PUT ON THE NEW SELF

COLOSSIANS 3:7-10

7You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived.

8But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.

9Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.

3: 8-10   When we give our lives to Jesus Christ and put on our new nature, we begin the process of being renewed. We desire to follow the example of Jesus, growing to love him and others more and more. But this doesn’t happen immediately. At first it is especially hard to resist the temptation to fall back into the sinful habits we had adopted before conversion. Therefore, we must be very intentional about ridding ourselves of all evil practices and immorality. We cannot be fully committed to what Christ teaches when we are regularly falling back into our sinful ways. Here Paul is appealing to the commitment the believers had made to live for Christ and is urging them to remain true to their confession of faith. They were to rid themselves of the old life and “put on” the new way of living given by Christ and guided by the Holy Spirit. If you have made such a commitment to Christ, are you remaining true to it?

3: 9   Lying to each other disrupts unity by destroying trust. It tears down relationships and may lead to serious conflict in a church. So don’t exaggerate statistics, pass on rumors and gossip, or say things to build up your own image. Be committed to telling the truth.

3: 10   What does it mean to “put on the new self”? It means that our conduct should match our faith. If you are a Christian, you should act like it. Being a Christian means more than just making good resolutions and having good intentions; it means being filled with godly love, which produces godly actions. This straightforward step is like putting on new clothes that demonstrate the new kind of person you have become. You must take off the old clothes of sinful habits and choices and throw them away. Then you will wear only your clothes of righteousness and love for others that Christ has given to you. Have you rid your life of the “old clothes” of your past?

3: 10   In our lifelong growing process, Christians have a continuing education program. The more we know of Christ and his work, the more he changes us to be like him. We cannot just drift along; instead, we must seek the rich treasures of growing in him. We need patience, practice, concentration, and ongoing review to keep in line with his will.Tyndale. NIV Life Application Study Bible.

ON THE WAY HOME WALK WITH JESUS and rid ourselves of the old man and PUT ON THE NEW SELF, which is more like JESUS CHRIST!!!

onthewayhomeministries.org by RICHARD DEAN BROOKS