WEBVTT 00:00:12.330 --> 00:00:14.609 Would you open the Word of God with me, please, 00:00:14.630 --> 00:00:19.370 to Ephesians chapter 4, where our text today 00:00:19.370 --> 00:00:27.449 is verses 20 through 24. How to walk is something 00:00:27.449 --> 00:00:32.369 we must all learn in our early days. We learn 00:00:32.369 --> 00:00:35.950 to walk basically in three ways. First of all, 00:00:35.950 --> 00:00:40.810 by watching others. Trying to avoid those big 00:00:40.810 --> 00:00:44.869 feet that you see around you as they, mom and 00:00:44.869 --> 00:00:48.070 dad, march across the floor. And suddenly begin 00:00:48.070 --> 00:00:50.729 to realize as an infant that they move faster 00:00:50.729 --> 00:00:54.210 than you do with that callus on your tummy and 00:00:54.210 --> 00:00:57.549 on your knees. And you begin to look and see 00:00:57.549 --> 00:01:02.329 that they walk on their legs. By watching, you 00:01:02.329 --> 00:01:07.349 learn to walk. And then by experimentation. As 00:01:07.349 --> 00:01:10.290 they say, practice makes perfect. In between 00:01:10.290 --> 00:01:12.890 the stitches on the forehead and the bruises 00:01:12.890 --> 00:01:16.670 that appear on the body, practice makes perfect. 00:01:17.129 --> 00:01:20.510 And so that little one that you once were got 00:01:20.510 --> 00:01:25.510 up and began to try to walk. But thirdly, there 00:01:25.510 --> 00:01:28.609 was training. There was instruction given. Maybe 00:01:28.609 --> 00:01:32.230 it was Daddy who put that little child that you 00:01:32.230 --> 00:01:34.650 were over beside the coffee table and said, now 00:01:34.650 --> 00:01:38.129 come to Daddy. And held out those arms. And as 00:01:38.129 --> 00:01:41.549 that child fell forward, that was not a fall. 00:01:41.709 --> 00:01:45.609 That was the first step, you see. And so Daddy 00:01:45.609 --> 00:01:48.129 keeps instructing. This is how you do it. This 00:01:48.129 --> 00:01:50.269 is how you walk. And you take the little child 00:01:50.269 --> 00:01:56.250 and hold him and let him move his legs. And in 00:01:56.250 --> 00:01:59.129 that way, the child learns to walk. By example, 00:01:59.290 --> 00:02:05.019 by experimentation, and by instruction. This 00:02:05.019 --> 00:02:08.340 part of the book of Ephesians tells us as Christians 00:02:08.340 --> 00:02:13.180 how to walk. That's the theme of chapters 4, 00:02:13.340 --> 00:02:17.400 5, and 6. What our behavior, that is, should 00:02:17.400 --> 00:02:21.520 be like as God's children. God wants us to know 00:02:21.520 --> 00:02:25.240 how to walk, how to conduct ourselves as believers. 00:02:25.539 --> 00:02:28.599 And that walk is something that we must learn, 00:02:28.719 --> 00:02:32.389 and we learn it by three things. We learn it 00:02:32.389 --> 00:02:34.849 in the first place by the example of others. 00:02:34.930 --> 00:02:38.270 We watch others to see how we should conduct 00:02:38.270 --> 00:02:42.909 ourselves as believers. The Apostle Paul exhorted 00:02:42.909 --> 00:02:46.389 those whom he won to Christ to follow his example, 00:02:46.629 --> 00:02:51.669 to walk as he did. And then we learn also by 00:02:51.669 --> 00:02:55.449 experimentation. We try things, some succeed, 00:02:55.689 --> 00:02:58.930 some fail. By the way, never be afraid to try 00:02:58.930 --> 00:03:02.710 something. just because you might fail. There 00:03:02.710 --> 00:03:04.789 are times that we learn more in our failures 00:03:04.789 --> 00:03:08.610 than in our successes, don't we? And so you and 00:03:08.610 --> 00:03:11.430 I learn to behave as believers by experimentation. 00:03:13.389 --> 00:03:16.650 But then we learn thirdly by instruction, instruction 00:03:16.650 --> 00:03:21.509 that is from the Word of God. It is that particular 00:03:21.509 --> 00:03:24.770 point that is emphasized in our text today, this 00:03:24.770 --> 00:03:27.810 matter of being taught, being instructed in the 00:03:27.810 --> 00:03:30.949 things of the Lord. He says, beginning in verse 00:03:30.949 --> 00:03:34.969 20, But you did not learn Christ in this way, 00:03:35.110 --> 00:03:38.270 that is, the way of the world which he has just 00:03:38.270 --> 00:03:42.009 described, the pagan way of life. You did not 00:03:42.009 --> 00:03:45.770 learn Christ in this way, if indeed, or better 00:03:45.770 --> 00:03:49.870 since indeed, you have heard him and have been 00:03:49.870 --> 00:03:54.509 taught in him, just as truth is in Jesus, that 00:03:54.509 --> 00:03:58.030 in reference to your former manner of life, you 00:03:58.030 --> 00:04:02.050 lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted 00:04:02.050 --> 00:04:06.090 in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that 00:04:06.090 --> 00:04:11.069 you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and 00:04:11.069 --> 00:04:13.729 put on the new self, which in the likeness of 00:04:13.729 --> 00:04:18.230 God has been created in righteousness and holiness 00:04:18.230 --> 00:04:23.930 of the truth. What we have learned