We're going to make our way down to verse 24. Put on the new man. We talked about modesty last week and we're going to preach today upon this new man, old man. And the title of my message is the old man, the new man and you. The old man, the new man and you. He says in verse 17, This I say therefore and testify in the Lord, that you henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk in the vanity of their mind, having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them because of the blindness of their heart, who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. But you have not so learned Christ, if so be that you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus, that you put off concerning the former conversation, the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Let's pray. Dear God, bless this day. Father, I do ask that You help us in all that we do to be orderly, Father. We pray, God, that You open our minds now as we come before Your Word with reverence. Please keep us from error, God. Please help us hear. Let us not be dull of hearing today, Lord. Let us not grow arrogant and proud and hard. In the name of Jesus, we thank you. Amen. We've got a lot of confusion today in regard to the old man and the new man. In fact, in the 19th century, there were some who were using this teaching in a sinful way. And I want you to notice that there's no wonder, because the language of the Apostle Paul can be confusing if you are unlearned. Now, Paul's epistles can be understood just like all the rest of the Scriptures, but his words especially can be taken out of context and misunderstood. I want you to see 2 Peter 3, verse 15. Peter says, in account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation, even as our beloved brother Paul, also according to the wisdom given unto him, hath written unto you. Also, in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things. So notice, Peter has been talking about holiness, sobriety, in light of the coming of the Lord. And he says, Paul has also been speaking of these things, in which are some things hard to be understood. Not everything, but some things hard to be understood. Which they that are unlearned and unstable rest. as they do also the other Scriptures. So this teaches us that Paul's writings are what? They're Scripture. Amen. And notice, they rest them to their own destruction, which means they twist them. They twist the Scriptures. Ye therefore, beloved, seeing you know these things before, Beware lest ye also being led away with the error of the wicked fall from your own steadfastness. In other words, don't follow these people that twist Paul's epistles. Don't follow these people. Don't you get led away by false doctrine in regard to Paul's words. But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever. Amen. So resting means, you see the word wrestle in there. Resting is the twist to snatch something out of place. And what he's saying is that there are some places in Paul's epistles where you can wrestle these things out of place and use it to support sin, and you'll end up at the judgment seat of Christ destroyed when you could have been faithful had you listened to what Paul had to say. Now, I believe when we study Paul's writings on the old man and the new man, that we're dealing with that sum that Peter warned about. Because there's a lot of people today that are using the old man and the new man, as it's found in the writings of Paul, to support sin. So I want to first examine the true teaching that Paul gives us in reference to the old man and the new man. And then I want to examine a few heresies of false teachings in regard to the new man and the old man. The right understanding of the old man, he says in verse 22, that you put off concerning the former conversation. That's your former lifestyle. He says that you put off this old man. Believers, especially these Gentile believers, that were saved in the first century out of their former lifestyle. They were pagans, immersed in the Roman culture of that day. And they were saved. They heard the light of the gospel. And many of them were saved as adults after they had lived a lifestyle of Gentile immorality. Many of you were saved as adults. Many of you were saved out of this wicked Gentile culture today. So what is Paul telling them? He's telling them, don't walk like the other Gentiles. We've already seen this when he says, this I say to you, therefore, that you hence not walk like the other Gentiles walk. Remember, they've been saved out of a life of fornication, lasciviousness, debauchery, idolatry. And so in the same way, As he's telling them, don't walk like the rest of the culture. Now he says that another way. In other words, don't walk like you used to walk. That makes a lot of sense today. Don't walk like the culture today walks. Or I might say that another way. Those of you that were not raised in a holy Christian home, where you were close to God and you were close to a holy church. I could say the same thing to you. I might say it in two different ways. I might say, don't walk like this wicked world out here. Or I might say, don't walk like you used to walk before you repented and began to walk in the Lord Jesus. Don't walk like they do. and don't walk like you used to walk. Now that's simple enough. The old Scott, we don't want any of it. The old Jeff, the old Joey, we don't want any of that mess. Don't bring it in here. When it's already been put out and we've seen the new person, don't bring that other mess back in here. Because you can go back to it. You can get rid of it and put him down and then all of a sudden let him come back out. I've seen people, the Bible has a nice word for it. It says going back to your vomit. So the way you used to walk is called the old man. Makes a lot of sense. It's the way the culture now walks. The way Jesus wants you to walk, listen to me, in this context, the way Jesus wants you to walk afresh is called the new man. So, there is the old man, what you used to be. There is the new man, all that Jesus wants you to be. And then there is you. Let me show you. Verse 22, that what? That ye put off. Okay, there's a ye there. Concerning the form of conversation. And now there's the old man. So there's you, there's the old man. Verse 24, we have ye again. That ye put on the what? The new man. So we have the old