4:17 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord,
that you no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles also walk, in the
futility of their mind,
4:18 being darkened in their understanding, (Rom 1:18-28)
alienated from the life of God,
because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardening of their hearts;
4:19 who having become callous gave themselves up to lust,
to work all uncleanness with greediness.
4:20 But you did not learn Christ that way;
4:21 if indeed you heard him,
and were taught in him, even as truth is in Jesus:
4:22 that you put away, as concerning your former way of life, the old man,
that grows corrupt after the lusts of deceit;
4:23 and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind,
4:24 and put on the new man, (Col 3:9,10; Gal 2:20; 2Cor 5:17)
who in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of truth.
4:25 Therefore, putting away falsehood, speak truth each one with
his neighbor.
For we are members one of another.
4:26 "Be angry, and don't sin." Don't let the sun go down on your wrath,
(Ps 4:4)
4:27 neither give place to the devil.
4:28 Let him who stole steal no more; but rather let him labor,
working with his hands the thing that is good,
that he may have something to give to him who has need.
4:29 Let no corrupt speech proceed out of your mouth,
but such as is good for building up as the need may be,
that it may give grace to those who hear.
4:30 Don't grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for
the day of redemption.
4:31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, outcry, and slander,
be put away from you, with all malice.
4:32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other,
just as God also in Christ forgave you.
Rom 13:12 "The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us
therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of
light."
Col 3:8 "But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice,
blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth."
Ro 13:12 "The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore
cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light."
Col 3:8 "But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice,
blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth."
Heb 12:1 "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a
cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so
easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,"
Jas 1:21 "Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of
naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save
your souls."
1Pe 2:1 "Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and
hypocrisies, and envies, all evil speakings,"
Rom 13:12 "The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us
therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of
light."
Rom 13:14 "But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision
for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof."
1Cor 15:53 "For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this
mortal must put on immortality."
Col 1:27 "To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory
of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:"
Eph 4:24 "And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created
in righteousness and true holiness."
Eph 6:11 "Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand
against the wiles of the devil."
Col 3:10 "And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge
after the image of him that created him:"
Col 3:12 "Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved,
bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;"
Col 3:14 "And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond
of perfectness."
1Th 2:5 "For neither at any time used we flattering words, as ye know,
nor a cloke of covetousness; God is witness:"
1Th 5:8 "But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the
breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation."
Pr 9:8 "Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise
man, and he will love thee."
Pr 27:5 "Open rebuke is better than secret love."
Pr 28:23 "He that rebuketh a man afterwards shall find more favour
than he that flattereth with the tongue."
Pr 26:28 "A lying tongue hateth those that are afflicted by it; and a
flattering mouth worketh ruin."
Pr 29:5 "A man that flattereth his neighbour spreadeth a net for his
feet."
Pr 10:18 "He that hideth hatred with lying lips, and he that uttereth
a slander, is a fool."
Pr 10:19 "In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that
refraineth his lips is wise."
Pr 10:21 "The lips of the righteous feed many: but fools die for want
of wisdom."
Pr 10:31 "The mouth of the just bringeth forth wisdom: but the froward
tongue shall be cut out."
Pr 10:32 "The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable: but the
mouth of the wicked speaketh frowardness."
Pr 12:22 "Lying lips are abomination to the LORD: but they that deal
truly are his delight."
Pr 16:13 "Righteous lips are the delight of kings; and they love him
that speaketh right."
Pr 16:23 "The heart of the wise teacheth his mouth, and addeth
learning to his lips."
Pr 24:26 "Every man shall kiss his lips that giveth a right answer."
Pr 26:24 "He that hateth dissembleth with his lips, and layeth up
deceit within him;"
Pr 26:28 "A lying tongue hateth those that are afflicted by it; and a
flattering mouth worketh ruin."
vs 17-19 Most literally this can be translated "This I say therefore and testify in the Lord for you to no longer walk as the other Gentiles walk ..." It is rather ambiguous whether "This" refers to what he just said in the beginning of the chapter, or from the beginning of the letter, or whether it refers to what he is about to say. But "walking worthy of the calling" certainly entails not walking as the rest of the Gentiles. "Gentiles" is "ethnos" where we get the word "ethnic". So one way to think of this is not living a lifestyle like the rest of our ethnic group.
