Our Spiritual Walk #3
Putting off and Putting on
Ephesians 4:22-24
CHCC – June 22, 2014
INTRODUCTION:
For the last few years, I have developed a habit of taking at least a 30 minute walk almost every morning. Sometimes I will use a treadmill we have set up in our bedroom and watch Andy Stanley or Joyce Meyer while I walk (those are both motivational type preachers). On other days I set out to take a 30 minute walk around our neighborhood while listening to some kind of Christian podcast. It’s a good way to get ready for the day physically and spiritually.
Whether I’m walking inside or out, there are two things I do to get ready: First, I take off my sleeping clothes; second, I put on my walking outfit. Spiritually speaking, we also need to take off and put on before we set of walking. That’s what we’re going to talk about today --- what do we need to put off and what do we need to put on every day if we’re going to Walk with Christ.
1. Putting Off
Ephesians 4:22-24, “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”
The first thing to do in preparation for our Spiritual Walk is to …
(a) Put off your old self. Why? Because our old self is continually being corrupted by its deceitful desires. In Christ we are NEW CREATIONS … and our OLD SELF just doesn’t fit us anymore.
In the last two years I have lost about 60 pounds by changing my diet and my activities (hence the 30 minute walk). Guess what I was glad to get rid of as soon as I could? --- those clothes that used to fit the OLD me but that no longer fit the NEW me! I have no use for that old wardrobe … even though most of those clothes were decent quality clothes. They just don’t fit the man I am now.
That’s why we put off the Old Self. The Old You may still look good … and it’s what you’re used to … but the OLD SELF doesn’t fit the NEW SELF you have become in Christ. It’s not going to feel right if you try walking in it.
The Apostle Paul gives a list of some specific behaviors that show you are still wearing the Old Self. His list included falsehood (vs.25), anger that leads to sin and gives the devil a foothold (vs. 26-27), stealing (vs. 28), unwholesome talk (vs. 29), bitterness, rage and anger ( working together as a team), brawling and slander along with every form of malice (vs. 31). Any time we see even a hint of these things cropping up; we know we need to Put Off that Old Self that we’re still wearing.
(Did you notice that Paul brought up various versions of anger twice in this list?) There is also a similar list in Colossians 3:8 where, once again, Paul mentions anger, wrath, and malice, but he then adds “blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.”
Besides putting off the Old Self, we need to
(2) Throw off everything that hinders our walk with Christ. Hebrews 12:1: “… let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”
You’ll notice this passage deals with a race, not just a walk. This might indicate the hard times that every Christian faces … times that require more spiritual energy and focus if we are going to win the race. The spiritual walk is a marathon, not a sprint. There will be times of walking and times of running.
We all understand the warning to eliminate the sin that so easily entangles. Most of us have enough experience to realize that ANY sin can trip us up. Any sin has the potential to enslave and addict us without warning.
But we also need to understand the warning to throw off everything that hinders. Have you ever seen a race where one of the runners wore a heavy back-pack? Of course not! And yet as Christians we often try to live life lugging around all kinds of unnecessary burdens … things that hinder us from walking with the Lord. These things may not be sinful in themselves but they make us too busy or too tired to spend time in prayer and Bible study.
Think about what is holding you back from a closer walk with Christ. Is it some kind of entertainment? A relationship that doesn’t draw you closer to God? An over-commitment to a job or a hobby? The Christian walk requires that we regularly Put Off the Old Self and THROW Off anything and everything that slows us down. When we’ve done that, then we’re ready for the …
2. Putting On
Having put OFF the OLD SELF, it’s time to PUT ON …
(a) the NEW SELF
Putting on the new self starts with being “made new in the attitude of your minds.” (Ephesians 4:23) Romans 12:2 teaches that same idea when it admonishes, “… but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…”
It just makes sense that the NEW SELF has to have a NEW MIND. The NEW MIND is NEW because it is connected to Christ in a vital and living way.
This New MIND thinks nothing on its own, but follows in step with the Holy Spirit. Jesus lived this way while he was on earth. In John 8:28, He said, “…I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me…”
Sometimes we mistakenly assume that Jesus came to show us how God could live on earth … but Jesus did not live above us while he lived on earth. He lived as a human … the way any one of us can live … in constant connection with His Father in Heaven. Jesus lived fully among us as one of us. He is our example of what it’s like to live with a renewed MIND (1 Peter 2:21). Jesus shows us how we can live, just as He lived, in complete dependence on our Heavenly Father.
