I Am A New Person
Sermon Audio
Sermon Notes
Intro:
Hey everybody my name’s Louis I’m one of the pastor’s at the church, it’s great to be with you this morning. Today we’re continuing our series called “Identity: I am __” and it’s all about learning who God says we are not who society’s molded us to be. It’s about learning who God says we are not who society’s molded us to be, and one of the things society’s taught us is that we have the power to change ourselves. We’ve been taught we have the power to change ourselves, that the power to change comes from within us, and we’ve bought into this thinking so much that we spend roughly $10 billion a year on the self-improvement industry in the U.S. alone, and according to one article many people are repeat customers buying multiple books within an 18 month period. It’s because apparently the first book didn’t work so they had to buy another one. They’re like “Oh here’s a book on how to stop cussing. Man I need that for my life.” So they buy it, read it, go strong for a few weeks, a few months but as soon as Brady and the Patriots win, they start cussing again, and it’s back to the books. They go from book to book, teaching to teaching, self-improvement to self-improvement hoping to find the power to change from within, but they never find it. They never find the will power to change the deepest rooted issues in their lives. Their will power can change some things, but it can’t change everything. Their will power can change some things, but it can’t change it can’t change everything, it can’t change the deepest rooted issues in their lives, and we all have them. We all have some deep rooted issues we want changed, but we can’t seem to change them.
What are those things for you?..What are those things, those deepest rooted issues you want changed about your life? I’m not talking things like your looks or situation, I’m talking things like your thoughts, behaviors, and sins. Things like how you talk to your spouse, how impatient and short tempered you are with your kids, how negative you are, prideful you are, or hurtful you are towards others. We all have certain things, certain thoughts, behaviors, and sins we want to change about ourlives, what are those things for you?..Whatever those things are, society’s taught us that you have the power to change those things but it’s not true, and here’s why. If you could’ve changed those things you would’ve done it already...If you had the power to change those things, those deep rooted things, you would’ve done it already...But you can’t which should tell you society’s self-improvement message isn’t true, and today I’m gonna show you how Christianity, how Jesus offers us a much better solution to change. In fact Jesus offers us something even greater than change, he offers us an entirely new identity, an entirely new life in him! So let’s turn our bible’s to Ephesians 4:17-24 and get into it. The title of today’s message is “I Am New Person.” There’s some things you can’t change, but Jesus can change everything. He can change our entire lives, and make us new! I am a new person, in Christ.
Context:
Here’s your context. In the early chapters of Ephesians Paul focuses a lot on who we are in Christ, but in these final chapters you’ll see him shift the focus to what we need to do because of who we are in Christ. Today’s text is an important part of that shift because it talks about how we have a new life in Jesus, and how we need to live that new life out. Now you’re not gonna see him using a specific “in Christ” phrase like he did in other parts of Ephesians, but you will see him using phrases like “put off your old self” and “put on your new self” implying that Jesus not only has the power to change us, he also has the power to make us new. Jesus not only has the power to change us, he also has the power to make us new. Let’s check out what Paul has to say.
The Word:
Ephesians 4:17-24 states this, “Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do...” Zack explained who the Gentiles were last week, it’s basically anybody who isn’t Jewish. But in this case Paul’s using Gentile to mean non-Christians. The Ephesians were Gentiles themselves, they were Christian Gentiles living in a primarily non-Christian Gentile society. So when Paul says don’t walk like the Gentiles he’s not talking about all Gentiles, he’s talking about not walking like non-Christian Gentiles, he’s talking about not walking like non-Christians in general, and how do non-Christians walk? Paul tells us.
