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Old Self New Self
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House
The Bible talks about the daily
discipline of putting off our "old self" and putting on our "new self" in
Christ. This is a skill that is critical to maintaining our freedom
from sin. It is something that we'll be perfecting for the rest of
our earthly lives. Paul wrote:
22You were taught,
with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is
being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23to be made new in
the attitude of your minds; 24and to put on the new self,
created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
Ephesians 4:22-24 NIV
The old self must be put off, because it is
being corrupted by sinful desires and will otherwise lead us back into
sin. Simultaneously, we must put on the new self and be "made new in
the attitude" of our minds. Note that it is our responsibility to
put off the old and put on the new, while God renews us in the attitude
our minds.
How to put off the old self
Putting off the old self is synonymous with
putting it to death. The old self is the part of us that is
continually trying to pull us back into sinful habits and thought patterns
(Romans
6:11-14). The lure of the old self can be powerful, especially
when our memories remind us of the pleasures of past sin. Here
are some suggestions on how to put off the old self:
- Ask for help: Too often people try to resist temptations by
sheer will-power. As Christians, we have the source of ultimate
power and assistance available to us: Jesus. He knows the
temptations we face (Hebrews 2:18) and will help us resist those
temptations (Hebrews
4:15-16). Each day we can pray, "Dear Jesus, please help me put off the old self and
put on the new self today. Please help me overcome any temptations
that come my way. Thank you, Jesus. Amen."
- Reckon yourself with Jesus:
Reckoning with Jesus is basically aligning ourselves with him and his
condition: dead to sin and alive to God. Paul wrote, "Likewise you
also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in
Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:11 NKJV).
A way to reckon with Jesus is to recite key Bible verses about
our condition. For example, using Romans 6:11 we can declare,
"I am dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus
my Lord. " Here are some other verses we can
declare:
I have been crucified
with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and
the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of
God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. Galatians 2:20 NKJV
Therefore, if anyone
is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away;
behold, all things have become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV
1There is
therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do
not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
2For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me
free from the law of sin and death. Romans 8:1-2 NKJV
He Himself bore our
sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live
for righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. 1 Peter
2:24 NKJV
Therefore we were
buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was
raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also
should walk in newness of life. Romans 6:4 NKJV
- Stop letting sin dictate your
actions: This is where we
follow-up our faith with action. Since we believe ourselves dead
to sin, we must no longer respond to its temptations. The two
primary areas that we can focus on are our eyes and thoughts. For
example, if we're watching a television show that we know contains
tempting material, we can choose to switch channels or simply turn the
TV off. Or, if a memory of a past sexual encounter comes to mind,
we can shift our thoughts to another topic instead of fantasizing over
the memory. We'll further discuss eye and thought discipline later
in this study.
Another aspect of this found in the ways
that we have been making provisions to gratify lust. Paul wrote,
"Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision
for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts" (Romans 13:14 NKJV). Some examples of making
provision for lust are: hiding a favorite porn magazine or image file,
keeping an adult video store membership card, going to places where we
know we'll be tempted, flirting on the job or with our neighbors,
keeping unfiltered internet access or keeping a favorite list of porn
sites on the computer. Leaving such unlocked doors for the enemy
will likely lead us back into bondage at some point. The key is to
remove the obvious things that could tempt us to fall back in sin.
Solomon wrote, "A wise man is cautious and turns
away from evil, but a fool is arrogant and careless" (Proverbs
14:16 NASB).
Exercise: Take a moment to
identify the ways that you've been making provision for lust in your
life. Next, consider what actions you can take to eliminate each
provision. You can ask God to help you in doing this: "Dear Lord, Please reveal the ways I've been making
provision for lust in my life and show me how to eliminate each item.
Thank you, Father. Amen." Feel free to use the below table
to record your findings:
| How I've made
provision for lust |
What I can
do to stop making this provision |
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- Identify triggers and make alternate
plans: Sex addiction often follows a pattern that revolves
around certain triggers that lead a person to act out. As you
consider the above list, ask God to help you recognize any triggers that
were involved. Some examples of triggers are rejection, failure,
stress, anger, resentment, trauma and unpleasant memories.
As we consider the triggers we commonly face, we can then consider how
to "run to Jesus" in those situations instead of acting out
sexually. For example, when we feel the pain of rejection,
we can recite scriptures that reassure us of God's love for us or recall
the rejection that Jesus endured on the cross for us. Here again,
we can ask God for wisdom on the actions to take: "Dear Lord, please help me discover the triggers that have
led me to act out. Please show me what I can do to run to you and
not respond by acting out. Thank you, Father.
