Steps To The New Person

 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 (King James Version)

One thing I speak about often, especially on Talkin' Scripture, is the fact that we must not be the same people we were before we met Jesus. There must be a change. Paul writes about this topic in Ephesians 4.

We read this in Ephesians 4:22-24, "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." What we find in these verses is the steps to becoming who God wants you to be. I'm sure that is a goal of yours, as it is mine, to become the person that God desires, and that Jesus paid for in His death on the cross. 

Step 1: Put Off The Old Life

Verse 22 says, "That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts." Before we can commit to becoming the person God wants, we must put off our old life. We must put to death the sin nature found in each of us. We choose each day what we will serve. We choose to follow God and His ways, and we choose to allow sin to control us. Paul tells us to "put off concerning the former conversation the old man." We must put off, or do away with, the control of sin in our lives. Jesus paid for it with His death, you left it at the altar when you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, so why pick it up and take it with you again? Our old nature is corrupt, and should have no part in our life with Christ.

Step 2: Renew Your Mind

Verse 23 says, "And be renewed in the spirit of your mind." If you are going to put off the old ways, then you must allow God to transform your mind. (Romans 12:1-2). If you don't allow God to transform your thought pattern, you'll keep going back to the old ways of life. Over and over again. You can never truly rid yourself of your old life unless you allow God to change your thought pattern. Paul writes in Colossians 3:2 " Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth." Set your mind and thoughts on the things of God, and take it off the things of this world.

Step 3: Put On The New Life

Verse 24 says, "And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." Finally, after you've taken off the old man, you must put on the new man. Notice, the old man is corrupt because of deceitful lusts, but the new man is created after God. You can't wear both the old man and the new man. You can only begin to live for God after you've done away with the old man, and had your mind transformed from the world's perspective to God's perspective.

Use these steps, as found in Ephesians 4, to help spur you growth into the person that God desires, and that Jesus paid for on the cross. Think About It.

Sin is Sin

My child, if sinners entice you,
    turn your back on them!
My child, don’t go along with them!
    Stay far away from their paths.
¹⁶ They rush to commit evil deeds.
    They hurry to commit murder.
¹⁷ If a bird sees a trap being set,
    it knows to stay away.
¹⁸ But these people set an ambush for themselves;
    they are trying to get themselves killed.
¹⁹ Such is the fate of all who are greedy for money;
    it robs them of life.
-Proverbs 1:10, 15-19 (NLT)


I'm certain that if we are honest with ourselves, all of us has a sin problem. We all make mistakes, we all fail at times. I've heard some people say that there is a difference between a willful sin and a sin is the result of a situation you're in. I don't subscribe to that theory. Here is why: If you put yourself in a situation that may cause you to sin, then you've willfully put yourself there. Just like there is no degrees of sin (they are all wrong, no matter what), I don't believe that there are types of sin. Sin is sin, and it is time we stop trying to cover it up, or make it look better. You can put makeup and a wig on a pig, but it is still a pig.


The writer of Proverbs 1 writes about sin, and gives practical advice on how to stay away from it. Verse 10 says, "My child, if sinners entice you, turn your back on them!" Wow, that is a bold move. If sinners call out to you to join you in their sin, we need to look the other way. All too often, though, we just turn and look to make sure no one sees us going with them. Verse 15 warns us, "My child, don't go along with them! Stay far from their paths." Don't run to join in the folly of sin, we need to stay away. Sin can't entice you if you're not looking for it. It's like what James wrote about in James 1:14-15, "¹⁴ Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. ¹⁵ These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death." The temptation to sin comes from inside you. You are enticed by your own desire to sin. But, if you turn your back on sin, and stay away from it, it will die. Think of it this way. Something will die. Either it is your sin nature that will die and you will inherit eternal life through Jesus Christ, or you will die in your sin nature, and be eternally separated from Jesus in a place called Hell. 


Friends, it's time we take a stand and call sin what it is. It's time we get serious about our faith in Jesus and start running away from sin and into the arms of a loving God. Are you ready to do that? Think About It.