man, the new man, and you. Let's get that straight, because that's going to be important as we progress. Now, the first thing we want to see is, did Jesus ever teach this doctrine of the old man and the new man? Some people can get so Pauline that they turn Paul into some mysterious revelator, as if he had no connection whatsoever with Jesus. But the Bible says that Jesus and Paul are the same foundation, that Jesus is the cornerstone and the apostles and the prophets are the foundation for it. They're connected. Do you understand that? It's not that, well, you had the Jewish church back there and then all of a sudden now we have the real church. Give me a break. Jesus is our head, not Paul. Paul is simply living out, explaining some of the things that Jesus came to teach. He is reminding you of these things. He's not supplanting Jesus. He's not replacing Jesus. That's important. It's important because He says over here, verse 21, If so be that you have heard Him. Who's the Him? Jesus. And have been taught by Him. Jesus. As the truth is in Jesus. Now, not that Jesus can't teach through Paul. But I believe that that's at least a little bit of evidence that we could go back and find exactly what Paul's saying here about the old man and the new man. You'll find it in the Gospels. Because the Holy Spirit has preserved the teaching of Jesus in four Gospels for us. And sure enough, when we go back, We hear Jesus talking about the old wine and the new wine, the old bottle and the new bottle. We hear Jesus discussing your new identity in Christ. He says you're now children of the Father. You're now light of the world. Notice what Jesus says. Jesus says that you must be born again. When you believe upon Him, you become a new what? A new creature. You get a new position that you did not have before. Look at verse 12 of John chapter 1. But as many as received Him, that's the key there, to Him, to them gave He power, the right, the authority to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name. So, if you are a disciple, you are a believer, you should be a believer if you're a true disciple, and that means you have now become a child of God. You were not a child of God before. Most of those, all of those that the Lord called to be His disciples had lived former lives. Cash collector, fishermen. Some of them were a bunch of rugged, cursing fishermen. But the Lord called them. John 12, listen to what Jesus said, while you have light, believe in the light, that you may be the children of light. In other words, the children of light is the same synonymous with the sons of God. It's the new position that you have. These things make Jesus and departed and did hide himself from them. So if you have believed according to Jesus, you now have a new identity. Your new identity is a son of God. Is that what He called His disciples? He said, you're children of the Father. Did He not? The old identity is a child of darkness. And Jesus teaches this all plainly. Because Jesus says, now that you are children of light, let your light shine. Do not let the light be hidden. Do not let the thought lose its savor. If your children of the Father live like children of the Father. Do you see that this is in the Gospels? In other words, I could summarize that and say it in a different way. Now that you're a new person in Jesus, don't live like the old person. You could use darkness, you could use sonship, all of these different ways we could use to describe exactly what Paul is saying right here. Ephesians 5 verse 8, For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord. Why? Because he's writing to who? to Christians, to believers. But what does He say? Walk as children of light. In other words, don't walk like you used to walk when you were darkness. Don't walk like the world out here that lies in wickedness and darkness. Walk as children of light. That's what Jesus taught in Matthew 5, that you may be the children of your Father. In other words, that you may live like children of your Father. This is exactly what Paul's teaching in our chapter in verse 17 of chapter 4, this I say therefore. and testify in the Lord that you henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk in the vanity of their mind, that you put off concerning the former conversation, the old man, that is your lifestyle, and also the way you talk. We ought not talk like we used to talk, right? With all of these different euphemisms for the Lord's name, G and Golly and all of it. You ought not blast on the Lord's name, take it in vain. You understand that? We ought to have purity of speech. We ought not lie. We ought to have purity in our speech. All right, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lust. Wherefore, putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Let him that stole steal no more, but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth." Now this is it. Do you see what he's plainly saying? Look, a bunch of you were thieves. Don't be thieves anymore. Work. Go work. Why stand you around idle? Go work. At least they were standing in the marketplace. They didn't go home in bed. At least they were out standing in the marketplace waiting. But the point is, don't steal. That's what you used to do. Go to work. So children of light, work. Children of darkness, steal. Children of light are pure and chaste. Children of darkness, they're lascivious, and they like others to lust after them. So all of this is very simple, but oh, very important. Don't live like the depraved culture. Don't live like you used to live. Many of you come from artist backgrounds, from musician backgrounds, from that of Hippie background. Many of you come from a drunken bar scene. Many of you come from a I'm just gonna live for money and fun on the weekend scene. Whatever your background is, it's all part of that culture out there and you are to be counter-cultured. You understand that? God has called you now because I don't know anything more counter-culture than light and darkness. You understand that? So you are light. You are to be counter-cultured to this mess out here which is darkness. Or, if you need it explained, just look at your old way you used to live. The way you used to walk is called the old man. The way Jesus wants you to walk now is the new man. Paul makes it clear in Colossians 3, for which thing's sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience? What thing? The things everybody else does. What thing? The things you used to do. God's wrath is coming on the children of disobedience, in the which ye also walk sometime when you live in them. But he's writing to Christians, and not only Christians. He's writing to a Christian church, which has rules that you can't be in the church if you're going to walk like the other Gentiles walk. So, if he's writing to a Christian, and he's writing to a Christian church, they have at least a relative degree of obedience. Do you see? The New Testament epistles, most of them are to churches. And you had to live a certain level of righteousness to exist or to stay in the church. That's important as you read the Bible. He's not just writing to Christians. Most of these epistles are to churches. So the promises are to churches. The promises are if you remain in the church and do not get cast out of the church for some wicked sin. So he says, you Colossians that are now in the church at Colossae, You used to walk in some of these things that the Gentiles walked, back when you lived in them. But now, ye also put off all these anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. So then he gives them an exhortation, lie not one to another, seeing that you have put off the old man with his deeds. That's either a positional statement or it is saying, look, you've already repented of a bunch of things. And I assume they had repented of a lot of things if they're in the church. You can't be a member of a New Testament church unless the church is in sin, like Corinthians. You can't be a member of a New Testament church unless you're willing to be baptized and say, I am going to renounce all the former things. I'm going to renounce my music. I'm going to renounce the wicked, filthy communication out of my mouth. I'm going to renounce the wicked things, the circuses, the theaters, all the things I used to watch, the blood and gore and sexual immorality. I'm going to renounce all of these things and I want to be a new person. Lie not one to another, seeing that you have put off the old man with his deeds." In other words, why return back to what you used to be? A liar. And you have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him. What the Lord is saying in summary is, be the new person you were saved to be. That's good news, isn't it? Be the new person that Jesus wants you to be. Oh, we need to preach that a lot. We need to preach it every Lord's Day. You know what? Be the new person. You've got all these habits and all these old ways of the old person. No, no, don't walk in the old person. The person that Jesus wants you to be doesn't do that anymore. You say, oh, I've done this for years. I know, but the person Jesus wants you to be and has created you to be, He doesn't do these things anymore. Now, the question is, how do we do these things? There's more to it other than Jesus saying, Sister, don't be like you used to be. I'm glad there's more to it. There's more to it than simply a command, don't be like they are, don't be like you used to be. You used to be addicted to this and that, now don't be addicted anymore. You used to be a drunkard, now don't be a drunkard anymore. Now that's in the Bible. But I'm saying there's more to it. That's part of it. But there's more to it. It's not just a mere command. So I want to proceed a little deeper. Don't go to sleep on me yet. First, I want you to know that the old man is in some way still with you. Now, how the old man is still with you makes all the difference in the world, and all the difference in the world to come. Listen to me. You absolutely must not have the old man with you in a practical way. In other words, the old man must not be with you today in how you walk. In other words, what you actually do. If you say, well, the old man is still here, Well, I understand that, but he better not be here in what you're doing. I used to go to the bars on Friday, and I still do. Wait a second. I used to be addicted to this and this, and I still am. Wait just a second. I used to cuss like a sailor, and I still do. Whoa, stop. If you're walking like you used to walk, and you are acting like you used to act, and you are talking like you used to talk, you are headed for condemnation. If you are a believer, you are going to stand before Jesus Christ at the judgment seat. You will not lose your salvation, but you'll sure feel like you lost it. You will not lose your salvation, but I promise you, when the Lord gets a hold of you at His coming, and He begins to beat you with many stripes, as He says in Luke chapter 12, and you begin to weep and gnash your teeth, and you're cast out from the prize, the wonderful, glorious reward of the Kingdom that He has for His faithful children, I promise you, it will have not been worth it. You will say, how foolish I was to live like I used to live. Why is the old man corrupt? The Bible says he's corrupt because of his lusts. So this is very simple. The way you used to live was a feeling-oriented life. The way you used to live, you never sat down and said, what does God think about what I do here? You never said, well, is it reasonable for me to do this? What's going to draw us closer to God? That's not how you lived before you were saved. That's not how these people out here live. How do they live? They live according to their lust. If it feels good, they do it. Every now and then they might make a rational decision. But in general, they live according to their feelings and their passion the same way you lived before you were saved. You never sat down and said, will this please God? Will this please my parents? Will this bring me closer to God? That's not what you said. You said, oh, this is what I want to do because I want to do it and it feels good to me. So now that you understand, Now that you understand how people live out in the world, now that you understand how you used to live, you can make sure you don't live like that anymore. Now let me ask you a question. Do you live according to your feelings today? If it feels good, you do it. I say, why do you do such and such? Is this reasonable to do such and such? You say, no. I say, well, if it's not reasonable, does it please God? No. Well, can I ask you a question? Why do you do what you're doing if it doesn't please God and it's not reasonable and it's