20)
But ye have not so learned
Christ;
21)
If so be that ye have
heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:
22)
That ye put off concerning
the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the
deceitful lusts;
23)
And be renewed in the
spirit of your mind
24)
And that ye put on the new man, which after
God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
25)
Wherefore putting away
lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.
26)
Be ye angry, and sin not:
let not the sun go down upon your wrath:
27)
Neither give place to the
devil.
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he change required of Man by the Lord
is for him to get back into "right-standing." It is not personally
within Man for him to be able to be righteous. It is not that we cannot
receive from God, but it is possible only if we are willing to put aside our
own will.
It is the Lord Who has made change
possible and He offers this change through the revealed truth of salvation.
This statement makes it clear that one who has not partaken of that truth is
going to find it impossible to change. Obviously, this is not common knowledge
or people would not choose to go to a church unable to give them help. One
possible explanation of this is that people are unaware that there are churches
where they can get "better" than what they already have. However,
even when made aware, people will choose to go elsewhere if not interested in
the truth.
Today, men believe that they can be
saved "in" sin as opposed to being saved "from" sin.
There is no such state of salvation. One is either a saint or a sinner, but never
a combination.
In that we have been blessed to be able
to be free from all that haunts and plagues Man, we need to grab the
opportunity. That "opportunity" is provided through
"righteousness and true holiness." Both are ours after salvation if
we will live right.
It is not possible to operate in what
we must unless we are willing to operate in a spiritual mind. You see, the Men
operating in the fleshly mind is unable to please God because he will never
know what He wants from Him. In that the natural mind is opposed to the
spiritual, it is impossible for the two to meet. Therefore, the former must be changed.
We hear much about our "conversation"
and to importance of it being a good one of course, when we speak of this, we are talking about the manner in which one conducts
oneself. The church world today is attempting to downplay the importance of the
life presented to others, but this is based in an attempt to change incorrect
practices.
"Righteousness and true
holiness" are a source of joy, happiness, and contentment. The latter is
the key for those who persist in the flesh find that the flesh never stops
demanding. Therefore, rather than spending time on it, our time needs to be
spent serving God.
Many things about salvation have been
misunderstood and misrepresented. The Lord did not die that we might live
comfortably, but rather, that we might have the Power in our lives to persuade
others to Christ.
Often standing in the way of our
attaining the "righteousness and true holiness" required by God is
our "addiction" to our own mentality. Too often, that mentality
involves thinking and believing as we wish. In that one will never get to heaven
with this mentality, it is clear that it is time for a change of mind. You see,
we must all understand that as long as we are interested in ourselves, we will
never give those selves over to the plan of God.
There is no substitute for being
"wrapped up, tied up and tangled up" in, Jesus. Seeing only Him keeps our minds free from deception and confusion. A
complete and total dedication to Him shows us how it is possible to "be
angry and sin not." First of all, we must understand that one sins in word
or deed. That is, we say or do something sinful. So, the admonition here is
that if it is not possible for you to get angry and stay saved, you better not
get angry.
Following Jesus in "righteousness
and true holiness" will solve this problem, anyway. How can you err (sin)
when following in the footsteps of the One Who has the "blueprint"
for all situations?