by having 00:04:23.930 --> 00:04:29.779 heard Christ And by having been taught in him 00:04:29.779 --> 00:04:35.259 is how we are to conduct ourselves. I want to 00:04:35.259 --> 00:04:37.740 point out to you those words, those interesting 00:04:37.740 --> 00:04:41.779 words that are found in verse 21. Paul says to 00:04:41.779 --> 00:04:47.699 these Ephesians, you have heard him. Not about 00:04:47.699 --> 00:04:52.939 him, but he says you have heard Christ. The same 00:04:52.939 --> 00:04:56.899 thing can be said to you today. If you have attended 00:04:56.899 --> 00:05:01.720 a Bible preaching church. For we hear Christ 00:05:01.720 --> 00:05:06.160 speaking when we read and hear the word of God. 00:05:06.220 --> 00:05:10.500 That is what Paul is saying. He says to them, 00:05:10.519 --> 00:05:13.800 you heard Christ. When? When Paul taught them 00:05:13.800 --> 00:05:17.899 the Bible. And he says, you have been instructed. 00:05:18.540 --> 00:05:23.720 You have been taught in him. Just as truth is 00:05:23.720 --> 00:05:27.699 in Jesus. So we are gathered here today to see 00:05:27.699 --> 00:05:32.959 what Jesus Christ would tell us. I believe that 00:05:32.959 --> 00:05:35.339 what we need to learn is just what the Ephesians 00:05:35.339 --> 00:05:38.220 had learned, and that is the truth about ourselves. 00:05:40.060 --> 00:05:42.800 Understanding the truth about ourselves will 00:05:42.800 --> 00:05:48.680 enhance our walking worthy as God's called -out 00:05:48.680 --> 00:05:53.519 children. You see, what you know determines how 00:05:53.519 --> 00:05:58.670 you live. Did you realize that? What you know 00:05:58.670 --> 00:06:02.230 determines how you live. Now, by know, I don't 00:06:02.230 --> 00:06:07.290 mean just knowing intellectually. By know, I 00:06:07.290 --> 00:06:09.829 mean that which the Spirit of God has written 00:06:09.829 --> 00:06:13.910 on your heart, that which you have actually been 00:06:13.910 --> 00:06:19.490 taught by Him, not in a classroom, in a college, 00:06:19.589 --> 00:06:23.009 or in a Sunday school, or even in the sanctuary 00:06:23.009 --> 00:06:26.540 of the church. but rather what you have been 00:06:26.540 --> 00:06:29.600 taught by him and you know from the classroom 00:06:29.600 --> 00:06:34.220 of your communion with Christ and the classroom 00:06:34.220 --> 00:06:39.060 of your daily experience with him. What you know 00:06:39.060 --> 00:06:43.720 determines how you live. Paul has told us already 00:06:43.720 --> 00:06:48.319 that the pagans are ignorant and are darkened, 00:06:48.319 --> 00:06:53.000 therefore they are sensual. But Christians are 00:06:53.000 --> 00:06:57.939 not so. There are two truths that every child 00:06:57.939 --> 00:07:03.860 of God needs to be taught by the Spirit. As we 00:07:03.860 --> 00:07:08.220 know these truths, we will live the way God wants 00:07:08.220 --> 00:07:12.079 us to live. The first truth is the truth about 00:07:12.079 --> 00:07:17.740 the old self, the old man. He mentions that individual, 00:07:18.180 --> 00:07:22.860 that person in verse 22. What does Paul mean 00:07:22.860 --> 00:07:26.699 when he talks about the old self or the old man? 00:07:28.639 --> 00:07:31.459 The answer to that is this. Paul is referring 00:07:31.459 --> 00:07:39.540 to all that you were before being saved. The 00:07:39.540 --> 00:07:45.139 old man is the you that was in Adam. It is the 00:07:45.139 --> 00:07:48.019 person or the essential being that you were by 00:07:48.019 --> 00:07:52.300 your natural birth into the world. That is your 00:07:52.300 --> 00:07:58.339 essential identity as one who is lost and unregenerate, 00:07:58.360 --> 00:08:03.220 one who is a child of sin and of the devil. That 00:08:03.220 --> 00:08:07.500 is the old self. Now I want to say before I go 00:08:07.500 --> 00:08:09.939 any further that if you do not know Jesus Christ 00:08:09.939 --> 00:08:14.800 as your Savior, this is the only self there is 00:08:14.800 --> 00:08:18.379 for you. You are still what is called here the 00:08:18.379 --> 00:08:22.740 old self for the Christian. You are still lost 00:08:22.740 --> 00:08:26.860 in your sin. And your essential identity is with 00:08:26.860 --> 00:08:31.980 Adam and with sin and death. And you are in need 00:08:31.980 --> 00:08:36.720 of being saved. But for those who have trusted 00:08:36.720 --> 00:08:40.220 the Lord Jesus Christ, we can speak of this self 00:08:40.220 --> 00:08:45.120 in Adam as the old man, the old self. Now what 00:08:45.120 --> 00:08:48.500 does he say about the old self here? Well, he 00:08:48.500 --> 00:08:54.169 says, you lay aside. the old self to lay aside 00:08:54.169 --> 00:08:57.889 means to put off to remove as though you were 00:08:57.889 --> 00:09:02.389 removing garments or clothing he says you lay 00:09:02.389 --> 00:09:07.370 aside take it off get it away from you now the 00:09:07.370 --> 00:09:10.070 question that really is brought to us in the 00:09:10.070 --> 00:09:15.470 text here is is paul commanding us to lay aside 