not right? Because I feel like doing it. Because my body wants me to do it. Because my flesh wants me to do it. Now hold on just a second. That's how the hippies lived. That's how you lived before you were saved. That's not how Jesus wants you to live now. It's time to wake up and be what Jesus recreated you to be, because what I'm telling you today is that you are a recreation. You have been recreated to be something different. Just like that old world in Genesis chapter 1 was without form and void, so is the world out here without form and void. What you were before you were saved, if you were not raised in a Christian home, what you were before you were saved is without form and void and darkness was upon the face of the deep. Which means darkness was upon your heart. You were blind. You didn't have the knowledge that you have now. 2 Corinthians chapter 4, for God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness has shined in our hearts, because where was your heart? It was in darkness, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. What Paul says is that old earth in Genesis chapter 1, when God began to move on it and recreate it, Paul says that's a picture of your heart. So you are here, but you're without form and void, and then God recreated you. The earth was there, but it was without form and void, and God moved upon it and created it, recreated it. He says in Ephesians 4, the way you used to live, the way the other Gentiles now live, having the understanding darkened. See, just like that old world, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them because of the blindness of their heart. But are you blind now? Do you have blindness now? 2 Corinthians 5, Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new. All right, bringing all this home, it simply means this, folks. Walk according to your new identity in Christ. Not according to your old identity. Don't celebrate the old. You know what Paul said about his old life? He counted it dumb. And it was pretty good compared to most of our lives. I mean, he was a Pharisee of the sect of the Pharisees, a pretty high sect. I tell you what, he was living pretty good. But he counted it dumb because he didn't know Christ. In other words, he had a religious Catholic upbringing. He obeyed the rituals and all the various things, but he never knew Christ. He didn't understand what it was to believe and get free salvation by what Jesus did for you, instead of you trying to earn salvation. But Paul counted all of that dumb. Now, what in the world do you think you should count? Your life, which most of us, we're not living religious, moral, legalistic lives. Most of us were living like the rest of the Gentile world was living back then. And if Paul called his past life dumb, what should you call all the mess that you used to do? Now, the Bible tells us in Hebrews that if you are mindful of the life that you used to live and that world that you used to experience, If you are mindful of that stuff, you might have opportunity to return back to it. Now, I tell a man who sits on the front row up here, years ago, I said, don't return back to the mess you used to be in. I preach to the church, don't return back to what you used to do. But they start listening to the trash they used to listen to. They start liking what they used to like. They say, see, I'm okay. What a good Christian I am. It's okay for me to do this. You know where they are now? Worse than they were before Jesus found them. In many ways, as far as lifestyle goes. Now you, listen here. You want to reflect upon your glorious vomit past? You want to keep all of your pictures and look at, oh, how glorious this all was. Isn't this wonderful? Let's just think about it. Oh, let's indulge and celebrate what we used to be. You might have opportunity to return to it. Let's count it but done, folks. Let's count it what God calls it. He calls it vomit. He calls it vomit. You know what it does? It kills babies. You know what that lifestyle does? They all smile. Oh, fornication's fun, isn't it? Oh, lust. Oh, it's just such a fun thing. Well, babies are dying. Little babies. Innocent, precious little babies. They're all dying. Even if you've never killed a baby, friend, you participated in the same lifestyle that killed a bunch of babies and is still killing them today. So I say, it's time to call it dung, it's time to call it vomit, it's time to stand up and say, I'm done with the old and let's put on the new. Okay, if the old man should not be with you in your lifestyle, in what you do, how is he still with you? He should only be there in one way and one way only, his voice. A man that is crucified can't kick you. He can't grab you and make you do anything. Jesus not having a sinful flesh, to get the picture, He had to have two thieves next to Him. But those thieves, although they couldn't touch Jesus, they couldn't kick Jesus, they couldn't drag Jesus, what could they do to Jesus? They could rail upon Him, tempt Him with their speech. What is the old crucified man? What can he do to you now? Technically, unless you give him power, all he can do is bother you. He can just simply remind you of your past and call you back to it. And say, hey bud, let's do the things we used to do. when you used to let me rule. Remember the fun we had when I was ruling things? So the Bible says in Romans 6, neither yield ye your members, that's your body parts, as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin. Now, if He says don't yield it, it must be because there's a force there trying to get you to yield it. It's saying, yield to me, yield to me. It's like traffic that's coming. And the traffic is coming with such a force. It's saying, yield to me and give me the right of way. So Paul is recognizing that in you is a force, a power, a voice calling you to yield to it. But he says, don't do that, Christian. Instead, yield yourselves unto God. Praise God, there's something else in us. There's something else calling us to yield to this. And we are in a conflict. Do you see this? We are at war. There's an inner battle that we face every day. Yield yourselves unto God as those that are alive from the dead. In other words, now that you're saved, you've got a new position. You've got a new identity. Those that are alive from the dead and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. So