Avoiding Pointless Living

Context: Practical Christian Living from Ephesians 1-3

We're continuing to look at practical Christian living, taking the meaty portions from Ephesians 1 through 3 and seeing how they play out in our lives. Understanding predestination, being sealed with the Holy Spirit—these truths affect the way we live. From last week, we saw how the Word of God equips us through prophets, apostles, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers for the work of ministry. It's not my job or the elders' job to do the work of ministry—it's yours. The Scripture you've received equips you to minister to each other.

Ministry coincides with holiness. Sin hinders ministry, so we must diligently remove sin to be effective. Tonight, Paul shows what pointless living looks like and how to avoid it—not just in church or ministry, but in every area of life. Paul, as an apostle, is interested in the totality of your life, every area, even your mind, for the purpose of making you more like Christ. He's laboring as a prisoner for your sake.

He's interested in what you do even in your free time—not to control you, but to bless you by conforming every aspect of your life to the image of Jesus Christ, glorifying God. There's a severe warning: in every area, we risk pointless activities that lead to sinful living. Mundane living is not Christian living. There's earthly, mundane living versus spiritual, heavenly, Christian living. Our text calls for extreme living, and praise God, He gives us Christ and His grace to live it.

You might find yourself bored with the world after this, distracted by God's holiness instead of schoolwork, fashions, movies, or video games. Imagine daydreaming about God's holiness at work. Concern for God's holiness excels in other areas for His glory. What is it like to be holy like God? He calls us to imitate God—to be pleased and enjoy Him eternally, most pleased with His Son Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 4:17-24: 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. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned Christ—assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God, in true righteousness and holiness.

Three Lifestyles: Pointless Leads to Sinful, Christian is Purposeful

There are two bad lifestyles that are really one: pointless living—doing things with no purpose, no value, useless, providing no benefit. Pointless living leads to sinful living. You can do pointless things without sinning, but a consistently pointless lifestyle always results in sin. The opposite is Christian living: living with point, purpose, meaning, value—the way to avoid sinful living.

Imagine two people sliding down a cliff. The one doing purposeful things grabs a branch to avoid the edge. The pointless liver is clueless, sliding off without care.

Equipped Christians build up the body, leading to spiritual maturity, stability, and avoidance of deceitful, pointless living that leads to sin.

Illustration: Deceived by Pointless Living

When I was younger, I spilled Planters cheese balls in my mom's nasty van—full of sweaty soccer socks and teenage boy grime. I picked them up, put them back in the container, and a friend ate them without knowing. She was deceived, her face twisting in horror. Pointless activity deceives like that—seeming pleasurable, but harmful. Those cheese balls tasted fine due to preservatives, but they were contaminated.

Without equipping, we get deceived about life, thinking pointless activity is enjoyable. But it's dark, like verse 18: darkened in understanding, alienated from the life of God due to ignorance and hard hearts. They're spiritually dense, lacking spiritual intelligence, strangers to God's life itself.

Hard-hearted like Pharaoh, stubborn against change despite plagues. They become callous—numb to sin, no feeling for good or evil. They give themselves up to sensuality—a license to sin—greedy for every impurity, unsatisfiable, craving sin.

Recognizing Pointless Living

Pointless living starts here, ends in giving up on fighting sin, greedy like the men of Sodom groping for sin. Paul gives an example: don't walk as the Gentiles do, in futility of their minds. Examine if your life looks like unbelievers'—same pointless activities.

We're not to leave the world or isolate, but be in it, not of it. Too many Christians mimic the world instead of avoiding it. Re-examine dating, relationships, church—they must be fundamentally different. Don't make church comfortable for non-Christians to avoid turning them off; the Word exposes sin, making them feel like sinners. That's good—it mirrors the heart's sinfulness, showing pointless versus purposeful living, and Christ as the way to purposeful life.

Hiding sin isn't dealing with it—like pushing dirt under a rug. It looks clean but isn't. Don't be like them—that's alienation from God.

The Remedy: This Is Not How You Learned Christ

If you struggle with recurring sin—pornography, drunkenness, whatever—pointless living leaves no wall against temptation. The remedy: verse 20, "But that is not the way you learned Christ." You didn't learn Christ through pointless living, immorality, or greed for sin. You learned Him through the gospel—God raising you from spiritual death.

Every testimony: God saved me from sin, regardless of circumstances. Sovereign grace, not sin's circumstances. If that's not how you became a Christian, live that way. The way you learned Christ is how you live Christ—through equipped saints preaching the gospel.

The gospel doesn't say God loves you as you are, no change needed. The Jesus who saves gives an entirely new life—total renovation. Put off the old self (corrupt through deceitful desires), be renewed in the spirit of your minds, put on the new self, created like God in true righteousness and holiness.

Change how you think, even in free time. You have the mind of Christ. Gospel motivation: Christ died for the old life so you could live His. You already have the new self in your wardrobe—put it on daily. The new you looks like Christ—satisfying, pleasing to God, with joy even in hostility.

Practical Steps: Put Off the Old, Put On the New

No spiritual activity guarantees pointless living. No consistent prayer, Scripture reading, memorization, loving, chewing on God's Word as spiritual food leads there. You were a professional sinner; now learn to be a professional Christian through equipping.

Ask: What's the point? Of the mall, movies, TV, internet, vacation? Is it renewing your mind or degrading it? Old you or new you? Does it make Christ famous, or exclude Him to avoid conviction? You can throne Him on Sunday but exclude Him elsewhere.

Don't get discouraged. Verse 17 assumes Christians no longer walk like Gentiles—it's a statement of continuation. You're looking more like Christ, less like the world. Keep renewing.