00:09:15.470 --> 00:09:19.909 the old self Or is he reminding us that we have? 00:09:21.389 --> 00:09:24.490 Now it goes down to the verb, of course, that 00:09:24.490 --> 00:09:30.710 Paul writes here. It is an infinitive, and it's 00:09:30.710 --> 00:09:32.990 aorist. Now that doesn't mean anything to you 00:09:32.990 --> 00:09:34.669 unless you have studied something of the Greek 00:09:34.669 --> 00:09:40.289 language. But grammatically, grammatically speaking, 00:09:40.490 --> 00:09:45.049 this verb here can be rendered, and I think should 00:09:45.049 --> 00:09:48.500 be rendered, as something that has taken place 00:09:48.500 --> 00:09:53.220 in the past and it's complete. That is the way, 00:09:53.220 --> 00:09:57.259 for example, that Kenneth Wiest took it. He was 00:09:57.259 --> 00:09:59.539 a Greek scholar who taught for many years at 00:09:59.539 --> 00:10:03.320 the Moody Bible Institute. He says it means you 00:10:03.320 --> 00:10:09.460 have put off once and for all the old self. John 00:10:09.460 --> 00:10:13.100 Murray and Lewis Sperry Schaeffer Likewise, say 00:10:13.100 --> 00:10:15.740 that this is past action completed, and they 00:10:15.740 --> 00:10:21.139 put it this way, you did lay aside the old self. 00:10:21.419 --> 00:10:24.000 And so I don't think that the New American Standard 00:10:24.000 --> 00:10:27.480 Version, which I'm using, or most of the other 00:10:27.480 --> 00:10:29.960 English versions, really treat this verb in the 00:10:29.960 --> 00:10:33.679 right way. Because I believe that what the Apostle 00:10:33.679 --> 00:10:35.899 is saying here is this, that at the point of 00:10:35.899 --> 00:10:41.009 salvation, The Christian did lay aside the old 00:10:41.009 --> 00:10:46.409 self. Now that agrees with the parallel passage 00:10:46.409 --> 00:10:50.570 to Ephesians 4, and that's Colossians 3. I'd 00:10:50.570 --> 00:10:53.049 like you to turn over there with me, and notice 00:10:53.049 --> 00:10:55.370 that the apostle says something very similar. 00:10:55.450 --> 00:10:59.129 It's really a different verb. He writes it differently, 00:10:59.250 --> 00:11:02.710 grammatically. But I believe the truth is intended 00:11:02.710 --> 00:11:09.129 to be the same. Colossians 3 and verse 9. He 00:11:09.129 --> 00:11:16.570 said, Do not lie to one another. Now why? Since 00:11:16.570 --> 00:11:23.210 you laid aside the old self with its evil practices. 00:11:23.970 --> 00:11:27.750 Now here there is no question that he's talking 00:11:27.750 --> 00:11:31.490 about a past event that has once and for all 00:11:31.490 --> 00:11:35.139 been completed. Now, if there is some question 00:11:35.139 --> 00:11:37.820 as to how Ephesians 4 should be rendered, I think 00:11:37.820 --> 00:11:43.080 Colossians 3 .9 solves the problem for us. Paul 00:11:43.080 --> 00:11:45.480 is not going to, in one place, command us to 00:11:45.480 --> 00:11:47.600 do something that in another place, he says, 00:11:47.679 --> 00:11:51.419 has already been done. So the point is this, 00:11:51.419 --> 00:11:53.899 that Paul is telling us, going back now to Ephesians 00:11:53.899 --> 00:11:59.759 4, that we laid aside, we did lay aside the old 00:11:59.759 --> 00:12:03.580 self once and for all. When? At the moment that 00:12:03.580 --> 00:12:07.820 we were saved. Now the point that Paul is making 00:12:07.820 --> 00:12:11.960 here is this. Why should you and I walk worthy 00:12:11.960 --> 00:12:14.460 as he has commanded us to earlier in this chapter? 00:12:15.779 --> 00:12:19.779 Why should we walk no longer like the pagans 00:12:19.779 --> 00:12:23.360 as we talked last Sunday? Here's the answer. 00:12:24.299 --> 00:12:30.159 Because you are no longer what you were. Therefore, 00:12:30.220 --> 00:12:34.279 don't revert to a manner of life which does not 00:12:34.279 --> 00:12:39.700 represent the true you as you are now, because 00:12:39.700 --> 00:12:44.899 you laid aside that old man when you trusted 00:12:44.899 --> 00:12:49.019 Jesus Christ as your Savior. So don't live a 00:12:49.019 --> 00:12:51.779 manner of life that corresponds to what you were. 00:12:52.940 --> 00:12:56.820 What a tragedy that would be. But he goes on 00:12:56.820 --> 00:12:59.639 to say, live like the new person that you are 00:12:59.639 --> 00:13:04.340 in Jesus Christ. Now there's another passage 00:13:04.340 --> 00:13:06.399 that I want to look at in connection with this, 00:13:06.440 --> 00:13:08.860 because it too is parallel. It's Romans chapter 00:13:08.860 --> 00:13:14.940 6, where the apostle speaks about this old man, 00:13:15.039 --> 00:13:18.200 or the old self, once more. Look in verse 6. 