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Leaving the Old You in the Grave (Colossians 3) · Prodigal Hope

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SPEAKER_00: I don't think it can be overstated or,
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SPEAKER_00: again,
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over-exaggerated how critical it is that we keep in our minds
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the very fact that
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SPEAKER_00: this gospel,
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SPEAKER_00: the good news of Jesus' life,
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SPEAKER_00: death,
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SPEAKER_00: and resurrection,
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SPEAKER_00: that we keep in mind that that announcement...
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SPEAKER_00: It's not a matter of, we could say, mere information.
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We've talked about this a couple of weeks ago when we were
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going through some of
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SPEAKER_00: the earlier portions of Colossians.
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SPEAKER_00: But I think it's important to be reminded,
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SPEAKER_00: especially as we go to this next portion of this letter in Colossians.
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SPEAKER_00: That this gospel,
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SPEAKER_00: this thing that we are constantly talking about,
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SPEAKER_00: that we're reveling in,
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SPEAKER_00: that we're referring to.
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SPEAKER_00: Yes, it is factual.
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It is a historical fact that we can go back to that we believe
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most truthfully.
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SPEAKER_00: That yes,
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SPEAKER_00: Jesus of Nazareth,
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he was crucified on a cross for our sins and resurrected from
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the dead on the third day.
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SPEAKER_00: And now we rejoice because that is so, that is done.
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SPEAKER_00: But I think it's also important,
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SPEAKER_00: as we've covered before,
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SPEAKER_00: that the Christian faith,
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SPEAKER_00: our faith as believers,
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SPEAKER_00: as Christians,
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SPEAKER_00: is not a faith of,
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SPEAKER_00: we could say,
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SPEAKER_00: facts alone.
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SPEAKER_00: Yes, it...
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SPEAKER_00: It has facts and we believe in them,
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SPEAKER_00: but the gospel and those facts of it,
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SPEAKER_00: they let us see that the gospel itself is,
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SPEAKER_00: remember what we called it,
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SPEAKER_00: a dynamic word of God.
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SPEAKER_00: It's lively, it's energetic, it's a word that is full of power.
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SPEAKER_00: It actually is a word that does something to us.
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SPEAKER_00: We've been talking about this.
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SPEAKER_00: Colossians 2 verse 13 is where we kind of get into that.
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SPEAKER_00: Where Paul says, notice what he says, Colossians 2 verse 13.
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SPEAKER_00: And you who were dead in your trespasses, God made alive.
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SPEAKER_00: He made you alive together with him, with Christ.
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SPEAKER_00: Having forgiven us all of our trespasses.
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SPEAKER_00: Having cleansed us of all of our sins.
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This is the word of the gospel that actually does something to
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dead sinners.
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SPEAKER_00: What does it do?
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SPEAKER_00: It makes them alive.
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This is that piece of information that actually goes beyond just,
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again,
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mere information.
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SPEAKER_00: The gospel is news that changes us, that changes us from the inside out.
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SPEAKER_00: As we said last week,
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SPEAKER_00: as we began this next portion of the letter in chapter 3,
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the gospel is a word of life that brings the dead back to life
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by giving them the
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SPEAKER_00: life of the one who died for them.
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SPEAKER_00: And that's probably a lot of words,
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SPEAKER_00: but I think it gets to the heart of what Paul is talking about here.
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SPEAKER_00: It's not just facts.
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SPEAKER_00: It's not just information.
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It's not just all of these little things,
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these little details and particulars.
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No,
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the gospel that Paul is preaching is something that does
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something to us.
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SPEAKER_00: It brings us back to life.
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SPEAKER_00: That question remains, what does this new life look like?
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SPEAKER_00: That is the foundational question, we could say, of chapter 3.
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SPEAKER_00: That's Paul's focus here,
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SPEAKER_00: where Paul begins to build on what he's already established,
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SPEAKER_00: the foundation of the gospel,
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SPEAKER_00: which gives us new hope and new life in and because of Christ.
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SPEAKER_00: And now he's going to explain what this life looks like,
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SPEAKER_00: especially this life as it is found in Christ alone.
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SPEAKER_00: Again, look at Colossians 3.1, where Paul says this,
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SPEAKER_00: If then you have been raised.
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SPEAKER_00: So again, we've been made alive.
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SPEAKER_00: We were dead.
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SPEAKER_00: We've been raised together with Christ.
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SPEAKER_00: If you've been raised with Christ.
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SPEAKER_00: We can say, as we established last time.
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SPEAKER_00: Since you've been raised with Christ.
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SPEAKER_00: Seek the things that are above.
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SPEAKER_00: Where Christ is seated.
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SPEAKER_00: At the right hand of God.
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SPEAKER_00: Set your minds on things that are above.
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SPEAKER_00: Not on things that are on earth.
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This is the new life that Paul is going to begin to dive into
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even more detail this morning.
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We could say this life of heavenly mindedness,
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of seeking the things that are above.
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SPEAKER_00: But again, what does that involve?
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SPEAKER_00: It's always good when you're coming to the Word to ask questions.
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Because those who are asking questions are most likely to be
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given answers.
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So their questions this morning are,
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what does this gospel do in us once we trust it?
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Once we receive this announcement of what Jesus has done on our behalf,
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what happens?
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SPEAKER_00: What occurs in us?
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SPEAKER_00: What does it mean,
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SPEAKER_00: as Paul says elsewhere to the Philippians,
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SPEAKER_00: that He,
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SPEAKER_00: God,
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SPEAKER_00: who started a good work in you,
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SPEAKER_00: will carry it on to completion?
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SPEAKER_00: What does that mean?
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SPEAKER_00: What does that process look like?
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Especially as we examine this next question,
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those are good questions to consider.
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SPEAKER_00: Again, now let's look at verse 5 of chapter 3.
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Because notice what Paul moves into as he's describing this new
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life that we as Christians,
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SPEAKER_00: as we as the church of God have in and because of God's son,
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SPEAKER_00: Jesus.
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SPEAKER_00: What does this life look like?
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SPEAKER_00: Well, verse 5.