Right, Wrong & Sin

I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate.
-Romans 7:15 (NLT)

At work the other day, we had our annual Drug Free Workplace meeting. A total waste of an hour, but at least I got paid for sitting there and listen to someone describe drugs, how to tell if someone is on drugs and what to do about it. On a side note about the meeting, most of the symptoms of drug use are the same as that of the flu or common cold. Now, every time someone sneezes or coughs, my first thought will be, are they on drugs? Well, maybe not, but I thought that was interesting.


During the segment on alcohol, the speaker said that no one ever really gets totally free from drinking alcohol or smoking. She said many people can go for years and years without drinking or smoking. But, when they cave in just one time to the desire for alcohol or smoking, then it "tastes better than ever." As she was talking about this, my thoughts were about sin. I've been writing a lot about sin lately. I started thinking about my struggle with sin. Each of us deals with sin, and must keep ourselves from falling into sin. And when we do fall, sin "tastes better than ever."


I think the words of Paul in Romans 7:15 says it all. "I don't really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don't do it. Instead, I do what I hate." We try to do what God's called us to do, but we fail. We keep falling into sin over and over again. We must not give into sin. We must not allow sin to control our lives. If you smoke, then the nicotine in cigarettes is what controls you. If you're an alcoholic, the alcohol controls you. If you're a drug user, then drugs control you. If you're a liar, then the lie controls you. It you're a sex addict, then the pleasure of sex controls you. If you're a gambler, then gambling controls you. The list goes on and on. Paul says in Romans 6:16, "Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living." That sin that you hold on to and obey, that is what you're a slave to. The question is, will you continue doing what you don't want to do? Or, will you start to obey God and do what He's called you to do? Think About It. 

Talkin' Scripture: Your Mind

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Heart Attack!

¹⁷ “Anything you eat passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer. ¹⁸ But the words you speak come from the heart—that’s what defiles you. ¹⁹ For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander. ²⁰ These are what defile you. Eating with unwashed hands will never defile you.”
-Matthew 15:17-20 (NLT)


I was browsing my news feed the other day on Facebook, and a picture of Rick Santorum (you know, a candidate for President) was eating ribs. The caption for the picture quoted Leviticus 11:7, which says, "And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be clovenfooted, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you." What does this have to do with eating ribs. I like ribs, bbq'd and grilled, you can't do much better than that. The point they were trying to make was that, according to the Bible, we should not eat pork. That was correct, for the Jews in the Old Testament. We are not under the OT Law, because Jesus fulfilled the requirements. Look at the words of Jesus in Matthew 15:17-20.


"Anything you eat passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer. ¹⁸ But the words you speak come from the heart—that’s what defiles you. ¹⁹ For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander. ²⁰ These are what defile you. Eating with unwashed hands will never defile you." 


It doesn't matter what we eat, eventually it's going down the drain anyway. What maters is what comes out of the heart. Look at the things Jesus says comes from the heart, in verse 19, "For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander." This is list of the evils that defile us, and all of them have their source in the heart. These, also, are some of the marks of the sinful nature. They have their start in the heart. James writes about this in James 1:14-15, "¹⁴ Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. ¹⁵ These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death." I think that these sinful desires start in the mind, but end up in the heart and leads to sin. Look at the pattern James describes here. Temptation comes from our own desires. Our desires grow and drags us away from the truth. They lead to sinful actions. When sin takes over, it leads to spiritual death. What's dragging you down today? 


Since we've established that these sinful desires Jesus talks about in Matthew 15:19 come from the heart, I believe that the good things of God comes from the heart as well. In Galatians 5, Paul writes about the fruit of the Spirit. Galatians 5:22-23 says, "²² But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!" Since your heart can produce sinful things like adultery, theft and lying, it can produce the good things like love, kindness and self control. The question is: Who controls your heart? Is it God, or is it the devil? Think About It. 

Sheep, Goats & Sin

⁷Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.

 ⁸And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:

 ⁹Of sin, because they believe not on me;

 ¹⁰Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;

 ¹¹Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.

-John 16:7-11 (KJV)

Yesterday, we talked about how the Spirit will convince the world of sin, or righteousness and of judgment. Today, I want to take a look at these verses again, and dig a little deeper.

