I'd like to take just a few minutes and share with you a truth out of the letter to the Ephesians that has been, to me, so liberating, and it gives me so much hope in my Christian walk, and even a deep-seated joy in intimacy with the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's out of Ephesians chapter 4 verses 17 through 24. Ephesians chapter 4 verses 17 through 24. So what I want to do is just read that text and share with you why it has been such a huge blessing to me, especially as someone who's in recovery from developmental trauma, serious family pain and codependence, and a long history of addiction. So, Ephesians chapter 4 verses 17 through 24. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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, to be made new in the attitude of your minds, and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness." There's so much there to unpack in such a short time, but I want to hit a few high points here because I really think, especially if you're in any kind of recovery process, you will be grateful for the truth that is so wonderfully contained here. First of all, Paul reminds us of what life used to be like before Christ, and before many of you even admitted that you had a problem, say with drugs or alcohol, or a depression, anxiety tied to a developmental trauma disorder, or some form of unhealthy relational patterns in your life. And you knew life wasn't working, and even if you were in the church, maybe you'd grown up in the church, you were baptized, you were regular attenders at some local church, perhaps you were even in leadership, but life was not working for you. You were discontent and unhappy, and even worse at times, and acting out in either public or private addictive ways. This is the way of the Gentiles. This is the way of those in the world. Listen, life in the world, apart from Christ, it does not work. It simply does not work. I've known so many people who are professing Christians whose lives are a walking, talking train wreck. And so they've got a lot of religion going for them, but they have yet to understand even what it means to be a Christian. And their church attendance cannot mask their problem. And Paul's saying this is typical of those in the Gentile world. And he's speaking of anyone who's an uncircumcised in heart, whether you're Jewish by race or Gentile by race is irrelevant. If you are a fallen human being, this is what life was like for us. And then in verse 30, he reminds us, because he's insisting here, that if we profess Christ, and we have been born of the Spirit, and we are in union with Christ, then that is not the way of life you've learned. What he's telling us here clearly is that the early days of Christianity, unlike today, that new converts were taught a way of life. Christianity was not just a set of beliefs that you signed on to and got saved and then went about your merry way. No, Christianity was a way of life. That, however, he says in verse 20, is not the way of life you learned. That also implies that they were being taught that just because they had professed faith in Christ and been baptized doesn't mean that it was a done deal. Back in my early days as a young man, I was part of a church that was involved in the Full Gospel Men's Fellowship. And there was a very famous retired football player who had made a profession in Christ. And he was running around telling everybody about Jesus. And I remember we picked him up at the airport one day because he was going to speak at one of our men's breakfasts. And so we picked him up and he told us all about the fact that he had already that day led many people to Jesus Christ, brought many people to say the sinner's prayer. But it was a one and done. I mean, it was a momentary prayer. They walked away thinking that somehow they were now saved, and he walked away patting himself on the back that he had somehow got them saved. I look back at that now and I shudder. I'm embarrassed. To ever think that I signed on to that kind of theology, let alone lie, is embarrassing today. That's not the way of the apostolic faith. In the early church, when you came to truth in Christ, when you made an open profession and were baptized, You did just as Jesus said in John 8, verses 30 through 33, and that is, you continued in his word. It wasn't just a word that led you to say a sinner's prayer, you continued in his word. And having continued in his word, you were made to be an evidence that you are truly his disciples. and as his disciples you are progressively, as well as immediately and positionally, progressively set free from the old way of living, the old patterns, the old self that once held you in bondage. So, however, that is not, however, the way of life, there he goes, I use that phrase, you learn, this is the NIV, by the way, the most recent edition. When you heard about Christ and were taught, see, they learned because they were taught in him, in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. Folks, let me just say, if you are not being taught how to live in Christ, then you're not being given pastoral care. If what you're being given is inspirational sermons, if you're just being treated like an audience member on Sunday mornings, you're being treated as if someone who's there to pay and pray and go home, and you're not being taught, you're not being discipled, then you're not in a Christian church. You may not even be a Christian. If you don't have no desire, to live differently, to grow and be more like Jesus, then there's a good chance, and I say this with all tenderness and care, that you're not a Christian at all. Now don't be shocked or discouraged because that's the rule today. That's not the exception. We live in a day when 98% of Christendom is something other than Christian. There's a lot of activity, there's a lot going on, there's a lot of people carrying Bibles, there's a lot of people coming up out of the waters of baptism who have never been born of the Spirit. It's a hard, nasty time that we live in. Charlatans fill the pulpits and passive audience spectators attend the pews. But that's not Christianity. the truth that's in Jesus. Now there's three times here he says, not the way of life you learned, one, when you heard about Christ and were taught in him, two, in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus, you were taught three, three times in two verses. Three verses. You were taught with regard to your former way of life. So there's a