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Ephesians 4 – Our society has more access to information than at any time in history. We are also more educated than ever… yet we seem to be somewhat more ignorant than we’ve ever been.
- Lay aside the old self
- Be renewed in your mind
- Put on the new self
Paul is talking about a change of behavior to match the change what has changed on the inside. The new self isn’t something that we just come up with on our own. It is created.
This process is only possible for those who have been born again. We aren’t just forgiven and given the motivation to do better. There is a transformation that happens within our very being.
2 Corinthians – If anyone is in Christ he is a new creature.
The new creature being frustrated by sin is a good sign. It definitely points to a real change having happened deep within us. If sin doesn’t bother us that is a very bad sign, something that we should definitely be worried about.
There will always be a battle.
Laying Aside the Old
This isn’t something that we are just going to do once. It isn’t something that God is going to just do and that we don’t have anything to do with.
Laying aside the old is going to be something that we do for the rest of our lives.
This means that we need to stop letting the flesh make our decisions for us. Paul says that he is continually beating his body into submission.
Putting On the New Self
James – This means we, as Christians should start acting like Christians. Faith means that we need to produce good works. The rest of Ephesians lays out what this kind of life looks like.
None of these three steps are going to work on their own. You can’t get from the laying off of the old self to the putting on of the new self without having a renewing of our mind.
1 Peter 2:1, Colossians 3:1-3 – We need to know God and we need to feed on the truth. Today we have less excuse than any generation to feed on God’s truth. Someone who is feeding on the word of God will be changed.