July 11, 2020 MARCHING TO A DIFFERENT DRUMMER
Romans 6:4 “just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even we also should walk in newness of life.”
2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”
Romans 12:2 “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
1 John 2:6 “Whoever says he abides in Him ought to walk in the same way in which He walked.”
What drummer are we listening to in our march through this life? Are we in step with the world, or with the kingdom of God? The gospel message that we are new creations and not refurbished people is a radical message. We live in the world, we have jobs, families, we have trials and difficulties, but yet, the scriptures tell us not to live according to the pattern of this world. When we read the scriptures, we read about being ‘new creations’ and what it means to be a follower of Christ, yet we may find ourselves being more conformed to the pattern of the world than to the pattern of His kingdom. I think one major problem we have, one major error we fall into, is that we merge the new with the old; we co-habit with the old self and the new self-and that puts us in a no win situation when it comes to living life that is in harmony with the scriptures. Because we have been exposed so long to a sub-standard gospel, we have come to except this co-habitation of the new and the old as the norm. On the one hand we believe that we have been made new, but on the other hand, we may find ourselves all too often responding out of our old man, the flesh. We have this abiding internal, perhaps subtle conflict, in our spirit; we know we are not living out the gospel, but we have learned to live with life the way it is; we have accepted the merging the new and the old-to our own harm. However, there is a clear distinction; the new creation is one thing, and the flesh, or the old self, is something entirely different; we cannot walk in the Spirit and the flesh simultaneously. The good news is that we can live in the world, but can live as new creations, in step with the kingdom of God. The gospel is great news! God has done all that is necessary for us to lay aside the old self and walk in who He created us to be. Let is not rationalize our walking in the flesh by claiming that ‘we are not perfect,’ or ‘everybody sins,’ etc. The eye-opening truth is that we make the choice of whether we walk according to the Spirit or the flesh; we do not have to walk according to the flesh. It’s not about ‘sinless perfection,’ but about living as new creations. (If we sin, we confess it and God forgives us.) Are we listening to our flesh, the old man, or to the new creation we are in Christ? Our part is to be transformed by renewing our mind to the truth of the gospel-and it’s the gospel truth that we are new creations-now let us walk in our new self.
Galatians 5:16 “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.”
Romans 6:6 “knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that so we should no longer be in bondage to sin;”
Blessings,
Buddy
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