Off with the Old, On with the New, Part 1 B

This whole thing of learning and teaching in mind and knowing as opposed to ignorance. The mind is the issue that the point being this and here's the key Christians think different than pagans and as a man think it is hard with Karen. So is it so who hasn't heard these words, Robert Frost. Two roads diverged in a wood, and II took the one less traveled by and that has made all the difference. Well, not to spiritualize that poem, but certainly you know that the Christian road is the less traveled way as Scripture says if you find it you can think of John MacArthur's current study on grace to you as something of a roadmap charting a course for growth in Christ and pointing out the sinful behaviors and attitudes your equipped to avoid because as a Christian you are no longer a slave to sin. So follow along as John begins today's look at what he calls the portrait of a new life taken bottling with me and let's look at the fourth chapter of Ephesians together versus 17 through 24. Garcia contrast Aaron versus 17 through 24 between the old walk and the new walk. The old man or lifestyle and the new man or lifestyle. First, the old walk and he gives four characteristics and then will go the new walk for corresponding characteristic. They are contrasting characteristics versus 17 to 19 is the old walk and by the way, as I finished all this, and I began to read over again how my thoughts running my notes all taken in some struck me. I read to the pasties and I was struck with the fact that the issue here is the mind and I had never really cheated on that although was there that the whole issue here.

Frankly people is how you think. Look, for example, an adverse 17. It ends with the mind. Verse 18 begins the understanding verse 18 also talks about ignorance.

Then as you come down to verse 20 have the word learned in verse 21 you have the word taught, and in verse 23 the word mind again. In other words, this whole thing of learning and teaching in mind and knowing as opposed to ignorance. The mind is the issue. The point being this and here's the key Christians think different than pagans and as a man think of in his heart. What's the rest. So is he.

So is we got think different, and when we think different, we will act different salvation, beloved, and I just remind you salvation. First of all, is a change of mind is a change of mind is a new thinking process unsay people can't think right. Salvation is a change of mind new thinking process. He says in verse 20. You have not so learned Christ we've told you enough about that. So you understand that Christianity is cognitive before its experiential it is a thinking that draws us to God.

We think different about our sin than we used to think we think different about God than we used to think we think different about Christ than we used to think we think different about what we ought to do with our life and we used to think and a new thinking process brings us to salvation, and salvation is a change of mind. That's really what the word repentance means to change your mind. New thinking process so the pagan thinks one way we think.

Another way now. How does a pagan think bullet got some problems. He shows us for elements of pagan thinking. First is self centeredness. You could also call it useless.

Think but let's call it self centered. Verse 17 says that you not walk as other Gentiles walk in the vanity of their mind their mind is the big deal there thinking their desire there. We use in other words, they change the bubbles that they will all they run in the circle.

They made they sleep in the bed of their own device. Their mind is everything I tell you this is a great coverall for the whole area of human opinion. While I think while it's my life. Whatever you think whatever you want. That's what governs your behavior in the second chapter of Ephesians almost the same thing is said when it says in verse three that the unbelieving people have their manner of life in the lusts of the flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the what mind they function based on their own mind. But he says here, their self-centeredness is vanity. Now vanity is not like we think of it. We think of vanity as you know, fixing your hair because you have little things, vanity, but vanity is an interesting word in the great Mattia arsenic means that which is empty, futile, useless vein. It's useless is the best word for pagan thinking is useful to know what goes nowhere. It accomplishes nothing and performs nothing against it is used less perfect illustration of this can be seen in the book of Ecclesiastes, the wisest man, the richest man man with the most women man with the most prestige sums it all up and opens up his book this way vanity vanity all is vanity because of the second chapter of his book is everything is vanity and vexation of spirit. Nothing means anything to me. Never ceases to amaze me how people blow their money blow their bodies blow their minds and sometimes brother had off trying to find something that's never ever ever there. He says there thinking is empty, useless goes nowhere produces nothing and it's in other words, what Jesus said without me ye can do what Beth nothing. The second thing that characterizes pagan lifestyle. The old man. Not only do they function in their own heads doing their own thing that they dream up. By the way that's in contrast to us is we function response to God's thinking in his will and his purposes and there's purpose and meaning of the second thing is there ignorant of the truth not only self-centered and empty but ignorant of the truth.

