In Which You Formerly Walked

[Christsfreeservant]

“And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:1-7 NASB1995)​

Please pay close attention to the wording here and to the verb tenses. This is speaking to the church in Ephesus, to the faithful in Christ Jesus. And the description it gives of the faithful in Christ Jesus is of those who were (past tense) dead in their trespasses and sins, in which they formerly (past tense) walked (in conduct) according to the course of the world. They formerly (past tense) lived in the lusts of their flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were (past tense) by nature children of wrath.

So, what that is saying is that they were no longer living like that. They were no longer doing those things. So they were no longer children of wrath, but children of God, chosen by God to live holy lives, pleasing to God. Their faith in Jesus Christ, by the grace of God, changed them from the inside out, and it turned them about so that they now walked in the opposite direction of what they walked before. They turned from their sins to now follow Jesus Christ in obedience to his commands in holy living, in the power of God.

But how did that happen? They didn’t do it in themselves. Only by the grace of God, in the power of God, in submission to the Lord, in surrender of their lives to Jesus Christ, by God-gifted and God-persuaded faith in the Lord, were they able to die to sin and now live for God and for his righteousness, in obedience to our Lord’s commands. For we can do nothing in ourselves to earn or to deserve our salvation from sin and eternal life with God. But it takes our cooperation with God’s grace for our hearts to be changed.

And please do not misinterpret these words when it says, “even when we were dead in our transgressions, God made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).” What this is saying is that we can do nothing to earn or to deserve our own salvation. No amount of fleshly good works will gain us salvation from sin and eternal life with God. But the words above this make it clear that those who are saved by grace are transformed of the Spirit of God out of their lives of living in sin to now live holy lives to God.

So this is not teaching that we can remain in our sins and still have salvation from sin and eternal life with God. That is antibiblical teaching. For God’s grace, which is bringing us salvation, is training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for Jesus’ return. For Christ “gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.” (see Titus 2:11-14)

But sadly there are many people today who are teaching God’s grace as a free gift of salvation from sin and eternal life with God based on lip service only to God, with no mention of God’s requirements that we die to sin and obey him in practice if we want to be saved from our sins and to have eternal life with God when Jesus returns for his faithful bride, his church. And so we have many who profess faith in Jesus Christ but who have never died to sin and are not now walking in obedience to our Lord’s commands.

For they are listening to the lies of “wolves in sheep’s clothing” who are deceiving them into believing a lie which says that all they have to do is “believe” (not usually defined biblically) in Jesus and now all their sins are forgiven, and now they are guaranteed entry into heaven when they die.

But Jesus Christ taught that to come to him we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin), and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to living in sin and for self, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, by the Spirit, and we walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in his power, then we have eternal life with God. For not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING (obeying) the will of God (see Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).

So, please embrace the teachings of the Scriptures, taught in their appropriate context, on the subject of salvation from sin and eternal life with God and what God requires of us in the way of thought, word, and deed. For if sin is our practice, and not obedience, we won’t have life in Jesus Christ.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]

As the Deer

By Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1

As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after You
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You

You alone are my strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You

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In Which You Formerly Walked
An Original Work / October 30, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love