No Longer Walking in Darkness

Ephesians 4:17–19 (NIV)

Opening Scripture “So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.”

A True Story – From Darkness to Dawn Chuck Colson, the tough-minded “hatchet man” of the Nixon White House, was once the epitome of worldly success. Brilliant, ruthless, and proud, he believed power and position were all that mattered. After Watergate brought his empire crashing down, he faced prison. A friend gave him C.S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity. As Colson read, the Holy Spirit began to crack the concrete of a hardened heart. One night in his driveway, overwhelmed by his own sin, he wept uncontrollably and surrendered his life to Christ. The man who once lived in the “futility of thinking” and moral darkness later founded Prison Fellowship, bringing the light of the gospel to millions behind bars. Colson often said his conversion proved that no heart is too hard for God to break and remake. From a life of greed and sensuality, he was transformed into a man who spent the rest of his days pursuing purity and the life of God.

Key Greek Words

• Futility (mataiotēs – ματαιότης): emptiness, vanity, worthlessness. Describes a mind that chases things that can never satisfy.

• Darkened (eskotismenoi – ἐσκοτισμένοι): passive perfect participle – “having been darkened and remaining in darkness.” A settled condition, not just a momentary shadow.

• Hardening (pōrōsis – πώρωσις): literal meaning “callousness” or “petrification.” The heart becomes like stone, numb to truth and to God.

• Lost all sensitivity (apalgeō – ἀπαλγέω): to become calloused, past feeling; the conscience no longer stings.

• Sensuality (aselgeia – ἀσέλγεια): unbridled lust, shameless excess; not just sexual sin but any desire that tramples moral restraint.

The Heart of the Matter Paul is not merely scolding bad behavior; he is describing a progressive spiritual death: Hardened heart → Ignorance → Darkened understanding → Loss of sensitivity → Full surrender to impurity and greed. The tragedy is not just what these people do, but who they have become—separated from the life of God. Yet the good news of Ephesians is that in Christ we do not have to stay there. The same chapter that diagnoses the disease (4:17–19) immediately proclaims the cure: “You were taught… to put off your old self… to be made new in the attitude of your minds… and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (4:22–24).

Action Steps

1. Guard your heart daily. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you any area that is growing calloused (Prov 4:23).

2. Feed your mind with truth. Replace futile thinking by memorizing and meditating on Scripture (Ps 119:11).

3. Practice immediate repentance. The moment you sense the sting of conscience fading, confess and turn back—do not let sensitivity die.

4. Pursue accountability. Surround yourself with brothers and sisters who will speak the truth in love when they see darkness creeping in.

Three Personal Reflection Questions

1. Where in my life am I still tempted to think and live like the old “Gentile” me—chasing things that ultimately leave me empty?

2. Can I identify any area of my heart that has grown harder or less sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s conviction over the past year? What contributed to that hardening?

3. Who in my life needs to hear the hope that no heart is beyond the reach of Christ’s transforming power?

Closing Prayer Father, We confess that apart from Your grace we are no different from those Paul describes—prone to futile thinking, darkened understanding, and hardened hearts. Thank You for the light of Christ that broke into our darkness and for the new life You have given us. Soften every calloused place in us today. Awaken holy sensitivity to Your voice. Keep us from the slow drift into impurity and greed. Renew our minds by Your Word and Spirit until we reflect the righteousness and holiness that come only from You. Use us, like You used Chuck Colson, to carry the gospel of transformation to those still walking in darkness. May they see in us that no one is beyond Your reach. In the mighty name of Jesus, who is the Light of the world, Amen.