Look at verse 18 having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them because of the blindness of their heart. Not only are they self-centered and useless, but they are ignorant by you know you can't really face people in our world don't know Christ and tell them there ignorant as a general rule because art was such an educated society that people take that as an insult.

No society in history ever been much more educated than we were drowning in college graduates will leave no doable. We had all kinds of people with quote unquote education but as the apostle Paul said there ever learning but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth, men have a natural inability to understand the things of God.

They just can't.

They have a useless mind and a useless mind can't gain true in Romans 121 it says they have been imagination and their their foolish heart was darkened and they thought they were wise but they were fools. So men in the world without God, are not only self-centered and useless in their thinking, but they are ignorant by the way, the word dark in here is a most interesting perfect participle having the understanding darkened a perfect participle instantly means to make blind and it perfect participle means something that happened in the past with continuing results so they they were darkened in their blindness and ignorance and it's been that way all, since the continuing problem, but there's a there's a kind of a Paul that hangs over this verse that I want to point out to you is, circular picture they have their understanding darkened window – When did they get it darkened with continuing result. Oh, it's almost the feeling of judicial acting of God. It's almost as if God did it.

It's almost as if God is the acting subject acting on them. I think that's true, why, being alienated from the life of God, they were cut off from God's live if you are in their hearts, and blind to the better word is hardness of heart.

Now watch because man willfully is alienated from God willfully ignorant and willfully hardens his heart.

He gets his understanding darkened judicially by a sovereign God.

In other words, it's God affirming forever.

The choice that man makes seriously, it is judicial blindness and acted upon one who willfully chooses to live without God's kind of illustrated with fairly reading the story of the Exodus and Pharaoh hardened his heart of Pharaoh hardened his heart and Pharaoh hardened his heart all of a sudden like a thunderbolt. God hardened Pharaoh's heart. If you choose a certain lifestyle and are confirmed in that lifestyle. God judicially and sovereignly asked to keep that lifestyle a permanent think the perfect participle blinded with results serious look again at verse eight. The problem is that this is an individual alienated from the life of God. God is the truth. Jesus is the way the truth and the life.

And if you are alienated from God. You can't know the truth. You can't know it because you're dead to God's dementia like a corpse, a corpse doesn't hear a conversation in a mortuary nor does a spiritually dead individual. Here, God at some you can't comprehend that there's just no connection in those dimension and so it is that, being alienated from the life of God. There's no life of God and then ended their deadness.

They are ignorant and they pursue it and they get harder and harder and harder. And then they found their understanding darkened is Romans one. What happened in Romans one, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, but they became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened and thinking themselves to be wise, they were fools and that it says and God gave them over God gave them over and God gave them up.

In other words, they chose the way to go. And God confirmed them in the choice God judicially acting upon those who choose to live a life alienated from him.

There is a thought to at the end of verse 18 the word blindness is an interesting word process, and it was used in medical terms for the kind of callous that fallen forms around a broken bone, which is harder than the bone itself. It has reference to something that is hard paralyzing is even also using some extra biblical medical source to refer to the kind of thing that forms in joints like calcium form so that the joint ceases to function is an interruptive kind of hardening is a negative kind of hardening. That's what a pagan man's life is like it, just like he just every time he acts against God. Every time he takes another step of willful rejection. He pours more concrete into the hardening of his heart and the more we do it and the more we do it and the more we do it, the less remorse we feel, and the less guilt we feel, and finally real guilt is pushed so far down it is a felt at all in the Bible says our conscience become seared as with a hot iron and there's a petrified heart that is insensitive and when he gets to that point and it says their understanding is dark, judicially God moves in response to the constant act of the will.

You can see this distinction clearly by looking at John for example, chapter 12, verse 37 and you see you quoting from the record of Isaiah in verse 37, John 12, though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believe not on him that sufficient information, but they chose to be alienated from the life of God.

They chose to be ignorant, they chose to petrified their hearts with constant rejection that the saying of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke. Lord, who has believed our report to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed. Therefore, they could not believe Sita in verse 37 they would not believe in verse 39 very well could not believe because that Isaiah said again he hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart that they should not see with their eyes nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should yield was Satan notes that Christianity and the truth of God is an issue of the mind. He knows it's the mind it's the thinking and so in second Corinthians 4, it says the God of this world has blinded the what the minds of them that believe not less. The light of the glorious gospel of Christ to China to them. Satan blinds the mind and as man goes on willfully acquiescing to the activity of Satan, he gets to the place where God blinds his mom that becomes the permanent state of having the under standing dark wonder why people in our society don't ever seem to get the message.