Amen." Feel free to use the below table to record your
findings.
| Triggers |
How I can run to
Jesus when this happens |
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How to put on the new self
Our new self is the person that God
created us to be. This new self is "created to be like God in true righteousness and
holiness" (Ephesians 4:24 NIV). God gives us the ability through the Holy
Spirit to live in the reality of the new self (Romans 8:11). There
are some basic actions we can take to put on the new self each day:
- Respond to the Spirit's
impulses: Just as our sinful desires led us in living for sin,
the Holy Spirit will lead us in living for God. The Spirit does
this in several ways, including convicting us of sin and guiding us in
making right choices. He often speaks to people in a "still, small
voice," but may use other means as well (scripture, audible voice, an
"inner prompting," circumstances, prophecy, etc.). Recognizing
God's voice is a skill that will come with practice. Jesus said,
"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they
follow Me" (John 10:27 NKJV). As a general
guideline, God will not tell us to do something that is contrary to his
commandments in the scriptures.
When God speaks to us (and we know it is
him), it is vital to heed what he tells us, no matter how insignificant
the instructions may seem. Sometimes God uses seemingly
mundane situations to test our willingness to obey him. A friend
of mine was getting discouraged because he hadn't heard from God in a
long time. One day as he was driving down the highway at
lunch time, he craved a McDonald's hamburger, but couldn't remember the
exit number of the restaurant. "Lord, please help me remember
where the McDonald's is," he prayed. Very plainly the Spirit said
to him, "Take this exit, now!" Though he didn't think that was the
right exit, he obeyed and discovered that it was the right exit after
all. That little incident helped strengthen my friend's faith that
God was still with him and cared for him.
- Study the Word: God has given
us everything we need for life and godliness through our
knowledge of him (2 Peter 1:3-4 NIV). We learn (i.e. increase
knowledge) about God and his promises by studying the
Bible. His promises are the foundational truths that we can
stand on in faith. They enable us to escape the corruption of sin
and live as new persons (2 Peter 1:4; John 8:31-32).
There are many possible ways to study the
Bible, but in general it is best to develop a daily habit of Bible
study, including scripture memory work. There is no shortcut to
learning the scriptures, but the time and effort you put in will
strengthen your faith and bolster your walk with Christ. I'll
offer suggestions on this in the next section (Quiet
Times).
- Connect with God through
prayer: Prayer is our
communication link with God, who is available to us 24/7. The
Bible encourages us to practice continuous prayer. Paul wrote,
"Rejoice always, pray without
ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will
of God in Christ Jesus for you" (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).
Jesus spent a good bit of his time in
prayer as he faced the various challenges of ministry and living a
sinless life. If it was important for Jesus to pray, how much more
so is it for us to pray!
- Plug in to a good church: God
wants us to be in regular contact with other Christians so that the body
of Christ is functioning with all its parts. Paul described this
as being "knit together in love" (Colossians 1:2 NKJV). Hebrews 10:24-25 NKJV says, "Let
us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works,
not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the
manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you
see the Day approaching." Plugging in to a good church
provides key benefits that will help us in our walk with Christ,
including prayer support, teaching in the Word, encouragement in our
faith, development of our spiritual gifts, opportunities to serve,
deliverance ministry, mentoring, corporate worship, fellowship and
spiritual protection/covering. (more info on finding a good
church)
- Serve others in love:
We want to get in the habit
of using our freedom to serve others (instead of ourselves) in love as
God directs. Paul wrote in Galatians 5:13, "For you were called to freedom,
brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the
flesh, but through love serve one another." If we use our freedom to serve others in love, we'll
have far less time to get back into our old sin habits. For
example, if we stop spending our evenings surfing for porn on the
internet, we'll now have some time freed up. We can use that time
to help others in some way, such as: helping your children with their
homework, spending time with your spouse, calling a friend to encourage
them or volunteering at the homeless shelter. Please take a moment
to ask God to give you some ideas of how you might serve others in
love.
| Ideas on how I can
serve others in love |
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- Practice quick repentance: The
devil uses guilt and shame to keep people from immediately returning to
God following a stumble in sin. As we learn to control our body and
discipline our mind, it's probable that there will be some failures
along the way. If this happens, we need not wallow in shame, but
repent, get back on our feet and keep walking on the path of
purity. Our Master paid for our sins and extends grace and mercy
to us. (see Receive
Forgiveness)
Before proceeding to the next page of the
study, please take a moment to review your answers to the questions on
this page. Ask God to help you make the needed changes that will
help you put off the old self and put on the new self daily.
Next Page: Quiet
Times
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