This 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, having 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; who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus:(Ephesians 4:17-21)
A New Walk in Christ
Paul urges us to “walk worthy of the calling with which we have been called.” Before we became Christians, we were dead in trespasses and sins, walking according to the course of this world. But that is not who we are anymore. In His love, grace, and mercy, God saved us by the sacrifice of Jesus and seated us in the heavenly places. God calls us to leave our old ways behind and live as a new creation, endeavoring to live in a way consistent with what God has done.
Escaping the Gentile Worldview
Do not live as the Gentile world lives. Futility has captured their minds; they are obsessed with the meaningless and care about things with no eternal purpose. Their understanding is darkened and tainted by sin, leaving them alienated from the life of God. Sin has blinded the hearts of the world, so that they do not rightly perceive or understand God’s ways. As Christians, we have left these ways behind us and should not return. The world is “past feeling,” implying a corrupted, seared conscience.
Repentance and the Walk in Christ
Perpetual sin deadens the conscience. Paul warns against the lewdness and uncleanness of first-century Gentile culture, which produced highly sexualized environments. However, such practices run contrary to the doctrine of Christ. Sin originates with sinful desires in the heart. Among these is sexual immorality, a term covering all activities outside marriage. Matthew 19:1-9 teaches that God designed marriage for one man and one woman. Jesus condemns activities outside this and commands us to go and sin no more.
The gospel of Jesus calls us to leave our sinful ways behind. To repent means to turn away from sin and toward righteousness. If I willingly continue to sin and make no attempt to change, yet consider myself a Christian, I am lying to myself. The same Jesus who loves us also commands us to repent. If we love Him, we need to obey Him by turning toward righteousness. Jesus died for our sins so that we might live for righteousness and no longer for ourselves.
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