Wednesday, April 24, 2019

PT-1 "Depraved Mind" (Eph. 4:17-19)


SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/24/2019 11:24 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                      Focus:  PT-1 “Depraved in Mind”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Eph. 4:17-19

 

            Message of the verses:  17 This I say therefore, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, 18 being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; 19 and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality, for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness” (NASB).

 

            17  So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, 18  being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; 19  and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness” (NASB95).

 

            We have been looking at futile, self-centered thinking, ignorance of truth and spiritual and moral callousness, and all of these practices will inevitably to “sensuality, for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness.”

 

            John MacArthur writes “Aselgeia (sensuality) refers to total licentiousness, the absence of all moral restraint, especially in the area of sexual sins.  One commentator says the term relates to ‘a disposition of the soul incapable of bearing the pain of discipline.’  The idea is that of unbridled self-indulgence and undisciplined obscenity.”

 

            Peter writes about these types of people in 2 Peter 2:10-12 “10 And especially those who indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires and despise authority. Daring, self-willed, they do not tremble when they revile angelic majesties, 11 whereas angels who are greater in might and power do not bring a reviling judgment against them before the Lord. 12 But these, like unreasoning animals, born as creatures of instinct to be captured and killed, reviling where they have no knowledge, will in the destruction of those creatures also be destroyed.”  “10 God is especially incensed against these "teachers" who live by lust, addicted to a filthy existence. They despise interference from true authority, preferring to indulge in self-rule. Insolent egotists, they don’t hesitate to speak evil against the most splendid of creatures. 11 Even angels, their superiors in every way, wouldn’t think of throwing their weight around like that, trying to slander others before God. 12 These people are nothing but brute beasts, born in the wild, predators on the prowl. In the very act of bringing down others with their ignorant blasphemies, they themselves will be brought down, losers in the end” (Message).

 

            People are mainly effected by their conscience and have a sense of what is right and what is wrong and thus they may and perhaps will continue to fight over doing wrong will, if they don’t come to realize that they are in need of salvation will lose the battle and eventually their consciences will be seared so badly that it will not matter the wrong that they are doing.  Having rejected all divine guidelines and protection, these people become depraved in mind and then give themselves over to sensuality.  People like this care nothing about what others think about them, not to mention about what God thinks about them, but they only care about what gratifies the cravings of their own warped mind.

 

            We will stop after this last quote from John MacArthur:  “Ungodliness and it attendant immorality destroys the mind as well as the conscience and the spirit. Rejection of God and of His truth and righteousness finally results in what Paul refers to in Romans as a ‘depraved mind’ (1:28)—a mind that is no mind, that cannot reason, that cannot think clearly, that cannot recognize or understand God’s truth, and that loses contact with spiritual reality.  In its extreme, the depraved mind loses contact with all reality.  That is the mindlessness of the self-indulgent, profligate celebrity who loses his career, his sanity, and often his life because of wanton sensuality.  When indecency becomes a way of life, every aspect of life is corrupted, distorted, and eventually destroyed.  I have to say that this is a very sad situation indeed, and it is going on in the news media today as most of them are in bed with Satan.

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