Talk or Walk
Notes
Transcript
Introduction:
Compare being civilian to being a soldier,
Compare walking as the Gentiles to walking as a child of God.
With the passage today Paul is continuing his instruction on how to walk as a child of God.
17 So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind,
18 being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart;
19 and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness.
20 But you did not learn Christ in this way,
21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus,
22 that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit,
23 and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind,
24 and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.
Transitional Sentence: Just as a civilian must put on the uniform of a soldier and begin to walk or act like a soldier, so must a Gentile put on the new self and walk or act like a Child of God.
The passage for today is broken into three parts:
The old Self
Jesus in-between
The new Self
The Old self:
Paul begins this part of his letter reminding the church who they once were and how they walked. They were Gentiles and they walked in the futility of their minds. Wow that’s rather rough don’t you think? In other words what Paul is saying is that everything the Gentiles did and do is worthless, it’s vanity and chasing after the wind. A.W. Tozer said it this way:
Christian Quotations Futility
No matter what a man does, no matter how successful he seems to be in any field, if the Holy Spirit is not the chief energizer of his activity, it will all fall apart when he dies.
Aiden Wilson (A.W.) Tozer
This is the point where we all start. All those who are children of God now started out as a Gentile lost in the futility of their mind.
Paul goes on to say that they walk in darkness because they have no real understanding, they are excluded from God because they are ignorant of the truth and they have hard hearts.
Stone hearts would be a better way to say it.
b. Their hardness of heart has made them calloused.
I’m sure some of you know what it is like to have calloused hands and feet. You spend your day hanging onto tools, rubbing your hands on wood or just plain working hard. I used to have calloused hands, they were really rough and dry. Not so much anymore. The Apostle John was said to have had calloused knees because he spent so much time on his knees in prayer.
So, what would it be like to have a hard calloused heart. You don’t care much about anyone outside of your circle of family and friends. You may not even care much about them. The work you do is just keeping you busy so you can do what you want to do when you aren’t forced to work.
The Army is a great place to see really hard hearts. The Army wants hard hearts, they want people who will pull the trigger and not think to much about the fact that a life may come to an end when the bullet reaches it’s target.
For me the Army was a lot easier when I had a hard calloused heart. It was easier to do my job and duty before I really cared, before the Holy Spirit was the chief energizer of my life.
c. Paul goes on to say that this hardness of heart causes people to give themselves over to sensuality and impurity. Can you relate? The idea is that the hard of heart just give up trying to remain pure. Its hard to stay pure in a culture that says everything and anything is acceptable. Things were pretty much the same then as they are now. Purity was not looked on as a virtue and chasing after physical pleasure was a driving force in life. The hard of heart feel nothing. At least physical pleasure brings some good feelings, although it only lasts for a short time. The darkened mind leads to an unholy life. The hard of heart are without concern for the consequences of their actions. Their desire for sensual pleasure overrides everything else. Lust not love dominates life.
Paul told the Galatians about the deeds of the flesh.
19 Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality,
You see the flesh wants you to do these things, the Evil one wants you to do these things - not the Holy Spirit. This is the way the Gentiles walked. This is the way you walked when you were your old self.
But that is the old you. That is the you before Jesus.
2. So what happened in between?
a. Christ Jesus happened. You did not learn Christ through sensuality and impurity. The life you learn in Christ Jesus is in sharp contrast to your former way of life. You are to stop living as the Gentiles and begin living a righteous life. Your heart is no longer darkened. You have learned the truth, which is found in Jesus. You are free from the the slavery that you gave yourself over to when you were a Gentile. John 8:36 says:
36 “So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.
He has set you free. You do not need to be caught up in that former way of living. Now that you have learned about Jesus, you must learn more. Having been freed from slavery you must begin to walk as a child of God.
Just like in the Army. As I learned how to walk or act like a soldier more was expected of me. But there must be a desire to continue walking as a soldier. Many in the Army do not have this desire and stop serving after a few years.
But you, you are now a child of God, you are to continue learning and continue walking as a child of God. Remember the goal, unity of faith and of the knowledge of God, to a mature man. Be like Jesus.
b. Be like Jesus because the truth is in Jesus. In your former way of living did you ever have the feeling that truth was relative? Truth was never completely black and white. There was always a lot of grey. The truth really isn’t relative, it only seems that way because people want, what they want and are willing to walk around in the grey area if it means they will get what they want. Because quite often the truth gets in the way of getting what is wanted. But now, you are in the light and Jesus is the light and truth is in Jesus:
14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Now since you are in the light you must walk in the truth.
c. In order to walk in truth you must lay aside your old self.
In order to walk as a soldier a civilian must put aside the old self. The old clothes and way of walking and acting have to be done away with. The old life gets in the way of the new life.
I laid aside being a civilian to become a soldier for this country and did it for a long time. But then in the middle of my career I put aside my life in darkness to become a child of God. I had to change again but I couldn’t stop being a soldier, so I had to try and be both at the same time. Then at retirement I put aside being a soldier and became a full time child of God. Then I had to adjust to being only a child of God. Each of these changes took time and effort to really walk in the way of the new life. But change was necessary for me to truly walk in that new life.
