Message from Scripture: 10/13/2021

Our message from Scripture today comes from Eph. 4:24; "Put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth."

When we come in obedience to the gospel, it's a new beginning. We are no longer enslaved to sin, but pardoned to enjoy the freedom Christ alone can bring. Paul reminds his readers we can return to what it means to be created in the image of God, a life that reflects God in us, a life of righteousness and holiness, conforming to the truth of God rather than the deception of sin. How is this done?

Having our sins washed away, we make the choice, as Paul says, to put on the new self. The term for putting on means to put on like one's clothes. The garments we have worn before were being corrupted by sin. We have to take them off, to throw them away before we can put on different garments, being clothed in righteousness and holiness. This change from sin to righteousness allows us to be a new person, radically different from the image of sin we reflected before.

When Paul speaks of one being new, he is describing leaving the worn out life in sin to being new by the cleansing of the blood of Christ. The way of life, one's pattern of conduct, is dramatically changed to reflect the image of Christ. So, we are no longer conformed to the world but transformed (Rom. 12:2). The old has past away and the new has come (2 Cor. 5:17). We are truly a new creation (Gal. 6:15).

Today, let's not be satisfied with what we were before obeying the gospel. Let's remember we are changed. We have changed how we think and live. The statusquo is gone, and following in the footsteps of Christ is our priority. What a difference it is to leave sin behind and be new by the blood of Christ. Let others see the difference Christ makes in you. Have confidence in the spiritual, not the flesh. What joy life brings when we take off the old, and put on the new. God bless.

Robert