Have you ever encountered someone who insists that God’s grace is "nice but not needed"—someone who believes they are a "decent person" and doing just fine without the gospel? In this message on Ephesians 4:17–24, Sam Storms unpacks what he calls the most graphic portrayal in Scripture of the unregenerate mind. He shows that the brokenness we see in the world—from cultural revolutions to historical atrocities—is not merely the result of intellectual mistakes or poor environments. Instead, Paul provides a "downward spiral" diagnosis, revealing that the root of all human rebellion is a "hardness of heart" that leads to a darkened understanding and a life alienated from God. Yet, he reminds us that for the believer, the old self is "earmarked for demolition". Because we have "learned Christ," we are called to a radical identity shift: putting off the old, corrupt way of life and being renewed by the Holy Spirit to "put on" the new self—a self already created by God to reflect His own righteousness and holiness. This invites us to stop imitating a world in darkness and instead live out the reality of the new identity we have already received in Jesus.
