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.
Paul now goes into some instruction as to how we should live in this world. He tells us that he is saying these things and testifying these things in the Lord. In other words, as given to him by the Lord Himself under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
We are not to walk as the Gentiles do. Gentiles represents the world, the nations. This is a generic expression for the lost, unregenerated world and their standard way of thinking and living.
We are not to walk as they do. And how is that? They live in the futility of their minds. Their thinking is empty, futile, and vain. Christians should not live in this way. Our thinking is to be purposeful and controlled.
What is the cause of this predicament? Verse 18 tells us that they are darkened in their understanding.
Romans 1:18-23 tells us that because people suppress the truth and do not honor God as God, they become futile in their thinking, their foolish hearts were darkened and they become fools. That is why Paul says not to follow this pattern of thinking. It is part of a downward slippery slope.
He goes on to say in verse 18 that they are alienated from the life of God. That alienation is a result of the ignorance that is in them. Being ignorant of the truth of God is a grave sin. God has revealed himself in nature and there is no excuse for ignorance.
This ignorance, Paul writes, is due to hardness of heart.
If we connect Romans 1 with this passage we can see the sequence. Even though evidence of God, His power and Godhead are everywhere, people suppress the truth. In other words they purposefully reject what is obvious. This is true of all people everywhere. This is the human condition without the intervention of God.
Having rejected the truth and refusing to bow to God and to be grateful to Him for having provided life and breath and all things (Acts 17:25), God gives them over to a reprobate mind. A mind that is in a downward slide and is evidenced by vain and futile thinking.
Don’t be like that. Believe the gospel and be transformed by the power of God.
Exported from Logos Bible Software, 9:52 AM March 10, 2021.