00:13:24.590 --> 00:13:28.350 He says, knowing this. Now what do we begin by 00:13:28.350 --> 00:13:32.789 saying? What you know determines how you live. 00:13:33.350 --> 00:13:36.169 Paul is saying this is something you must know. 00:13:37.789 --> 00:13:45.309 That our old self was crucified with him. That 00:13:45.309 --> 00:13:48.389 our body of sin might be done away with. That 00:13:48.389 --> 00:13:52.840 is rendered powerless, inoperative. That we should 00:13:52.840 --> 00:13:56.820 no longer be slaves to sin. For he who has died 00:13:56.820 --> 00:14:02.840 is freed from sin. What is Paul saying to us 00:14:02.840 --> 00:14:04.960 in Romans chapter 6? Essentially the same thing 00:14:04.960 --> 00:14:08.899 as he says in Ephesians 4 and Colossians 3. And 00:14:08.899 --> 00:14:11.879 that is that that old man, that old self that 00:14:11.879 --> 00:14:17.720 you were in Adam, was put to death. It was executed 00:14:17.720 --> 00:14:22.539 at the cross. who was crucified with Jesus Christ, 00:14:22.840 --> 00:14:27.659 that sin within you might be dealt with, that 00:14:27.659 --> 00:14:30.379 you might no longer be slaves to it as you once 00:14:30.379 --> 00:14:35.039 were, but now you have the capacity by the power 00:14:35.039 --> 00:14:39.740 of God to say no to those sinful impulses within 00:14:39.740 --> 00:14:43.320 you because you're a new person now. You are 00:14:43.320 --> 00:14:46.279 not what you used to be. You're something new. 00:14:47.919 --> 00:14:52.100 Going back to Ephesians, the Apostle says to 00:14:52.100 --> 00:14:56.120 us that that old self is corrupting. It seems 00:14:56.120 --> 00:14:59.120 to be pictured here as a corpse that is decaying, 00:14:59.120 --> 00:15:05.019 that is growing increasingly putrid. He tells 00:15:05.019 --> 00:15:07.820 us that that is ripe for being discarded, for 00:15:07.820 --> 00:15:11.580 being laid aside. It is becoming rotten waste. 00:15:13.299 --> 00:15:17.299 He says that it is dominated by deceitful lusts. 00:15:18.570 --> 00:15:23.610 Sin works in it to entice, saying sin will satisfy, 00:15:23.710 --> 00:15:27.970 but it never does. It's deceitful. And so the 00:15:27.970 --> 00:15:30.470 apostle says, have nothing to do with this whole 00:15:30.470 --> 00:15:36.909 mess any longer. There was a time in one civilization 00:15:36.909 --> 00:15:42.309 when there was an abhorrent punishment for murder. 00:15:45.450 --> 00:15:50.000 If a man killed another, His punishment was that 00:15:50.000 --> 00:15:56.240 the corpse of the dead man was tied to him. He 00:15:56.240 --> 00:15:58.639 was laid down and the corpse was put on top of 00:15:58.639 --> 00:16:01.399 him and across his body that corpse was tied 00:16:01.399 --> 00:16:05.639 with the head right here. And his punishment 00:16:05.639 --> 00:16:08.580 was that he had to bear that corpse until it 00:16:08.580 --> 00:16:16.559 rotted away from his body. Paul is drawing upon 00:16:16.559 --> 00:16:20.120 a picture like that. And he says, don't carry 00:16:20.120 --> 00:16:24.759 that corpse around anymore. That old you have 00:16:24.759 --> 00:16:28.299 nothing to do with it. It is corrupting according 00:16:28.299 --> 00:16:32.100 to the deceitful lusts. Be done with it, he says, 00:16:32.320 --> 00:16:37.580 because you laid it aside at the point of conversion. 00:16:38.960 --> 00:16:43.769 Paul has said to us that truth is in Jesus. One 00:16:43.769 --> 00:16:46.529 truth in Jesus that you and I need to get into 00:16:46.529 --> 00:16:49.090 our hearts, we need to get a hold of is this, 00:16:49.169 --> 00:16:52.710 that at the moment of our salvation we did lay 00:16:52.710 --> 00:16:56.629 aside the old self. Old things passed away. We 00:16:56.629 --> 00:16:59.669 are no longer to have anything to do with that 00:16:59.669 --> 00:17:04.049 which is rotting and corrupting. But the second 00:17:04.049 --> 00:17:08.150 truth in Jesus is the truth about our new self, 00:17:08.269 --> 00:17:13.809 the new man. What is this new self? Well, there 00:17:13.809 --> 00:17:17.190 are some who would say that it is a spark of 00:17:17.190 --> 00:17:21.210 divinity that is in every man and which has been 00:17:21.210 --> 00:17:27.250 fanned into flame. That's baloney. There is not 00:17:27.250 --> 00:17:30.069 a spark of divinity in every man. There is something 00:17:30.069 --> 00:17:34.289 of the image of God in every man, an image that 00:17:34.289 --> 00:17:37.450 has been ruined and marred by the fall into sin. 00:17:38.390 --> 00:17:41.930 But there is no spark of divinity in every man. 00:17:43.789 --> 00:17:48.549 What is this new self that you and I are? Well, 00:17:48.569 --> 00:17:52.750 it's the new creation that we have become. This 00:17:52.750 --> 00:17:55.769 new self is the new identity. It is the new you. 00:17:57.009 --> 00:18:00.630 It is the new person that you have been created 00:18:00.630 --> 00:18:04.569 to be in Christ Jesus. Paul puts it this way 00:18:04.569 --> 00:18:07.710 in Galatians 2 .20. It may be good for us to 00:18:07.710 --> 00:18:09.750 turn back there and look at those words so that 00:18:09.750 --> 00:18:13.259 we see them with our eye gate too. Galatians 00:18:13.259 --> 00:18:21.319 2 .20. Notice he says, I have been crucified 00:18:21.319 --> 00:18:28.599 with Christ. It is no longer I who live. Now 00:18:28.599 --> 00:18:32.380 who is this I? This is the old man. That he was 00:18:32.380 --> 00:18:36.160 an Adam. He says, I, the old I, was crucified. 