2024-06-30 San Jose CRC-sermon only - Gil Suh

Transcript

Ephesians 4:17-24

Putting off the old self and putting on a new self

Reader: 

Good morning. I will read the scripture passage this morning, and it's, uh, Ephesians Chapter four verses 17 through 24. You can find it on your PBI in your pew Bibles on page 9 49. Or please follow with me on the screen Instructions for Christian Living. So I tell you this and insist on it in the Lord that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do in the futility of their thinking.

They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.

That, however, is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ. And we're taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in jesus You were taught with regard to your former way of life To put off your old self Which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires To be made new in the attitude of your minds And to put on the new self Created to be like god in true righteousness and holiness This is the word of the Lord

Pastor Gil:

Do you, by any chance, keep some old clothes that you don't wear? Why? Oh, different reasons. I'm sure usually good reasons, at least to you. Um, this is the one picture I want to show.

Does it work? Yes, this is a picture that Amber and Danny sent it to me. That, that baby in the picture is Amber, right? Yeah, yes. The reason that I should send it to me and I want to show it to you is a snapshot of her being baptized, but pay attention to the clothes that Amber is wearing. And she told me that there was a clothes that was now handed down to her.

So it's a third generation, right? That Grace was wearing today. So keeping that clothes that many years, decades, and if this is still good enough condition, I'm sure you're going to pass it down to your kids, right? That's the kind of close that worth keeping. But I started by asking, Do you keep some old clothes that you don't wear?

I do. So I just actually I actually go through my closet time to time. Maybe not often enough. But so this morning I just like, Okay, I want to just show you like what? Okay, this is Jersey. basketball jersey that I wore when I was in Cambodia. So almost 10 years I was there that I was wearing this because every Monday I play basketball without them.

But now I stopped playing and I haven't wore this for like, I don't know, four or five years. If you, I mean, look okay, but if you could look close, it's like it's not a good shape. And why am I keeping it? Well, maybe, well, maybe someday I'll play again or some kind of nostalgia kind of value, whatever reasons.

I think we all can relate to that. Some reasons you keep some clothes. But here's a question. Would anyone keep on old clothes he or she should not keep? What do you mean by should not keep? Maybe the clothes that is associated with shameful past. Something that you want to forget about. You don't want to just dwell in that past.

But by holding on to that old clothes, time to time you go back to that past. Then you shouldn't keep it. What if that clothes has to do with spiritual clothes. So today's text we just read used this analogy of putting off and putting on garment, right? To explain Christian life. Here this is chapter four.

Earlier chapters in the book of Ephesians, Paul explains how God has sent Christ. to reconcile the world to himself. And as that part of the, his grand, the salvation, you and I are part of it and his church. So now chapter four, what does that mean then for us living in this world day to day? So issue is how each individual should fulfill that when it comes to concrete.

Then expression of that, if we believe that Christ is Lord and king, and he really indeed came to reconcile and renew the whole world to himself, to the, to make a new humanity, new people of God made of, of, you know, all kinds of socioeconomic, makeup and ethnic, but it's God's people. in Christ, then these God's people, if you're part of it, what does it mean for us to live on this earth?

So that's what now chapter four and today particularly talking about putting off the old self and putting on a new self. Paul seems to contrast the old self and the new self to describe ongoing struggles of Christian life. That seems, but actually not quite. Let me explain. First, the old self represent the sinful nature that we all have, but that is expressed in certain behavior, certain thinking, certain heart.

So here explain in a very heavy handed words here, it says, behind this outward expression of the old self is first futility of thinking. Somehow it's like mind is thinking futile things. Somehow it's darkened. So it's a mind. And then second is the hardening of hearts. There's something somehow the stiff and stubborn in their hearts insisting, I'm going to just stick with this.

And then thirdly, having lost all sensitivity, and giving themselves over to sensuality. That's more emotional or physical things. So that means mind, heart, and also physical areas all impacted. So in our reformed tradition, there is a doctrine called total depravity. Total depravity. What does it mean?

Actually, it doesn't mean that like, oh, the humanity is just completely and totally. That's not what it actually teaches. Because there's some goodness still in everyone, and goodness in the world, but somehow it's twisted, it's broken. Total depravity means there's no area in our life, whether it's personal or public, there's no area in this world and this life that has not been affected by sin.

So just imagine there's a cup of water, pure water, but the drop of ink dropped. Then what happened? It just, it affected the whole thing. Maybe there's a different degree, right? If you pour, like, you know, another cup, it'll become black. But this one, even just one drop. So here, that old self is described as every area, every be, uh, area of our even being, our mind, our heart, and our emotion, and our behaviors affected by it.

