ICS Daily Devotions
What’s Wrong with the “Old Man”
Ephesians 4:17, 20-24 (NKJV) This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind,… But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.
Just like people who move to another country, though they may have obtained their new citizenship, they will still need to adjust to living in that country. Likewise, Christians also need to adjust to, or have a paradigm shift, to live out their new identity in Christ.
Christianity is not a religion, an observation of a set of laws, or a philosophy that helps us to change from the outside in. Because the sin nature is in our hearts, we cannot be changed from the outside through a set of laws. Otherwise, Jesus wouldn’t have had to die. Nobody can be good or righteous using the law, good works, or philosophical thoughts.
Instead, Christianity is about having a restored relationship with God through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, and being changed from the inside out. His shed blood has given us a new identity before God, which is the “new man” referred to in the opening passage. After comparing the lifestyles of the “old man” and the “new man”, the Apostle Paul encouraged us to live out of the “new man” and its lifestyle.
The “old man” makes life all about “me”. The selfish self, or in religious terms, sin, lives independent of God, and concerns itself with self-worth, self-esteem, sense of security and outward appearance, because it longs for the affirmation of men. Blinded by and in constant pursuit of success and significance, the “old man” has no moral absolutes because integrity can often be a hindrance to worldly success. The Bible calls these deceitful lusts because while we think they will give us satisfaction and security, they are nothing but attempts to numb our emotions, insecurity, rejection, and pain—to satisfy the emptiness in our hearts, a subtle form of substance abuse. Unfortunately, the lusts will never cease because we will always want more. In fact, doesn’t wanting to do better than everyone else in order to be the centre of attention remind us of Lucifer before his fall? We thought all these things would be good for us, but they will only end up destroying us because the love of money is the root of all evil. Therefore, unless Jesus became the Lord of our lives, we will all be lost and fall into eternal damnation.
Sermon Series: Living out the New Identity in 2022
