Old Nature; new life
Notes
Transcript
Have you ever joined a sports team, or musical group? I want you to imagine signing up for football or choir. The group put on a wonderful mixer where you interacted with people new to the group, as well as experienced old timers. After that mixer you thought, I belong here, and you began immediately to associate yourself with being a football player, or choir member. After hearing the choir director/football coach give their initial instruction, you began to believe that this was the perfect fit for you. After all, you’ve always had a natural inclination to pump weights and scream, so you figured choir was perfect, or in the case of football you thought about all of the times you’ve sung in the shower, or harmonized with the radio in the car. Perfect. You became a believer in what your group was trying to accomplish. However, once it became time to practice, you slunk back and somehow avoided putting in any work into the group. Finally it came time for the big game / choir performance. Your leader stood in front of your group and gave an inspiration speech. Afterwards, you go up to your coach/director and tell him/her, I love the group I really feel like I belong, and I believe in what we’re doing, but I don’t want to actually have to do anything. I don’t want to have to change my behavior.
17 Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. 19 They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. 20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!— 21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
17 Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds.
In the Lord” adds authority to his appeal and virtually suggests his teaching comes from the Lord. The letter reaches a climax here. Paul’s readers cannot go further without making an ethical decision. Here the die is cast. The rest of the letter will only take care of details.
While Paul could address them as Gentiles ethnically (2:11), he did not want his readers to be like the Gentiles among whom they lived. In the second century Christians would speak of themselves as a “third race” (a thinking already reflected in 1 Cor. 10:32).
ParenesisConcept — Technical term describing a literary style that offers a moral and ethical exhortation based on common religious or moral convictions. The Greek verbal form of the word—παραινέω—appears only three times in the New Testament and means “to advise strongly; recommend, or urge”.
18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.
Romans 2:15 “15 They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them”
The “hardening of their hearts” is the progressive inability of conscience to convict them of wrongdoing. ~FF Bruce
In what areas of your life has your conscience become seared? What sin have you hidden for so long that you no longer consider it sin? I’m not talking about the ones you struggle against. Not the ones you wage war against, but the ones you’ve become comfortable with. Maybe it’s unthankfulness, selfishness, irritability, discontentment, judgementalism, or a lack of being self controlled.
19 They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.
Notice here that the root problem is not with the action of sensuality, greediness, or impurity, but rather that is the outworking of having become callous to their own conscience. Willful dismissal of God’s will and law lead to distorted actions.
Romans 12:2 “2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
2 Corinthians 3:18 “18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”
I have decided to follow Jesus;
I have decided to follow Jesus;
I have decided to follow Jesus;
No turning back, no turning back.
Tho' none go with me, I still will follow,
Tho' none go with me I still will follow,
Tho' none go with me, I still will follow;
No turning back, no turning back.
My cross I'll carry, till I see Jesus;
My cross I'll carry till I see Jesus,
My cross I'll carry till I see Jesus;
No turning back, No turning back.
The world behind me, the cross before me,
The world behind me, the cross before me;
The world behind me, the cross before me;
No turning back, no turning back.