Weekly Devotional 4-8-13 The Old Versus The New Man
As My wife and I were driving along one day a person approaching us on the opposite side of the road began flashing her lights, alerting us that something was going on up ahead. As we rounded a slight bend in the road, we noticed a policeman sitting on an adjacent side street. Then not much further ahead, we noticed that another policeman had a person pulled over and was writing this person a ticket. Like anyone else would have, my eyes went immediately to the speedometer just to check to see if I was being a good boy or not. I haven’t had a moving violation ticket since 1985, but we all get lackadaisical at times. Sometimes we even find ourselves over the speed limit. As I looked at the speedometer I found that I was being a good boy and was thankful that my practice of staying within the speed limit paid off.
As I was thinking about the young lady who was flashing her lights as an alert (a warning), I began to consider why it was that she was siding with a potential law breaker (me) against the authorities. I was led in my thinking to Romans 1:28:32. In that passage Paul is addressing the plight of unregenerate man and the extent that he has fallen away from righteousness. He closes by saying that unregenerate man not only finds pleasure in unrighteous acts, but he also takes pleasure in others who practice the same things.
The common denominator of the named practices of those alluded to in Romans 1:28-32, and the actions of the above mentioned lady, the Bible calls sin. Sin distorts man’s appreciation of righteousness and gives him an appetite for things that are unholy. The depth of depravity may not be the same in all persons, but the seed of depravity exists in all persons. How else can it be explained that unregenerate people enjoy or at least tolerate course jokes, X-rated movies, bad language, etc.?
Hopefully, the above mentioned lady is a “born again” Christian. Even “born again” Christians are not exempt from sinning, but should not our practice and determinations be different than that which is fostered by our old natures? Paul wrote that the Christian is to “put off the old man which is corrupt according to its deceitful lusts and put on the new man which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness (Ephesians 4:22…24). And later on in this same letter he exhorted his readers to, “11Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.14Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; (Ephesians 6:12-17 NKJV ).
The Christian is to put off the old man. He is to put on the new man, and he is to put on the armor of God if he ever hopes to be different than those who, as of yet, have not been reborn from above, i.e. spiritually regenerated.
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