Again vs. 17, “Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.” Paul’s spiritual gift clearly isn’t writing hallmark cards. Could you imagine him writing hallmark cards? “You’re thinking’s futile, dark, and ignorant. By the way, you have a hardened heart. Happy birthday!” Not exactly a hallmark kind of guy, but he’s not hating on non-Christians. In fact he’s one of historical Christianity’s greatest leaders in reaching out to non-Christians. He’s not hating on them, he’s not saying their dumb, unintelligent, and have nothing to contribute to society, because they do. There’s plenty of non-Christians who are smart, intelligent, and have things to contribute to society. So he’s not saying any of that, he’s just saying their thinking’s futile, dark, and ignorant. Why? It’s because they’re hearts are hardened towards God and it’s alienated them from God, alienated them from a relationship with Jesus, and if you don’t have a relationship with Jesus your thinking’s futile. It’s futile because it’s temporal, it’s not gonna last beyond the grave. Jesus is the only one who’s ever risen from the dead which means his thoughts and purposes are the only thoughts and purposes that are eternal, that’ll last beyond the grave. Zack talked about this last week, he talked about how our lives have so much more purpose with Jesus because we get to play a small part in a much bigger plan. But if the thoughts and purposes you’re working so hard for aren’t aligned with Jesus, they’re futile because they’re not gonna last beyond the grave. Only Jesus has conquered the grave, come back to talk about it, and can offer us a life filled with purpose lasting beyond the grave. All other thoughts and purposes are futile.
But Paul also says their thinking is dark and ignorant. He says it’s dark and ignorant because non-Christians don’t know Jesus or what it’s like to live a life with Jesus. They don’t know what Christians know which is that there’s whole other side of life, a much greater side of life than life without Jesus. I’m not saying non-Christians can’t enjoy life without Jesus, because they can. When I was an atheist I still enjoyed certain aspects of life, I was just ignorant to the even greater joy that was available to me with Jesus. I was in the dark and ignorant to that side of life. But after becoming a Christian, after putting my faith in Jesus I started to see things more clearly. I went from saying things like “I don’t know God, can’t see God, can’t believe anybody could ever believe in God, my life is perfectly fine and happy without God,” to saying “I know God, I’m starting to see God in everything, I can’t believe anybody could ever NOT believe in God, and my life is so much greater and happier now that I’m with God.” I’ve known both sides of life, Christians know both sides of life. We know what it’s like to live with and without Jesus, but non-Christians only know one side because they’re in the dark. They’re in the dark and their missing out on a much greater side of life. Even those of you who are nominal Christians are missing out. You’re just going through the motions of your faith, half hearting your relationship with Jesus and you’re missing out. C.S. Lewis put it like this, “We’re half-hearted creatures fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us. We’re like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum, because he cannot imagine what’s meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea.” Life without Jesus or half hearting our life with Jesus is like that, it’s like playing with mud pies in a slum compared to the infinite joy Jesus has for us when we’re living our lives with and for him. Paul says life without Jesus is futile, dark, and ignorant, because their missing out on this other side of life that Jesus offers us. But Jesus can change all that and make us new. There’s some things you can’t change, but Jesus can change everything. He can change our entire lives, and make us new! I am a new person in Christ.
Vs. 19, “They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.” Notice Paul says they’ve become “callous.” They’ve become callous, meaning they’ve become insensitive to Jesus and his teachings. Their hearts are so hardened that they’ve developed calluses on their hearts, dead spots on their souls, and they lack sensitivity and feelings towards Jesus and his teachings. This can happen even to those of us who are Christians. Our hearts won’t ever become fully hardened like non-Christians, but we can develop calluses on our hearts when we persist in unrepentant sin. The more we indulge in unrepentant sin, the more calloused our hearts will become, the more we’ll try to rationalize our sin. We’ll say things like, “Society’s changed so we should change too...Everybody else is doing it, so it must be okay...Man what I’m doing isn’t that big of a deal. Besides God wants me to be happy right? Well what I’m doing makes me happy so it must be okay with it God.” It’s the rationalization of a calloused heart. City Awakening are their calluses forming on your heart?.. Are their calluses forming on your heart, dead spots forming on your soul?..Is there any sin in your life that you need to repent for?..Whatever those sins are repent and go to Jesus with those sins, because only he can change our calloused hearts, which is what Paul talks about next.
