Articles
The Old Calloused Heart
“That, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit” (Ephesians 4:22).
The old self is what was before conversion. It is the empty shell, the shadow, the man who you know you use to be. The old self is what we are most ashamed of, what we do not like to admit to other people. We have all been there, as Paul notes in Ephesians 2:3 that “among them we too all formerly lived in the lust of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.” We were all a part of that life before we chose to bury the old self. Notice from our text that even Christians are in need of reminder of the life from which they came. No person is immune to the old man, neither can the effects of that old man ever be completely withdrawn as long as someone keeps “one foot in the door” of that old life.
The old life is described as being corrupted, a vivid word meaning the wasting away or the marring of something from bad to worse. Being corrupt, then, is like being rusted, moldy, spotted, or spoiled. And what can describe the sinful life any better than this?
Why would anybody reject something that is life-giving, like the pure milk of the Word? I suppose that is a question that can best be answered by the one refusing to submit to the Lord. But for our part, Paul does give some insight in our text. Look at Ephesians 4:19, and see how the word “callous” is used to describe the heart of the old self. In literal terms, a callus is a thickened patch of skin, dull to stimulation. When one is calloused emotionally or spiritually, he has become insensitive and dull to feeling and compassion.
Do we ever have calloused hearts? When another Christian approaches me, do I become resentful of the spiritual guidance being offered? Do I become jealous of the success of sinners, or even of my own wealthy brethren? Do I know that I am in sin, but choose to ignore my responsibility?
Now consider that our new life is created for only one, supreme purpose; for righteousness. What could be more rewarding than saying your entire purpose in existing is to perform righteous deeds! That is exactly what the text says, “and put on the new self which. . . has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth” (Ephesians 4:24).
What a purpose! What a goal! There is nothing else more noble than a life that is meant for righteousness. There is nothing else that feels as good as waking up each day and saying to myself, “I am a new man, transformed to the image of Christ, living my life in righteousness and holiness of truth!”