So that's old self. But the new self represent the renewed person. They used to be old, but somehow renewed with a new mindset and then different desire of heart. There's a godly desire. I want to, I want to know God. I want to worship Him. I want to follow His way, not hardened heart, like I'm going to stick with my own way.

Somehow the heart has been tenderized, softened toward God. And then that mind and the heart kind of translate into our behavior. I want to do things that according to that new, renewed mind and the softened heart. So that's what that being born again of the spirit means. So the new self is characterized by no more letting your old self master over your mind, heart, and body.

So now put up the old self and put on the new. But how do you do that in practical level? Of course, it's stop following the old self, and start following the new self. That's kind of a very simple way to put it. But here, note this. If you believe in Christ, struggle is not, uh, struggle between putting off old, and putting on new.

Why not? Struggle is at the heart. Its core is not about choosing between putting the new and putting the old. Why not? Because in Christ, you and I have been already coated in new.

Struggle is now, then, what to do with the old self. In other words, it's not between, like, you're choosing to wear. You're already, in a way, wearing the new. But why are we keeping the old and time to time be tempted to put that back on? It doesn't make sense, does it?

Just imagine this. I can give you some example. Let's say there is a gambling addict who lost everything through gambling. Now he comes to realize that's not what I want to do anymore. I want to leave that lifestyle because that ruined my life, right? Not only financially, relationship, all that. I don't, I don't want anything to with it with that.

But let's say, imagine that person somehow does not get rid of his or her. Casino VIP membership

just just in case. For what?

That's just one practical example. Just almost like when you're like convicted felon and you're you're in prison, you have to put the prison uniform, right? But now you're released. I know. Usually you have to keep that back behind, but somehow you're given that prison uniform to take. They don't want to keep, you know, they don't want to keep it there.

Take it. You can just throw it away. But now you keep that prison uniform that is associated with your past that you don't want to go back to. Why keep it? See, it doesn't make sense. But that's what we do. That's why Paul is urging us spiritually. The New Testament teaching is clear. In Christ we have new identity and new self.

Given. Done. So second Corinthians 517. If anyone is in Christ, the Grace Diane, or anyone who has been baptized by faith, if anyone is in Christ, he or she is a new creation. The old has passed, the new has come. Now here, another, now this has been on the whole time, okay. Let's go to the next one, which is good.

That thing is making a point.

All of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourself with Christ. That clothed here, clothed, that's the same word that put on. You know, in Ephesians that we read, there's a put on the new self. That's the same word they use in Galatians chapter 3, 27. Which means you have already put on. It's not you're going to choose to put it on.

Wow, should I put on the new self? Or should I put on the old self? In Christ, already on. Same word. But then, how about put off? The next slide, please. The same word, the put off, is the throw off. Throw away, get rid of it. Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, that's Hebrews chapter 12 one, let us put up, throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangled and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

So here, the word put off and put on in our text grammatically is called aorist middle. Let me explain what that, why am I saying this? I want it to be present active because our experience resonate more with, Oh, this putting on, put it on is a sort of a ongoing struggle. Some days I feel like putting on, you know, the old self at like I stroke.

So Oh, continue to put on new self. continue to put off also. That makes sense to me in terms of our experience, but that's not what the scripture says and use. Aorist middle is very specific. Emphasize what? It's a snapshot of the event. The Aorist middle is basically the definite and decisive action that has lasting effect on the subject.

It means something happened, but that what happened has lasting effect on the subject, whether it's the person who did that action or who received that action. So when, when Paul used this put off the old self and put on new self, what he meant is it's already done. Just claim it. Don't forget that you already have the new self on.

Just get rid of the old self that is already not, doesn't have. claim on you by what? That's the renewing of our mind. That's the reality that God sees. And it is important for us to to to be to form by that mindset.

Last week, I was asked by two people in two different occasions. But these two questions in my mind is interrelated. One person was asking, What is substitutionary atonement? substitutionary atonement. And the other person was asking, like, what is the righteousness of God given to us? Because in their mind, like, righteous, it's like, but then there's a Bible talking about righteousness of God imputed to us or given to us.

What? Those are two questions, but they're related. But here's my answer to those two questions. Because here, if you put the new clothes, the new self, then he says, That the new self is to be like God in the righteousness and holiness. Just think with me. Let's say there was a judge, but this is not real, but like more of a story to illustrate this.

