PUT TO DEATH THE OLD MAN; PUT ON THE NEW MAN!
By Ps. Paulus Budiono
Lemah Putro, Sunday, May 12, 2019
Shalom,
We enjoy the song very much when we sing "To be like You, Jesus, to be like You, Jesus, to become perfect in my whole life". But one question arises, are we really able to be just like Jesus? All can happen because of God's help through His Word. Be assured that Jesus is the only Potter who created us all (Isaiah 64: 8) and the Apostle Paul asserts that everyone who is in Christ is a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). Illustration: congregation shepherded by pastors with a variety of backgrounds often cause inter-church friction and disputes due to the pastors' mindset. It is far different if we are all formed by one Person, God, the result is that we all have the same mindset as He wants.
What does God want from us who were molded by Him? Colossians 3: 9-10 writes, "Do not lie to one another again because you have removed the old man and his behavior and have put on a new man who is constantly renewed to obtain the right knowledge in the image of the Creator;"
We are confronted with two sides of life: old life and new life. We cannot have both; if we still maintain our old life, there is no way we can get a new life. Conversely, if we want to live a new life, we must be willing to throw away our old man. Illustration: there are people who like keeping old things in a place that is never opened for years. When it is time to clean up, the place is stuffy, dirty, dusty, full of cobwebs heaped up with stack of old things that were outdated. That place is a sore eye and not good for our health because many bacteria and viruses are around it. It depends on the home owner, are they unwilling to throw them away with the consequence of risking their health (shortness of breath, coughing, itching etc.)?
What should we 'clean' so that our (home) life is healthy?
- Put to death everything that is worldly: fornication, impurity, lust, evil lust, greed that is the same as idol worship (Colosians 3: 5).
The Colossians (and us) have repented, sanctified by the blood of Jesus to make us holy, blameless before Him (Colosians 1: 21-22) but we are still asked to put to death everything that is worldly. In fact, we are busy cleaning and beautifying the house (physically) but how often do we cleanse our spiritual life?
The Word of God reminds us that if we were raised with Christ, we must seek and think about the things above (Colosians 3: 1-2) but now we are also asked to put to death all the earthly things on this earth. Is this easy? What does God want? His desire is that when He reveals Himself, we also reveal ourselves with Him in glory (Colosians 3: 4). For that purpose, while we are still breathing in this world, our lives must always be changed / renewed. The promise of this verse is no longer valid if we have been called by God (died) because, then, it is too late. It all starts from the death of all sins (repentance) to be resurrected with Him and to live in holiness, until one time we will be glorified with Him, side by side with Him.
We, having been resurrected with Jesus, carry out the task of proclaiming the Kingdom of Heaven to the people in Indonesia so that our country is in the power of Jesus Christ, in order to create the Kingdom of Heaven in our beloved Indonesia (Revelation 11:15). We do it all based on love because our God is love and He loves this world that He gave His only begotten Son so that anyone who believes in Him should not perish but has eternal life (John 3:16).
Why do we have to abandon the old life and its behavior (Colosians 3: 9)? Because old habits still stuck in us as long as we are alive. Therefore, it takes courage and strong will to take it off so that we are keen on looking and thinking about the things above. If not, we will become more obsessed with looking for worldly things to satisfy the desires of the flesh and forget the Creator.
Just as we throw away junk items without leaving a mark, not just remove them somewhere and cover them so that they are not visible; likewise we must throw away all old characters without leaving a single one. For example: we no longer commit adultery (this can happen to anyone including servants of God), do not corrupt, commit no crime etc.; however, we still keep greed and pride. Beware, what we sow is what we will reap (Galatians 6: 7).
Actually, the more we see the things above (the Word of God), the more we understand what is harmful on this earth. Example: we understand the dangers and consequences of sexual immorality because the Word of God emphasizes the united and holy marriage life etc.
What are the consequences if we keep worldly things? God's wrath descends (Colosians 3: 6).
Do not think people who indulge in free sex are not punished by God, one day they will contract the deadly HIV disease. The nature of evil desire, greed / covetousness etc. will also be punished. The verses above are still applicable to warn us even though we have received Jesus, purified by His blood and filled with the Holy Spirit.
Are we able to put to death all these worldly things? Jesus has won from the dead and rose to live forever. Because He triumphed over death and death no longer has power over Him, we who died with Him and live with Him also win over all the temptations of sin.
Isn't the wage of sin death (Romans 6:23)? What about our condition that has been raised with Christ? We are also no longer controlled by sin because we have died and freed from sin to live for God in Christ Jesus (vv. 7-11). Do not look for excuses by saying we are still human beings who are different from Jesus and then commit sins intentionally (lying, hatred, corruption, cheating etc.). This is the same as we underestimate the power of Christ's resurrection. Note, people who don't believe / have faith in God's Word are sinful (cf. Romans 14:23)! And even the smallest sin will multiply if it is not immediately put to death. The Apostle Paul acknowledged that in his weakness he was strong (not disappointed, discouraged etc.) because the power of Christ overwhelmed him so that there was nothing he could be proud of (2 Corinthians 12: 7-10).
Why do we often fall back into sin? Because we feel so strong that we do not need God. Don't we often pray for God's help, but after being granted we feel that we have won and then we no longer need Him? That is why God brings the trial to test whether we are really released from sin because He wants to form us to be His strong followers not for pride / arrogance / greatness but for His glory.
- Dispose of anger, fury, evil, slander, obscenities that come out of the mouth, do not lie to one another (Colosians 3: 8-9).
Why are we irritable, slanderous, lying and saying bad things to someone? Because our ego is so disturbed that we feel uncomfortable and insecure. Honestly, we always demand something good to suit our will. If it is not fulfilled, we are quickly offended and angry. In fact, 'dead people' can no longer respond to anything that attacks them.
Indeed, world philosophies are very good but the Apostle Paul asks us to reject them because they are based on sinful human experience (Kong Fu Tze, Lao Tze, Socrates, Plato, Siddhartha Gautama etc.). For them, mistakes occur because of human error not a sin Why? Because they do not believe in God.
Men are marked with weakness; that is why we need God's power to change us from time to time so that the old ones are gone and new ones appear. Do not be proud if we are indeed well-behaved because ‘old men’ are 'badly dressed'; therefore, they must be abandoned to become new men and continually renewed so as to get the right knowledge according to the Great image (Colossians 3: 9-10).
Illustration: we buy new clothes today, after being worn and washed; the clothes are no longer new because new clothing products come out again. That is why, our new lives must always be updated in order not to be stagnant. For example: last week we spoke well but today we spoke recklessly. This proves that the renewal we experience is not constant and stable. It causes us to be increasingly unaware of the Creator.
Renewal that occurs from day to day will erase discrimination (Colossians 3:11) – there are no differences in race, ethnicity, social differences etc. Our mindset is renewed so that we no longer judge and corner someone easily.
Have we experienced the renewal of life from day to day by the Word of God so that we can seek and think about the things above and put to death our old lives? Renewal is not instantenous and does not occur only a week / month / once a year. Instead, it continues until we become like Christ and according to His will. Amen.
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