New Clothes
Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self … Colossians 3:5-10
Paul saw every human being on earth as either “in Adam” or “in Christ.” As we come to faith in Jesus we are immediately removed from being “in Adam” and are thereafter “in Christ.”
The change is likened to changing clothes. In the world we wore the world’s clothes. We lived the world’s way. But now that we’re in Christ, we can live Christ’s way. We can take off the world’s clothes and put on the clothes of our new life in Christ.
Paul’s list of the world’s clothes above is in two categories – sex and speech. Both are as central to our lives today as 2,000 years back. Both have enormous potential for good and enormous potential for evil. The church recognises the danger from sexual misconduct but foolishly gives much less emphasis to speech misconduct.
Reading through the list of sexual and speech sins slowly. Which ones specifically create the biggest problems for you?
A key to finding freedom from the power of these sins is to, by faith, “put off” each one and “put on” who you are in Christ. From Colossians 4:12 on, Paul describes behaviour in line with who we are in Christ.
As Christians we need to dress right. We’re not of the world and don’t need to dress that way. We’re in Christ and so our lifestyle should reflect Him.
What are you going to wear today?
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