00:18:37.149 --> 00:18:40.890 with Christ. It is no longer that old I who live, 00:18:41.130 --> 00:18:46.690 but Christ lives in me. And the life which I, 00:18:47.130 --> 00:18:53.009 now here's the new I, the new I, the new self, 00:18:53.250 --> 00:18:58.029 the life which I live now in the flesh, I live 00:18:58.029 --> 00:19:01.589 by faith in the Son of God who loved me and delivered 00:19:01.589 --> 00:19:06.640 himself up for me. Paul is saying that he is 00:19:06.640 --> 00:19:13.680 a new person, that it's Christ in him. That moment 00:19:13.680 --> 00:19:16.740 that you were saved, your old self was executed 00:19:16.740 --> 00:19:23.920 with Jesus Christ. And within you, a new you 00:19:23.920 --> 00:19:31.920 was created. We can say Christ is in you, the 00:19:31.920 --> 00:19:37.779 hope of glory. Christ lives in you, not to dominate 00:19:37.779 --> 00:19:42.500 or submerge your personality, but really to fulfill 00:19:42.500 --> 00:19:47.420 your personality as the new you. Now what does 00:19:47.420 --> 00:19:49.900 the Apostle tell us in our text today about the 00:19:49.900 --> 00:19:54.000 new you? Well, again, we have the same verb form 00:19:54.000 --> 00:19:57.700 used. And so we understand Paul to be saying 00:19:57.700 --> 00:20:02.190 this, you did put on the new self. You did put 00:20:02.190 --> 00:20:07.349 it on once and for all at salvation. And he tells 00:20:07.349 --> 00:20:14.589 us that this new you was created. It was not 00:20:14.589 --> 00:20:16.569 brought into being through self -generation. 00:20:18.849 --> 00:20:21.690 This new you is not the result of turning over 00:20:21.690 --> 00:20:27.089 a new leaf. It is not self -reformation. But 00:20:27.089 --> 00:20:30.250 he's saying literally there was a new you created. 00:20:31.789 --> 00:20:38.509 In Christ Jesus. That's why old things are passed 00:20:38.509 --> 00:20:42.210 away. All things have become new. Because you 00:20:42.210 --> 00:20:46.869 are a new creation. You are a new person. A new 00:20:46.869 --> 00:20:53.930 self. In Jesus Christ. Paul says something similar 00:20:53.930 --> 00:20:56.269 earlier in this epistle. In verse 10 of chapter 00:20:56.269 --> 00:21:01.930 2. When he says we are his workmanship. his poem, 00:21:02.009 --> 00:21:07.690 as it were, created in Christ Jesus for good 00:21:07.690 --> 00:21:13.569 works. We are his work, his work of art, if you 00:21:13.569 --> 00:21:21.890 please, his poema, created in Christ Jesus. Again, 00:21:21.990 --> 00:21:24.410 I point out that this is not the work of yourself. 00:21:25.910 --> 00:21:29.569 This is not... Yours through self -fulfillment 00:21:29.569 --> 00:21:34.670 or self -realization. This is the work of God. 00:21:34.769 --> 00:21:40.130 It is the work of grace. Creating a new you when 00:21:40.130 --> 00:21:44.569 you trusted Jesus Christ. Now he describes this 00:21:44.569 --> 00:21:48.329 new you with terms like these. You were created 00:21:48.329 --> 00:21:52.849 in the likeness of God. That means according 00:21:52.849 --> 00:21:58.319 to what God is like morally. God is the pattern 00:21:58.319 --> 00:22:04.240 for the new you, not the old Adam, which was 00:22:04.240 --> 00:22:06.839 the pattern for the man you were, the person 00:22:06.839 --> 00:22:12.380 you were. But God himself is the pattern for 00:22:12.380 --> 00:22:16.440 the new person that you are. Morally, you have 00:22:16.440 --> 00:22:19.440 been created in the likeness of God, and he gives 00:22:19.440 --> 00:22:21.799 two specific ideas. He says, in righteousness 00:22:21.799 --> 00:22:26.589 and in holiness. Righteousness has to do, first 00:22:26.589 --> 00:22:29.130 of all, with that which is put into our account 00:22:29.130 --> 00:22:34.309 when we're saved. It is imputed to us. At the 00:22:34.309 --> 00:22:36.609 moment that you were created in Christ Jesus, 00:22:36.970 --> 00:22:40.509 there was put into your account in heaven perfect 00:22:40.509 --> 00:22:47.529 righteousness that can never run out. But that 00:22:47.529 --> 00:22:50.309 righteousness also is more than just in a legal 00:22:50.309 --> 00:22:54.180 account. But it's righteousness that God desires 00:22:54.180 --> 00:23:00.160 to work into your life. In your actions of daily 00:23:00.160 --> 00:23:07.839 life. It is your duty to your fellow man. God 00:23:07.839 --> 00:23:11.180 has created you in Christ Jesus, first of all, 00:23:11.180 --> 00:23:15.099 in righteousness. To be a righteous person. Not 00:23:15.099 --> 00:23:17.519 the kind of a person described earlier in these 00:23:17.519 --> 00:23:22.119 verses, like the pagans. Sensual. and greedy, 00:23:22.299 --> 00:23:27.779 and impure, but righteous. That's what God's 00:23:27.779 --> 00:23:32.299 created you to be. And not just righteous, but 00:23:32.299 --> 00:23:35.519 also he has created you in holiness, as a holy 00:23:35.519 --> 00:23:38.960 person. That doesn't mean that you're sinless. 