Christian Walk and Conduct
Eph. 4:17 – 22
Introduction
As we have mentioned earlier, as children of God, we are to walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called. Paul was telling the Ephesian believers and all of us as a whole to live righteously in the midst of this crooked and perverse generation. Our text today is probably the most detailed and the strongest New Testament warning to all Christian. It’s a warning, advice, and a command. Paul is like a father here talking to his children.
I. Put off the Old man (Eph. 4:22)
A. The old man is who you are before you were saved or converted.
1. It is carnal, corrupt, worldly, and sinful.
2. It is proud, self-satisfying, and loves the praise of man rather than the praise of God.
3. Immoral, and do the things as described in Galatians 5:19 -21. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
B. The word of God is telling us to put all of these “off”. It’s like removing a dirty clothes and putting it in a laundry basket.
C. Let the old man be crucified as it is written in Rom. 6:6. The word crucified here means put to death as if a man is crucified and dies in the cross.
II. Put on the New man (Eph. 4:24)
A. The New man is you after you have repented from your sins and received Christ as your personal Saviour.
1. This new man is the “new creature” as written in 2 Cor. 5:17.
2. This new man is after the image of God in righteousness and true holiness (v. 24).
3. This new man is the ”second man”, the Lord from Heaven.
4. Rom. 13:14 commands us “Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh (old man). To put on Christ is to put on His Spirit and the yoke of His will. When He has His rightful place in the heart and life there is no room for any other. ” Jesus must reign totally in our lives.”
III. Have a renewed mind (Eph. 4:23)
A. Put away all Unreality. Every deceptive and untruthful thing.
1. The renewal and putting away takes place not simply in the mind, but in the spirit also.
2. The mind remains as before, both in its intellectual and emotional structure, but not in its memory and judgment, imagination and perception.
3. We all know that the thoughts of the heart, as well as the words of the tongue, is deceptive. Avoid or no more lying, stealing, and covetousness.
4. You “renew” your mind only as you “set your mind on things above”. (Col. 3:1-2).
IV. Give no place to the Devil (Eph. 4:27)
A. Never give in to temptation or sin.
1. Never give in also regarding false doctrines and teachings. False doctrines leads
to pride, arrogance, and legalism. Satan is a liar and the father of liars.
2. Knowledge of the Word of God is of vital importance here. We must feed our
souls with God’s Word daily.
3. Satan is to be resisted (James 4:7). He is to be given no place in the believer’s
life.
V. Let your communications be free from corruption (Eph. 4:29).
A. The word “corrupt” is, to denote that which is depraved, evil, contaminating, and
may denote here anything that is obscene, offensive, or that tends to corrupt
others.
1. The mouth and heart are connected. “Out of the abundance of the heart, the
mouth speaketh” (Matt. 12:34). We expect a change in speech when a person
becomes a Christian.
2. Christians should avoid foul and obscene languages including common street
language, and cursing that are indecent and inappropriate.
3. The speech of the Christian is to be characterized by grace and holiness
4. Our words must be true, pure, trustworthy, and for edifying. Christ is the truth
and we must speak the truth.
Illustration: Think
I once formed a mutual encouragement fellowship at a time of stress in one of my pastorates. The
members subscribed to a simple formula applied before speaking of any person or subject that was
perhaps controversial.
T— Is it true?
H—Is it helpful?
I— Is it inspiring?
N—Is it necessary?
K—Is it kind?
If what I am about to say does not pass those tests, I will keep my mouth shut! And it worked!
From: Alan Redpath, from A Passion for Preaching
VI. Grieve not the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:30)
A. This is an awful possibility on the part of a Christian worker.
1. The Holy Spirit may be grieved by ignoring His presence, by unholy talk and
tempter which falsifies His character, by resisting His teaching, by depending on
our own wisdom and strength.
2. A grieved Spirit means the loss of the enjoyment of God’s love, the loss of
communion which is by the Holy Spirit, the loss of power for service (Isa. 63. 10).
Grieve Him not, for by the Holy Spirit are, ye sealed and secured unto the day of
Be Kind and Tender-hearted. “Forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s
sake has forgiven you” (v. 32).
VII. Be kind, tender-hearted, forgiving one another for Christ s sake; even as God for Christ’s
sake hath forgiven you. (Eph. 4:32)
A. This measure is “until seventy times seven” (Matt. 18 22).
1. If Christ has forgiven you, you must forgive others also.
2. Learning to forgive and forget is one of the secret of happy life.
3. A forgiving spirit is one of the most obvious and telling character traits in a
growing Christian.
4. The lack of a forgiving spirit is the mark of the novice Christian
Illustration: What’s Good for the Soul
Forgive and forget. Easier said than done, right? Well, now studies are showing forgiveness is not
only good theology, but good medicine as sell. According to the latest medical and psychological
research, forgiving is good for our souls—and our bodies. People who forgive:
1. Benefit from better immune functioning and lower blood pressure.
2. Have better mental health than people who do not forgive feel better physically.
3. Have lower amounts of anger and fewer symptoms of anxiety and depression.
4. Maintain more satisfying and long-lasting relationships.
“When we allow ourselves to feel like victims or sit around dreaming up how to retaliate against
people who have hurt us, these thought patterns take a toll on our minds and bodies,’ says Michael
McCullough, director of research for the National Institute for Healthcare Research and a co-author
of To Forgive is Human: How to Put Your Past in the Past (IVP, 1997).
Source: Intervarsity Press, quoted in Lifeline, Summer, 1997
VIII. Conclusion:
Christian life is no walk in the park. It requires a slow steady pace in which you have to
give up many things in order to please the Lord. Will you walk and conduct yourself as it
is written in the Bible? The choice is yours.
