Ephesians 4:17-19 NKJV

“17This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, 18having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; 19who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.”

We live in a day and age when so much of what is called “church” is watering down the gospel message to make it more attractive and less offensive to the ungodly and to the world. Many church gatherings have been turned into theatre productions for the purpose to entertain the world in order to attract the world to their gatherings. So many of their pastors are now entertainers who joke and laugh in their sermons, and who make light of things which God regards as serious, and who teach “gospel light” to appease the flesh.

Others may be teaching the importance of biblical repentance and of obedience to our Lord’s commands, but they will throw in things which will make it sound like this is optional, and not required, and that they will still have salvation from sin and eternal life with God even if they don’t repent, and even if they don’t obey God as a matter of life practice. For they don’t want to be too heavy handed and thus scare some people away. They want “church” to be fun and enjoyable so people will keep coming back.

And so we have many people in these “churches” who are professing faith in Jesus Christ, convinced that all their sins are forgiven, and that they are on their way to heaven, but while they continue making sin their practice, and not obedience to our Lord’s commands. They play with sin, thinking that nothing bad will happen to them, not realizing the danger of falling beyond recovery because they overestimated God’s grace and thought they had permission to keep sinning, only now without conscience or remorse.

And sexual sin does seem to be at the top of the list today, within the gatherings of the church, of sins which are prominent and largely ignored. And so many are excusing these sins away, and making excuses for them. So many pastors are not taking this seriously, which could be that they are also trapped in sin, and/or that they just don’t want to offend anyone, for they want to grow their numbers. And this situation should grieve us who profess faith in Jesus, because many are in danger of falling to their deaths.

Ephesians 4:20-24 NKJV

“20But you have not so learned Christ, 21if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.”

This is critical that we get this. This translation I find a little difficult to understand. A better rendering of verse 20, I believe, is “But that is not the way you learned Christ” (ESV). If we were taught the truth that is in Christ Jesus, we should not have learned that it is okay for us to keep on in deliberate and habitual sin against God. It is not okay for us to keep ignoring the commands of our Lord and to live however we want. Salvation from sin and eternal life with God require that we die to sin and that we obey God.

So, by faith in Jesus Christ, we are to put off our old self, which belongs to our former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires. For Jesus said that if anyone would come after him, he must deny self, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin and to self) and follow him in obedience to his commands. For if we hold on to living in sin and for self, and we do not obey our Lord’s commands, in practice, we do not know God, we do not have salvation from sin, and we will not have eternal life with God.

And now, by the grace of God, and because of what Jesus did for us on that cross, we can be renewed in the spirit of our minds. For Jesus Christ gave his life up for us on that cross to deliver us out of our bondage (addiction) to sin so that we will now serve him with our lives in walks of obedience to his commands, and in surrender to his will, in living holy lives, pleasing to God. Our minds should no longer be set on pleasing the flesh and disobeying God, but we should now long to do what pleases our Lord because we love Him.

By faith in Jesus, which is gifted to us by God, and which is persuaded of God, we die to our old lives of living in sin and for self, and now we put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. We can’t do this in our flesh, though. This can only be done in the power of God by genuine faith in Jesus Christ which dies with Christ to sin and is reborn of the Spirit to walk in newness of life in him. And daily we must deny self, die to sin, and obey God, in practice. Take this to heart!

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; 2 Corinthians 5:10,15,21; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:1-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897
Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer others to save.

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,
Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

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Put Off, Put On
An Original Work / June 23, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love