when that old voice comes and says, yield to me, yield to sin, yield to the old ways you used to live, you're to say back to it. No, because I'm now an instrument of righteousness. I have a new identity. I have a new father. I have a new position in Christ. I'm not who I used to be. Paul says in Romans 7, for that which I do, I allow not. That's not a practical doing. That's a doing inside his mind. For what I would, that do I not. But what I hate, that do I. In other words, he's saying, inside of me, I try to get rid of this voice, but this voice inside of me wants to do evil that the world is doing. I find then a law that when I would do good, evil is present with me. Do you know this is a believer? This is the Apostle Paul? He's saying even when I do good or want to do good, there is evil within me that wants to do bad. When I wanted to come to church, there's a voice in me that doesn't want to come to church. When I want to do something right, there's a voice in me that wants to do something wrong. It's always pulling me back to what I used to be. I thank God through Christ Jesus our Lord, so that with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh, the law of sin, Paul calls this the flesh. He calls this sin or evil of the old man his flesh. And he says it's going to always be there until Jesus comes. Chapter 8, verse 1, There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For if you live after the flesh, you shall die. But if you through the Spirit do mortify, put to death the deeds of the body, you shall live. Notice how Paul calls the deeds of the body, the flesh. He calls it evil. He calls it sin. You call it whatever you want to call it, but it's better to use biblical language. Let's call it the old man. Let's call it the flesh. Let's call it the body of sin. Whatever you want to call it, I want you to realize, don't you obey it. You need to understand He's going to be there. The old person is still with you to some degree. And a lot of Christians get confused here. They'll beat themselves. They say, why is this desire still here? Now, sometimes God just eradicates those desires. But other times, He leaves some of the remaining temptations of the old man, He leaves them in you. Just make sure you don't stir them up. Just make sure you don't give them any power. So it is perfectly normal for you to be a wonderful, beautiful, pure, holy, righteous, chaste woman of God and come in here and have rebellious thoughts or feelings in your heart. That is normal Christian living. But what should not be normal Christian living is for you to come in here and follow that old person. Follow that flesh. Don't walk after it. If somebody says, oh, you're so holy. Praise God for your holiness. They're not aware of the battle that goes on in your life. There's nobody out here that is holy and righteous that does not have battles. Do you understand that? If you knew what was in their heart and what they had to conquer, what they had to deal with from the old way they used to live, that's normal Christian living. So there's no lies around here. There's no sanctimonious, let's pretend, I know good and well what's in your heart. I know good and well what you think. I know good and well, at least some degree, what you feel. When authority meets with your flesh, I know what your flesh is thinking. And I don't care. Because I know what my flesh thinks. What I care about is what you do. What I care about is how you respond when that old flesh says, be the old person. And I know the Holy Spirit in you is saying, hey, look what I have for you. Let's be the new person. And the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit and the flesh, and they're at war. Well, who's going to get the upper hand? Whoever you obey. Whoever you yield yourself to. So at the judgment seat, there's going to be some dead folks, because they're not putting to death that voice by starving it. You know, praise God, there's going to be one day when Jesus comes. And sooner or later, you're going to have a glorified body. And it will all be over. No more voice. No more inner urge to sin. No more flesh reminding you of what you used to be, tempting you to be something different. Wouldn't that be a glorious day? Isn't it going to be wonderful? So you only get one time to fight, folks. Fight well. You get one time. One time to feel the urges of sin. Fight. This is your only opportunity. Paul was a fighter. If you're a holy Christian, you're a fighter. Virtue means strength. If you're a holy Christian, you are fighting against your feelings. That's why you can look at somebody and say, but I feel like doing this, and say, you know what? By the power of Jesus, you ought to get up and quit whining. I don't care if you feel like doing that. Get up and quit whining and be contrary to your feelings. You expect me to go different than what I feel? Friend, that's virtue. Being contrary to what you feel like doing, that's Christian lifestyle. The great Apostle Paul, His life was a battle. Look at 1 Corinthians 9. He says, I keep under my body. Now that language means he's on top of it. He keeps it under him. And bring it into subjection. lest that by any means when I preach to others, I myself should be a castaway." So according to Paul, he always had a voice in him, fighting him through his inner body and his outward body, whatever he can get control of, urging him to go contrary to the Word of God. He didn't want to be cast away at the judgment seat of Christ, so he wrestled against this thing. So in summary, you have an old man. He's still with you. You must live in spite of Him. You must smile and worship God in spite of Him. You must come in and be a good Christian in spite of what's going on in here. You must not let Him rule you. If you let Him rule you, you bring shame upon Jesus. It goes against your new identity. But I want you to learn something else here. With your new identity comes a new power. See, this isn't just about knowledge. It's not God just saying, hey, you're a new person. It's God saying you're a new person and you've got new power. Praise God that He empowers what He commands. Praise God that He's called you to a new identity and He says, now you're not going to walk. I don't want you to walk like you used to walk. But hold on a second. I'm going to give you power so you don't have to be what you used to be. I