4:17 Now this I affirm and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds;
4:18 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;
4:19 they have become callous and have given themselves up to licentiousness, greedy to practice every kind of uncleanness.
4:20 You did not so learn Christ! --
4:21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus.
4:22 Put off your old nature which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful lusts,
4:23 and be renewed in the spirit of your minds,
4:24 and put on the new nature, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
4:25 Therefore, putting away falsehood, let every one speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.
4:26 Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,
4:27 and give no opportunity to the devil.
4:28 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his hands, so that he may be able to give to those in need.
4:29 Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for edifying, as fits the occasion, that it may impart grace to those who hear.
4:30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
4:31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, with all malice,
4:32 and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
It is amazing what kinds of things cause us to draw closer to God! Out of all the things that happened to Christ, he DEFINITELY had to go through some things for us in order for us to have eternal life. However, we acknowledge that but living our own way and THEN giving God the praise and honor for the things he's blessed us with? How contradicting is that?
We crucify Christ all over again every time we sin, and why, we because "God knows our heart", "He knew I was going to do it before I did it", along with many over dumb excuses we make for being daily sinners!
Through His Word and actually seeking his face, we become closer to God and realize that our sacrifices as Godly people do NOT go unnoticed. Just as he sacrificed for us, we must sacrifice for him in order to receive all the blessings that He has in store for us. In store meaning, they are already there!!! And on top of that, if that means taking off our old sevles and putting on our new selves, then that is the price we have to pay, since he paid the price for us in advance!