Ephesians 2:2
“in which you used to walk when you conformed to the ways of this world and of the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit who is now at work in the sons of disobedience.”
The words proceeding verse two are sins and trespasses. Verse two says it was the manner in which we walked. This is shocking. Most feel good about themselves and don't see themselves as sinners. We would all admit we have sinned and will occasionally sin, but to have the brand of sinner seems harsh.
Our goal as people is to be within range of everyone else. Grades in school are based on that. By this grade you should know x, y and z. So as long as we are in that range, we can relax and say we are on grade level. We treat our morality the same way. We look at the extremes and say I'm doing ok.
Today's verse brands us a sinner and that we lived our lives in a sinful way. Verse two says we were conformed to the world. Many would be surprised to see this as sinful. They pride themselves as aligned to the world. Some focus in on and get their values from it. Others take the their values from the educational system or the medical society. God says we are to get our values from Him and His Word. While these groups have some biblical values, most are not.
When we come to Christ, we find ourselves grieved by the world. The Spirit within us does that. We become repulsed by the world and drawn to the Lord, His Word and His people. We are no longer living our lives by the course of the world. It's like we are fish swimming up stream.
How do we resist the current of the world? One way is to ignore it. Turn off the news and all of the voices that aren't God's. This is a great help. The peer pressure becomes almost nonexistent when the voices are silenced.
To resist the world takes more than silencing the world. We must turn up the volume of the voices that are God's. This is the bible, church, christian friends and so on. This is huge in setting the tempo of a life in God.
We are no longer walking according to the world and no longer walking in sin. We will still stumble and fall. But we get up, confess our sin and get back on the path. We walk in forgiveness and grace.
Lord, thank You for plucking us off the worldly and sinful path. Your way is of grace and forgiveness. Thank You.