Many people make resolutions at this time of year. But frequently the resolutions only last a month or two. Then you are back to your old ways. This text shows you how to make a resolution stick, how to make a change that lasts.
Put Off – the former conversation is the old way that the old man does things. This must be the FORMER not the current. The old man is corrupt and his lusts are deceitful. His lusts are contrary to the Spirit’s desires, Gal 5:17.
It is impossible for the old man to live the Christian life. He can pretend but there is no reforming him, no cleaning him up, or no making him holy where he is suitable to God. He must die and be buried and put off.
You can tell when he has raised his ugly head. Like Martha said about Lazarus after he had been in the grave four days, “Behold, he stinketh.” He’s a stinker. No excuse to say, “Well, that’s just the way I am”. You must put that old man off if you are going to make a change.
Renew – in the spirit of your mind. You have to get a new perspective, something that the old man can’t cook up on his own. We have the mind of Christ. We have the helmet of salvation. We have Rom 12:2. You must have a new mind and attitude about the matter to make a change.
The new man must be instructed by the Bible, preaching, teaching, prayer, fellowship with the Lord, and communion with the Spirit. 2 Cor 4:16, “though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day”.
Put On – 2 Cor 5:17 says, “Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new”. When we get saved, we truly are new creatures in Christ. Our old man is crucified [Rom 6:6] and he is dead [Rom 6:7-8, 8:10] and buried [Rom 6:4].
Our new man is alive [Gal 2:20; Rom 6:11] and is walking [Rom 6:4]. We didn’t even have a new man until we received Jesus Christ as our Savior. There is as much difference between the new man and the old man as there is between Jesus Christ and the devil, himself.
The Christian life must be lived by the new man. He is the only one who can do it. He is alive and walking when you put him on. However, he must grow strong with time. Our new man is to be put on [Eph 4:24]. And we must do this daily and continually if we are going to make a change.
According to Eph 4:25-31, notice the changes when the old man is put off and the new man is put on. The new man does things right and the old man does them wrong every time.
Therefore, when you resolve to make a change, put off the old man, renew your mind, and then put on the new man.
Be – Eph 4:32 says, “Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another…”. After you put on the new man, you have to be who the new man is.
Paul had been “before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious”, 1 Tim 1:13. He became “a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles”, 2 Tim 1:11. He loved others more though he was loved less. He became like Christ.
Likewise, we must be who God makes us when we put on the new man. We must be like Christ. This is when you know you’ve made the change and the change is going to stick.