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SPEAKER_00: Put to death, therefore, what is earthly in you.
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Sexual immorality,
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impurity,
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passion,
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evil desire,
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and covetousness,
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which is idolatry.
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SPEAKER_00: On account of these, the wrath of God is coming.
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SPEAKER_00: Now,
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SPEAKER_00: we have to pause,
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SPEAKER_00: I think,
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because you might read these verses and not even really think
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about what is being said.
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SPEAKER_00: Especially as it occurs here in this letter.
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SPEAKER_00: Paul appears to be telling the Colossians that their role,
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SPEAKER_00: the role that they play in this whole salvation thing.
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SPEAKER_00: And he seemingly is putting the burden of responsibility back on them.
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SPEAKER_00: Hey,
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SPEAKER_00: yes,
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SPEAKER_00: Jesus forgave you,
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SPEAKER_00: but if you really want to escape the wrath of God,
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SPEAKER_00: it's on you,
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it's on your shoulders to be putting to death all of that sin
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that's in you,
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SPEAKER_00: every last speck of it.
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SPEAKER_00: That's what's required of you.
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That's how it can appear,
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what Paul seems to be conveying to them,
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communicating to them.
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SPEAKER_00: And there is, of course, some truth to that.
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SPEAKER_00: But not in the way that you think,
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which is why I want to spend a lot of time delving into what
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Paul is actually
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SPEAKER_00: saying here.
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SPEAKER_00: Because this, again, remember, keep the Bible in context.
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SPEAKER_00: Don't just siphon off little verses and read them in isolation.
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SPEAKER_00: Because remember what Paul has just finished telling them.
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SPEAKER_00: Verse 23 of chapter 2.
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These have an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made
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religion and asceticism
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SPEAKER_00: and severity to the body.
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SPEAKER_00: But they are of no value in stopping the flesh.
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He's just finished telling the Colossians that no amount of
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moral effort or
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SPEAKER_00: asceticism can actually stop your flesh from wreaking havoc.
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SPEAKER_00: Stop those sins that are so ingrained in you from wreaking.
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SPEAKER_00: reaching out and causing harm both to you and to others.
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SPEAKER_00: Is Paul contradicting himself now?
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Because now he's telling us that we have to put to death all
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these things.
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SPEAKER_00: Which one is it, Paul?
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SPEAKER_00: Are we dead to these things?
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SPEAKER_00: Again, remember what he said in verse number 20 of chapter 2?
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SPEAKER_00: If Christ, you died to the elemental spirits of the world.
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SPEAKER_00: Why?
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SPEAKER_00: As if you were still alive in the world.
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SPEAKER_00: Do you submit to those regulations?
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SPEAKER_00: Verse 22.
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SPEAKER_00: According to human precepts and teachings.
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SPEAKER_00: Hey, you've already died to them.
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SPEAKER_00: And now Paul is saying we have to put them to death.
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SPEAKER_00: Paul, what are you talking about?
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SPEAKER_00: What are we actually putting to death?
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SPEAKER_00: And where is the burden of responsibility for us as the church of God?
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And again,
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I think this is why it's important to read all of this together.
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SPEAKER_00: Because we can't go cherry picking the Bible.
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You know,
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some preachers and some pastors and some people who read the Bible,
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they do that.
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They get into trouble where they just pick this little one here
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and this little one here.
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And they just make all kinds of little statements about what
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the Bible is saying
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SPEAKER_00: without realizing what the Bible is actually saying.
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SPEAKER_00: And if you were to isolate,
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SPEAKER_00: if you were to just lift these verses out of their context,
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SPEAKER_00: verse 8-2 especially,
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SPEAKER_00: where he says this.
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SPEAKER_00: Paul says, but now you must put them all away.
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SPEAKER_00: Anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.
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SPEAKER_00: If you just isolate these,
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it would appear as if Paul is just repeating the same things
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that he was just
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SPEAKER_00: arguing against.
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That by your strenuous effort,
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you can get rid of all of the vice in your life.
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SPEAKER_00: Of all of those things that keep continually bringing you down.
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It would appear as if Paul is giving them just another round of
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tips and techniques
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SPEAKER_00: on how to grow spiritually.
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SPEAKER_00: Here are some to-dos.
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SPEAKER_00: Here are some check boxes.
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SPEAKER_00: Make sure you're putting these things to death.
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SPEAKER_00: So on and so forth.
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SPEAKER_00: But this, of course, is not at all what Paul is saying.
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Which means we have to actually really pause to really consider
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what he is saying.
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SPEAKER_00: The phrase in verse 5, put to death.
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SPEAKER_00: It can mean a couple of things.
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SPEAKER_00: They're all related,
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SPEAKER_00: but it means either to make dead or,
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SPEAKER_00: if you want to be technical,
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SPEAKER_00: it means to mortify,
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SPEAKER_00: which is a good word.
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SPEAKER_00: And this is where we get this biblical but also technical idea of our
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SPEAKER_00: responsibility in terms of what is called mortification.
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SPEAKER_00: Our ability to walk in this spiritual life is,
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SPEAKER_00: yes,
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SPEAKER_00: dependent upon mortification,
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SPEAKER_00: which refers to the idea of subduing our sinful nature.
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SPEAKER_00: It has these connotations of training, of discipline.
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SPEAKER_00: If you're going to go out and try to run a 5K,
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it would probably best serve you not to just wake up one
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morning and try and do that.
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SPEAKER_00: No, there's a process that's involved that leads up to that.
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SPEAKER_00: They have whole apps that are now...
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SPEAKER_00: Devoted to that, right?
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SPEAKER_00: Couch to 5K.
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SPEAKER_00: You can go from your couch to run a 5K in so many days.
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That sort of process that happens between couch and 5K,
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that is the in-between process.
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SPEAKER_00: That's probably what we can identify as mortification.
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SPEAKER_00: Wherein you're not going to Dunkin' anymore,
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SPEAKER_00: you're choosing a salad because you have a 5K to run.
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SPEAKER_00: That is a process of subduing what you would rather have, i.e.
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SPEAKER_00: a donut instead of a salad.
