In today’s episode, Dr. Greg Gifford emphasizes the great seriousness with which we must put off our old selves and desires. A putting to death of our old nature must take place before the second step of the process of change: being renewed.
To Put Off is to Put to Death
In the process of change, the first step is to put off who you were before Christ. The old self no longer has power over the believer. Just as Paul emphasized this truth to the Ephesians, he also spoke about it to the Colossians. The church of Colossae battled with many desires of their old nature–gnosticism, asceticism, and the worship of angels– but Paul still refers to them as believers and encourages them to put to death the remnants of these old desires.
In Colossians 3:5a, Paul states, “Therefore, consider the members of your earthly body as dead” (LSB). Here, he shares the same step of putting off the old self with the Colossians, but with a much stronger tone. A believer must mortify their sin, giving their old nature no foothold to creep back in. It is commonly said of sin that the believer is either killing sin or sin is killing the believer.
His strong tone makes the reader dwell on how they treat their sin. As believers, we must take the action of putting off our old selves as a serious matter. We must exterminate sin. Our mindset must not be filled with thoughts such as, “We all make mistakes”, “I’m trying my best”, or “None of us are perfect”. There is no justification, minimization, or allowance of sin. In no way should our old desires have a place to thrive in our lives. We should want to have nothing to do with our old ways.
Step Two: Be Renewed
Carrying on in his letter, Ephesians 4:23 states, “and to be renewed in the spirit of your mind” (LSB). For something to be renewed means for it to be restored to its former condition. We were created to be perfect image bearers of the LORD, to reflect Him in who we are. Through salvation and sanctification, we are being renewed back to this original design, who we are supposed to be. This renewal happens in the inner person of our mind. We must put off the ways of the Gentile, the futility of mind, and be renewed back to who God created us to be.
This blog post captures the essence of Dr. Greg Gifford’s series on the process of change. You may click on the video above to hear more insightful details about not just how we change, but the process of that change. Dr. Gifford is the Chair of the Undergraduate School of Biblical Counseling as well as a Biblical Counseling Professor for The Master’s University traditional on-campus program.
