Sunday Sermons
My Identity
“The most philosophical questions in life are the most practical. There is nothing like your honest perspective on ‘Who is God?’ and “Who am I?’ to color your day” (Who are You Really?, Andree Seu, Worldmag.com, 1-18-2010). The Bible gives us basically two choices concerning who we are; these two basic choices are described are being:
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Saints or sinners
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The wicked or the righteous
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Believers or unbelievers
In this lesson I want explore the contrast between the corrupt Old Man (Self) and the New Man (Self) as described by the very One who takes us from one to another.
Ephesians 4:22-24
“That, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which is in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth”
Colossians 3:9-10
“Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him”
The Basic Differences
There are a number of passages we could use that clearly define the difference between the Old Self and the New Self. One obvious set of passages would be Galatians 5:19-23 which sets the works of the flesh in contrast to the fruit of the Spirit. In this set of passages here is the difference:
Galatians 5:19-23
Old Self New Self
Sexually Immoral True Love
Idolatrous/Sorcery Faithful
Enmity/Strife/Outbursts of anger Joyful/Peaceful/Kind
Dissensions/Factions Unity
Envying Contentment
Drunkenness/carousing Meek and Self-controlled
Ephesians 4:25-32
Old Self New Self
Bends the truth: 4:25 Is Honest to the core
Misuses anger: 4:26 Briefly uses anger as a motivator
Is naïve about sin: 4:27 Is wise about avoiding evil
A cheater, a taker: 4:28 A giver
Tears people down: 4:29 Builds people up
Abusive Constructive
Discouraging Encouraging
Bitter Kind
Optimistic Pessimistic
Self Pity Gratitude
Regrets Thankfulness
Closed/Guarded Open/Approachable
Tracks slights/wrongs Tracks blessings
I am still a “Sinner”?
Often religious people will say something like, “Well, we are just all sinners”. One writer observed, “I have spent years cultivating my self-image as a sinner. I thought it was both biblical and humble. A gentle friend brought other Scripture to my attention. He reminded me that I was a ‘new creation’ (2 Corinthians 5:17). I knew that already, but I told him I can still say I’m a sinner. My friend said that was confusing, and not particularly doing me any good. He said the Old Man, crucified with Christ when I was baptized into Christ’s death, would like me to think I am him” (Seu).
On the one hand, Christians still do sin and it is healthy to remember that we are not sinlessly perfect (1 John 1:8-10). Yet, we are still called “saints” (1 Corinthians 1:2) – not just once but many times in the New Testament:
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“The saints who lived at Lydda” (Acts 9:32).
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“...the saints in prisons” (Acts 26:10).
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“Because He intercedes for the saints” (Romans 8:27).
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“Go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints” (1 Cor. 6:1).
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“The collection for the saints” (16:1).
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“But fellow citizens with the saints” (Ephesians 2:19).
Yet Christians are described in scripture only once as “sinners”, that is when they were being unfaithful (James 4:8).
What the “Old Man” Would Like us to Believe
“The Old Man – crucified but still kicking, profits by our confusion regarding our identity. If we are still identifying ourselves with the old sinner we were – if we fail to grasp the depth of the new union we enjoy with Christ – we will be robbed of the empowerment God means us to have as beneficiaries of that union. Your identity makes all the difference in what kind of day you have, and what measure of spiritual victory you will enjoy today” (Seu).
“You really have not changed that much”:
The Old man will attempt to tell us that while it looks like we have improved on the outside, we are not fooling him, and that basically, on the inside we are still that pitiful, weak, needy and selfish person. While this could be true for some who profess Christ, it is not true for many. Take a little time and really evaluate how far you have come. Many of us have made huge strides (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). In fact, were not people in the world amazed at your transformation? Those who deal with people who have various addictions might even use the word “miracle” to describe our change. For a number of us went from a drinking, partying, fornicating, self-indulgent mess to a prayerful, bible quoting, and self-controlled person – in a month. If fact, we actually just walked away from many sins that the world considers to be life-time addictions. Do not let the Old Man convince you that you have never really changed because you are still struggling with something – just look at all the things you no longer struggle with! The remaining sin or couple of sins that you are still battling – does not mean you have failed, it only means a couple of pockets of resistance are left – do not miss all the territory you have gained in your Christian life!
“I was fun!”:
Actually, the text says that the Old Man was being “corrupted” (Ephesians 4:22). Another way of saying it, is that the Old Man was “immature” and was never going to grow up. Make a simple comparison. When you were a sinner, how often were you bored and complaining about having nothing to do? Since you became a Christian, when is the last time you had nothing to do?
“You will not be happy without me!”:
“His greatest power over is now is in the strength of his bluff. But the old man has no authority over us than we cede to him” (Seu). Not only was he not that much fun – he had brought upon us a lot of heartache and misery (Titus 3:3). The old man has an insatiable appetite. And happiness is impossible when you are linked with a person with an unquenchable desires.
“I was good for you – I gave you an exciting personality!”:
This is the old myth that things such a alcohol have a good effect on our personalities and such things only “intensify” our likeability. The real truth is that the old man was never really us. The old man wants us to think that “He is us, and we are him”, and so we keep on validating him, “Well I just I am just...”. Look again at Colossians 3:10. The New Self, being a Christian is not something foreign or like a mask that really does not fit us. The New Self is actually the person that was always there, the real us that God created before the sin arrived. The Old Man tries to tell us that being a Christian is not really who we are, and that we are only faking it, and that it is not our true nature. Yet it is our true nature. We were born pure and innocent and with God-given potential for goodness.
