God’s goal is to shape our lives along the same lines as Christ

God’s goal for us is not comfort, self-improvement, happiness and reaching our dreams finding a spouse, material possessions, making money
We were created for a purpose; Christlikeness
God’s goal is transformation. A life renewed from the inside out
To transform us so we can be different, be a beacon of light, and to shine in this world
Ephesians 4:17-32
They were taught to: 

• Put off the Old Self (17-22)
• Life of Futile thinking (17)
• Unspiritual people who live by own rules
• Futile thinking does not lead us to the fulfillment of God’s purpose
• Darkened in their Understanding separate from the life of God (18)
• Life of Ignorance due to hardening of heart
• Life of Indulgence; every kind of impurity with a desire for more

Get Rid of:

• Lying and replace it with truthful speech (4:35)
• Stop sinning in our anger and instead allow the anger we feel to provoke us to positive action that deals with the problem constructively (4:26-27)
• Unwholesome talk (corrupt talk)
• Sins of the tongue (Respectable sins Christians tolerate)
• Gossip – speech of unfavorable information
• Slander – false statements or misrepresentation
• Critical speech – negative comments about someone, that might even be true, but not be said

“When there is unwholesome talk, it is often to take attention off of oneself or to make us feel self-righteous by comparison”

Get rid of all negative behaviours such as:

• bitterness
• rage
• brawling
• malice

Paul – This is not what you learned from Christ.These are not the actions or words we see in Christ
All of these things don’t look good on us.

2. Put on the New Self

A. Begins with a new attitude of our mind
The formative years we learned to live independently of God(according to the flesh)
When you became a Christian nobody pushed the DELETE BUTTON
Fleshly thoughts don”t just leave
What you learned has to be unlearned
Change in attitude, mindset

B. Leads to putting on the new self 
Becoming a different person

The new self created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness (24)

Holiness – we are set apart for a purpose and then living in a way that fulfills that purpose

Give Ways to (32):

• Purity
• Truthful speech
• Speech that is helpful for building others up
• Kindness – Kind to the ungrateful and wicked (Luke 6:35)
• Compassion
• Forgiveness – In this world we rarely feel like forgiving someone over and over again because no advantage to us

Jesus calls us to a different standard
The heart of God is a heart of forgiveness
If we are becoming like him we must forgive like him
When we put on the clothes of Christ we might think it is too big for us; big task, overwhelming
The goal is to grow into it. The clothes of Christ might not fit perfectly at first, but need to grow into it