Walking Worthy of the Calling – Part II (3)

 

 

In Ephesians 5:17 – 19, how does Paul characterize the “walk” of the nations, the peoples who are without the life of God, who remain dead in trespasses and sins?

 

“So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk,

in the futility of their mind,

being darkened in their understanding,

alienated from the life of God

because of the ignorance that is in them,

because of the hardness of their heart;

and they,

having become callous,

have given themselves over to sensuality

for the practice of every kind of impurity

with greediness.”

 

Please take a moment and ponder the above. What do you see? What is Paul saying about the world around us? What do each one of these descriptions mean? What is the composite portrait of the peoples of the world?

 

Is the above a description of the “bad” people of the world, or is it a description of all people of the world?

 

I have an acquittance who is under a doctor’s care for a potential life-threatening condition which often carries warning symptoms, but in his case there were none and the problem was identified through a blood test.  When he received the results of the blood test he could have told the doctor, “Since I don’t have any symptoms of this particular disease the test must be wrong and I see no need for follow-up testing or treatment.” As it was, he didn’t trust his absence of symptoms, he trusted the blood test and subsequent testing and is now undergoing treatment. His body had been functioning in a “good way” even though he had a disease that normally manifests itself, all seemed right with his heath until the blood test identified a problem that he couldn’t see or feel.

 

Paul’s description of the peoples of the world is not just a description of the “bad” people of the world, but rather of all the people of the world; those who look like they fit the description and those who don’t have the appearance of fitting the description. Let us recall that there are really only two “kinds” of people, those who are alive in Christ Jesus and those who are dead in their trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1 – 10).

 

In the Gospels we see some pretty good people coming to Jesus and expecting Jesus to affirm their goodness, think of Nicodemus, or think of the rich young man; in both instances there were things deep within their souls that Jesus spoke to, for sin and spiritual death are with us all until we come into a relationship with Jesus Christ, having our sins forgiven and receiving His New Life. Appearances can be deceiving. If my friend’s doctor had relied on appearances my friend’s disease would be progressing without treatment.

 

Paul tells us that the peoples of the world are on walkabout “in the futility of their mind,” note also the “hardness of their heart” in verse 18. Both the mind and heart, the whole person, is in focus. The idea behind the word “futility” is emptiness, worthless, unworthy, vanity, without substance. In Eph. 4:23 we read that we to “be renewed in the spirit of your mind.” Our minds matter, what we think about matters.

 

There is a Way to think, and there is a way not to think. There are things that we ought to focus our minds on, and there are things that we ought not to give much time and energy to; there are things that we ought not to think about at all – for they are wicked. There are also things that we ought to think about, but we ought not to think about them as the world-system thinks about them, we ought not to view them as the world views them.

 

Considering that the peoples of the world are on walkabout “in the futility of their mind,” why do we endorse the futile, vain, and worthless thinking and values of the world?

 

Why do we interpret life and understand life the way the culture surrounding us understands and interprets life, current events, education, government, politics, entertainment, art, sports, business, banking, economics, immigration, health care…when the thinking of the peoples of the world is futile?

 

And do not be so foolish as to read the above and think, “It’s those other people who do that, I don’t do that.” This one of many reasons that labels such as liberal, conservative, moderate, and progressive are so dangerous – they seduce us with false identities and vilify those who do not identify with us. They make us lazy in that we simply embrace an identity and spout what the idols bid us speak, we don’t have to think about the issues at hand, we don’t have to submit to Christ and His Word, we don’t have to think before we speak to be understood, and we don’t have to be Christocentric. These labels become idols and interpretive lenses. They determine our relationships with others. They save us from self-criticism and from having to engage the truth – the truth becomes what we want it to be. There may have been a time when this was not so, but it is not our time.

 

Unless we understand that the Church is not the world, and the world is not the Church; unless we understand that we are citizens of the Kingdom of heaven, looking for that City whose Builder and Maker is God (Phil. 3:20; Hebrews 11:10), it is doubtful that we will live as the distinct People of God, as the Bride of Jesus Christ, as the Presence of the Trinity among peoples who need to know God loves them so much that He gave His only Begotten Son.

 

When we appear before the Judgement Seat of Jesus Christ, and make no mistake, Christians will be judged (2 Cor. 5:10; 1 Cor. 3:10-15), will Jesus ask us, “Was it not enough to be called by My Name?”