Walking in Holiness. (Ephesians 4: 17-24)

This Podcast is part of a 10-year project to complete an in-depth, daily study of the entire Bible, chapter by chapter, verse by verse. 

Episode Notes:  Walking in Holiness. (Eph 4: 17-24)

Some people grow up… and some people grow old. You’ve probably met both kinds.

Some Christians grow up in Christ — they become wiser, steadier, more loving, more Christlike. Others grow old in Christ —attending church, learning the religious language, but never really changing.

 In this passage, Paul is urging us to be the first kind of people, those who grow up spiritually and become more like Christ. And he describes this growth using a phrase we’ve seen before: “Walking in righteousness.”

Over the coming episodes, we’re going to continue to look at the different ways Paul says we should “walk.” But today, we begin with this foundational one:

 Walking in righteousness… walking in holiness. 

So how do we grow spiritually and live righteously without becoming self‑righteous? How do we display holiness without becoming holier‑than‑thou?

 Paul begins to answer that in verse today’s passage, Ephesians 4:17–24….

Transcript

Transcript: Walking in Holiness. (Ephesians 4: 17-24)

Opening & Introduction:

Some people grow up… and some people just grow old.

You’ve probably met both kinds.

Some people age but never mature. People who accumulate years but never accumulate wisdom. People who grow older but never grow deeper…. And the same is true spiritually.

Some Christians grow up in Christ — they become wiser, steadier, more loving, more Christlike. Others simply grow old in Christ —attending church, learning the religious language, but never really changing.

In this passage, Paul is urging us to be the first kind of people, those who grow up spiritually and become more like Christ. And he describes this growth using a phrase we’ve seen before: “Walking in righteousness.”

Whenever Paul uses the word walk, he’s talking about the way we live —

our daily habits, our choices, our attitudes, our behaviour, and our character.

Over the coming episodes, we’re going to continue to look at the different ways Paul says we should “walk.” But today, we begin with this foundational one:

Walking in righteousness… walking in holiness.

So why do righteousness and holiness matter?

Now, let’s be honest: words like righteousness and holiness have had a rough time in recent years. Say the word “righteous,” and many people picture a strict disciplinarian, a joyless rule‑keeper, or a sanctimonious bore.

Say the word “holy,” and people imagine someone stiff, judgmental, out of touch, or hypocritical.

But biblical righteousness is not about being boring. And holiness is not about being harsh.

Holiness is about becoming whole. Righteousness is about becoming real.

Both are about becoming like Jesus, becoming open, loving, compassionate, truthful, and beautifully different from the world around us.

So how do we grow spiritually and live righteously without becoming self‑righteous? How do we display holiness without becoming holier‑than‑thou?

Paul begins to answer that in verse today’s passage, Ephesians 4:17–24….

17 So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. 19 Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.

20 That, however, is not the way of life you learned 21 when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

(Ephesians 4: 17-24)

Paul starts with a simple but radical statement: “I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do…”

“Gentiles” here simply means people who don’t yet know Christ.

Paul is saying: Don’t live the way you used to live. Don’t live the way the world around you lives because your life should now look different.

Not weird.

Not superior.

Not judgmental.

But different.

A life shaped by Christ should be a contrast to the life we lived before we acknowledged Jesus as saviour. And Paul begins by describing what our old life looked like. “Before Christ — We Walked in Darkness”. (v. 18) It continues and says that we were “Darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God…”

Before we came to Christ, we were “in the dark” spiritually. We didn’t think God’s thoughts, and we didn’t understand God’s ways. We didn’t see life through the lens of Scripture, and we didn’t have the illumination of the Holy Spirit.

We were like blind people in a dark room. Unable to see, unable to understand, unable to grasp spiritual truth.

And Paul says this darkness came from two things:

·         Ignorance — we didn’t know God.

·         Hardness of heart — we didn’t want to know Him.

The word Paul uses for “hard” is porosis, a word used for a stone harder than marble, or for the callus that forms on a broken bone that becomes harder than the bone itself.