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You're choosing something perhaps a little bit better for that
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time frame.
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SPEAKER_00: That's mortification.
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You're mortifying the temptation of that because you know you
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have a 5K to run.
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And that's just a silly way of saying that's the same thing
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that Paul is talking about here.
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SPEAKER_00: Put to death these things.
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SPEAKER_00: Subject yourself to something deeper and truer and better.
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SPEAKER_00: Practice self-discipline, he's saying.
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SPEAKER_00: I think our natural response is natural.
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SPEAKER_00: I think it's even here within the way this is translated,
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SPEAKER_00: that we put ourselves in the driver's seat for that process.
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Namely,
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we could say that Paul is saying,
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you have to put to death what is earthly in you.
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SPEAKER_00: That's what he says, put to death, therefore, what is earthly in you.
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SPEAKER_00: You are required to put away all of these things.
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SPEAKER_00: You are.
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SPEAKER_00: And if you don't, you better watch out.
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And while I think this is a natural reading,
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I don't think it's 100% accurate.
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SPEAKER_00: And that's what I want to talk about.
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SPEAKER_00: Because if we read these verses in this way,
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SPEAKER_00: we begin to see ourselves as the ones who are doing all the killing,
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SPEAKER_00: all the mortifying.
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SPEAKER_00: Mortification then,
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SPEAKER_00: in terms of our spiritual life with God,
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SPEAKER_00: is therefore a process where we are the ones,
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SPEAKER_00: we could say,
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SPEAKER_00: with axes in hands.
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And we are hacking down all of the weeds of sin and impurity
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and idolatry that crop
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SPEAKER_00: up and they keep cropping up.
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And so then Paul would seem to be saying that your life of
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faith and more than that,
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your position with God in Christ is dependent upon you going
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all Chip Gaines on
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SPEAKER_00: your heart and soul.
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SPEAKER_00: And what do I mean by that?
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SPEAKER_00: Well,
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I'm a big fan of Chip Gaines and Joanna Gaines and that show
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that used to be on
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SPEAKER_00: called Fixer Upper.
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SPEAKER_00: Do you remember that show?
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SPEAKER_00: I loved Fixer Upper.
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SPEAKER_00: Watching that show.
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Watching Ship of Joanna,
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if you don't know the show,
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they live in Waco,
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Texas.
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They would go around and they would take homes that are old and
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dilapidated and
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SPEAKER_00: they would fix them,
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SPEAKER_00: but they would flip them.
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SPEAKER_00: And they would put all kinds of new stuff, new fixtures.
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SPEAKER_00: And it was always, you know, what was the joke?
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SPEAKER_00: Joanna was always putting shiplap everywhere.
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She would take down walls and they would totally renovate
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houses and just make them
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SPEAKER_00: look spectacular and clean and amazing again.
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SPEAKER_00: It's awesome to watch those shows as they go from dilapidated,
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SPEAKER_00: old,
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abandoned house and they flip it and then they do the reveal
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and it's always,
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SPEAKER_00: man,
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SPEAKER_00: that doesn't even look like the same house anymore.
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SPEAKER_00: But I always loved that show because Chip was the husband.
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SPEAKER_00: He was always so funny and he was always charismatic.
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SPEAKER_00: And his favorite day was always Demo Day.
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SPEAKER_00: And he was always talking about Demolition Day.
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SPEAKER_00: That was his favorite day.
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Where he and a bunch of his crew,
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they would just go bonkers on a few rooms.
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SPEAKER_00: Taking sledgehammers, knocking down walls.
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SPEAKER_00: And they would be knocking down all kinds of things in the house.
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SPEAKER_00: Taking sledgehammers to kitchen cabinets.
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SPEAKER_00: And it always looked so much fun.
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SPEAKER_00: Just to just go crazy in a house like that.
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SPEAKER_00: But I think the point of all that is this.
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SPEAKER_00: Is that Joanna Gaines was always concerned with the inside of the house.
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She couldn't fix up what was inside until they got rid of all
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the old stuff.
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It would be kind of silly for her to try and make this house
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look how she envisions it.
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SPEAKER_00: How she knows that it can be until everything else is gutted.
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SPEAKER_00: They have to gut stuff.
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SPEAKER_00: They have to get rid of all that old stuff.
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SPEAKER_00: Demo Day always came first.
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SPEAKER_00: Always came first.
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And I think to bring it to a spiritual level,
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this is true for us as well.
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SPEAKER_00: There's a reason.
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SPEAKER_00: There's a reason why Paul,
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SPEAKER_00: when he's describing this new life that we have in Jesus,
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SPEAKER_00: he begins with this concept of death.
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SPEAKER_00: With this concept of things needing to be put to death.
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SPEAKER_00: Namely because,
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SPEAKER_00: he's just been explaining this,
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no amount of moralistic plaster can result in the new life that
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Christ wants to
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SPEAKER_00: give you.
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SPEAKER_00: Therefore,
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SPEAKER_00: if Paul was a preacher,
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he would agree that just telling people how to live better and
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just how they can
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try to make better choices without telling them that they have
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to die with Christ
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SPEAKER_00: and be risen with Christ.
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SPEAKER_00: Trying to tell people just to live better.
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SPEAKER_00: That's a futile goal.
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SPEAKER_00: It has no value.
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SPEAKER_00: It has no power.
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SPEAKER_00: It has no life.
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That's why Paul says,
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verse 23,
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they are of no value in stopping the flesh.
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SPEAKER_00: These things, they don't actually work.
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SPEAKER_00: They're not getting to the root problem.
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SPEAKER_00: It's just covering up the old stuff without getting rid of it first.
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SPEAKER_00: And this is why Paul's message, again, as we've said,
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SPEAKER_00: Paul's gospel,
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SPEAKER_00: which is,
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SPEAKER_00: of course,
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SPEAKER_00: the biblical gospel,
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SPEAKER_00: is not just a message of mere behavior modification.
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SPEAKER_00: That's not what he's about.
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SPEAKER_00: He's not just about trying to change people's behavior.
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No,
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we could even say this,
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too,
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that his message is not even a message about managing sin.
