Sermon on Ephesians 4:17-5:2, 11th Sunday after Pentecost 2021 (B), "New Clothes for our new walk"
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen. Last week in Ephesians 4 we talked about the worthy walk vs. the unworthy walk. God made us for new life in Christ Jesus. We walk together as the body of Christ, not isolated individuals. Today, Paul exposes the harm of the unworthy walk, the old walk, or the walk of the unbelieving Gentiles. It’s bad for your health. Paul urges us to shed the old self like a dirty old clothes and put on clean, new clothes in Christ Jesus. New clothes for our new walk! When a doctor sees a sick patient with a chronic but correctible health condition, they can’t accept the status quo and let the patient continue to suffer while they can help. If heavy drinking is destroying your liver, you’ve got to cut it out! If your diet is causing your diabetes, we’ve got to work on changing that! If you’re accustomed to old, unhealthy habits, we have to address that! Paul adds, if you’ve been a liar,...