It also referred to a loss of sensation, numbness, a deadness, a spiritual inability to feel anything at all. That was all of us before Christ. We were separated from God, darkened in understanding and spiritually numb.

But now, it says that we belong to Christ, and we are called to walk in righteousness. To walk in the light. To walk in holiness and to walk in a way that reflects the life of Jesus. And in the next section, the text will show us exactly how that transformation happens.

Part Two — Putting Off the Old Self (Ephesians 4:19–23)

Paul continues his description of what life looked like before Christ.

“Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.” (Ephesians 4:19)

This is a sobering picture. It describes people who have lost all spiritual sensitivity. People whose hearts have become hardened, whose consciences no longer trouble them, whose inner compass no longer points toward God.

And Paul says, “That used to be you.”

Losing Sensitivity — The Numbness of a Hardened Heart.

We all know people like this. People who simply don’t want to talk about spiritual things. People who shut down the conversation the moment God is mentioned. People who have become numb to anything that might awaken their conscience.

Paul says this happens when people repeatedly reject spiritual truth. Over time, the heart becomes calloused. The conscience becomes dull. The inner voice becomes quiet. Harder than marble. And Paul says: This is what life looks like when God is pushed to the margins.

Giving Ourselves Over to Sensuality.

When the heart becomes numb, people “give themselves over” to something else. If God is shut out, something else will take His place.

Paul says they give themselves over to:

·         sensuality

·         impurity

·         greed

·         self‑indulgence

When God’s voice is ignored, the voice of desire takes over. When God’s boundaries are rejected, the boundaries of conscience move further and further back.

And here’s the uncomfortable truth. Paul is not describing “those people out there.” He is writing to Christians. He is warning believers that it is entirely possible to drift into the same patterns if we stop listening to God and start living for ourselves.

A modern example of this is found when people lose the habit of worship.

We saw an example of this recently. During the pandemic, many Christians got out of the habit of gathering with God’s people. Some returned. Some didn’t. Some drifted, and some grew cold.

It wasn’t rebellion. It wasn’t necessarily hostility. It was simply habit, a slow drift, a quiet hardening, a gradual loss of sensitivity. And that is how spiritual numbness always begins. Not always with a dramatic fall, but with a slow drift.

“That, however, is not the way of life you learned,” Paul says.

The text now turns a corner: “That, however, is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ and were taught in Him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus.” (v. 21)

I love this verse. Paul had spent three years teaching in Ephesus, yet he says:

“God taught you.”

The preacher is not the teacher. God is. A pastor can explain the Word, but only the Holy Spirit can apply it. A preacher can speak to the ear, but only God can speak to the heart. Some people hear the Word and respond. Others hear the same Word and remain unchanged.

The difference is not really the preacher. The difference is the heart of the one receiving the Word.

Putting Off the Old Self.

It continues: “You were taught… to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires.”(v.22)

The “old self” is the old life, the old habits, the old desires, the old patterns of thinking, the old ways of coping, the old ways of sinning. Paul says….

Put it off, take it off. Like a coat. Like grave clothes. Like something that no longer belongs to you.

And then he gives us a beautiful illustration of Lazarus and the Grave Clothes from The Gospel of John chapter eleven, when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, Lazarus came out of the tomb still wrapped in burial cloths. He was alive but still dressed like a dead man.

So, Jesus said: “Take off the grave clothes.”

That is what Paul is saying here. When we come to Christ, we are made alive, but we may still be wrapped in old habits, old attitudes, old sins, old ways of thinking. And Paul says: “Take them off. They don’t belong to you anymore. They are not who you are”.

But how do we do that? How do we break old habits? How do we stop old patterns? How do we change long‑established behaviours?

The answer is found in the next verse.

“Be made new in the attitude of your minds.” (v.23)

This is the key. This is the pivot point. This is the turning point. Real change begins in the mind. Transformation begins in the heart. Holiness begins with a renewed way of thinking.

