not superior to the other
Ephesians; they were not by nature different. In fact, Paul tells them
that they had been the children of wrath, even as others, and that they
had been such by nature. What a triumph of divine grace that raised these
people up out of such unspeakable filth and made them faithful saints! And
yet that is the power of our great Christ.

Some persons look around at the present condition of things in this world,
at sin abounding on every hand, and say, "There is no use for me to try to
be a Christian or to be different from the others." There are many who
look at things in this way. They think it useless to try to be righteous
under present conditions. Once while walking down the street of a certain
city, I came upon a policeman standing on the street-corner. I engaged him
in conversation, which I quickly turned into religious channels, and began
inquiring about his own standing. He said to me in a hopeless voice, "Oh,
there is no use talking; there is no chance for a policeman." I tried to
tell him of the power of God and of what salvation would do for him. But
it seemed as an idle tale to him, and he could only reply, "There is no
hope for a policeman."

There are many other people today in various situations who say: "There is
no hope for me. There is no use for me to try." Those Ephesians might have
talked the same way. They had just as much reason to do so as any one
else. Probably some of them did talk like that and were lost; who can
tell? There were a great many, however, who turned from idols to serve the
true and living God, received Christ into their hearts, and found the
power of salvation in the gospel. They found power in the blood of Christ
to cleanse them from their impurities, and not only so, but also to raise
them so far from the mire of sin and wickedness abounding around them as
to keep them faithful in Christ Jesus while still dwelling in Ephesus.

It is not so much a change of environment that people need as a change of
heart and of character. Diamonds are often found embedded in volcanic mud;
mud surrounds them on every side, and yet they have lain there for
centuries and are still diamonds. What is the secret of it? Why have they
not become contaminated? It is because the mud never entered the diamond;
and that was the reason that the Ephesian saints could be faithful and
still live in Ephesus. They were left amidst the foul mud of corruption,
but the mud was taken out of