That Is Not the Way You Learned Christ

They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned Christ!—assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus.

—Ephesians 4:19–21—

It’s easy to claim to be a follower of Jesus. Anyone can do it! There are many people who firmly (and sincerely) believe that it doesn’t really matter how they behave if they simply believe. The Lord didn’t teach this, and neither did his apostles.

Jesus said, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great” (Luke 6:46–49).

In the context of our reading from Ephesians 4, the apostle Paul is urging them not to be like the culture around them, living in the futility of their minds: they’re to be different by putting off their former manner of life, being renewed in the spirit of their minds, and putting on the new self—

Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned Christ!—assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:17–24).

The truth of God in the first century is the truth of God in the twenty-first century! God seeks in us a change, a difference from the world in which we live. It’s not always easy to be different than our surroundings, but we can do it if we’ll trust the Lord and follow his commands; and his commands are not burdensome (John 12:50 / 1 John 5:3).

It’s not just about reading the Bible, it’s about allowing God’s word into our hearts and minds—meditating (thinking) on his word (Psalms 1:2 / 19:4 / 63:5-7 / 119:15 / Philippians 4:8-9); spending time with his word, focusing on what matters most (1 Peter 1:13). The thing is, we’re all busy in our own ways, but we all know we should be making the best use of the time God is giving us (Colossians 4:5). We need to prioritize our priorities (Matthew 5:20 / 6:33). There’s a need to have some “down time,” but we don’t need to dwell there!

As the apostle Paul defended himself before King Agrippa, he said, “I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance” (Acts 26:19–20).

God still calls us to repent, turn to him, and do the things he commands in his word (2 Timothy 3:16-17). It’s not merely a matter of what we believe, but what we do (James 1:19-25 / Ephesians 2:8-10). It’s not just that we stop doing bad things (repenting) but that we do the right things. “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin” (James 4:17). As the ESV Study Bible explains: “It is not only what people do that matters; the good that they fail to do is equally important to God.”