The Believers Relationship to the World
What does it look like to follow Jesus when everything around you is pulling in the opposite direction? That question sat at the heart of Sunday’s message as we continued our summer series on relationships — this time turning our attention outward, to the relationship every believer has with the world around them.
Drawing from Ephesians 4:17–24, the sermon laid out a direct and compassionate challenge: because God has made you a new person in Christ, you are called to live visibly different from the world around you. This isn’t about hatred or isolation. It’s about distinction — and it’s a distinction that only the gospel makes possible.
Standing in Contrast: What the World Looks Like Without Christ
Paul’s description of the Gentile world in verses 17–19 is sobering, and it was meant to be. The unbelieving world walks in the futility of their minds — like a GPS that’s not connected to the web. There’s a system there that has directions, but no real basis for how they live.
Four marks of life apart from God emerge from the text. First, the world walks in spiritual darkness — their understanding is clouded. Second, they are alienated from God — a condition that traces all the way back to Genesis 3, when sin first entered and separated mankind from a holy God. Third, they have hardened hearts — a callousness that develops gradually, the same way bare feet grow tough after a summer of going without shoes. Say no to God enough times, and the heart stops feeling the weight of it. Fourth, they are in bondage — what the world calls freedom is actually a voluntary surrender that leads to enslavement. Their freedom has led to bondage.
Pastor Mike was careful to frame all of this with humility: “That’s where we were. That’s where we would be if it weren’t for the grace of God.” We don’t look at the world with judgment. We look at it with compassion — and with gratitude.
Transformed Through Sanctification: Putting Off and Putting On
Everything shifts in verse 20 with one small word: but. “But that is not the way you learned Christ.” If you are in Christ, things are genuinely different — and yet the work of transformation is ongoing.
Verses 22–24 give us the shape of that transformation in three movements. First, put off the old self. The old manner of life is corrupt through what the text calls “deceitful desires” — lying lusts that promise happiness if only this or that were different. Going back to that old life, Paul says, would be like showering after a long day and then putting your dirty clothes right back on. It makes no sense for someone who has been made new.
Second, be renewed in the spirit of your mind. This is a continual process. The world is constantly speaking into our lives — through culture, entertainment, social media, the workplace. The Christian’s calling is to hold all of it up against the light of Scripture. “Not what Hollywood says about it. Not what my friends say about it. But God, I want to live in newness of life.” Bible reading, memorization, meditation, prayer — these are not optional extras. They are the fuel.
Who Is Discipling You?
One of the most pointed applications from the message was this: everyone is being discipled by someone. The question isn’t whether you’re being shaped and formed — it’s who or what is doing the shaping. For many people, the greatest influencers in their lives are cable news, social media, or the surrounding culture. As followers of Christ, we need to be intentional about who we allow to speak into our lives.
Third, put on the new self — created after the likeness of God, in true righteousness and holiness. This is the gospel completing what sin undid in the garden. Alienation is reversed. Likeness is restored. Not because we try harder, but because Christ gives us a new heart.
The sermon closed with a vivid image: a tractor that kept losing power and shutting down, only for the owner to discover a blockage in the fuel line. Everything else looked fine — new tires, working air conditioning, good paint. But nothing could run. “God has not called you to sputter in your Christian life. He’s called you to live in his power and for his glory.”
Scripture References
- Ephesians 4:17-24 — The believer’s call to walk differently from the world
- Romans 12:2 — Be not conformed to this world but transformed by the renewing of the mind
- John 17:15 — Jesus prays not that we leave the world, but that we be kept from the evil one
- John 17:17 — Sanctification through the truth of God’s Word
- Ephesians 2:13 — Brought near to God by the blood of Christ
- Romans 6 — Freed from sin, now slaves of righteousness
- 1 John 5:13 — Written so that you may know you have eternal life
Discussion Questions
- In what areas of your life do you feel the most pressure from the surrounding culture to conform? How have you responded, and what does Scripture say about those areas?
- The sermon described a progression from futile thinking to spiritual alienation to a hardened heart to reckless living. How does this progression serve as a warning for believers who gradually compromise?
- Who or what is most shaping your thinking right now — and does that align with the call to be “renewed in the spirit of your mind”?
Whether you were in the room Sunday or you’re reading this for the first time, the invitation is the same: don’t put the old clothes back on. You were made new in Christ — and the God who saved you is faithful to keep transforming you. If you have questions about what it means to know Christ personally, we’d love to talk with you.
Christ Gives Gifts to Build Up His Church
Five Ways In Which We Walk Worthy As A Christ-Community
The View of Jesus
Here Comes Our King
Jesus’ Claims: A Verdict Is Required
Israel Confesses Her Unbelief
We hope you enjoyed the sermon and would love to see you in person. Plan your visit to Community Baptist Church in Spring Hill, Tennessee today!