A New Attitude

Introduction

A. Where would you be without God? If you did not have a relationship with God, then how different would your life be? That’s may be a difficult question to answer for some. For others it is very simple. Some of us may have grown up in very supportive households. We haven’t struggled too much with sin. We were decent human beings; raised by parents who trained us well and even without God, we would be good people. It is harder for us to imagine life without God because God has always been a part of our lives.

B. Others of us had very different experiences. Perhaps raised by good parents or at least parents who did their best, we struggled with sin. We gave ourselves over to different forms of pleasure seeking some kind of satisfaction in this world. The result was that we pursued that which pleased us and eventually became aware of the futility of it all.

C. Maybe it was when a friend finally told us the truth after the last time they picked us up from a drunken stupor. Or maybe it was coming off the latest drug induced high that we decided there has to be something better. Or maybe it was after giving our body to the last of a long line of sex partners who promised commitment but it only lasted until the thrill was gone. Or maybe it was the pursuit of the best that life had to offer whether it was the best food, best job, best vacations, best stuff and after awhile the recognition came that it was a chasing after the wind.

D. Understanding the depth of our sin allows us to more fully appreciate what God has done for us. Without God life would be very different. God bring direction and purpose. God’s grace brings forgiveness. God gives power, strength, and unity. God gives us a family. God gives victory. God gives a new life. Let’s be reminded in our singing of what God has done for us and be renewed in our thankfulness, love, and dedication.

Contrast

A. In the strongest language possible, Paul is leaving no doubt about what God expects. As God’s apostle, Paul strongly commands that his readers are to lived changed lives. They are Gentiles in the sense that they are not Jewish, but Paul’s point is that they are to identify themselves as God’s children. Thus, they are no longer to live as Gentiles. It is possible that one can read this text as if Paul is insulting those who are outside the body of Christ. This is not the case. There is a pervasive sadness to the text. Those outside of Christ do not know God. They are suffering and they do not know it. Paul sets up a contrast so that God’s children can understand how different life is with God.

B. Four descriptions used to describe life without God:

i. V. 17—futile thinking. The word "futile" can mean useless, empty, powerless, lacking truth. The word is found connected with idol worship. With no connection with God life is deeply flawed. Without God life is empty, powerless, useless, lacking truth. Flawed

ii. V. 18—darkened in their understanding. Paul will use this word "dark" to describe aligning with works of darkness in 5:11 and that such a life is allied with evil spirits that have power in this dark present age (6:12). This refers back to 2:2-3 in which the readers are described as those who walked with Ruler of the air. The picture here is an aimless existence. Empty thinking without purpose or direction.

iii. V. 18—alienated from life that God intended. Because of ignorance or lack of understanding and because of the hardness of heart or numbness to God's presence, without God one loses the ability to live the life that God intended for every person. No real goal. No real direction. No real thinking that includes God. No real life.

iv. V. 19—insensitive. Rarely used word which carries the idea of apathy but in some places means despondency. Hopeless as Paul has already mentioned in 2:12 is probably the idea. Desperation to find meaning and purpose and direction leads a person to try almost anything to feel something. Paul says desperation leads one to turn to every kind of impurity—greedily pursuing sexual pleasure. The idea is that it doesn't matter what others think. So full is the desperation and the lack of direction that the person just wants to feel something.

C. The contrast is found with how these readers are now. They have a personal relationship with Christ. In fact, in one of those twists, Paul uses the name “Jesus” to make his point. Paul says the relationship with Christ isn’t a concept. It is real based upon the person Jesus. This relationship is based on watching the person Jesus live out his life in this world. His life is the demonstration on how we are to live in this world as well. So the relationship is personal.

D. The contrast holds special meaning for us. Where would we be without God? Empty thinking. Aimless direction. Living a life less than what God envisions for us. Desperate. Hopeless. Pursuing life in order to feel something because we feel so little otherwise. But now, we have a relationship with Jesus. We know real life because of him. Let’s remember and be thankful for what we have as we share in Communion.

New Life

A. Paul says as God’s children there are three things that we been taught:

i. Vs. 22—Put off the old corrupt self. The old self is known for its pursuit of deceitful desires. The old self looked for something which promised pleasure. We were fooled into believing that something could fill the aimless void of life. The old self pursued pleasure because of the false promise that it held. Paul says because of our relationship with Jesus we have put off the old self.

ii. Vs. 23—we have been taught new attitudes. A renewed mind. Filled with God's Spirit we have been taught new ways to think resulting in new attitudes. Spiritually thinking seeks God's will and ways.

iii. Vs. 24—we have been taught to put on new self created in God's image. The new self is characterized by righteousness and holiness. The very essence of God's nature is found in us as we have put on the new self.

B. There is no room for boasting or arrogance. There is no room for looking down our noses at those who are not following God. There is no superiority. We no longer pursue our own ways trying to feel something and find direction in a directionless existence. No moral or spiritual smugness. Instead we want more and more to come to know the Jesus that we know. Our lives must reflect that righteousness and holiness.

C. But there are some today who are still struggling with direction and purpose. More and more is needed to satisfy the cravings of life. More pleasure results in pursuing more trying to find satisfaction. But more is never enough. Without a moral compass—good is called evil and evil is called good. So what does this new self look like? We will look at that in verses 25 and following next week. But this new self is characterized by righteousness and holiness. These words are closely related. Righteousness has to do with how we treat people and holiness with the disposition of our heart toward God. This new self is created in God’s image. Just as God created man to be in his image, so the spiritual man is created in God’s spiritual image. This new self is a reflection of God. How we treat people matters. Our motivation toward God matters. It isn’t about us; it is about God.

i. The old self cares about what it wants. The new self cares about what God wants.

ii. The old self seeks its own pleasure; the new self seeks to please God.

iii. The old self seeks more and more; the new self finds contentment in God.

D. George Barna who has given much of his adult life to conducting research on and about those who claim to follow God has demonstrated that they are just as likely to lie as those who do not claim to follow God. He further stated in the same research that less than 40% of those who claim to follow God use the Bible as the source for moral guidance. I wonder how many may have said the words of Mahatma Gandhi, “I might have become a Christian if I had ever met one.” We must demonstrate the righteousness and holiness of God. We must reflect the image which has been given to us. We have been given a new image. Let’s live up to that image. Invitation.

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