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SPEAKER_00: It's not a message of sin management.
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SPEAKER_00: No, the gospel, as we've said, is about death and resurrection and
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You're dead in your sins,
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but you've been raised to new life with Christ.
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SPEAKER_00: And yes,
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SPEAKER_00: by faith,
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SPEAKER_00: sinners,
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when they repent and believe in Jesus and the fact that Jesus
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took all of your sins
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SPEAKER_00: on him and died for them,
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SPEAKER_00: and that when he rose again,
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SPEAKER_00: that is your resurrection too.
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SPEAKER_00: That is your new life too.
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SPEAKER_00: And this is what he means in verse 3 of chapter 3 when he says,
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SPEAKER_00: for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ and God.
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SPEAKER_00: It's precisely through that,
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SPEAKER_00: through Jesus' death and resurrection,
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SPEAKER_00: that our old selves are put off.
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SPEAKER_00: And the new selves are put on.
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SPEAKER_00: Notice what he says, verse number 9.
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SPEAKER_00: Do not lie to one another,
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SPEAKER_00: seeing that you have,
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SPEAKER_00: you have,
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SPEAKER_00: past tense,
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SPEAKER_00: put off the old self with his practices.
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SPEAKER_00: And have put on the new self,
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SPEAKER_00: which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of his creator.
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SPEAKER_00: This is what God is doing.
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SPEAKER_00: This is God's demo day.
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SPEAKER_00: This is what he's doing in us.
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SPEAKER_00: Now he's taking out all the old and he's making way for the new.
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SPEAKER_00: He's taking, he's gutting out all of the sin, nasty garbage in our life.
16:13
And he's making way for the new life that he is giving us,
16:16
that he is constantly renewing us by.
16:20
SPEAKER_00: It reminds me of 2 Corinthians 5.
16:21
SPEAKER_00: You know what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5, 17?
16:24
SPEAKER_00: If anyone is in Christ, he is what?
16:27
SPEAKER_00: A new creation.
16:30
SPEAKER_00: Something new has taken place.
16:32
SPEAKER_00: The old has passed.
16:33
SPEAKER_00: God's demo day.
16:34
SPEAKER_00: The old has passed away.
16:35
SPEAKER_00: Behold, the new has come.
16:38
SPEAKER_00: This is what has been performed in you and on you by Christ.
16:43
SPEAKER_00: Clearly,
16:45
Paul is not talking about salvation or even bettering our
16:51
standing with God by sort
16:53
SPEAKER_00: of being moral or being virtuous or
16:56
SPEAKER_00: being good in some sort of way.
16:57
SPEAKER_00: Those things are important,
16:58
but he's not promoting some sort of way by which they can just
17:03
fix up the outside
17:04
SPEAKER_00: and that'll be good enough.
17:05
SPEAKER_00: Remember what Jesus says to the Pharisees in Matthew 23?
17:09
SPEAKER_00: You guys are nothing but whitewashed tombs.
17:12
SPEAKER_00: A tomb that is full of dead men's bones.
17:15
SPEAKER_00: Yet they've whitewashed it.
17:16
SPEAKER_00: They've made it look good.
17:19
SPEAKER_00: It's just an outward veneer of something dead and rotten inside.
17:26
SPEAKER_00: And the same thing could be applied to us if we just try to,
17:28
SPEAKER_00: quote unquote,
17:29
make ourselves better without realizing that by faith that we
17:34
have been risen to
17:35
SPEAKER_00: new life.
17:36
SPEAKER_00: It's the same sort of process.
17:39
SPEAKER_00: And this is why the gospel is good news.
17:43
SPEAKER_00: Because yes, it's about salvation in Jesus.
17:45
SPEAKER_00: It's about transformation in Jesus.
17:48
SPEAKER_00: But also, I love that word in verse number 10.
17:50
SPEAKER_00: It's about renovation in Jesus.
17:52
SPEAKER_00: Notice that word.
17:53
SPEAKER_00: And you have put on the new self which is being renewed.
17:58
SPEAKER_00: The old self.
18:00
SPEAKER_00: What's earthly in you.
18:01
SPEAKER_00: Same thing as he would say in verse 5.
18:03
SPEAKER_00: Is put off.
18:04
SPEAKER_00: The new self is put on by faith in Christ.
18:09
SPEAKER_00: Who, Paul is saying, is working in you.
18:13
And he's working on you to renew you,
18:15
he says,
18:16
after the image of your creator.
18:19
SPEAKER_00: And that key word there is renewed.
18:21
SPEAKER_00: I love that word.
18:23
It means to reinvigorate,
18:26
to restore,
18:27
to renovate or to breathe new life into.
18:30
SPEAKER_00: Again, you can imagine Joanna Gaines and Chip Gaines going into a house.
18:34
SPEAKER_00: What are they doing?
18:35
SPEAKER_00: They are renewing.
18:35
SPEAKER_00: They are pouring new life into a house that didn't have it before.
18:39
The same sort of connotation can be made here that God and
18:43
Christ and through his
18:44
SPEAKER_00: Holy Spirit is performing a work of renovation on you.
18:49
SPEAKER_00: Through his gospel.
18:50
And that's where,
18:51
okay,
18:51
we're going to get a little bit sort of nerdy and grammatical here.
18:56
SPEAKER_00: Because this word, renewed, I think it's so important.
19:01
SPEAKER_00: It's in the passive voice.
19:03
Which just means that this renewal process of the new self is
19:08
something that is done to us.
19:11
It's something that takes place on a part of Christ and his
19:15
spirit in us.
19:17
SPEAKER_00: It's a process that we receive that's done to us.
19:22
SPEAKER_00: The gospel is right here then.
19:26
The good news that God has come down in the person of Jesus to
19:29
rescue sinners.
19:31
SPEAKER_00: From their old selves.
19:32
SPEAKER_00: From their old sinful natures.
19:34
SPEAKER_00: And he comes to start that process of renewal.
19:38
SPEAKER_00: Start that process of restoration.
19:41
SPEAKER_00: By paying the ultimate price for that sinful nature.
