Ephesians 4:19

“Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality, so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual last for more.”

Paul is continuing his description of those Gentiles who have not been saved .

This section started with an appeal to the Christians at Ephesus to not be like the Gentiles in their thinking. He is now describing how their misguided thinking becomes a lifestyle of sin and depravity.

Paul is not saying that every Gentile is living a lifestyle of sexual sin, but he is making a strong point that when we are apart from Christ, our standards and values are very different to God's standards. In the same ways, cultures that turn away from God rapidly descend to self- centeredness and sexual immorality.

Paul says that the Gentiles have lost all sensitivity. They have become calloused and hard in their conscience.

when we consistently choose to sin and follow our own desires, the voice of our consciences, and even of the Holy Spirit, become unimportant. We make a decision to disobey God and soon we find ourselves committing acts that we once would have thought beyond our capability, and enjoying them.

An example can be pornography, although the principle applies to any area of sin. Many people feel guilty when they start looking at less explicit videos or pictures. They ignore their conscience and soon are looking at degradation they could never have imagined. While their conscience may still be calling them away from these things, they suppress that to enjoy the experience. Before long, some people are moving beyond the immoral to the forms of pornography such as child abuse.

whenever we harden our hearts, or allow ourselves to lose sensitivity to sin, then we are on a slippery slope of depravity. Without Christ, we are all depraved and hostage to our fleshly desires.

the Gentiles, Paul says, have given themselves over to sensuality. Sensuality, as the name implies, is the pleasing of our senses, our natural fleshly desires. “If it feels good, do it,” is the mantra from the 1970’s that summarises sensuality .

we have seen this played out in the Western nations over the last two decades in particular. People are keen to have experiences that appeal to the senses. Another thought that expresses this is, “life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but the events that take your breath away.”

so we spend billions of dollars on travel, in exotic food, and so on We have TV shows that tell us where we can go for those breathtaking moments that live with us forever. We have endless cooking and home renovation shows to reproduce breathtaking moments (i.e. sensuality) in our homes.

every form of sexual deviance is now accepted as normal, and even better than normal marital relations.

we move from sensuality to impurity or uncleanness. There are some things which God has declared to be unclean, that is, not suitable for people who have been made holy by the blood of Christ.

this idea of impurity is not laid down in law like in the Old Testament. It does not relate to what we eat or wear, but to who we are.

What the world says is good does not necessarily line up with what God says is good for us, or suitable for us.

things that take us away from Him become idols, and are therefore impure. We can find forgiveness for these things, but it is much better to stay in the place of blessing .

Contrary to the world, any form of sexual expression outside of marriage (that is, one man plus one woman united for life) is wrong.

the taking of a life in murder, through slavery, or abortion is wrong.

putting our trust in the acquisition of material goods is wrong.

we need to ensure that we live in humble dependence on God, trusting Him to meet our needs, and believing that the Bible is God’s word for us. Our values and our conduct must be so different to the world or “the Gentiles.”

Finally ,Paul says there they constantly lust for more. Pursuing the way of the flesh gives a person a thrill that leads to a lust for more of the same.

if you were going to be unfaithful to your wife, why stop at one affair, one lover, or even just women?

Our imaginations can always develop scenarios or pictures or fantasies of how this particular pleasure could be even better.

if you step off God’s path, why even go in the same direction? That is the logic of sensual pleasure- all for the body, and the body alone. Don't stop with tentative sins. Sin boldly. ”You might as well be hung for a sheep as for a lamb.”

So who can save the people of the world from this hideous pathway of sin? Thanks be to God- it is Jesus Christ who has paid for our redemption and who calls us back to Him.

key points in this verse:

• the Gentiles, or unredeemed people of the world, have given themselves to a lifestyle of sin .

• christians are not to be like this.

• when we sin, our conscience is can be hardened towards God.

• worshipping the senses can lead to uncleanness.

• Sin tends to take us deeper than we might have thought possible

• only Christ can take us off this treadmill of hunger for more sin.