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The Nineteenth Sunday After Trinity
October 14, 2007
Old Man -- New Man
NKJ Ephesians 4:22 ...that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old
man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in
the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created
according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. 25 Therefore, putting away
lying, "Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor," for we are members
of one another. 26 "Be angry, and do not sin": do not let the sun go down on
your wrath, 27 nor give place to the devil. 28 Let him who stole steal no
longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he
may have something to give him who has need.
As we consider these inspired words of Paul—we should first establish what is
behavior of the flesh and what is man in the Spirit—that is really the
description of “Old Man” and “New Man” that we can best relate to—Paul describes
the ways of the natural man—old man—and the ways of the Spirit-filled man—new
man
NKJ Galatians 5:16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the
lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit
against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do
the things that you wish. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under
the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery,
fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions,
jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21
envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you
beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such
things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is
love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23
gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 And those who are
Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live
in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited,
provoking one another, envying one another.
Notice the list of the flesh—the things of the Old Man—is much longer than the
list of the things of the Spirit—I recognize that some of the things on the list
of the Old Man are things which I do—not that I want to do them—but I do them
just the same—if you have experienced the same type of behavior and
temptations—listen to these words of Paul—one of the greatest missionaries of
all time—Paul an Apostle—chosen for service by Jesus—called to service while on
the way to arrest Christians—just because they were Christians—listen to Paul’s
struggle against sin
NKJ Romans 7:14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold
under sin. 15 For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do,
that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. 16 If, then, I do what I
will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. 17 But now, it is no
longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. 18 For I know that in me (that
is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to
perform what is good I do not find. 19 For the good that I will to do, I do not
do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. 20 Now if I do what I will
not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. 21 I find
then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. 22 For I
delight in the law of God according to the inward man. 23 But I see another law
in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into
captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 24 O wretched man that I am!
Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 I thank God -- through Jesus
Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with
the flesh the law of sin.
There is a constant war of conscience going on in every believer—Satan doesn’t
give up just because you believe Jesus is your Savior—the worldly temptations go
on until the Lord calls us home—we struggle to give up the lusts and
pleasures—and we want to remain obedient to God—that is how we glorify God
In Old Testament times God’s people made animal and harvest sacrifices so the
world could see man’s obedience to God—today we make sacrifices of the worldly
pleasures and lusts in obedience to God—Paul calls these living sacrifices
NKJ Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that
you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is
your reasonable service.
Before the fall of man into sin—God walked with Adam and Eve in the garden of
paradise—man walked with God—man walked with the knowledge of the truth of
God—Adam knew how to act in a God-pleasing way—all he had to do is not eat the
fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil
NKJ Genesis 2:16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of
the garden you may freely eat; 17 "but of the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."
Until this fall of man into sin—man knew exactly how to please God—all Adam had
to do is avoid eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil—but
after the fall into sin—and the knowledge that the devil could trick us to do
evil—things have been more complicated—and the devil became more confident and
more bold—and the war was on—the war of good and evil—and the second half of the
lesson Paul is giving us in God’s Word tells us how to conduct that war
NKJ Ephesians 4:25 Therefore, putting away lying, "Let each one of you speak
truth with his neighbor," for we are members of one another. 26 "Be angry, and
do not sin": do not let the sun go down on your wrath, 27 nor give place to the
devil. 28 Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working
with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has
need.
As members of the One Body of Christ—the Church—we must speak from our
hearts—and since we are filled with the Holy Spirit—God is in us—and we are
filled with love—love for God—love for each other—and love for our unbelieving
neighbor—let Scripture tell us what love is
NKJ 1 John 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and
everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 He who does not love does not
know God, for God is love.
we are to speak the truth out of love for and with our neighbor—both believer
and unbeliever—Paul expands on this statement in his letter to the Romans
NKJ Romans 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all
ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in
unrighteousness, 19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for
God has shown it to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible
attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even
His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 21 because,
although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but
became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22
Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and changed the glory of the
incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man -- and birds and
four-footed animals and creeping things. 24 Therefore God also gave them up to
uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among
themselves, 25 who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and
served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
Paul also tells us not to let the devil gain a foothold on us through anger—we
all get angry—and we all have to deal with the anger of others—for an example of
how to deal with anger—we go to the Gospel of Mark—and learn the lesson directly
from our Savior
NKJ Mark 3:1 And He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a
withered hand. 2 So they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the
Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him. 3 And He said to the man who had the
withered hand, "Step forward." 4 Then He said to them, "Is it lawful on the
Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" But they kept
silent. 5 And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the
hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." And he
stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.
Jesus was also angered by the money changers in the temple
NKJ Mark 11:15 So they came to Jerusalem. Then Jesus went into the temple and
began to drive out those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the
tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. 16 And He
would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple.
So we can see from Scripture that anger is not a sin—but it is how we deal with
the anger that has potential to cause us to sin—we also see that we must not let
our anger fester—be angry—and get over it—harbored anger brings no good
In summary of our lesson—we might consider the words of our Lord Jesus to those
who acted holy before men—but did not love—because God was not in them—Jesus is
teaching the Pharisees about their misrepresentation of the things of
God—specifically He is teaching them that what they represent as God’s teaching
concerning the washing of hands is not correct
NKJ Matthew 15:17 "Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes
into the stomach and is eliminated? 18 "But those things which proceed out of
the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. 19 "For out of the heart
proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness,
blasphemies. 20 "These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with
unwashed hands does not defile a man."
If God is in us—our hearts are filled with love—not evil thoughts—although the
war of good and evil constantly rages within us until our Lord calls us
home—Paul says follow the example of Godly men
NKJ Philippians 3:17 Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who
so walk, as you have us for a pattern. 18 For many walk, of whom I have told you
often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of
Christ: 19 whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory
is in their shame -- who set their mind on earthly things. 20 For our
citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the
Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed
to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to
subdue all things to Himself.
NKJ Luke 16:15 And He said to them, "You are those who justify yourselves before
men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an
abomination in the sight of God.
God sees us through our hearts—He doesn’t see us as man sees us
NKJ 1 Samuel 16:7 But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or
at the height of his stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not
see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at
the heart."
And so we learn how it is to conduct ourselves as Christians before those of
this world—and before the Lord our God
ALL GLORY BE TO GOD!