19:45
SPEAKER_00: Namely his own life.
19:49
SPEAKER_00: What happens when he does that?
19:51
SPEAKER_00: Jesus gives us what?
19:52
SPEAKER_00: A new nature.
19:54
SPEAKER_00: We are new creatures in him.
19:57
We are given,
19:58
as Paul says here,
20:00
a new self,
20:01
which is the very righteousness of God.
20:06
And thus begins God's process of renewing each and every sinner
20:10
to restore to them
20:12
SPEAKER_00: the image of God in them.
20:15
SPEAKER_00: I love that phrase.
20:17
SPEAKER_00: And I've put on the new self,
20:19
SPEAKER_00: which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.
20:23
SPEAKER_00: This stretches way back.
20:25
SPEAKER_00: Genesis 1, God created mankind in his own image.
20:29
SPEAKER_00: He put his own image and likeness, all of his glory into man.
20:33
SPEAKER_00: And they were meant,
20:34
SPEAKER_00: mankind,
20:35
men and women were meant to be human reflections and
20:38
resemblances of their creator.
20:40
SPEAKER_00: To find their glory in their creator and to reflect that glory to others.
20:46
And of course,
20:46
that image was completely tarnished when Adam and Eve sinned.
20:52
SPEAKER_00: Going against finding their glory.
20:54
SPEAKER_00: And God, what did the serpent tempt them with?
20:57
That this thing over here,
20:59
this is where actually they can find their glory.
21:01
SPEAKER_00: Not in what God says, but actually over here.
21:05
SPEAKER_00: By taking and grabbing for themselves.
21:10
SPEAKER_00: So therefore rather...
21:12
SPEAKER_00: Then finding their glory in God, they tried to make their own glory.
21:17
SPEAKER_00: And thus, sin entered into the world.
21:20
Sin invaded into the heart of every human being,
21:24
where now mankind is turned in on himself.
21:27
SPEAKER_00: But,
21:27
SPEAKER_00: and here's the greatest news of all,
21:29
rather than leave human beings on this earth to spin wildly
21:34
into oblivion and condemnation,
21:36
SPEAKER_00: what does God do?
21:37
SPEAKER_00: He
21:37
enters into creation as a creature to repair the image that his
21:42
creatures broke
21:44
that's the gospel that God the creator enters into creation as
21:49
his son Jesus Christ
21:51
to clear out all of the old garbage of sin what belongs to the
21:59
old self what
22:00
SPEAKER_00: belongs to that image that is broken and
22:04
SPEAKER_00: And like Chip Gaines, God sends his word and spirit to us.
22:10
SPEAKER_00: To, as he says here, to renew us in that new image.
22:14
SPEAKER_00: To put everything back as it should be.
22:17
SPEAKER_00: To restore us, to restore his creation.
22:22
SPEAKER_00: This is what God in Christ is doing.
22:25
SPEAKER_00: As he says, Revelation 21.5, this is what God in Christ is doing.
22:28
SPEAKER_00: He's making all things new.
22:33
You see,
22:33
the perfect life and death and resurrection of Jesus is what jumpstarts.
22:39
SPEAKER_00: This renewal of all things.
22:41
SPEAKER_00: You included.
22:45
SPEAKER_00: You see,
22:46
SPEAKER_00: where we are captured and enslaved,
22:49
SPEAKER_00: as Paul says elsewhere,
22:50
SPEAKER_00: to this old self,
22:52
SPEAKER_00: God comes down.
22:54
He comes out of heaven,
22:56
entering into this time to do what we cannot do for ourselves.
23:02
SPEAKER_00: He comes to bury that old nature of sin.
23:07
SPEAKER_00: He comes to put it to death.
23:09
SPEAKER_00: He comes quite literally.
23:10
SPEAKER_00: We can use this visceral language.
23:12
SPEAKER_00: God in Christ comes to kill the old self.
23:15
SPEAKER_00: Why?
23:16
SPEAKER_00: So that he can raise up the new self in us.
23:20
SPEAKER_00: This is what he's accomplishing.
23:21
SPEAKER_00: This is what we can now see and understand what Christ is offering.
23:25
SPEAKER_00: Christ,
23:26
SPEAKER_00: when he gives up himself on the cross,
23:28
SPEAKER_00: is not offering a band-aid to the world for the problem of sin.
23:34
Neither is he bringing us some sort of dose of spiritual
23:38
disciplines and life hacks
23:39
SPEAKER_00: by which we can,
23:41
SPEAKER_00: if we follow them rightly,
23:42
SPEAKER_00: if we follow them correctly,
23:43
SPEAKER_00: then we can be delivered.
23:44
SPEAKER_00: No,
23:45
Christ is coming to offer his very death and resurrection as
23:49
the precise remedy the
23:51
SPEAKER_00: world needs and the only one that will actually work.
23:56
SPEAKER_00: He comes to put to death what is earthly in you.
24:01
SPEAKER_00: And this is what has occurred.
24:03
SPEAKER_00: In you.
24:04
SPEAKER_00: And to you.
24:05
SPEAKER_00: In the gospel.
24:06
SPEAKER_00: Again verse 3 of chapter 3.
24:07
SPEAKER_00: For you have died.
24:10
SPEAKER_00: And your life is hidden with Christ and God.
24:12
SPEAKER_00: When Christ who is your life appeared.
24:14
SPEAKER_00: Then you also will appear with him in glory.
24:17
SPEAKER_00: Your old self has died.
24:19
SPEAKER_00: And your new self.
24:20
SPEAKER_00: Your new life is hidden with Christ and God.
24:23
SPEAKER_00: What an announcement.
24:26
SPEAKER_00: That you who belong to Jesus,
24:28
SPEAKER_00: Paul says in Galatians chapter 5,
24:30
SPEAKER_00: you who belong to Christ Jesus,
24:32
SPEAKER_00: you have crucified the flesh with all of its passions and desires.
24:36
SPEAKER_00: You see,
24:39
SPEAKER_00: the good news,
24:41
SPEAKER_00: and here's the best news,
24:42
SPEAKER_00: I think,
24:43
SPEAKER_00: that the putting to death of sin has already been done.