Vs. 20, “But that is not the way you learned Christ!” He shifts to Jesus. Paul shifts to Jesus. It’s because without Jesus our lives are stuck in vs. 17-19. Without Jesus our lives are stuck in vs. 17-19. But with Jesus, with vs. 20 everything’s about to change. Vs. 17-19 can give us a psychology of unbelief, a psychology of life without Jesus, but it can’t give us the power to change that life. Only Jesus has the power to change that life and Paul’s reminding them of that, he’s reminding them of what they “learned” in Jesus, which is that Jesus has the power to change our callused hearts and make us new. There’s some things you can’t change, but Jesus can change everything. He can change our entire lives and make us new! I’m a new person in Christ.
Again vs. 20, “But that is not the way you learned Christ!” 21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus...” Again it’s back to Jesus. Paul says “the truth is in Jesus,” meaning all truth about God, salvation, and every aspect of life can be found in Jesus. It’s why one of our codes at City Awakening is that “the gospel is more than a way to eternal life, it is our life.” It’s because Jesus knows and tells the truth about everything, so we want to view every aspect of our lives through the lens of Jesus. As Christians we want to view our marriages, dating, parenting, sexuality, suffering, finances, everything through the lens of Jesus. It’s because “the truth is in Jesus.” It’s because he knows and tells the truth about every aspect of our lives, which means he can change every aspect of our lives as we view our lives through the lens of him. There’s some things you can’t change, but Jesus can change everything. He can change our entire lives, and make us new! I am a new person in Christ.
Again vs. 21, “Assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” Okay so I want you to notice the verbs “put off” and “put on.” The verbs put off and put on were often used to symbolize the putting off and putting on of clothing, and metaphorically the Greeks used it to symbolize the putting off and putting on of certain behaviors. They’d say you need to “put off” anger and “put on” love. You need to “put off” lying and “put on” truth. But nowhere in ancient Greek had anyone ever used these verbs in the context Paul’s using them here. Paul’s not just talking about our behaviors, he’s also talking about our identity, our new nature in Jesus. He’s talking about how at the moment of our conversion, at the moment we put our faith in Jesus we’re given a new nature. We no longer have a sin nature in Adam, we now have a new nature in Jesus. It’s a new nature where we’re no longer in the dark like vs. 17-19, instead we’re able to see things more clearly which increase our desires for Jesus and his teachings. Paul’s reminding them of this, he’s reminding them of their new nature and how they need to “put off” their old way of living and “put on” their new way of living. He’s not telling them to change their identity, he’s telling them to live out the new identity they’ve already been given.
Look what Paul’s talking about is like a marriage. It’s like a marriage. The day you get married, the day you sign the marriage certificate is the day you’re no longer single. Your identity’s changed from being single, to being married. But it takes time for you to learn how to walk in that new identity, to learn how to walk as a married person. It’s why some of the hardest years of marriage are the first few years. It’s because most of your life you’ve been single, but now you’re learning how to be married. So you start fighting over things like, “The dishes go in the dishwasher not the sink. The toilet paper goes this way not this way. My mother folded my clothes like this not like that.” All fights from my first year of marriage, and I learned very quickly not to say “My mother did it this way.” You learn so much your first year of marriage. You’re learning how to walk as a married person and you continue to learn as the years progress. In a similar way when you become a Christian you’re constantly learning how to walk in your new life as a Christian. It’s one of the reasons why we still sin as Christians. It’s because we’re still learning how to walk like the new person we are, not like the old person we were. If someone ever points out your sin or calls you a hypocrite don’t get offended, because it’s true. You’re gonna sin and act like a hypocrite sometimes. It’s because you’re still learning how to walk like the new person you are, not like the old person you were. So when Paul says to “put off” and “put on,” he’s not saying we need to change our identity, he’s saying we need to keep striving to live out the new identity we’ve already been given. He uses those verbs in a way unlike anyone else in ancient Greek history. It’s because Jesus does something unlike anyone else in history. He doesn’t just change our behaviors, he changes our entire nature, our entire lives. There’s some things you can’t change, but Jesus can change everything. He can change our entire lives, and make us new! I am a new person in Christ. There’s one more verb I want us to look at, it’s possibly the most important verb in the text, and it’s in vs. 23.
