LEARNING DAILY

Colossians 3:5-11, Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them. But now you yourselves are to put off all these things: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,

This weekend’s message is one all Believers need to hear. Dr. Ed Newton reminded us that as Christians, as followers of Jesus Christ, there are worldly and sinful things in our life that we need to stop doing. Go back and look at the list of sexual sins and the list of social sins that Paul lists as practices that need to stop! You might see one or two things from your “old self’ that you are hanging on to.

 Paul writes we are to “put those things to death”; or we are to stop allowing our body to do whatever it wants to do. As Believers, we are to follow a narrow way, a way that walks like Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let Him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me” (Luke 9:23). Walking the narrow way is a matter of not only giving up one’s own agenda but dying to it. Stop and consider your many attempts to do that, to stop being “angry” or “having unclean thoughts” or “the filthy language out of your mouth”.  How many times did you say, even promise, that you would not do that again – only to fail. I have found what Dr. Newton said to be true. “It is not a matter of trying harder; it is a matter of allowing Jesus to do the cleansing for you.” He said, “Whatever you keep going back to or what you used to do we have to stop!” My good brother, Don, used to remind me that there are things we just need to say “NO” to. There are other things that only God can remove, and He does it His way. Can I tell you from experience that God’s way can be painful, but it sure does work! The list above refers to evil thoughts, actions, inappropriate cravings, evil desires and idolatry. Paul refers to covetousness and jealousy as idolatry.

There are two thoughts to take away from this. The “wrath of God” is coming to those who are involved with these sins, the ungodly, to those who have not been saved by Jesus Christ. Judgment is coming!

Believers, those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ will escape this judgment. Our sins were forgiven when we were saved. However, we are to no longer live the way we used to before our salvation happened. Salvation is not a license to live the way we want to because we are forgiven. We must live differently. If you are not doing so, stop what you are doing that reflects your “old self” and live the way Jesus desires you to live. He has accepted you, redeemed you, and is changing you into His image. Our goal is to become like Him and that must include no longer going back to doing those things we did before Jesus Christ saved us.