24:48
SPEAKER_00: That's what Christ was doing.
24:50
This is what God in Christ was accomplishing on the cross for
24:54
us by dying for us on
24:57
SPEAKER_00: that wretched,
24:58
SPEAKER_00: horrid,
24:59
SPEAKER_00: awful tree.
24:59
He's going all the way to the cross to pay for and break us
25:04
free from that old nature,
25:07
SPEAKER_00: that old self.
25:08
SPEAKER_00: Therefore,
25:09
now we can understand that mortification here isn't necessarily
25:12
something we
25:13
SPEAKER_00: perform on ourselves.
25:15
SPEAKER_00: Definitely not on our own.
25:19
SPEAKER_00: Actually,
25:19
SPEAKER_00: mortification,
25:19
SPEAKER_00: this process of spiritual self-discipline,
25:22
is not really about composing bigger and longer checklists that
25:27
will guarantee or
25:29
SPEAKER_00: measure your spiritual performance.
25:32
SPEAKER_00: Because what will that end up doing?
25:33
SPEAKER_00: Will it end up just going into that mode of,
25:36
SPEAKER_00: I can just get by by checklisting,
25:38
SPEAKER_00: by checking boxes off.
25:42
SPEAKER_00: No, mortification, you know what it means?
25:44
SPEAKER_00: It means confronting the residue of sin that is in you.
25:48
SPEAKER_00: The residual unbelief that is in your life with what?
25:52
With a fresh reminder of the gospel that Christ has ascended on
25:57
high for you.
25:58
SPEAKER_00: And this is why we talk about preaching the gospel to yourself.
26:03
SPEAKER_00: Because that's how sin is squelched.
26:07
SPEAKER_00: It means seeking, mortification means seeking the things that are above.
26:11
It means being reminded constantly and daily that your life is
26:16
with Christ and that
26:17
SPEAKER_00: with him and in him you've already died and risen again.
26:21
You see,
26:24
putting to death what is earthly in you,
26:25
you know what that means?
26:26
SPEAKER_00: It means recognizing the powerlessness,
26:29
SPEAKER_00: the impotence of the things that are still trying to win you over.
26:33
SPEAKER_00: This is part of Satan's strategy, isn't it?
26:37
SPEAKER_00: He's going to coax the old self that it's better over there.
26:42
He's going to try and convince you that the things that you are
26:45
dead to in Christ,
26:46
SPEAKER_00: they're actually still your master.
26:48
SPEAKER_00: They actually still own you.
26:52
SPEAKER_00: This is the scheme of the devil.
26:54
SPEAKER_00: You know what he's trying to do?
26:55
He's trying to trick you into believing that life is found over
26:58
here with the old self.
26:59
Life is found over there and he wants you going digging around
27:03
that old self.
27:06
SPEAKER_00: He wants you playing in the cemetery of the old you.
27:10
SPEAKER_00: That's where he wants you.
27:12
SPEAKER_00: He wants you to chase what appeals to the old self.
27:15
SPEAKER_00: And what always appeals to the old self is you.
27:19
SPEAKER_00: First and foremost.
27:20
SPEAKER_00: You know what this list of sins is in verse number 5?
27:24
SPEAKER_00: It is just gross and put to the ultimate degree self-centeredness.
27:32
SPEAKER_00: And this is the allure of sin.
27:35
SPEAKER_00: That life gets better when you get what you want.
27:39
SPEAKER_00: When you accumulate and hoard things for yourself.
27:41
SPEAKER_00: When you please yourself and put yourself first.
27:46
SPEAKER_00: Life gets better when it doesn't matter who you're pursuing,
27:49
SPEAKER_00: when it doesn't matter about your purity,
27:51
when it doesn't matter about what desires you're harboring in
27:55
your mind and in your heart,
27:56
SPEAKER_00: when it doesn't matter what you think about other people.
27:59
SPEAKER_00: Life gets better when you put yourself first.
28:01
SPEAKER_00: Satan is doing here.
28:03
He's doing whatever he can to make your old self look so
28:07
attractive and so appealing.
28:11
SPEAKER_00: Hey, your preferences, they're number one.
28:13
SPEAKER_00: Go over here.
28:14
SPEAKER_00: Your preferences, they matter most.
28:15
SPEAKER_00: What you want matters most.
28:17
SPEAKER_00: Your pleasure matters most.
28:19
SPEAKER_00: So go ahead.
28:22
SPEAKER_00: Go ahead, take what doesn't belong to you.
28:25
SPEAKER_00: Go ahead, take a second look.
28:27
SPEAKER_00: Go ahead, lie.
28:28
SPEAKER_00: Go ahead, give in.
28:29
SPEAKER_00: You see, you know what Paul's reminding the Colossians?
28:36
SPEAKER_00: And to be more surprised.
28:37
SPEAKER_00: You know what the Holy Spirit is reminding the church,
28:40
SPEAKER_00: which of course means you,
28:43
SPEAKER_00: that this is the way of death.
28:45
SPEAKER_00: There's no life over there.
28:47
There's no life to be found in only getting for yourself and
28:52
only taking for
28:53
SPEAKER_00: yourself and only putting yourself first.
28:55
SPEAKER_00: Those are the lies of the old self.
29:00
And remember,
29:02
Paul would say,
29:03
remember the old self was crucified with Christ.
29:07
SPEAKER_00: And the new self has been risen with Christ.
29:11
SPEAKER_00: The old self is dead.
29:12
SPEAKER_00: Leave it there.
29:15
SPEAKER_00: Leave it alone.
29:17
SPEAKER_00: Leave it dead.
29:18
SPEAKER_00: Don't go piddling around the old self.
29:21
SPEAKER_00: It has no holdover anymore.
29:22
SPEAKER_00: That's a lie.
29:27
SPEAKER_00: You've been given a new nature,
29:29
SPEAKER_00: not in Adam anymore,
29:31
SPEAKER_00: not in the old Adam,
29:33
SPEAKER_00: but in the new Adam,
29:34
SPEAKER_00: in Christ.
