4:17
The focus has been on the sovereignty of God and the centrality of Christ, that we are saved by grace. However, that does not mean that we do nothing. Just as God’s “natural” creation of us made us into beings who can do stuff, so His “spiritual” creation makes us into beings who can do stuff. So, Paul urges us to “no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds”. The ways of the world are not good, and they are indeed futile. The church is never more foolish than when it thinks it is a good idea to follow the ways of the world. We are to live as God’s people according to His ways, not the ways of the world.
4:18,19
The mind of the world is darkened, and is alienated from the life of God. So why would anyone in their right mind want to follow the world’s ways? The mind of a sinful man is ignorant and his heart is hardened. It is utter foolishness to use them as a source of advice.Paul carries on with his diatribe against the Gentile mind. This is rhetoric and does not imply that every single Gentile is completely like this, but it is the general picture.
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