former way of life, and then there's a new way of life. To follow Jesus is a way of life. His way of life. It's the way of life that Jesus himself modeled for us. We are children of God after the model and image of Jesus, and we are to walk as he walked. So we were taught, and if you haven't been, the first time I read this text, I sat back in my chair and I thought, no, I wasn't. You were taught, no, I wasn't. I even underlined it in red and thought, I was not taught this. I was in that cycle of get saved to behave and sit there and hope for the best, I guess. You try to stay away from the grosser sins, the moral violations, and so you can at least stay friendly with the church. But at night, when you lay your head on your pillow, you know that there's not been a whole lot changed with you, except now you're a professing Christian, you're a churchgoer. Most of the people that will end up in hell have been good churchgoers, by the way. No, there's a former way of life because there's a new way of life. And we have been taught, we need to be taught to put off that old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires. There's no future in the old. There's no future in the past. The old life has to die, has to be put off, has to be recognized as old and the patterns have to be recognized as old and be let go of. And to be made new, he says in verse 23, to be made new in the attitude of your mind. So the moment that you are born of the Spirit, you become a regenerate person, you are a new creation. You are circumcised at heart of heart at that moment. You at that moment have the mind of Christ. Everything that you ever will be in full realization and practice is already yours by inheritance. And so the Christian life then is about working that out. The Christian life then is about being who you are already or better yet becoming who you already are. It's a great paradox. But we have been made new in the attitude of your mind, it says here. See? And to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. So that which God has already accomplished on your behalf is all yours the moment you have been born of the Spirit and placed your faith, your God-given faith in Jesus Christ. and you are at that moment a new creation. And again, the Christian life then becomes a way of life where you are less and less like the old man and you recognize those patterns and you understand that way of thinking and you mortify it, you put it to death because it's no longer you, that was crucified with Christ. and you are now walking in resurrection life. You are now to put on the new self, listen now, created, you're a new creation, to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. And one day, one day, when he comes back for his own, we will see him as he is and we'll be like him. Until then, our life is about becoming more like him, walking as he walked, or living as he lived, bitter put. Let me close with a text from 1 John 4, 16 through 18. 1 John 4, 16 reads this way, And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. Isn't that beautiful? God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God and God in them. This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment. In this world, we are like Jesus. Let me read that again. In this world, we are like Jesus. A more traditional translation reads, as he is, so are we in this world. See, that's our greatest assurance. Our greatest assurance isn't that we have a little pledge card, or a card that we signed saying that we prayed the sinner's prayer, or the date of our baptism, our baptismal certificate. Our assurance is not tied to the fact that we are part of the church council, or that we've been active in this church for the last 20 years, or our giving record. There's no evidence of assurance at all. No, the assurance that we need and the assurance that the scripture prescribes is that we're like Jesus. We're becoming more like him daily. We're more like him than we were yesterday, or just not as much as we will be tomorrow. So that's what gives me great hope. I have hope because I'm not gonna be the same guy tomorrow that I was today. I'm gonna be more like Jesus. And learning that to follow Christ is to follow his way of life. There's a reason why he said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. There's a reason why the early Christians in the book of Acts referred to themselves as being followers of the way. It wasn't a way to salvation, it was the way of salvation. And that's a big important distinction. So everything else applies too throughout the book of Ephesians. It's a good letter for you to master if you want to know how to really get deep into your Christian faith and be grounded in Christian orthodoxy. Read the book of Ephesians, read the letter of Ephesians. It's only five chapters long, and you can get more theological training there than you'll ever find in most seminaries today, I can tell you that. And of course, there's a lot there. In the first chapter, he deals with the nature of a Christian, how we got to be who we are, meaning the work of God. In chapter 2, he talks about what we were at one time. We were all dead in trespasses and sins, and that by grace alone we are saved. That God made us alive with Christ, and we put our faith in Christ, not because it was something we worked up, or some choice of our free will. No, for it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves. It is the gift of God, not by works, including any works of the will. so that no one can boast. We are God's handiwork created in Christ Jesus to do good work. See, that word comes up over and over again. So the letter to the Ephesians is probably the most comprehensive letter in the New Testament, explaining to you who you are in Christ and how you got there. I encourage you to read it, but please take to heart what I've said to you today. I want you to share my joy. I want you to know that there's a way of life that works. Not only it works, but it's glorious. And there's nothing more comforting, nothing more joyful, and nothing more assuring than recognizing in yourself, especially those closest to you, begin to recognize that you're becoming more like Jesus. They can see him in you, in your thoughts, words, deeds, and actions. Does that mean you're gonna be perfect? Does that mean you're not gonna stumble? Not at all. But you'll know it, and you'll be done with it, and you'll repent of it, and you'll get back on track, because you want to be like him. Amen.