29:35
SPEAKER_00: Therefore, seek and follow and pursue Christ, who is your life.
29:41
SPEAKER_00: And with him, we are all in all, as he says in verse 11, we are free.
29:47
SPEAKER_00: And he's all that matters.
29:50
SPEAKER_00: This putting to death of sin.
29:53
SPEAKER_00: This killing of sin that is still in us.
29:56
SPEAKER_00: What's earthly in us.
29:57
SPEAKER_00: You know what happens?
29:58
SPEAKER_00: By recognizing that we're already dead to it in Christ.
30:02
SPEAKER_00: It has no hold over us.
30:06
SPEAKER_00: I love what this one writer says.
30:07
SPEAKER_00: He says, look from everything to Christ.
30:10
SPEAKER_00: Look not within for sanctification.
30:14
SPEAKER_00: Look for it from Christ.
30:15
SPEAKER_00: He is as much our sanctification as he is our righteousness.
30:18
SPEAKER_00: Your evidence,
30:19
SPEAKER_00: your comfort,
30:20
SPEAKER_00: your hope do not spring from your fruitfulness,
30:22
SPEAKER_00: your mortification,
30:23
SPEAKER_00: nor anything within you,
30:24
SPEAKER_00: but solely and entirely from the Lord Jesus Christ.
30:30
SPEAKER_00: This is what's occurred.
30:33
Christ took the old you,
30:34
your sinful nature,
30:35
and he buried it in the tomb with himself.
30:38
SPEAKER_00: And that's where he left it, when he walked out of the grave.
30:43
SPEAKER_00: In the life of faith,
30:44
our new life in Christ is all about listening to and setting
30:48
our minds on the good
30:49
SPEAKER_00: news above everything else.
30:52
SPEAKER_00: That that's what's occurred for us.
30:55
SPEAKER_00: And that this old self, it has nothing to offer, has nothing to give us.
30:59
It has nothing that can eclipse or even match or even even
31:03
reach up to what is
31:04
SPEAKER_00: given to us in Jesus.
31:08
And because of what God in Christ has done,
31:11
that's how we can say to what is earthly in us.
31:14
SPEAKER_00: You are impotent.
31:16
SPEAKER_00: You are powerless.
31:17
SPEAKER_00: You have no hold over me.
31:19
SPEAKER_00: We can put it all away.
31:20
SPEAKER_00: How?
31:21
SPEAKER_00: Not through our own efforts,
31:23
but by trusting in Christ alone that he is the one who is
31:26
renewing us by his word
31:28
SPEAKER_00: and by his spirit day by day.
31:33
SPEAKER_00: This renewal process is a daily process.
31:37
This is why we go back to we need the gospel every day because
31:40
we forget it every day.
31:43
SPEAKER_00: Because that's just human nature.
31:47
SPEAKER_00: That's our nature as human beings.
31:49
SPEAKER_00: Paul says this in 1 Corinthians 15.
31:51
SPEAKER_00: He says, I die every day.
31:55
SPEAKER_00: He realizes,
31:56
SPEAKER_00: he recognizes,
31:57
SPEAKER_00: and he asserts to everyone,
31:59
SPEAKER_00: including that church and also to us,
32:01
SPEAKER_00: that this is a constant process.
32:05
This is why Jesus also told his disciples that they had to
32:07
daily take up the cross
32:09
SPEAKER_00: if they were going to follow him.
32:10
SPEAKER_00: Luke 9,
32:12
SPEAKER_00: 23,
32:12
SPEAKER_00: if anyone would come after him,
32:13
SPEAKER_00: after me,
32:14
SPEAKER_00: let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
32:22
SPEAKER_00: You see,
32:22
SPEAKER_00: as much as your old self wants to wreak havoc on you and in you,
32:28
SPEAKER_00: it is only by the word of life,
32:32
SPEAKER_00: the power of the gospel,
32:35
SPEAKER_00: That we are made to see that this new life in Christ is best lived.
32:39
It is only lived when we stop propping up the old and we lean
32:44
fully into the new.
32:47
Stop go dancing around the cemetery of your old self and
32:50
rejoice in the risen new
32:53
SPEAKER_00: life where Christ is.
32:54
SPEAKER_00: When we seek the things that are above.
32:59
SPEAKER_00: See, this is the good news for us.
33:03
SPEAKER_00: Because that would be hard, right, if...
33:05
If God didn't start demoing our old self before we did a
33:08
certain number of things,
33:10
SPEAKER_00: before we met a certain number of qualifications,
33:14
SPEAKER_00: that would be bad news.
33:16
SPEAKER_00: But see,
33:17
the good news is that God isn't waiting for you to get your act
33:19
together before he
33:20
SPEAKER_00: starts this process.
33:21
He doesn't stay away until you're finally able to scrape off
33:25
enough of the old
33:26
SPEAKER_00: layers of the old self to be worthy of him.
33:29
SPEAKER_00: No, he has come to you.
33:30
SPEAKER_00: Christ has done the work.
33:32
SPEAKER_00: He's died and he's risen again.
33:33
SPEAKER_00: And you are new in him.
33:37
SPEAKER_00: Listen to that news.
33:40
SPEAKER_00: And what's left for you, therefore, is to trust that announcement.
33:46
SPEAKER_00: To walk in light of that announcement.
33:50
SPEAKER_00: And what does that look like?
33:50
SPEAKER_00: That looks like throwing yourself on the mercy of this very one.
33:55
SPEAKER_00: The very one who has put to death the old and is even now making you new.
34:00
Trusting in that announcement means trusting that the spirit
34:04
who raised Jesus from
34:06
SPEAKER_00: the dead is the same spirit who's renovating you,
34:09
SPEAKER_00: who's raising you and renewing you.
34:13
SPEAKER_00: Not because you've exerted some sort of effort.
34:18
SPEAKER_00: but because of the inexhaustible mercy of God.
34:22
SPEAKER_00: That's where this renewal comes from.
34:26
SPEAKER_00: And look,
34:27
SPEAKER_00: here's where the nitty-gritty,
34:29
SPEAKER_00: if you will,
34:29
of the Christian life comes to the surface because trusting
34:32
that announcement,
34:33
SPEAKER_00: it's a daily battle.