When you become a child of God it is necessary to put away the old self because that manner of walk is being corrupted. There is no truth in the old self. So the old corrupted, stinky, dirty clothes have to be removed and that new Jesus suit has to be put on in it’s place. Chapter 1 verse 13 tells us that we are sealed in Him by the Holy Spirit. That’s the new clothes. We are covered by Him and we will be given His righteousness and will walk in His truth.
3. So, now that you have put on a new suit you are a new creation. A child of God.
a. It’s easy to change clothes. But it isn’t always easy to just stop thinking one way and start thinking another. You have to be renewed in the spirit of your mind.
The idea of being renewed in your mind is to be reborn, or to be made new. Once you have learned Christ Jesus you are saved. Once you are saved you are a new creation, a child of God, and must start walking like a child of God.
For me, it took time for the Spirit to renew my mind. I had to stop acting and thinking like a soldier and start acting and thinking like a child of God. Even during the time I was a soldier and a child of God I had a hard time walking as a child of God. The worldly soldier in me and the world had to much influence. There was a lot of junk up here in my head that didn’t just go away. Continuous sanctification was the key for me.
And continuous sanctification is the key for you. Letting the Spirit get rid of the old stuff and letting Him take over with the way you walk now will allow the new you to become the child of God you are meant to be. But, if you hold on to the old you or even parts of the old you; then you will never really begin walking as a child of God. There will always be some of those corrupted old rags that were supposed to be removed and thrown away hiding somewhere in your closet.
So that is where you have to put on the new self.
b. You have to make the choice to put on the new self and become a child of God. No one can do it for you. It’s your choice. To do it you have to climb up on a cross and crucify yourself. The old must die so that the new may live for God.
When you crucify yourself, the passions and desires that you have will change. Your mind can be changed from one that lusts after all the world has to offer in greediness to one that seeks to know Christ Jesus and the fellowship of His resurrection.
One way to think of it might be like this. After changing into the uniform of a soldier in the U.S. Army I had to begin to please those over me so that I could stay out of trouble and actually do well. That was part of renewing my mind as a soldier. Paul told Timothy in his second letter that:
4 No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.
That is the hardest part of putting on the new self; not getting entangled in the affairs of everyday life. Every thing that goes on around us draws us away from God. It’s good to know what’s going on in the world but getting entangled in it, putting all of your energy into worldly stuff just draws you back to the vanity of the world and the darkness that covers it.
That’s why I had so much trouble as a child of God while I was a soldier. I had to perform my duties and continue being a soldier first. I couldn’t untangle myself from the world. I couldn’t be like Him the way I wanted to and I couldn’t let the Holy Spirit work in me to remove all of the mess that was going on inside me.
c. So to be like Him you need to put on the new self and put off the things of the past. Your new self will be made in the likeness of God. Your new self will have His righteousness, Holiness and Truth because you will be reborn in His image.
Have you ever heard of Paul’s put off’s and put on’s? His put off’s are in his letter to the Colossians:
8 But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth.
9 Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices,
These are some of the things you have to put off when you become a child of God through rebirth in the Spirit. Unfortunately, most of these are a big part of how those walking in darkness act. I know it was for me.
Paul’s put on is the next verse in the letter
10 and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him—
Even here Paul is saying to put on the new self so that you may be renewed. Reborn in His image. Only through putting off the old self and putting on the new self can you truly belong to Christ Jesus. Once you have put on the new self you must continue to grow in faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God. This requires work, or as the U.S. Army would say training. Continuous training requires you to walk in a new way. Galatians 5:25 says:
25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.
So live by the Spirit and walk by the Spirit so that you might please Christ Jesus. His power can be your power and His presence in you can help you be more like Him.
Exit: Every new recruit in the U.S. Army is equipped with the same gear and uniforms. In that aspect all are equal. But not all recruits manage to make the transformation from civilian to soldier in the way they walk. In that respect all are not the same. Some hold onto their disrespectful attitudes, or their selfishness that keeps them from working well with others and some just can’t handle the discipline required to be at the right place at the right time. Those who manage to transition well from civilian to soldier and learn to please those above them generally do better and stay in longer than those who don’t.
The transformation of a child of disobedience into a child of God is just like the transformation of a civilian into a soldier. Every child of disobedience when they become a child of God is issued a brand new suit. A new suit to put on and wear with pride. It is the same suit for everyone who accepts Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior. The suit is the Holy Spirit, a new life. But what comes next is up to each individual. Is each individual willing to climb up on a cross and die? Is each willing to take off the old corrupted rags of the past and put that new suit on? Is each willing to walk or act like they are wearing the suit? Is each willing to stop being entangled in the business of the world and please the one who enlisted them?
Where are you in these questions? Have you been issued a new suit? Have you put off the things of the past? Do you walk or act like you are a child of God?
So before we bring this to an end I want to do some equipping with you. Some practical training for your future use.
Wednesday evening the international worker that came to speak walked us through an exercise that he uses with the disciples in Thailand.
One of the most powerful tools any of us has for leading others to Christ is our own testimony. Our testimony is a witness to others of God’s work and faithfulness in our lives. So we are going to learn how to do a three minute testimony.
Your testimony is this passage in action.
The old Self
Jesus in-between
The new Self
With a three minute testimony you have about 1 minute for the old self, 1 minute for Jesus in between, and 1 minute for the new self.
So break up into pairs - get with someone who doesn’t know you really well. Tell them your story. I will keep track of time and when the first three minutes is up you can switch.
Ok - Go.
Pray!