There was a judge, righteous judge, very just judge, but that judge has a son who is troublemaker one after another. That's another mystery of life, isn't it? Why that just and righteous judge have this troublesome son? we can easily say, well, something like he did, he failed, uh, um, parenting, not necessarily.

Anyway, the point is that son was a troublemaker causing one after another, went to jail, got out, went back, but now committed terrible crime. Now this is just kind of irony, right? But then, yeah. He happened to be now before the judge for final sentence. And this judge who is righteous and just just because that convict is his son, he cannot just minimize sentence.

He has to be faithful and do what he need to be done according to the law that he interpret his son deserve death sentence. So he's judge. Looking at the sun in his prison uniform, he sentenced death penalty. Maybe some of you heard this story. That's penalty death. But as a father, he cannot see his son being punished by death.

So this just righteous judge, after sentencing, according to the law justice, he stepped down.

Anyway, there was a law. He didn't break the law. There's the provision of the law. If somebody else take this place, the justice will be served. So that judge father convicted his son, but he decided to take his son's penalty upon himself.

Imagine that's what happened. Now his son, the prison uniform, He can take it off because he's now innocent, right? In a way, he's not righteous in it, but he's declared to be righteous and innocent because now his father covered his iniquity and sin. Can you imagine if this is really what happened? The son, after his father really executed, will he keep his prison uniform?

and dabble and go back to his old way of life. No, we cannot imagine that. And that's a reminder of this word putting on print off is not legalistic command for us to feel guilty about our struggle with. This is a good news that has already been done.

So what it means then to put off the old self and put on the new. for us in today's context, in real context. Well, we can think of many directions. I was thinking what not to be mindlessly distracted and even enslaved by fascinating technology that sometimes take us away from our new self, not to pursue worldly possessions and pleasure as if they are the ends.

to be mindfully open to God, renewing us from the inside and forming us to be like Christ. Okay, this still kind of a vague. So I was just thinking for me, just give you one example that has very recently just come to my mind. I somehow thought this is more of a problem for teenagers and the, you know, the children, but I realized it's not.

It's problematic for me too. One of the areas of my life that needs attention in light of the great exchange, the great exchange that already happened, took place, is the use of my spare time and leisure time. I mindlessly watch, I just catch myself YouTube and check social media to relax. Because, you know, I've been like, you know, thinking a lot about, you know, sermon and, you know, church and I want to just do something that is mindlessly, maybe watching TV for some people for me is a sit down is mindlessly just like YouTube and all social media.

What's going on? But you know what I notice? I notice it can be more than a distraction, but interference with what's more important. Yeah. If not regulated, I realized I have that tendency

attempted to put that old self back on. And that's the kind of because we have so many different avenues and means through which we kind of sneak up on and then try to put that all. No, we have to like, no, that's not me. That's I don't belong to that. We need that reminder and we need that help and the power of the Holy Spirit.

Slowly and surely, if you're not careful, we are formed by the culture and mashed into it. It was like, whoo. So then what do I do? Just get rid. Okay, get rid of it. What does it mean? Get rid of this and it to some people. Yes, maybe you need to. But to me, at least it was okay. I need to. By now, you should know me like I'm more of a kind of moderate person, like a centrist, not, you know, like, Okay, I need to have that reminder and some kind of system in place to not to fall back to it.

So I'm just say this in public. I'm going to just take one day off unplug day. This day, I'm going to just not open anything, social media, anything like that. And I'm going to read more books and do other things. Because that's the sort of what spiritual discipline or practice meant to be, right? Means to the end.

Because I was challenged by, the next slide please. This quote.

This is Thomas Merton. Thank you. He said, I have come to think that care of the soul requires a high degree of resistance to the culture around us, simply because that culture is dedicated to values that have no concern for the soul.

It made me think, I hope you make you think.

So how about you? What area of life you need to claim the great exchange?

The new self in Christ. and being aware of the old self tendency. I said like, no. If you can come think of it, God is pleased to work with you through the Holy Spirit, cooperate with you. What is at stake is our experience of abundant life and our witness to the world. And those of us who are, who have been closed with Christ, although at heart we are all saying Our old self is still around us, but by God's grace and his power, we live life according to the new self in Christ.

Let us pray.

Heavenly Father, we come before you acknowledging the struggle of holding on to our old sinful ways. Although we are being called to live as new creations in Christ. That struggle is real. So Lord, we pray to empower us through your Holy Spirit to make conscious decisions that reflect our new identity in Christ.

Guide us to resist the distractions and temptations of this world and to live out our faith with renewed minds and hearts. May we continually seek your truth. Presence, living life.