Put Off The Old Man, Put On The New Man

That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

-Ephesians 4:22-24 (KJV)

I thought I was done writing about the battle for our minds, but then God led me to this passage as I was studying His Word. Do you truly want a change in your mind? 

Verse 22 says, "That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;" If you truly want a change in your thought patterns, then you must get rid of your former way of life. Too many of us, as Christians, try to cling to the "good stuff" in our life of  sin. You can't hold on to any patterns of your life before Christ. Why? Because it is corrupt, it can't line up with the way God expects you to live. If any part of our life before Christ could be carried into our new life with God through Jesus, then the sacrifice of Jesus is for nothing. You can't claim Jesus as your Savior, and continue living in sin. 

Verse 23 says, "And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;" Put off the old way, and have your mind renewed. Renewed onto the things of God. Verse 24 says, "And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." 

Are you still clinging to your past life of sin? Put it off, and allow God to renew your mind so that you can live the righteous, holy life that God wants. Think About It.

Trust God?

²⁰ He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; ²¹ And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. ²² And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. ²³ Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; ²⁴ But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; ²⁵ Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

-Romans 4:20-25 (KJV)

We continue to read and study about Abraham, some 4000 years after he died, because of his great faith in God. In Romans 4, Paul is teaching that Abraham was made right in God's sight because of his faith. We see, in the life of Abraham, numerous times that he trusted God and took God at His word. 

Verses 20-21 says, "He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform." Paul is writing about God's promise to give Abraham his own son, one that would be his heir to his estate. Abraham was strong in his faith in God's promise, knowing that what God promised, God was going to deliver. We need to have faith like that. In our world, we get what we want when we want it. In America, we have the luxury to get whatever we desire at the swipe of a credit card. We've not grown accustomed to trusting God to provide for our needs. Yet He does. And those who trust Him are rewarded. Maybe that is why our faith today is not a strong faith. Instead, it is a faith that wavers and is caught up by any kind of teaching that sounds like what we want to hear. Our faith is not strong today because we don't have a trust in God. Trusting in God is something our ancestors had to do. Now, we can go into Walmart and purchase any kind of food we want. Our ancestors had to hunt and kill what they wanted. We can get in our cars and drive wherever we want in North America. We have the notion that we are self supporting, and we need nothing from anyone. But, God still provides. He still provides for you and me. The problem is that we don't recognize when God provides. Abraham had a strong faith in God, and he trusted God and knew that what God promised, God delivered.

Verse 23 "And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness." Because of his faith in God, his faith was counted as righteousness. Righteousness means that we are without guilt or sin. Because of his faith, Abraham was without guilt or sin. But, it gets even better. Look at verses 23-25, "Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;  But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;  Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification." Abraham is not only credited with righteousness because of his faith, but you and I are as well. When we put our faith in Him, in God, in Jesus, we become righteous, we become without guilt or shame. That's a promise form God, and God keeps His promises and fulfills His promises. Have you put your faith in Jesus today? Think About It. 

Beauty Is Only Skin Deep

³⁹ Then the Lord said to him, “You Pharisees are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and wickedness! ⁴⁰ Fools! Didn’t God make the inside as well as the outside? ⁴¹ So clean the inside by giving gifts to the poor, and you will be clean all over.

⁴² “What sorrow awaits you Pharisees! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore justice and the love of God. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things.

⁴³ “What sorrow awaits you Pharisees! For you love to sit in the seats of honor in the synagogues and receive respectful greetings as you walk in the marketplaces. ⁴⁴ Yes, what sorrow awaits you! For you are like hidden graves in a field. People walk over them without knowing the corruption they are stepping on.”

-Luke 11:39-44 (NLT)

Jesus was challenging the Pharisees of His day. Remember, the Pharisees were the religious leaders of His time. If anyone should have lived the Christian life, it should have been them. If you spend any time at all reading the Gospels, you'll find several times when Jesus challenged the Pharisees. He challenged the way they lived their lives.In this section, I see where Jesus challenges their lifestyle in three different areas. Over the next three days, we'll dig into each one and see if we imitate the example of the Pharisees. Let's look at this encounter.

Verse 39 says, "Then the Lord said to him, You Pharisees are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are filthy-full of greed and wickedness." Jesus was challenging them in that it is not what is on the outside that counts, but what is on the inside. On the outside, they may have appeared to be righteous, but on the inside, they were full of "greed and wickedness." They spent time making sure they had the righteous appearance, not making sure that they were actually right with God on the inside. It's a problem we all face. We want others to look at us and think that we are living the Christian life, but on the inside, we are living far apart from God.  

I remember when I was in high school (22 years ago) there was a saying that said, "Beauty is only skin deep, but ugly is clear to the bone." I think this passage sums that saying up well. The religious leaders beauty was only skin deep. Jesus warned in Matthew 5:20 "“But I warn you—unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven!" The reason Jesus warned about the righteousness of the Pharisees is because their righteousness was based on outward appearance. If we first "clean up" our inside, meaning allowing Jesus to come in and change us, then our outward appearance will prove the inside changes. Does that make sense? If you allow Jesus to change you from the inside out, your outward appearance will be a result of the changes inside. One of the things I've been teaching on Talkin' Scripture is that we must allow God to transform our minds, so that we can prove and live the Will of God for our lives. If you don't allow your mind to be transformed from being like the world, to following Jesus, then you'll never be able to live the Will of God for your life. Why? Because your mind is not lined up with God and His Will. So then, you'll go through life, doing things that were not part of His plan, and never fulfilling the Will of God. But, when your mind is transformed, then your outward appearance will reflect the change within. 

Are you more concerned about covering up the fact that you are living apart from God? Is the way others see you more important than the way God sees you? Don't let your relationship with Jesus be only skin deep, allow Him to change you from the inside out. Think About It.