00:23:40.519 --> 00:23:43.180 Though you are a new person in Jesus Christ, 00:23:43.279 --> 00:23:48.059 the power of sin still dwells in you. You still 00:23:48.059 --> 00:23:52.240 have temptations. You still yield to temptations. 00:23:52.240 --> 00:23:57.339 You still do sin. But that does not negate the 00:23:57.339 --> 00:24:00.279 truth that you are a new person in Christ Jesus 00:24:00.279 --> 00:24:05.019 who was created in righteousness and in true 00:24:05.019 --> 00:24:11.460 or holiness of the truth. What does it mean when 00:24:11.460 --> 00:24:13.700 it says that we are created as a holy person? 00:24:13.779 --> 00:24:15.559 It means that you have been created as one who 00:24:15.559 --> 00:24:19.869 has been set apart for God. That's really what 00:24:19.869 --> 00:24:22.130 holiness is all about. It's one who is set apart 00:24:22.130 --> 00:24:26.630 for a special function and purpose. So God has 00:24:26.630 --> 00:24:28.990 created you in righteousness to live differently. 00:24:29.569 --> 00:24:32.230 He has created you to be his own in the midst 00:24:32.230 --> 00:24:34.990 of this world, to set you apart to be different. 00:24:38.710 --> 00:24:42.190 In contrast to the old you, which is decaying, 00:24:42.190 --> 00:24:46.670 he says furthermore that this new you is being 00:24:46.670 --> 00:24:51.769 renewed. Look at verse 23. That you be renewed 00:24:51.769 --> 00:24:58.609 in the spirit of your mind. That new you is being 00:24:58.609 --> 00:25:01.630 constantly sustained by the resurrection power 00:25:01.630 --> 00:25:04.410 of Jesus Christ within you. But in addition to 00:25:04.410 --> 00:25:10.869 that, you as the new you are being continuously 00:25:10.869 --> 00:25:15.900 renewed in the spirit of your mind. that is in 00:25:15.900 --> 00:25:20.960 that inner man which grasps the things of God. 00:25:22.619 --> 00:25:26.140 You are being renewed by the work of God in you. 00:25:26.200 --> 00:25:32.440 He uses the truth to renew you. Warren Wiersbe 00:25:32.440 --> 00:25:36.680 puts it this way in his book, Be Rich. He says, 00:25:36.720 --> 00:25:41.259 conversion is a crisis that leads to a process. 00:25:41.700 --> 00:25:44.890 Through Christ, Once and for all, we have been 00:25:44.890 --> 00:25:49.210 given a new position in his new creation. But 00:25:49.210 --> 00:25:52.029 day by day, we must by faith appropriate what 00:25:52.029 --> 00:25:56.109 he has given us. The word of God renews the mind 00:25:56.109 --> 00:26:02.410 as we surrender our all to him. As the mind understands 00:26:02.410 --> 00:26:07.109 the truth of God's word, it is gradually transformed 00:26:07.109 --> 00:26:12.420 by the spirit. And this renewal leads to a changed 00:26:12.420 --> 00:26:17.900 life. Physically, you are what you eat. But spiritually, 00:26:18.240 --> 00:26:25.519 you are what you think. Proverbs 23, 7, As he 00:26:25.519 --> 00:26:30.220 thinketh in his heart, so is he. This is why 00:26:30.220 --> 00:26:32.539 it is important for us as Christians to spend 00:26:32.539 --> 00:26:36.720 time daily meditating on the word, praying, and 00:26:36.720 --> 00:26:43.500 fellowshipping with Christ. What is being said 00:26:43.500 --> 00:26:47.720 here? It is this, that what you know about yourself 00:26:47.720 --> 00:26:51.940 in your inner man determines how you're going 00:26:51.940 --> 00:26:58.059 to live. How you think about yourself, what you 00:26:58.059 --> 00:27:03.660 allow to be written on your heart as truth, that 00:27:03.660 --> 00:27:08.200 directly impacts your conduct. That's what he's 00:27:08.200 --> 00:27:13.680 saying. And so he says, look, here's what you 00:27:13.680 --> 00:27:18.220 have heard Jesus say. This is what you have been 00:27:18.220 --> 00:27:21.440 taught in him. And the truth is in him. Here's 00:27:21.440 --> 00:27:24.980 the truth about you. First of all, you laid aside 00:27:24.980 --> 00:27:32.700 that old man that you were. Therefore, don't 00:27:32.700 --> 00:27:36.920 identify any longer with it. Don't conform yourself 00:27:36.920 --> 00:27:41.769 to that manner of life. Because you later decide 00:27:41.769 --> 00:27:44.750 it's rotting, it's corrupting, it's decaying. 00:27:44.789 --> 00:27:50.329 Have done with it. He says, secondly, I want 00:27:50.329 --> 00:27:54.750 you to know this truth. That you have been created 00:27:54.750 --> 00:28:00.190 in Christ Jesus as a new person. You are a new 00:28:00.190 --> 00:28:06.509 you in Jesus Christ. Created in righteousness. 