guess the way you can describe it is new clothes. Isn't that about the best way you can describe it? A person used to be a prostitute and she dressed and wore the garments of a prostitute. When she's changed her life, she no longer wears the garments of a prostitute. She wants everybody to know, I'm different. I'm not the old person. Whatever you used to be, you had garments that identified who you were. Whatever the little signals and whatever they were. You send that language to everybody else, whether it's an earring, a ponytail, a tattoo, whatever it is, the way you wear your hat, the way you wear your shirt, the brand name, whatever it is, you have language that you're communicating. But when you change and you come into a new house, you get a different brand, you get a different lifestyle, you get a different way of dressing. If somebody adopted you out of an orphanage, and you used to wear an orphan's clothes, and now you are the son of a great man, He wants you to dress like one of His sons. So He gives you garments to wear for your new identity. This is both literal and figurative. Now, these garments are simply the power that you have now to be the new person Jesus wants you to be. And the judgment seat of Christ is coming, and Jesus is going to judge every Christian. Matthew 22, when the King, that's Jesus, came in to see the guests, That's all the Christians that are going to be judged. He saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment. Nobody gets to the judgment seat of Christ unless they're saved. Nobody can get to this wedding unless they're saved. And He said unto him, Friend... Jesus never calls an unbeliever a friend. He said unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. In other words, Why would you come to the judgment seat of Christ dressed according to the world? Why didn't you get dressed up in the new man that I had for you to wear? I had a new speech, a new way of living, a new way of talking, a new way of acting, a new way of dressing. I had new habits for you. I had all of this stuff, and I purchased it with my blood, and I had it available for you to put on. I didn't ask you to go create it. I asked you to put it on. I didn't ask you to go buy it. I asked you to wear it. You say to me, well, I've got a bad habit. Well, the new man doesn't have a bad habit. Put him on. Well, the old man does this and does that. Well, the old man doesn't. Put the new man on. Well, it's impossible for me to quit. Well, how come the world out here, they can quit? They don't even got the Holy Spirit. They don't even have a new man. And they can quit some things. And you've got the Holy Spirit and you've got the new man that's not addicted to anything other than just serving God? Put him on. But if you don't want to put him on, just don't put him on. But one day, you're going to stand before Jesus and He's going to say, friend, explain to me why you would come in here dressed like that and bring shame to this happy occasion. Then the king, Said to the servants, bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen. That is chosen terrain. Jesus said in Revelation 16, Behold, I come as a thief. In other words, you better watch out. Blessed is he that watcheth and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame. So you've got the old man, you've got the new man, and you've got you. Who is the ye that Paul is writing to? If ye are saved, it's ye, it's you. You have an old man, you have a new man, and you have to make a choice which one you're going to put on. So this is so wonderful. Because the world stands over there with their magicians and says, watch this. We can quit smoking by our hypnotism. They said, oh yeah, well watch this. We get down over here and pray in the name of Jesus and get the power of God on us and believe, reckon ourselves dead, but alive with God and say, watch this. And I promise you, friend, when all of their moral reformations are done, the Christians that will believe God can put away more sin and more bad habits. Because we've got a power they know nothing of. Romans 6, Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in the lusts thereof. So it's going to be there, but it doesn't have to what? Rain, neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin, but yield yourselves unto God as those that are alive from the dead, your members as instruments of righteousness unto God, for sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under the law, but under grace." What does he mean? He means you are not just told to do something, God empowers you. God didn't just say, go kill the Philistine. God gives you the power to do so. Now let's see how this wonderful teaching is perverted. Quickly, I just want to summarize to you. You've got the old way, you've got the new way, and with the new way comes new power. There's a new Missy, there's a new Brian, a new John, a new Joey, a new Ramon. Isn't that wonderful that God has created a new person for you to be? And God puts him over here. And then God puts the old person before us and says, now you can choose who you're going to be. The new person or the old person. And you're going to feel, because you're a believer, for the first time, you're going to feel both of them calling to you. And the old person said, remember what we used to do? Come over here to me. Wear me. Get dressed up in me. I can't do anything until you come and put me on. Oh yes, now we're back. Remember you? Oh yes. And the new person said, hey, no. That's the way of death. Look what I am. God created me in righteousness. I've got new habits and new ways. Come put me on. And God says, child, whichever one you put on, choose ye this day, life or death. Choose you, your destination at the judgment seat of Christ, by who you put on. Now, let me give you a partial error. John MacArthur, in his New Testament commentary to the Ephesians, he interprets Paul And the new man, in a way that is not right, it would be very discouraging to believers today. He says, the believer as a total person is transformed, but not yet wholly perfect. He has residing sin, but no longer reigning sin. He is no longer the old man corrupted, but is now the new man created in righteousness and holiness, awaiting full salvation. What MacArthur does is he takes the new man that has been created in righteousness and is perfect, and he says, uh, this