When you were saved, something remarkable happened. You became a new creature in Christ, 2 Cor 5:17. As a new creature, you currently have an old man and a new man. Your old man may look spiritual because of your religion; but he’s still just the old man. Today, in Col 3:5-9, we are going to study what we are supposed to do with the old man now that we are saved. In the next lesson, Lord willing, we will study what we are supposed to do with the new man. We must deal with both of these; not just one or the other.
To put off the old man, you must:
Mortify your members – Col 3:5 – the old man is who you were; he’s not just what you used to do. In 1 Cor 6:9-11, Paul said of fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, effeminate, and the like, “such were some of you.” They did what they did because that’s who they were. Your old man did what he did because that’s who he is.
- You walked in these sins, Col 3:7, Eph 2:2-3, Eph 4:17-19.
- You lived in these sins, Col 3:7, 1 Tim 1:13, 15. Gal 1:13-14. That was your life.
And because you were a lost sinner, the wrath of God was on you, Col 3:6; Jn 3:36. You were already condemned, Jn 3:18-19. We were the children of disobedience.
Therefore, one thing that you must do to change your life is that you must mortify your members. Your old man is crucified with Christ Rom 6:6-12. The Holy Spirit did that for you when he saved you. So, let your old man die through the Spirit, Rom 8:13. That’s the only way you’re going to stop the old man. Let him die. In 1 Cor 15:31, Paul wrote, “I die daily.” Your members on the earth are…
- Fornication – fornication is the act, whether you are married or not, Matt 19:9. And your body is not for fornication, 1 Cor 6:13. Gentile converts were instructed to stop fornicating, Acts 15:20.
- Uncleanness – God is holy. He distinguishes between the clean and the unclean. He wants us to be clean, so we must put off everything unclean. Even your motives can be unclean.
- Inordinate affection – this affection is not limited to rules; it’s irregular. Paul calls these “vile affections” in Rom 1:26.
- Evil concupiscence – unlawful or irregular desire of sexual pleasure. Lust for worldly things. Contrast evil concupiscence with heavenly affection in Col 3:2. John wrote, “Love not the world,” 1 Jn 2:15-17.
- Covetousness – which is idolatry. Covetousness is making a god out of possessions or your desire for possessions. You become possessed by your possessions.
Put off your deeds – Col 3:9 – putting off the deeds of your old man is like taking off a coat. You literally put them off. Put off:
- Anger – anger affects your spirit. So rule your spirit, Prov 25:28, or it will rule you.
- Wrath – this is violent anger. Something is going to break.
- Malice – the is the desire to hurt someone bodily or verbally. You want them to hurt like you do.
- Blasphemy – this is basically cussing. Christians have a clever way of changing up their cussing so they can still cuss without coming right out and taking the Lord’s name in vain. It’s still blasphemy.
- Filthy communication – this is talking about filthy things. We day, “Dirty mouth.”
- Lying – the is anything that is not fully the truth.
Conclusion: There is no better way to deal with the old man than to put him off. You cannot appease him. You cannot hide him. You cannot disguise him. If he is not mortified and put off, he will try his best to run the show. That’s just who he is.
If you weren’t saved until you were 25 years old, for example, the day you were saved, your old man was 25 years old and your new man was only 1 day old. There’s no way that your new man stands a chance right after you get saved unless you mortify your members and put off the deeds of your old man.