00:28:10.759 --> 00:28:18.440 Set apart for God's special purpose. And now 00:28:18.440 --> 00:28:21.599 he says, cause your mind, allow your mind to 00:28:21.599 --> 00:28:26.400 be renewed with this truth. Because as you fill 00:28:26.400 --> 00:28:28.859 your mind with this truth, it will impact the 00:28:28.859 --> 00:28:33.779 way you live. And you will walk worthy in Jesus 00:28:33.779 --> 00:28:39.460 Christ. That's what he's saying. What is it that 00:28:39.460 --> 00:28:42.859 you are allowing to be inscribed on your inner 00:28:42.859 --> 00:28:49.779 man, on the spirit of your mind? What are you 00:28:49.779 --> 00:28:56.599 accepting in your mind as truth? There are some 00:28:56.599 --> 00:29:00.720 of us who are accepting self -destruction as 00:29:00.720 --> 00:29:12.380 truth. And rebellion. and sexual impurity. You 00:29:12.380 --> 00:29:14.200 say, no, wait a minute, I don't accept that as 00:29:14.200 --> 00:29:18.660 truth. But if you fill your mind with it, that's 00:29:18.660 --> 00:29:21.099 what's going to be written on the spirit of your 00:29:21.099 --> 00:29:28.400 mind, on your inner man. That's why there are 00:29:28.400 --> 00:29:30.579 some of us who are so concerned about rock music. 00:29:34.799 --> 00:29:37.339 I don't think that there's a more direct route 00:29:37.339 --> 00:29:42.259 to the spirit of your mind than music. The kind 00:29:42.259 --> 00:29:46.579 of music that you and I listen to. And of course 00:29:46.579 --> 00:29:49.220 it's not just rock music, although that seems 00:29:49.220 --> 00:29:51.640 to be filled especially with self -destruction 00:29:51.640 --> 00:29:56.619 and self -hatred and rebellion and sexual impurity. 00:29:57.819 --> 00:30:00.440 But other kinds of music can be filled with that 00:30:00.440 --> 00:30:04.960 too. Are you allowing that kind of stuff to be 00:30:04.960 --> 00:30:09.480 written into your mind? I want to assure you 00:30:09.480 --> 00:30:11.359 that if you are, that's the way you're going 00:30:11.359 --> 00:30:18.420 to live. Because what you accept as truth about 00:30:18.420 --> 00:30:22.460 yourself and about your world, what you thus 00:30:22.460 --> 00:30:27.759 become, what you come to know, that is going 00:30:27.759 --> 00:30:34.380 to determine how you live. What are you reading 00:30:34.380 --> 00:30:42.900 and accepting as truth? What are you placing 00:30:42.900 --> 00:30:47.740 into your mind? Because it is what is placed 00:30:47.740 --> 00:30:50.480 into our minds and what we thus accept and allow 00:30:50.480 --> 00:30:54.000 to be written there indelibly, what we thus come 00:30:54.000 --> 00:31:00.859 to know that determines how we live. That's why 00:31:00.859 --> 00:31:03.240 Paul says, no, your mind, let it be renewed. 00:31:04.460 --> 00:31:11.480 Renewed. And how is it renewed? By this. This 00:31:11.480 --> 00:31:15.180 is the truth. The truth about ourselves, the 00:31:15.180 --> 00:31:18.539 truth about the world in which we live, the truth 00:31:18.539 --> 00:31:22.480 about values, the truth about the worth of life, 00:31:22.740 --> 00:31:26.759 the truth about standards for living, the truth 00:31:26.759 --> 00:31:32.420 about health and disease. This is truth. And 00:31:32.420 --> 00:31:36.779 that's why the apostle says, be renewing the 00:31:36.779 --> 00:31:42.720 spirit of your mind. That renewing takes place 00:31:42.720 --> 00:31:46.359 as we commune with Jesus Christ in his word. 00:31:48.339 --> 00:31:50.920 The greatest need that I have, the greatest need 00:31:50.920 --> 00:31:57.779 that you have, is to hear Jesus and to be taught 00:31:58.430 --> 00:32:02.190 the truth that is in him. And this is where we 00:32:02.190 --> 00:32:09.009 find it. But so often what we put into our minds 00:32:09.009 --> 00:32:12.710 and the truth that we begin to write in our hearts, 00:32:12.710 --> 00:32:23.349 we get from television, and we get from magazines, 00:32:27.339 --> 00:32:39.160 and videos. And what we begin to put there eventually 00:32:39.160 --> 00:32:45.160 comes out in our actions. I believe the challenge 00:32:45.160 --> 00:32:50.920 of our text today is this. Let the Spirit of 00:32:50.920 --> 00:32:58.440 God tell you the truth about your old self. and 00:32:58.440 --> 00:33:03.880 about your new self. Now that's not going to 00:33:03.880 --> 00:33:05.980 be written deeply on your heart in one sermon, 00:33:06.099 --> 00:33:09.359 I want to assure you of that. But if you can 00:33:09.359 --> 00:33:12.420 somehow get a hold of a piece of that and get 00:33:12.420 --> 00:33:17.400 it down into your spirit of your mind, and if 00:33:17.400 --> 00:33:20.319 you begin seeking after that truth and seeking 00:33:20.319 --> 00:33:23.480 to discover in God's Word the truth that is in 00:33:23.480 --> 00:33:29.190 Jesus, the truth about you, And as you allow 00:33:29.190 --> 00:33:31.569 that to be inscribed on the spirit of your mind, 00:33:31.690 --> 00:33:39.170 it will change your life. And you will begin 00:33:39.170 --> 00:33:41.470 doing just what Paul is instructing us to do 00:33:41.470 --> 00:33:44.430 in this chapter. Walk worthy of the calling with 00:33:44.430 --> 00:33:48.250 which you've been called. Why has Paul spent 00:33:48.250 --> 00:33:50.750 three chapters of this book telling us who we 00:33:50.750 --> 00:33:54.049 are in Jesus Christ? Because that's the truth 00:33:54.049 --> 00:34:02.319 about us. And he wants us to know that truth 00:34:02.319 --> 00:34:08.940 so that it can impact the way that we live. You 00:34:08.940 --> 00:34:11.280 and I have been