January 6, 2021 WE CAN LAY ASIDE
Ephesians 4:20-24, 31-32 “But you did not learn Christ in this way, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as the truth is in Jesus, that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lust of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.” “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.
Even as believers, we may believe that we are just the way we are. We may excuse our bad actions or our bad temperament as just being part of our natural make-up. However, the gospel of the kingdom of God is radical; according to the scriptures, we have the choice and the power to lay aside who we use to be-the old self! We are no longer limited to what is ‘natural.’ The interesting thing is that God does not ‘zap’ us and make us live in our newness; God has given us a part to play in our walking and living as new creations. The word of God is ‘high and lofty,’ but it also gets right down to the nitty-gritty of life-to life in the trenches. We have all experienced what it is like to be bitter, to have wrath, to be angry, to be critical, to be ill-natured, and etc. A prerequisite to laying the old things aside is that we must know and believe that God has made it possible for us to do so. A cornerstone of the gospel message is that God makes things new. We read in 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” The good news for us-and those around us-is that we do not have to have anger that erupts when certain things happen, or have malice and wrath, or be argumentative, ill-tempered, or any of the harmful ways that are unlike God. It is a miracle, but we can be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving, peace-makers, ones who build up and encourage, compassionate, and be ones who exhibit the heart of God in all situations and circumstances. Laying the old things aside does not happen automatically; it involves ‘learning Christ’ as Paul said. We learn Christ by feeding on His word and turning our hearts and minds to Him, and seeking Him first. The wonderful promises of God in the scriptures are experienced by those who’s hearts or turned to Him and who seek Him first. Let us no longer live as who we use to be; let us live as those who have been made new, who reflect the character and the heart of our heavenly Father. We can reflect the light of God in any circumstance and in any situation.
Romans 6:4 “Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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