Ephesians 4:17-19

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.

Paul in this passage encourages the Ephesians to live life like they are Christians. He wants them to live up to how they were called and be set apart from the lifestyle of the Gentiles who are unsaved. These people have a darkened understanding, do not have “the life of God,” and are ignorant of this reality because of their spiritual blindness that comes with their wicked hearts. Their consciences have been calloused “beyond feeling,” and are currently owned by a depraved behavior and lifestyle.

These verses are a great example of the attitude of the Bible towards the lifestyle of a believer. It’s true our works don’t save us. It’s true that God’s gift is free and unearned. It’s absolutely not true that we will be the same after salvation as we were beforehand. The Lord lives in us and gives is the power to conquer our sin nature in order to live free from it.

Paul in the rest of the section gives a vivid description of what the life of the unregenerate is like. First, they walk in the futility of their minds. No matter how hard an unbeliever tries, they will never be able to “figure life out.” They will never be able to “get it all together,” because by definition having it all figured out is giving up life to God, something they refuse to do by remaining unbelievers. Second, their understanding is darkened. They are spiritually and intellectually unable to objectively reason because they will always have sin, consciously or unconsciously, skewing their conclusions and logic. I see so much of this when I engage in a logical debate. The unsaved jump to false conclusions, which they base on false presuppositions and hidden (Not very well hidden, I might add) agendas. It’s frustrating, but also disheartening at the same time, seeing someone so blind to the truth that they cannot even see where they make their mistakes. Proverbs 4:19 says “The way of the wicked is darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble.”

Third, they are “alienated from the life of God.” I talked at Kings a while back about The Good Life. The unregenerate cannot have this, because the good life is that very life which they reject and refuse to live. Their sin separates them from His presence. Fourth, they are ignorant. They don’t even know they aren’t living a good life, having convinced themselves that they are satisfied by the temporal pleasures that they provide themselves with. Fifth, their hearts are blind. This connects itself with ignorance and the verse I used earlier from Proverbs. The wicked are blind and in the dark; they stumble and are unaware of it. Sixth, they are “past feeling.” I.e. they have calloused themselves to the point that their consciences no longer bother them when they sin.

The last bit concerns a vivid image of how entangled the wicked are in sin. They are given over to the uncleanness, seeking it even greedily. They have what brings death and destruction, and they long for it like it’s an addiction, like their life depends on it. But sin destroys life, and it is a sad thing to watch people unknowingly tear themselves to pieces.