is what all Christians are. They're a little bit perfect. Where did Jesus say the new man was just a little bit perfect? What are you talking about? So, according to John MacArthur, if you are a real believer, if you are a real Christian, you are a perfect righteous man that has no sin reigning in you. It would be impossible for a Christian to have sin reigning in him if he's a true believer. That's false doctrine. What in the world is the battle about? And show me where the Bible says that new man is kind to holy. This would discourage every single person in church. You ought to praise God that you don't have to listen to that type of rubbish, because I'm going to tell you, here's what you'd find. If you believe this mess, you're going to spend your whole life making sure you don't sin. And the law is the power of sin, so you'll probably end up in big sin. And before you know it, you're going to look at your life and say, I must not be saved. So, this errs on the legalistic side. But you know what? There's a whole world on the other side. They love this new man, old man teaching. When I wrote my book on the judgment seat of Christ, I had some people write me back and they said, I could never get in trouble for sin. Like, what are you talking about? They said, because I don't sin. Like, what do you mean you don't sin? And they said, anytime I sin or fornicate or drink or do anything, whatever it is, that's the old man. The new man doesn't sin, and I'm the new man, but any sin that I do, that's the old man. And I say, hold on a second. Wait, wait, wait. Let me follow you here a second. Who's going to be at the judgment seat of Christ? And they say, well, the old man will probably be there, and he'll get a whipping. So when Jesus says all these bad things, that's the old man. That's not me. Well, who did Paul say that we must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ, and know in the chair of the Lord we persuade man and receive of the things done in our body? Who receives of the things done in his body? They say, that's the old man. I say, okay, well then who gets the crown if he's good? That's the new man. Who are you? I'm just the new man. So basically, you've got a system here. I have never in my life heard such. No wonder Peter said that there's some of Paul's writings that they can take and twist to sin. So here's what they say. Any sin that you do is the old man. See, what I would say is, any sin that you do is you obeying the old man. Big difference. So they would say, any sin that you do is the old man, and you're not the old man, so you will never get in trouble for anything the old man does. I respond and say, what if you were the old man and walk in the old man? The you that walked in the old man is going to get a whipping. See, they don't like the ye here. Ye put off the old man. Ye put on the new man. You say whatever you want about old man, new man, all I'm saying is ye are going to get a whipping. Ye walk in the old man, you're going to get a whipping. Whoever that ye is right there. Well, I could never get a whipping. I'm the old man. I mean, I'm the new man. You know, there's no new thing under the sun. Horatious Bonar, in God's way of holiness back in the 1800s, he had to put up with this. He says, who is responsible for sin committed? Not the new man, for he is perfect. In other words, what Bonar is saying is, why don't you ask these people, well, who got saved then? We've got to find a you somewhere here. Who got saved? Did the new man get saved? He didn't need salvation, did he? So did the old man get saved? I thought you said the old man is corrupt. He can't be saved. So, who got saved? We're trying to find the mysterious you that they keep trying to hide. Not the new man, for he gets perfect. Who gets the pardon? Is it the old man or the new? Not the new, for he is perfect. It must then be the old man that confesses the sin and gets the forgiveness and is washed in the blood. That's a mess, isn't it? What becomes of the old man at death? For whom did Christ die? Not for the new man, seeing he is perfect. Who was it that was born again? Not the new man, he did not need that change. Not the old man, he was incapable of it. Who is it that makes progress? Not the old man, he is beyond improvement. Not the new man, for he is perfect. This mysticism! As to the old and new man proceeds on a confusion similar to that which mixes up justification and sanctification. The old man is the apostles figure. It evidently means sometimes our former legal condition and at other times our former moral state. In the first sense, the old man is crucified, put off once for all in believing. So, in one sense, when you believed, you became a new man. Okay? In the second sense, there is a daily putting off what is old and putting on what is new. It is like our putting on Christ, which is done once for all at justification, but also gradually in the process of renewing, so that in one place we read, you have put on Christ, and in another we're commanded, put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ. But the mixture of these two things is the chief source of the errors we have been exposing. This mysticism or confusion is a serious thing. Some are taught that the new man could not sin, that all sin came from the old man whom they had put off and that they therefore did not need to trouble themselves about sin. This is actually taught in some Baptist churches today. I get emails from people telling me, hey, do you realize what's being taught over here in a King James Bible church, fundamental church? That's why these churches are starting to be filled with adultery and fornication, because basically people are saying, hey, the old man is not me. And when I sin, it's only the old man. Therefore, I don't have to trouble myself about sin. No doubt the consciences of some of these misled individuals shrunk from the full application of this antinomianism. But others went on and sinned. So you might have some people in the church, in spite of that teaching that says, Oh, well, I'm not going to go out here and sin. But some in the congregation hear that and use it. They went on to sin, not so much because grace abounded, but because they were not responsible for the sins indulged in. I mean, all I've got to do is tell a young man, whenever you sin, it's not really you. He'll say, well, that's