Again vs. 23, “And to be renewed in the spirit of your minds...” Paul says we need to be renewed in the spirit of our minds. Now here’s what’s interesting about the verb “be renewed.” I don’t always like to talk about Greek grammar when I preach, but in this case it’s important, it’s interesting. It’s very interesting, because it’s written in what’s called the “present tense” which simply means it’s an ongoing process, the renewing of our minds is an ongoing process. It’s not a onetime event, it’s an ongoing event. It’s not like when you become a Christian your mind is completely renewed to where you know all things about Jesus, his teachings, even your sins. No, your minds aren’t completely renewed yet, they’re being renewed as you learn how to walk as the new person you are. Now what’s even more interesting about this verb is that it’s written in what’s called the “passive voice,” which means this is something that’s done to us. The verbs “put off” and “put on” are written in the middle voice which is something that we do, but the renewing of our minds is something that God does to us. So what Paul’s basically saying is Jesus is the one who makes us new, we need to walk in that newness, and Jesus will continually renew our minds so we CAN actually walk in that newness. So what’s all this mean? It means if you really want to be changed it has to start and continue with Jesus. It has to start with Jesus changing your heart, making you new, and it has to continue with Jesus constantly renewing you as you learn how to walk in that newness. True life change starts and continues with Jesus, which is exactly why Paul says “BE renewed,” instead of “make yourself renewed.” It’s because you can’t make yourself renewed, you can’t make yourself into something you aren’t. No matter how hard you try you can’t BE something you aren’t. As a kid I wanted to play for the New York Giants, but as I got older I realized no matter how hard I try I couldn’t do it. I might be able to make the team now that they stink, but back then I couldn’t do it. I wasn’t fast enough to make to the NFL. I could use all the self-improvement will power I wanted, but it still wouldn’t change who I am enough to run the 40 in less than 4.5 seconds. It’s because I can’t BE something I’m not, you can’t BE something you’re not. Only Jesus has the power to change us and make us into something we aren’t. So Paul says “BE renewed,” instead of “make yourself renewed,” because only Jesus has the power to save us, change us, makes us new, and continually renews us as we learn how to walk in that newness. The Christian life is about becoming something, before it’s about doing something. First we become something, then we do something. First we become a new person in Jesus, then we go and walk in that newness. It all starts and continues with Jesus.
The Big Idea:
Let’s get to the big idea. Here’s the big idea. There’s some things you can’t change, but Jesus can change everything...There’s some things you can’t change, but Jesus can change everything. He can change our entire lives, and make us new! I am a new person in Christ...Do you want to change?..Do you truly want to change the deepest rooted things in your life?..If so then you have a choice. You can either rely on Jesus, or do what society’s taught you which is to rely on yourself and your own will power. You and I both know society’s way won’t work, because if you could’ve changed you would’ve done it already, but you can’t which tells us what we need isn’t more will power, it’s more of Jesus. We need more of Jesus, we need to learn more about him, learn more from him, and continue to rely upon him. The way we do that is by studying the bible, spending time with Jesus in prayer, and by viewing every aspect of our life through the lens of Jesus. If we don’t do that, if we don’t study our bibles, pray, and spend time viewing every aspect of our life through the lens of Jesus, then we’re not much different than the non-Christian Gentile world that never thinks about Jesus and is relying upon their own will power to change. Paul says if you’re a Christian that’s who you were, but it’s not who you are, and Jesus is willing to renew our minds continuously. He’s willing to give us access to his grace daily, even when we stumble and struggle in our sin. So the question isn’t do we have access to his grace daily, it’s are we willing daily access the grace he’s already given?.. Are we willing to daily access the grace he’s already given?..So let’s repent of our sins, believe Jesus lived, died, and rose again for our sins, and daily rely not on our own will power, but on his grace. None of us need more will power, what we need is more of Jesus’ grace, because will power will never be able to do what only Jesus can do. He’ll change the deepest parts of who we are, which will eventually change what we do, as we continually learn how to walk in our new life with him.
C.S. Lewis put it like this, “We’re half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us. We’re like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum, because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea.”