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Today, as we work our way though the book of Ephesians, we find ourselves in a section where we are commanded to walk in purity, to be Holy and to live a clean life.
Ephesians 4:20-24
“But ye have not so learned Christ; If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.”
Paul tells us to do this simply by changing our clothes. He says in this section that we didn’t learn about Christ by sinning, and so we won’t continue to learn by sinning. We only learn about Christ as we put off the old way of living, the old clothes of sin by putting on the new clothes of Christ’s righteousness.
Even Paul, in Romans 7, said that he does thing he does not want to do, and doesn’t do the things he should do. That sounds like the daily struggle we all face, doesn’t it? So how do you become victorious? How do you defeat sin? Well, if the root problem is a futile mind, we need to get at the root and renew our mind, get a new mind, change our way of thinking.
Many of us are trying to get our lawns and our gardens looking nice and green. And a large part of this is getting rid of the weeds. But we all learned real early that it doesn’t do much good to just chop off the leaves and the stalk of the weed. You’ve got to get the root out. You must allow God to get to the root or through our own rebellion, disobedience and unwillingness it will consume us in the end.
The root of our sin is a depraved and futile mind, and if we want to gain victory over sin, we need to get the root out. We need to get rid of that futile mind and get a renewed mind. And Paul tells us how in Ephesians 4:20-24.
Paul frequently wrote about divorce, and how to handle disobedient children – but he was never married and never had any children. You don’t need to experience sin to understand it and to be able to speak authoritatively about it. All you need is a good understanding of God’s word (truth) and compassion to (love) people.
Learning and obeying is something you do after you become a Christian so that you can have greater fellowship and intimacy with Christ and with other Christians and so that you can store up for yourself treasures in heaven. To learn Christ does not refer to becoming a Christian but to developing in your personal relationship with Christ as a Christian.
When you clean out the closet, you’ve got to put something in there, or it will just get filled with garbage again. When you put off the old man, you’ve got to put on the new, or that old man will come right back. So how do you put on the new?
This first thing is to get a new mind. Ephesians 4:23 says, be renewed in the spirit of your mind. The mind is the root cause of sin and corruption and deceitful lusts. That’s what Paul showed us back in Ephesians 4:17-19, and so here he says it again. If you want to gain victory over sin, you’ve got to begin with your mind.
Romans 12:2
“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
Philippians 4:8
“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”
Romans 12:1
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”
II Corinthians 4:16
“For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.”
Philippians 4:6-7
“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
Colossians 3:2
“Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.”
Psalm 119:11
“Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”
1 Peter 1:13
“Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
II Corinthians 10:4-5
For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.”
John 8:32
“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
Colossians 3:16
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”
In His Grip,
Pastor Wendy Schenkel
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