{"id":421,"date":"2026-05-03T20:47:19","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T00:47:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.habersack.com\/?p=421"},"modified":"2026-05-03T20:47:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T00:47:19","slug":"the-new-man-vs-sinners-in-zion-ephesians-424","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.habersack.com\/?p=421","title":{"rendered":"The New Man vs. Sinners in Zion: Ephesians 4:24"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Premise<\/strong>: The new man is created in righteousness and true holiness<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Supposition<\/strong>: If true holiness is emphasized, then false holiness can exist<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The existence of a false profession<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

False Professors exist outside of the church<\/p>\n\n\n\n

False Professors exist inside of the church<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The existence of false professors outside of the church is the norm. Every sin imaginable is a way of life for the unbeliever. They sin because that is what they do best. They have a tendency to cater to the stronger imagination, If that imagination is void of Christ, then the carnal nature is in superior posture, and all actions will eventually follow. Falsehood is common with unbelievers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

False professors exist inside of the church because Christ promised that they would. He told the disciples that the tares would grow up amidst the wheat. He said that the goats would be in the same flock with the sheep. The ultimate judge will be Christ, the one who knows the thoughts and imaginations of the heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turn to Isaiah 33<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read verse 15<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What exactly is Zion?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the old testament, Zion was the city of David. This was a picture or type of the church. The church of God is frequently called Zion in scripture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The common reference of Zion is often referring to the invisible church of true saints. Those outwardly professing faith and experiencing the external privileges of the true church.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The true invisible church of Christ is always a remnant. This is how God works. In Matthew 7, the gate is called straight, and it is said that few find it. If this church is a miniature of the body of Christ (as it should be), then it is also true that there are those that attend here (possibly even in this room), that may never taste of heaven.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Isaiah 33 Setup:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Isaiah 33:14 we see plainly that there are sinners in Zion. These sinners are being warned by the prophet. Several things are evident- That they are truly sinners in God’s eyes, these sinners are afraid, fearfulness comes as a surprise, and that God is calling them hypocrites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Presently, there is little or no fear with the sinners in Zion, those who have made a false profession of faith or have been self-deceived that their system of belief is good enough. They are basically unawakened. All of the threatenings from the pulpit do not move them to fear; all of Christ that they have seen in others do not move them to fear; the Word of God does not move them to fear. They have become insensitive to the things of God. There will come a day that they will be moved with fear, but it will be in a time that will be too late. This fearfulness will come as a complete surprise. Our text implies that this fear will be both great and sudden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They will be surprised with great fear:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The element of surprise denoted a great intensity of fear. This great degree of fear will come in the form of astonishment that all of the things that they were trusting in to save them were false. Some of those sinners in Zion are now somewhat afraid- they are not convinced that there is a hell, but they fear that there might be. They fear that they could do something to jeopardize their entrance into heaven- they hope that they will go there (to heaven). They fear that the condemnations of scripture might be directed at them- and they hope that they’re not. They are not yet in a state of grace, yet they are uneasy. They have experienced the conviction of God’s Holy Spirit, but are not moved to make an effort to escape the wrath to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They hear sermons that move them, sometimes to tears, but these tears are just that- tears. They are not true tears of repentance that drives them to the rock that is higher than themselves (Ps 61), that they might fall upon it crushed, having a desire to seek salvation while it may be found. Rather, they hope that the rock will not fall upon them, that they would be crushed as the chaff upon the summer threshingfloor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fear that they experience will be sudden:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Those sinners residing in Zion presently are not fearing, but the time will come that fear will come upon them with great sudden-ness. Sometimes this fear comes when they are found out- that the veil has come off, and the true nature of their soul is discovered to others. Satan loves to operate unseen, inasmuch that the person being deceived is as much surprised at their false profession as the one discovering them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Often this surprise comes on the deathbed. They hope that the doctors can heal them. They hope that the saints of God and the pastor will pray for them. When the doctors bring more bad news, they petition the saints to pray more earnestly. They are in disbelief that their situation could deteriorate so quickly. Then suddenly the brink of eternity rushed in upon them, and passes at full speed, and that unfortunate soul slips into the abyss not having made preparation. They never meant to go there. No one does. If you could ask the damned in hell about their situation, they would tell you that they never meant to go to a place such as that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. It may be that those souls will be going about their regular business. They will be eating and drinking. They will be marrying and giving in marriage. Then one day without announcement, they will come to realize that the bride of Christ has been caught away. Suddenly horror will seize their countenance as the truth of judgment to come becomes real to them. Those souls will be grasping for any twig to hold onto, but none will hold. They will seek the true grace that those raptured souls found, but God will cause them to believe a lie, and their final estate will be worse than the first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. The final consuming fear for those souls will be the last judgment. The soul that never experienced saving grace will be in torment after this life. After time, the trumpet of God will blow in hell, summoning the damned to stand before God once more. Those souls will then make a journey to a place that they wished they would have gone. Consider that those souls will see the glory of heaven and the comfort of the redeemed. They will have the chance to walk before the very throne of God, but not for a reward. In that last moment when the books are opened and they have been found wanting, the terror of the lake of fire will be all too real. They will give anything for one more inch of time to turn to Christ, but it will be too late.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The severity of the judgment of false professors:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matthew 11:21-24 supports this<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There will be differing degrees of punishment in hell. The wicked ignorant will be judged to a lesser degree than the hypocrite. The sin of the drunkard, the adulterer, the sodomite, the heathen will be less severe than the judgment of the sinners in Zion. It will be for these reasons:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sinners in Zion sin against greater light and revelation.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

They have the truth of scripture. They own Bibles. They have had their fill of preachers and teachers. Church is a dangerous place to the hypocrite. All of these things will testify to their demise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sinners in Zion sin against professions and vows,<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is better to never vow unto the Lord than to make a vow and not keep it. It is so with a profession of faith. To vow unto the holy One on the throne and break the promise is a fearful thing. Their vows will testify against them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sinners in Zion sin against greater mercy.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

God has seen fit that their paths have been drawn to churches and Christian people. God has been merciful to spare them the time to hear the Truth of God’s word and respond, but they have not. This extended mercy will testify against them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my conclusion – The “new man” is elect. He cannot fail because the Holy Spirit is the surety and seal of his redemption. Those not elect are not sealed by the Holy Spirit. They may have every appearance of the elect, but alas they are not redeemed – and cannot be redeemed as they are reprobate. Phillippians 2:212 tells us “therefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Premise: The new man is created in righteousness and true holiness Supposition: If true holiness is emphasized, then false holiness can exist The existence of a false profession False Professors exist outside of the church False Professors exist inside of the church The existence of false professors outside of the church is the norm. Every … <\/p>\n

Read more “The New Man vs. Sinners in Zion: Ephesians 4:24”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-421","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.habersack.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/421","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.habersack.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.habersack.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.habersack.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.habersack.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=421"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.habersack.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/421\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":422,"href":"https:\/\/www.habersack.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/421\/revisions\/422"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.habersack.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=421"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.habersack.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=421"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.habersack.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=421"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}