nice. So I'll just go sin and sin and sin and don't have to worry about it. The new man in them did not commit the sin. It was the old man who did it all. And what could be expected of such a one? Of course I got drunk on Saturday night. It was the old man. And you know that old man, he always drinks. You can't make him holy. This doctrine, as sometimes stated, looks plausible. as professing to rest on the very words of Scripture. But it only needs a slight analysis, a little taking to pieces to show that its effect, if carried out, would be to destroy the feeling of responsibility. And that's all I'm saying is you've got a twisting of Paul's words that preaches, I can't be judged because I am the new man, and the new man can't get a whippin', and only the old man can get a whippin', And whenever I sin, it's not the new man, it's the old man, and since I'm going to appear in the judgment seat of Christ, He'll never whip me for the old man, because I'm the new man. What total confusion. What total confusion. Let me put it to you plainly. Let me put it to you plainly. Whatever clothes you, ye, put on, whether it be the clothes of the old man or the clothes of the new man, whether it be the sin of the old man or the righteousness that God has for you to practically walk in of the new man, whichever one you yield yourself to, whichever one you put on, you will receive full. If you put on the new man, then you will be crowned with glory and honor and you'll reign with Jesus a thousand years. And He'll say, well done, now good and faithful servant. If you walk in the old person and you put him or her on, Jesus will look at that and He'll say, what are you coming here with these filthy rags? You're naked. How dare you come to the judgment seat of Christ dressed in that trash? And he'll say, grab them and get them out of my presence. You say, I don't like that. The Lord never asked you if you liked it. He never asked me if I liked it. He said, that's Bible. So why don't we close? Just me reading four verses, five verses. Ephesians 5, 8, You were sometimes darkness, but now you are light, and the Lord walketh children of light. So I'm going to ask you to do things different than you used to do. I'm going to ask you to give up some bad habits. I'm going to ask you to give up some stinking habits. I'm going to compel you, persuade you, give up some stinking habits of the old man because you're not that person anymore and you don't have to walk in it anymore. Why don't you walk like a child of light? Romans 6, for sin shall not have dominion over you. You are not under the law, but under grace. You say, I'm a slave to this sin. No, you used to be. The new person, he's not a slave to it. Walk in Him. You think David killed Goliath? God empowered David to kill Goliath. God will empower you. You don't have to obey that mess. Since you'll not have dominion over you, you have gracious power to live holy. Why are you walking in the slop that you used to walk in? Get up like a man. Be what God wants you to be. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 6, I will not be brought under the power of anything. Isn't that wonderful? Paul, how could you say that? He says, I've got the power of the Lord Jesus. I've got a new man. There's nothing going to control me, says Paul. He means nothing evil. Nothing but God. Can you say that? You willing to say that? Y'all willing to say that? I will not be brought under the power of any? How come we're not getting no amens? Oh, but I got two bad verses. Hebrews 10. Of how much sore punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden underfoot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant wherewith he was sanctified an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace. What's God saying? God says, I didn't ask you to go do something for Me as much as I gave you power to do it. I gave you the money to buy it with. And you'll find it. You're not going to feel it, but just reckon it to be so. You would not believe what you can do. The sin that we could put away if you'll just remember, I've got a new person to walk in. I'm just going to believe it. Try it. Believe God. But whatever you do, don't do spite, despite unto God's gracious power. Hebrews 12, looking diligently. You know, that means we're to look around church. Not only in your own life, looking diligently. Let any man fail of the grace of God. Are you not walking in the gracious power the Lord gave you? What's going on? Let any root of bitterness springing up trouble you and thereby many be defiled. Lest there be any fornicator or profane person as Esau who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. Please don't sell your kingdom inheritance for one morsel of meat. Don't sell what God has for you. Let's go ahead and have an altar call. And I'm going to call us at this moment to repentance for not believing God. I'm going to call us to repentance for thinking you could go to the judgment seat of Christ and tell God, well, God, I didn't have the power. It was so difficult for me. I couldn't get rid of bad habits. Because you know I'm just so weak in the flesh. Yeah, we can come on up here and have a time with God. I invite you to come. Come speak to God and get this thing straight this morning. So you don't go to God at the judgment seat and say, Lord, you left me without strength. I pray today that you'll believe God this morning, that you'll put away every bit of wickedness that comes from the old man and that we'll start believing God and walk in this new man And all God's asking you is that you ignore the taunts of that old person. Lord, may this congregation reckon itself dead under sin, but alive under righteousness, alive under God. May we not use these excuses that are getting so popular out there in the web, in the internet land. May we understand there's accountability and responsibility for us to live holy. Let us quit making excuses. We're sinners and everybody sins and all of that mess that everybody uses. Lord, we know that everybody doesn't sin to the same degree. Thank you Lord for those who brought the church today. May we have a wonderful fellowship together as we eat lunch. We thank you for the saving blood of Jesus and the blood that empowers us to live a holy Christian life and put away bad habits. Bless us in our afternoon service in the name of Jesus. Amen.