Many cases they got a petrified heart will they are not only ignorant and self centered and useless in their thinking. But there's 1/3 characters list when you talk about a lot but it doesn't really need it simple enough you can fill in the illustrations they are shameless. One thing about pagans when they continue in sin and they turn themselves off from the life of God, they will become shameless. Verse 19, who, being passed feeling stop right there. Past few they just don't feeling apathetic, insensitive, they don't care.

There are no standards, they don't care what the consequences are. They don't they don't mind shocking people there whole processes of thought or just destroyed quoting an old story of Spartan youth stole a fox ran into the matter will the Fox and want to be traded so little fox we had the little fox under his tunic and he stood without moving a muscle while the fox tore out his vital organs. Our society so smug stands there with all of it soon. Well, it just eats it out so good at wearing a mask for so long, but pretty soon it just doesn't care anymore and there's nothing more to hide, and off comes the tunic and who care shameless passed feeling they don't even feel anything.

You get so petrified that he just don't even feel it anymore.

Conscience is seared, life is this self-centered and useless. Ignore the truth so just plays with their shameless, so there's no morality there's no code. There's no ethics or standards in which finally results in what we could call borrowing a term from Romans one, a reprobate mind that's forced reprobate mind the end of verse 19. They have given themselves over to lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness, shameless thinking people leads to shameless action. First of all center on yourself is what starts. Pagan centers on himself. All his own thing going out centering on himself and his useless, purposeless, pointless existence. He turns God off and then he begins the hardening process that hardens them against God, and pretty soon he has no sense of shame, you'll say anything, do anything get away with.

The only ethic becomes can you get away with it and then he literally is given over to a reprobate mind. He gives himself to lasciviousness, and he works all uncleanness with greediness, he can't get out fast enough. He's greedy to do evil on the table about the word here lasciviousness also. Familiar word in the New Testament it means shameless wantonness. It means unblushing obscenity, its primary reference being with sexual obscenities. Basel defined it as quoted disposition of the soul, and capable of bearing the pain of discipline" is an undisciplined obscenity know that the bad man sometime in his life tries to hide his badness. But the man who has also Gaia couldn't care less who we shot couldn't care less how indecent he is.

As long as he gratified his own sick or, in order, reprobate mind. Romans one, a reprobate mind is a mind that is no mind is a mind that does not think it is a mind that is no mind at all. It cannot reason it cannot produce logic. It cannot receive the truth. It is no mind at all. It is the kind of mind we see in our world.

It is a blown mind is incapable of thinking you choose to drink and take another drink and another drink and another drink and another just keep giving yourself over and over and over lasciviousness and your unblushing obscenity that allows you to do that without fear of shocking anybody could care less how indecent it is that kind of behavior and pretty soon you have a mind can't think the same thing with homosexuality, lesbianism, sexual activity, lying, cheating, stealing anything becomes a way of life to which you commit yourself.

By the way, he adds the statement this interesting to work all uncleanness with greediness. The word work is very interesting. Argos is a word that means business. It can mean actually business. They make a business out of uncleanness. Now that's true of our society on there was a day when dirty business was sort of on the cuff right was sorta hit up your sleeve and I had to sneak around but to find the dirty business nowadays is wholesale. They make a business out. We've got a lot of filthy dirty movies and even the quote unquote good movies, many of them imply a filthy thing implicit rather than expose, or by innuendo and evil so it's a matter of business filthy books produced constantly just never ending.

The books published in America rivaled the drippings from a broken sewer, pimps, prostitutes, bars, etc. big business, love, and what part do we have with what part do we have with they do with greediness. The Greek word means an unlawful desire for things that belong to others. Thereafter, you thereafter. The pure belongs to you.

The sanity that belongs to you.

The money that belongs to you.