You cannot change your behaviour until God changes your mindset. You cannot put off the old self until you learn to think differently. And in the next section, Paul will show us exactly how the Holy Spirit renews our minds and how we put on the new self-created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

Paul now brings us to the heart of the matter: It’s about renewing and replacing.

“Be made new in the attitude of your minds…” (v. 23)

This is where righteousness begins. This is where holiness begins. This is where transformation begins. It’s an inside job. Not behaviour first. Not habits first. Not actions first. 

Attitude. Mindset. Thought‑life.

Romans 12 says the same thing. “Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” We are all, in a sense, mentally unwell, spiritually sick— because sin begins in the mind. Wrong thinking leads to wrong living. Distorted thinking leads to distorted behaviour.

So, Paul gives us the secret:

Renew your mind. Let God change the way you think. Let Scripture reshape your inner world.

How do we renew our minds?

The answer is simple but demanding.

It is found in obedience to the Word of God.

The psalmist asked. “How can a young man cleanse his way?” And he answered: “By taking heed according to Your Word.” If you want to move from unrighteousness to righteousness, from impurity to purity, from confusion to clarity, from old habits to new life, you must fill your mind with Scripture, the word and teaching of God.

Meditate on it. Think about it. Turn it over in your heart. Let it challenge you. Let it correct you. Let it shape you. God’s thoughts are higher than ours. His ways are higher than ours. And the only way to think His thoughts is to know His Word.

This is the challenge of our age.  But this is not easy — especially today. We live in a world of soundbites and shallow thinking. People don’t reflect anymore. They react. Even in the church, many Christians want inspiration without instruction, comfort without conviction, feeling without thinking. Some churches have replaced teaching with entertainment. Some believers look for spiritual “experiences” instead of spiritual understanding. And some even teach that to hear from God, you must empty your mind.

But biblical meditation is the exact opposite of that. Yes, you empty your mind of sinful desires — yes. But you fill your mind with the Word of God.

God made us thinking, rational beings. He wants us to understand His truth, to wrestle with it, to apply it, to grow through it. He doesn’t want spiritual infants who need to be told every step to take. He wants mature sons and daughters who can discern His will because their minds have been renewed.

Today's final verse now completes the picture:

“Put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” (v.24)

This is the Christian life in three movements:

1.        Put off the old self.

2.        Renew your mind.

3.        Put on the new self.

You cannot put on righteousness until you put off unrighteousness. You cannot put on holiness until you put off impurity. You cannot put on Christlike character until you put off the old habits that once defined you. It is like changing clothes. You don’t put a new coat over an old one. You replace one with the other.

So, the two word that summarise the entire process:

1. Renew

Change the way you think. Let Scripture reshape your attitudes. Let the Spirit illuminate your mind.

A renewed mind stops asking, “What’s in it for me?” and starts asking, “What can I do for the Lord? What can I do for others?”

2. Replace

Take off the old habits. Put on new ones. Replace bitterness with kindness. Replace anger with patience. Replace impurity with purity. Replace selfishness with love.

And here is the good news…. You don’t have to try to do this on your own.

Jesus said in John 15. “Without Me, you can do nothing.”

But with Him — with His Spirit, with His grace, with His power — you can do everything He calls you to do. God Himself becomes involved in the process of renewal and replacement. Your part is the submission. His part is transformation.

A Final Word

This passage urges every one of us to put off the old way of life and begin something new. 

Renew your mind. Replace the old habits. Take off the grave clothes. Put on Christ.

Clothe yourself with righteousness and holiness. 

Not perfection — but direction. 

Not instant change — but daily transformation.

Not self‑effort — but Spirit‑empowered renewal.

This is what it means to walk in righteousness….

Outro:

Thank you for joining me today. In our next episode, we’ll continue through Ephesians 4 as Paul begins to show us what this new life looks like in practice. How we speak, how we relate, how we forgive, and how we love.

Until then, may the Lord renew your mind, strengthen your heart, and clothe you in true righteousness and holiness.