set free from the slavery to 00:34:11.280 --> 00:34:18.840 sin. Paul says that we have died to it. We have 00:34:18.840 --> 00:34:21.960 been raised with a new master, and that new master 00:34:21.960 --> 00:34:25.940 is Jesus Christ. No longer should we therefore 00:34:25.940 --> 00:34:30.670 go on presenting the members of our bodies to 00:34:30.670 --> 00:34:36.829 sin, to obey sin. But he tells us in Romans 6, 00:34:36.949 --> 00:34:39.130 we ought to present the members of our bodies 00:34:39.130 --> 00:34:48.150 to Christ, to obey and to serve him. Now by the 00:34:48.150 --> 00:34:51.349 members of our bodies, he's talking about the 00:34:51.349 --> 00:34:56.909 members of our bodies, our capacities. But he's 00:34:56.909 --> 00:35:00.599 talking, about more than just that too. He's 00:35:00.599 --> 00:35:05.280 talking about the talents you have. He's talking 00:35:05.280 --> 00:35:08.400 about the resources that God has given you over 00:35:08.400 --> 00:35:14.840 which to be steward. He's talking about the spiritual 00:35:14.840 --> 00:35:19.659 gifts that God has given you. I think he's even 00:35:19.659 --> 00:35:22.960 talking about the potential that is locked up 00:35:22.960 --> 00:35:27.719 inside of your life. What he is saying is, Present 00:35:27.719 --> 00:35:32.739 all of that to God. You have been set free from 00:35:32.739 --> 00:35:37.320 sin, not to do what you want to do now. Understand 00:35:37.320 --> 00:35:43.579 that. But so that you are free to say no to sin 00:35:43.579 --> 00:35:53.019 and to say yes to Jesus Christ. So I have a very 00:35:53.019 --> 00:35:56.519 simple question for you in closing. Will you, 00:35:56.579 --> 00:36:05.739 as the new you today, say yes to Jesus? I don't 00:36:05.739 --> 00:36:11.539 know what sin may be enticing you to do. I don't 00:36:11.539 --> 00:36:16.219 know what that corrupting, decaying mass may 00:36:16.219 --> 00:36:20.539 be deceiving you about. But will you look hard 00:36:20.539 --> 00:36:22.679 at it today and understand the truth about what 00:36:22.679 --> 00:36:28.380 that is? and say no to it? And will you understand 00:36:28.380 --> 00:36:32.179 who you are in Jesus Christ, a new creation, 00:36:32.420 --> 00:36:37.119 a person who has been set free from bondage, 00:36:37.179 --> 00:36:42.300 that you might be a love slave to him? And will 00:36:42.300 --> 00:36:44.880 you say yes to Jesus and to everything he wants 00:36:44.880 --> 00:36:52.280 in your life, whatever the cost? Let's pray together. 00:36:56.619 --> 00:37:02.719 Our heads are bowed, our eyes are closed. Will 00:37:02.719 --> 00:37:11.320 you say yes to Jesus today? Will you hear the 00:37:11.320 --> 00:37:18.559 truth about you? Will you understand what he's 00:37:18.559 --> 00:37:26.590 done for you and what he asks of you now? Present 00:37:26.590 --> 00:37:32.969 yourself as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable 00:37:32.969 --> 00:37:39.650 to God, which is only your reasonable service 00:37:39.650 --> 00:37:46.010 of worship. Will you write where you're seated 00:37:46.010 --> 00:37:51.030 in the quietness of your inner man? Say yes to 00:37:51.030 --> 00:37:54.110 Jesus. Will you say, Lord, whatever you want? 00:37:55.820 --> 00:38:03.079 You've purchased me. I am yours. And I choose 00:38:03.079 --> 00:38:12.000 at this moment to say no to sin. I choose to 00:38:12.000 --> 00:38:15.679 say no to the manner of life associated with 00:38:15.679 --> 00:38:29.380 the old me. Jesus, I say yes to you. Father in 00:38:29.380 --> 00:38:35.480 heaven, I thank you for telling us in the Bible 00:38:35.480 --> 00:38:39.159 the truth, because we live in a world of lies, 00:38:39.340 --> 00:38:46.719 and we are so easily deceived, because we tend 00:38:46.719 --> 00:38:49.340 to judge truth on the basis of how many people 00:38:49.340 --> 00:38:54.400 believe this or that. Help us to understand that 00:38:54.400 --> 00:38:59.599 truth is not in a popularity contest. But the 00:38:59.599 --> 00:39:05.199 truth is what you say. There are some of my brothers 00:39:05.199 --> 00:39:07.199 and sisters here who have been deceived into 00:39:07.199 --> 00:39:11.840 thinking that they can never change. That what 00:39:11.840 --> 00:39:14.860 they have struggled with in their past, in that 00:39:14.860 --> 00:39:20.320 old man, they have to always be. Enable them 00:39:20.320 --> 00:39:25.400 by the Spirit to know the truth and let it make 00:39:25.400 --> 00:39:31.639 a difference. There are some of us on the verge 00:39:31.639 --> 00:39:36.420 of being deceived into sin. Open our eyes that 00:39:36.420 --> 00:39:43.860 we may know the truth. I pray that each of us 00:39:43.860 --> 00:39:49.860 who is in fact a new person in Christ will say 00:39:49.860 --> 00:39:55.159 yes to Jesus today. And the result of that will 00:39:55.159 --> 00:39:59.460 be our walking worthy. of the calling that we 00:39:59.460 --> 00:40:05.320 have in him. And I pray this in his name, in 00:40:05.320 --> 00:40:06.739 Jesus' name. Amen.