But this does not mean to live a lifestyle completely different than others, for Paul strove to be all things to all men. Rather it is with respect to the applications of their futile thinking that we should avoid. Paul speaks extensively of outworkings of such futile thinking in Romans 1:18-32. As in Romans, he points out a corrupt way of thinking - godless philosophy - leads to the expression (and self-justification) of corrupt desires. "Being past feeling" refers to a corrupted conscience. There are those who seek freedom from the feeling of guilt. But if this is the goal, this can be achieved through corruption. But the Christian seeks not simply freedom from the feeling of guilt, but freedom from actual guilt itself. Such freedom is obtained through faith in the atoning sacrifice of Christ.
vs 20-24 Many who have come to Christ today through the false gospel of easy-believism have been given a false impression that one simply prays Christ into their heart and then can go on their way to continue to live however they have been living. But inherent in Paul's gospel is repentance.
Ac 26:20 I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds.
Living as a Christian involves changing our behavior from what we were towards what we were meant to be. If a person has not come to understand this yet, then they may not have come to know Christ yet - regardless of their words, or prayers, or what rituals they performed. For salvation is not given without a repentant attitude. That is a part of the kind of faith that saves. And it is not simply a mental agreement to the idea of repentance, but rather an application oriented faith.Were you taught to put off your old self and put on the new? If not, then you were not taught correctly.
On the other hand, it is not that one should have the attitude that by putting off and putting on they are trying to obtain or maintain their salvation status. But rather, having been saved one then changes their behavior. This is inevitable for those born of God and will inevitably be brought to completion after death. For our sanctification is one aspect of the hope we have.
Having been born of God, Christians are now new creatures (2Cor 5:17) We now have a dual nature, while we live in the flesh, which can lead to schizophrenic internal conflicts as Paul expressed in Romans 7.
"For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do-- this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it." Rom 7:19,20
vs 25 But what practically does it mean to take off the old self and
put on the new?
One thing it means is telling the truth. This is the first thing listed
in verse 25 and also mentioned in Colossians 3:9 "Do not lie to each
other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices." This is
less common than you would think in the community of those who claim to be
children of truth. For many don't even express the gospel truthfully. And there
is a great deal of idle speculation, half-truths, and tabloid accounts which
Christians get caught up in. Christians would be less gullible if they simply
made truth a priority. But often I have found more integrity and more
truthfulness in the secular scientific community than among many Christian
groups. Our priority in speaking should be firstly to tell the truth. We should
not simply make up lies to "attract" people to Christ. Nor should we preach lies
to one another for the sake of gaining popularity and making people feel good
about themselves.
vs 26 This is taken from Psalm 4:4 "In your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent." Christians should be provoked in their spirit. But such provoking should lead to quiet meditation, peace and resolution. This practice is demonstrated quite commonly in the Psalms. Even Psalm 22, which Jesus meditated upon when he was on the cross starts off in distress but ends in peace.
vs 27 But anger that leads to bitterness or vengeance gives the devil a foothold to work with.
vs 28 Naturally, stealing is out of the question. Stealing is often due to attitudes of selfishness and laziness. But we need to have the attitude not only of not being a burden to others, but go beyond even that to consider opportunities in which we can give to the needy. But we must beware of the manner in which we earn money. For there are many jobs that may require us to compromise our convictions and integrity. And there are products that may be produced that are harmful to people. Whereas we should produce things which are useful.
vs 29 Along these lines we need to think how also to edify others by what we say. We need to consider who we can help others mature in their faith.
vs 30 Although our salvation is secure and sealed, yet we are not perfect yet. But we presently have an intimate relationship with God through the Spirit the dwells in us. And we often forget that when satisfying our fleshly nature, we grieve the Holy Spirit. This is simply not a polite thing to do.
vs 31 What do these attitudes have in common but hatred. Hating others is quite natural for our fleshly nature. Between Christians this often comes in the form of demonizing one another.
vs 32 On the other hand it is also quite natural for our new man to be kind and compassionate and forgiving, especially in view of God's graciousness to us despite what we deserve.
Notice also that there is no mention of rituals or of keeping holy days, even particulars, but only general principles and attitudes. For it is up to us to derive particular applications. But the important thing is for us to do so in the right spirit. For we are not under the Law, but under grace.