominion.

But as Paul says here in true righteousness and holiness. So what is

Paul commanding us to do? How can we apply this to our lives? And I'm going to go ahead and ask the question that Nathan typically asks in the sermon discussion.

How can this change us this week? Paul tells us in his first epistle.

He gives us a call to action. He says therefore preparing your minds for action and being sober minded set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

As obedient children do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance.

But as he who called you as holy be also holy in your conduct. So as written you shall be holy for I am.

What Peter and Paul both are calling us to do is to use the mind and the power that God has given us to think.

To think. To not just go blindly through life but to think about what we're doing.

God never commands a thing without giving us the power to do it. We are to think and to apply what we've learned.

If we approach the truth, if we approach doctrine, if we approach the Bible as something that is purely speculative or subjective then we will have found righteousness, holiness, morality, religion and truth out with the wash.

We have got to treat it as God's word, it is his truth. We are to exercise our spiritual muscles, our spiritual minds.

We're to take off the old man and to put on the new man. Well you may ask how can we do this?

I have some suggestions. Just a few. And the first one

I believe to me is one of the most important of all. Have a quiet time daily.

Where you can get alone with the Lord and you can speak to him. Or you might say

I don't have time. Then my suggestion is make a list of everything you do in a day from the most important to the least important.

Then look at that list and figure out what is less importance than spending time with the

Lord every day. I bet you'll find something. While you're doing that quiet time talk to yourself.

Evaluate yourself. Evaluate your life. What do I need to take off?

What is the Lord calling me to take off? What is in your life that is restricting or retarding your growth and relationship with Jesus Christ?

That's a good place to start. If it is affecting your relationship with Jesus that's an old rag.

Take it off. Don't wait until you're feeling like doing it.

Because feelings will mislead you. I had an old man tell me once the most important day to work out is the day that you don't feel like it.

The most important time to spend with the Lord is the day that you don't feel like it. You'll find that out if you do it.

Number three. When you take something off, seek what the Lord wants you to replace it with.

He doesn't want you to just take something off and leave it at that. Because you'll replace it with the wrong thing.

He wants you to replace it with something. To put on a new cloth. And I bet that most likely it will be a spiritual discipline.

Prayer. Reading scripture. Fellowshiping with the saints.

Mentorship with somebody that's more mature in Christ than you. Seeking accountability for your life.

Do these things and I can guarantee that you will have a better relationship with Jesus.

So I want to speak to three groups that are gathered here today.

Specifically. The first I want to speak to children and youth. Those of you that are saved.

What do you need to take off? What do you need to put on? To improve your relationship with Jesus Christ.

Paul tells us in chapter 6 that children are to obey and honor their parents.

Can that be said of you? When you go to a gathering and you leave do people talk and say that is an obedient child.

They honor their parents. Paul connects this with a promise. He says that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.

Is it the desire of your life and heart to be known as an obedient daughter or son that brings honor to your family and your parents?

Wives. Young and older women. What do you need to take off and put on?

Paul tells us in his first epistle that you should let the adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit which in God's sight is very precious.

For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves. Is it the desire of your heart and mind to be known as a holy woman?

What do you need to take off and put on to accomplish that? Is your beauty one of imperishable beauty and is it precious in God's sight?

Husbands. Young men. Older men. What do you need to take off and what do you need to put on?

In his letter to Timothy Paul charges but as for you oh man of God flee these things and he had previously listed a whole list of things to flee.

Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith.

Is that desire of your heart to be known as a man of God? When people look at you do they think that that is a man of God?

Do you pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness?

Do you fight the good fight of the faith? In the Old Testament there was a group of men that came around David when he was fleeing

Saul and they gave these men a label and it's mentioned several times in the

Old Testament. They called them mighty men of valor and that has always resonated with me.

Mighty men of valor. Is that your desire to be a mighty man of valor that fights the good fight of the faith?

What do you need to take off and put on if you'll pray? Father, I just thank you for this opportunity.