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Rid Yourselves

Rid Yourselves

Words of Faith 11-6-19

Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2019

Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com

Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL

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Colossians 3

[7] You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. [8] But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. [9] Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices [10] and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.

 

      Chapter three of Colossians gives us some of the most powerful guidance on how to order our Christian living and find freedom in Christ.  It is not by rulemaking.  It is not in worshipping angels or seeking some kind of mystic experience.  It is not through rituals or regimens of self-denial.  So, what is it?

      Paul's first exhortation concerned the necessity that we put to death whatever belongs to your earthly nature, those things that take us captive—sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.  That is the most fundamental start, dealing with the sin nature failing to deal with the sin nature leaves us treating the symptoms rather than the source.

       But the struggle can still be challenging.  Why is that?  The problem is that the habits and trappings of the old self are not removed quickly or easily.  The patterns of the old life without Christ can be hard to change.  They are like the old clothing from an old way of life.  Most old clothing is comfortable and easy to drift back into.  The old ways of talking, reacting, and thinking are like an old pair of shoes or a well-worn and comfortable jacket.  They are easy to slip back on. 

       It’s for that reason that we must not just temporarily remove the old trappings.  We must get rid of them.  We must get rid of the ways in which we once lived.  We must rid ourselves of anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language. We must not lie to each other, since we have taken off our old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.

      Our problems arise when we keep those old clothes tucked away in a special closet.  We may like to bring them out on special occasions, perhaps when we are with old friends or in a special setting.  Or we may hold these clothes in reserve just in case we need them in a difficult circumstance.  The problem is that we cannot gain our new wardrobe—our clothing in the raiment of Christ—as long as we are holding back these old clothes.

      The beautiful thing about your new wardrobe in Christ is that it is always being renewed!  Imagine a wardrobe that is ALWAYS brand new and never wears out.  Imagine clothing that is always in the best of style and in the best of taste.  Imagine clothes that are inexhaustible in supply and tasteful propriety.  That… is your new wardrobe of Christ… your new self. More about that later.

      For now, how is your wardrobe?  Are you hanging on to some of your old stuff?  Are you keeping a stash of old clothes, in case they come back into your style?  Are you keeping those comfortable old togs even though they reflect nothing of the newness Christ offers?  Isn't it time to get rid of the old so that you can receive the new?

 

       Lord Jesus, give me grace to get rid of the old clothes.  Give me grace to become clothed with Your righteousness.  Give me the new self that is always being made new.  Clothe me in Your raiment.  In Jesus' Name.

 

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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, and our website, and our church app, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2010 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.  

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