That is why Paul exhorts the congregation in Ephesus:
“Therefore, I say this and testify in the Lord: you must no longer live as those who do not know God live, in the futility of their minds and the darkness of their understanding, being alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them and because of the hardness of their hearts” (Ephesians 4:17-18).
This means that we must no longer live as we once did. If formerly we were enemies of God, now we have been received and regarded as righteous. However, we must no longer behave and live as we did before. We must change.
The following verses say:
“They have become callous and have given themselves over to sensuality, to indulge greedily in every kind of impurity. But that is not the way of life you learned when you came to know Christ. Surely you heard of Him and were taught in Him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus: that, regarding your former way of life, you must put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires” (Ephesians 4:19–22).
So, if we have not put off the old self, it means we are still positioning ourselves as enemies of God. Indeed, we have been regarded as righteous, but we must not feel satisfied with merely the status of being “regarded as righteous” and then live without change. God is not unjust in justifying us so that we may enter heaven while still being unrighteous. He justifies us so that we may be transformed, so that we truly become righteous.
Ephesians 4:23–24 says:
“Be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, created according to God in true righteousness and holiness.”
Many Christians feel that they are already at peace with God, when in fact they are still in a state of hostility. If someone has just become a Christian, this may still be understandable. But if this condition persists, it means he does not want to be reconciled to God. Let it not be so. Let us repent. To experience peace with God, our lives must be restored to God’s original design. A person who is being restored to that original design will surely begin to stop loving the world and no longer live in the desires of the flesh that oppose the will of God.
That is why the Word of God in 1 John 2:15–17 says:
“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires are passing away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.”
God cannot be in loving fellowship with someone who does not love Him. God can’t allow someone to love the world and still enter heaven. Therefore, we must transform.
Indeed, being a Christian is difficult—it seems like seeking trouble. But remember: there is no crown without a cross. In reconciliation with God, there is a step of compromise. It is not God who adjusts Himself to us, but we who must adjust ourselves to God. We must compromise with truth and holiness, but no longer compromise with the world. We must betray our flesh, our lusts, our ego, and our ambitions. That is what it means to deny oneself. We cannot compromise with both at the same time.
That is why the Word of God says, “You cannot serve two masters.” And also:
“Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:24–25).
It is not God who follows our rhythm, but we who must follow God’s rhythm; we are the ones who must align ourselves with God. A believer’s life is a journey to experience peace with God. Therefore, let us mourn as we look at the state of our lives, still chaotic and unresolved. We want to repent. We want to change.