Jesus said, in verse 8, "And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness and of judgment:" He is talking about the Comforter, the Holy Spirit. The Spirit will convict us of sin (the reason why we need a Savior), convict us of righteousness (that we are not right with God because of sin) and convict us of judgment (where we learn our fate because of sin). Look, now, at verse 9, "Of sin, because they believe not on me;" Jesus, talking on sin, didn't give a list of sins, but instead reveals what the worst sin could possibly be. You've probably heard people talk about the unpardonable sin. What is it? It is rejecting Jesus as your Savior.

Jesus said that part of the work of the Spirit is to convict or convince the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment. He says in verse 9, "Of sin, because they believe not on me;" The Spirit will convince us of our sin of rejecting Jesus. The Spirit is sent to convict sinners of their sin. The Spirit is sent to reveal our need for a Savior, and how we cannot attain forgiveness through any other means than through Jesus. Here is where the rubber meets the road. We are born into a life of sin, we are born into a fallen world, a world that cares more about itself than it does about Jesus. Because of sin, we are separated from God. Jesus came to pay the penalty of sin, so that we can be right with God. Romans 10:9-10 teach us how to be saved from sin. Here is the issue. Many people say they believe in Jesus, that they gave their life to Him, yet remain unchanged from how they lived. Paul writes about our lives lived in sin, and our lives guided by the Holy Spirit. It's found in Galatians 5:16-24, 

"¹⁶ So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. ¹⁷ The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. ¹⁸ But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.

 ¹⁹ When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, ²¹ envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

 ²² But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

 ²⁴ Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. (NLT)"

Look at the lists provided. Which does your life follow more? Is it that of the sin nature? Or is it that of the guidance of the Holy Spirit. One more thing to look at before we're done for the day. A true follower of Jesus, one who truly gives everything to Jesus, will be changed. There will be a difference. One of the things Jesus taught, in John 3, was about darkness and light. Darkness always represents sin, while light always represents Jesus. If you claim Jesus, then you should be walking in the light, walking in the path of God. Yet, if your life is still controlled by sin, then you are walking in darkness. Darkness and light cannot coexist. You cannot have darkness and light in the same room. You cannot have sin and Jesus in the same life. It's one or the other. Your life reflects whatever you're walking in. If you are walking in sin, your life will show it. If you're walking in Jesus, your life will show it. No where in Scripture is it shown better than in Matthew 25:31-46.

³¹ “But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. ³² All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³ He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left.

 ³⁴ “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. ³⁶ I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’
 ³⁷ “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? ³⁹ When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’
 ⁴⁰ “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’
 ⁴¹ “Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. ⁴² For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink. ⁴³ I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’
 ⁴⁴ “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’
 ⁴⁵ “And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’
 ⁴⁶ “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.” (NLT)

Notice the sheep and goats he is talking about. Those who are living a life led by the Holy Spirit are those Jesus describes in verses 34-36. Those who are living a life led by the sin nature are those Jesus describes in verses 41-43. Their final destination is the eternal fire prepared for the devil. So, the question for today is this: Are you living life being led by the Spirit? Or are you living life being led by the sin nature? Think About It. 

Sin Nature

 ¹⁹ When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, ²¹ envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
-Galatians 5:19-21 (NLT)


Earlier in the week, I identified sin as not loving God with all your heart, soul and mind, and not loving your neighbor as yourself. I came to that conclusion from Matthew 22:36-40. Jesus said that the entire law is based on those two commandments. I was thinking about about that today, and thinking about the lists of the desires of our sinful nature that Paul writes about here in Galatians 5. 


Look at the list he provides. Each and every one of them comes from either not loving God (impurity, idolatry, sorcery, drunkenness, etc.) or not loving others (sexual immorality, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, selfish ambition, envy, etc). Truthfully, I never looked at this list in that way before. Paul is basically putting the words of Jesus into practical terms, showing people where they miss the mark. Paul says, at the end over verse 21, "Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God." These are the sinful desires that try to control our lives, and these are the things that we need to rid from our lives. Paul writes in verses 16-17, "So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. ¹⁷ The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions." How can we rid sin from our lives? Let the Spirit guide your life. Follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, look to Him for direction, and then follow through. When your eyes are focused on Him, then you will not fulfill the desires of your sin nature. Are you ready to rid your lives of the sin nature? Are you tired of trying to do what is right only to be sidetracked by your sinful desires? Give your life over to the Spirit, and allow Him to lead you and guide you in the paths of God. Think About It.