The morality that belongs to you. The character that belongs to the one at all. They want to know what we have to do with that stuff. Call looks at the pagan evil world and he sees it's terrible self-centered, purposeless, fantasizing, useless, thinking that leads to a darkened understanding and a hard heart which leads to an insensitivity to any sin and a shamelessness which leads to unblushing obscenity. We tolerate everything, and we make a business out to capture people and he says I love this verse 20 click but you have not so learned Christ. What part do you have in that put that smelly stinking old man off of any part of the verse 22. Put off concerning the former manner of life.

The old man. Verse 24. Put the new men, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

You have a part in that stuff your different your new you see the whole point of what he say love and you know I was aware it was kind borderline.

Should I or shouldn't I do this lesson, you should name be messed around on the board, you will be so far away from the stuff that we are a light on the hill right there.

We are apart from that, we that's not our life we have no part with that and as I said the tough thing is Christianity faces today is it you know we we we not to play around the edges with the world.

Nothing to you what you can do what you can do but I'll tell you one thing, the word of God doesn't make specifics. It just doesn't get so far away that nobody will ever for one moment missed the point that your different your different. That's the issue city that set on a hill can't be crawled down with the rest of them. They don't see us. We gotta stand his lights all for corrupted by the system useless, but God speak to your heart, but I believe for me I have is following this stuff as I can possibly be as far away as different. I want to be odd in my personality or unloving or accepting.

I just want to be different, unique, and set up was just coming in our hearts people are blessed Lord Jesus Christ purchased us at the cost of his own blood right give us a new nature which is holy and undefiled and sanctified forever, and he simply says, would you live up to that, would you throw off the old life of the new life must just cut the connections and let's be so different that we don't play on the board that encouraging lesson is from John MacArthur, Chancellor of the Masters University and seminary's current study from Ephesians 4 and five is a look at the portrait of a new life.

You know it's fair to think of this study is a how-to on living a life that honors God and John. I know you, you would say that no life can honor God unless it is consistently exposed to Scripture. The Christian just needs to build a habit of Bible intake God's word is what sustains us having a comes down to what David said your word of a hit in my heart that I might not sin against you. How simple is that and and profound. At the same time and again this speaks to the issue of the fact you have lots of people who go to lots of verdicts sort of because I Christian events and would call themselves believers in Jesus Christ, but have really no understanding of the Bible how many church services. Have you watched on television in mega churches where they are sitting in the dark. There there sitting in a lot of time in the dark watching the show with a guy a spotlight on them nobody's got a Bible, nobody cares about the Bible once in a while so I might throw Bible verse up on the screen. This does not model faithful study of the word of God. And that's why mega churches don't have Bible teachers because they don't produce, and they don't focus on the Bible. They focus on the personality so counterproductive, so you have a generation of so-called Christians who know little or nothing about the Bible and that's that's a formula for spiritual disaster because your only protection go back to Psalm 19. It is the word that protects you from committing the great sin. The psalmist said so you need to know the word of God read it, understand it and I just want to remind you that the that starts with a daily commitment to reading the word of God. I want to remind you that we have made so many efforts to put in your hands tools that explain the Bible, not least of which is the MacArthur study Bible, but I want to mention another one.

The MacArthur daily Bible divides the whole Bible down into daily portions to be read 365 days a year. Now is the time to pick up several copies before Christmas and before 2022. Get started to take advantage of the discounted pricing on the daily Bible, and nearly everything else. The sale runs through Friday, November 12. Contact us today to place your order.

Yes, and this is a great resource. I use one for my daily devotions and I encourage you to do the same or perhaps read it with your family to purchase the MacArthur daily Bible.

Contact us today to order, call 855 Grace or visit our website Jide TY.org the MacArthur daily Bible gives you a portion of Scripture to read from the Old Testament, the New Testament, the Psalms and the Proverbs. It also includes notes from John to help you better understand the passage your reading so call now to order 855 Grace or shop online@jidety.org and while you're at Jide TY.org. Make sure you tap into the thousands of Bible related resources that are available there free of charge. You can read the grace to you blog and find out what John and the staff have to say about topics like spiritual growth, evangelism, much more. You can also catch episodes of this broadcasting you may have missed or you can download any of John's 3500 sermons for free in MP3 and transcript again. You'll find all of those free resources and many others. TTY.org now for John MacArthur. I'm Phil Johnson encouraging you to be here at the same time tomorrow when John looks at how you can receive God's word with humility and experience its transforming power. Join us for another 30 minutes of unleashing God's truth one verse at a time. Grace to you