(b) the WHOLE ARMOR
There are two passages that tell us to put on our spiritual armor. Romans 13:12 instructs “…Let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.” Ephesians 6:11 says, “Therefore put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” There is so much that can be said about this that a whole chapter can focus on the individual pieces of spiritual armor. Let us take a quick look at what Ephesians 6:14-18 tells us about our spiritual armor. Here is a list of the individual pieces of protective and offensive armor:
• Belt of truth: In terms of clothing itself, a belt is a foundation for keeping everything else in place. For the soldier, the belt often holds other equipment in place and makes it convenient for instant access. Spiritually speaking, we know that truth is foundational for everything else we will believe, say, or do. Truth protects us from error and is far more important than anything we might think or feel on our own. JESUS is TRUTH --- and the truth about Him is found in Scripture.
• Breastplate of righteousness: For the soldier in the first century, the breastplate protected the torso from darts, arrows, spears and blows from the sword. Spiritually speaking, we know that our righteousness is actually CHRIST’S righteousness. It’s HIS GRACE that imputes righteousness to us … protecting our hearts from satanic condemnation and blame. We are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:21).
• The shoes of the gospel of peace: When you study the history of the American Revolution, one of the greatest trials the soldiers faced was trying to fight without proper shoes. An Article written at the times says that, “So many men were without shoes with no possibility of replacement that Washington offered a reward of ten dollars to anyone who could produce a shoe substitute made from hides” The gospel of peace is the only adequate footwear for the Christian Walk. We are at peace with God because we have responded to the gospel message ourselves and we faithfully walk it over to others who also need to hear it for themselves.
• Shield of faith: In the matter of protection, the shield and breastplate work together as a team. The breastplate rests against the skin and is a more passive means of protection. The shield can be extended out to arms length and is more mobile. Spiritually, our faith shields us against doubt, defeat, or despair. Whenever the enemy shoots missiles at us, our faith deflects anything designed to destroy us.
• Helmet of salvation: What the breastplate does for the torso, the helmet does for the head. And for the Christian our knowledge of salvation protects our minds from any human argument designed to topple us from our position of victory in Christ.
• The sword of the Spirit: The first 5 items were defensive in nature. Now we come to an offensive weapon! We see Jesus wielding this SWORD when he was tempted by Satan in the wilderness. He prefaced everything he said with, “It is written…” Jesus didn’t get into lengthy arguments with the tempter, he simply recited scripture … and you will notice that he won all the battles.
• Pray in the spirit: Most lists of spiritual armor stop with the sword of the Spirit, but there is one more piece of armor, and like the sword, this one is also offensive in nature. Prayer is a twin to the sword of the Word, and the two weapons work in tandem. The sword is directed outward at our enemy, and prayer is directed upward at our protector. On a modern battlefield, this would be like the ARMY fighting on the ground while the AIR FORCE gives air cover!
Recently in the News we’ve heard someone being accused of being a Military Deserter. One thing that struck me about that is the evidence given that marks someone as a Deserter. The evidence was that Bo Bergdahl walked off base without permission AND without his Body Armor or Weapon.
This is equally the definition of a Spiritual Deserter. We must never walk away without God’s guidance … and without our FULL ARMOR including the Sword of the Spirit.
C. These virtues:
Besides this essential ARMOR, we are told to clothe ourselves with virtue. The ARMOR is the Protection for the Christian Walk; these Virtues are the Beauty of the Christian Walk.
Colossians 3:12-14, “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”
The list of virtues above sounds very much like the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23. But if you’re not good at memorizing that long list, don’t worry.
Romans 13:14 makes it much simpler: “Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.”
When we put on JESUS, we put on all virtues. Galatians 3:27 tells us that when we were baptized into Christ, we put on Christ. And with each passing day we consciously put him on before we go out to live our day. This doesn’t mean that Jesus left us at any time in the night while we were sleeping. It just means that we visualize wearing him as our covering each day.
How, then, do we start out our day? We take off the old self which is corrupted in its deceitful desires, and we remove whatever entangles us or weighs us down. Then we put on the new self which is renewed daily, and our spiritual armor so we can fight spiritual warfare successfully. Finally we put on Jesus Christ. Now we are ready for our daily Spiritual Walk.
CONCLUSION:
So far in this series we have seen that our Christian Life requires us to enter a gate and to WALK in the way. We have also seen that faith and obedience are a part of entering and walking.
Last Sunday we looked at the broad way and why Jesus declared it to be the way that leads to destruction. We also learned how God uses mighty weapons to tear down strongholds and set captives free.
Today we looked at what to take off and what to put on so we are prepared and protected for our Spiritual Walk.
For the next 5 Sundays we will examine the elements of the walk itself. I hope that what we have examined so far will inspire you to be diligent in your daily spiritual walk, and to give yourself fully to making progress in that walk as you grow in your relationship with Christ.