34:34
Again,
34:34
we have to preach the gospel to ourselves every day because we
34:37
forget it every day.
34:40
SPEAKER_00: The old self,
34:42
SPEAKER_00: I hate to say it,
34:43
SPEAKER_00: is not going to be something that you fully vanquish in this life.
34:48
SPEAKER_00: I remember, I don't know if I've used this before.
34:51
SPEAKER_00: Maybe in some other setting.
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SPEAKER_00: But I remember this speaker from Florida.
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SPEAKER_00: He always cracked me up.
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SPEAKER_00: He was this older guy, older preacher.
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SPEAKER_00: And he basically was saying,
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SPEAKER_00: I don't know if I'm more spiritual now than I was when I was younger.
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SPEAKER_00: Or if I'm just more tired.
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SPEAKER_00: Which is just a funny way of saying that.
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SPEAKER_00: Maybe he still has the old things that he would love to pursue.
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SPEAKER_00: But he just doesn't because he's tired now.
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SPEAKER_00: Which is just a very honest way of saying...
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That the old self is probably going to still be around you when
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you're 60 or 90.
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And thinking that if I just get older,
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once I get older,
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things will be a lot easier.
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SPEAKER_00: I won't have those same temptations anymore.
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SPEAKER_00: No,
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I regret to reform you that you're probably going to have the
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same things harass
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SPEAKER_00: you as long as you're on this earth.
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SPEAKER_00: It's hard to leave the old self behind.
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SPEAKER_00: Because Satan makes it so alluring, does he not?
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SPEAKER_00: He makes it so tempting.
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SPEAKER_00: He makes it so attractive.
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SPEAKER_00: That life is found there.
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SPEAKER_00: Life can be found when we go digging up that grave.
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SPEAKER_00: And no, the gospel reminds us every day.
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SPEAKER_00: No, you are dead to that, my friend.
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Trusting in that announcement is where we get to the struggle
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of the Christian life.
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SPEAKER_00: People always draw our minds to what it says in Philippians.
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Go with me really quick because I know I'm going to another
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place and I shouldn't do that.
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SPEAKER_00: But I'm going to go to one place.
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SPEAKER_00: Philippians chapter number 2.
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SPEAKER_00: The same sort of thing occurs here.
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SPEAKER_00: Philippians 2, just a couple pages backwards.
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SPEAKER_00: Notice what Paul says.
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SPEAKER_00: Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now.
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SPEAKER_00: Not only as in my presence, but much more in my absence.
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SPEAKER_00: And people always get hung up on this verse, on this phrase.
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SPEAKER_00: Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
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SPEAKER_00: And this is, again, one of those verses I talked about before.
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SPEAKER_00: That if you just take it out of what Paul is saying,
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SPEAKER_00: it would sound like he's saying the work of salvation is on you.
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And if you're not fearfully trembling about your obedience,
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you're not working out salvation.
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SPEAKER_00: Number one, that doesn't make sense what Paul's saying.
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SPEAKER_00: Especially it doesn't make sense with what he says next.
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SPEAKER_00: For notice, who's working it out?
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SPEAKER_00: For it is God who works in you.
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SPEAKER_00: Both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
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SPEAKER_00: You know,
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part of the fear in trembling is realizing that the old self is
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dead and that the
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SPEAKER_00: new self is risen.
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SPEAKER_00: Part of the fear in trembling is believing that announcement.
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Part of the fear in trembling comes about because we are so
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given and so prone to
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SPEAKER_00: trusting what the world wants to offer,
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SPEAKER_00: to trusting what the old self is tempting us with.
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The fear and trembling come about because now we're trusting in
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nothing but the
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SPEAKER_00: bare word of God's promise.
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SPEAKER_00: Trust in me, he says.
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I've put to death the old self and I've raised you up in
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newness of life with me.
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SPEAKER_00: So yes, the Christian life is going to be a struggle.
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I'm not going to try and give you some other vision of what
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it's going to be that,
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SPEAKER_00: you know,
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SPEAKER_00: in so many odd years,
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SPEAKER_00: if you just get over a certain number of things,
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SPEAKER_00: you will never reach perfection.
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You will never come to a moment when I can finally say,
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man,
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I'm free from sin.
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SPEAKER_00: No.
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SPEAKER_00: It's going to be harassing you as long as you live.
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But you know when life is lived truly free is when we listen to
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the words of God's
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SPEAKER_00: gospel and we realize that we don't have to be our own renovators.
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SPEAKER_00: Because God in Christ and his word and his spirit,
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SPEAKER_00: he is a way better chip games than you can be.
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And life is lived most freely when we start to stifle any voice
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that is telling you
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SPEAKER_00: something else.
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SPEAKER_00: Because the gospel is true,
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we can lay down our sledgehammers of moralistic performance and
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we can trust that
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SPEAKER_00: we have been buried and risen with Christ already.
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SPEAKER_00: And because the gospel is true,
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we can put to death what is earthly in us knowing that it is
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already dead in Christ.
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SPEAKER_00: What a hope we have.
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SPEAKER_00: What a vision of the future we have.
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Not some road ahead that looks all full of roses and unicorns
39:28
and rainbows because
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SPEAKER_00: it's just going to get better.
39:30
SPEAKER_00: No, there's going to be struggles.
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SPEAKER_00: There's going to be hardships.
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SPEAKER_00: You're going to want to go digging around the old self.
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SPEAKER_00: But you know what's always going to be true?
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SPEAKER_00: The gospel is always going to be true.
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SPEAKER_00: What Jesus Christ has done for you is not ever going to change.
39:51
SPEAKER_00: It's true no matter what.
39:52
SPEAKER_00: So preach the gospel to yourself every day.
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SPEAKER_00: What does that mean?
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SPEAKER_00: It means being reminded that the old self has died.
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SPEAKER_00: It was crucified with Christ.
40:01
SPEAKER_00: And the new self, the new you, has been risen with Christ.
40:07
SPEAKER_00: Therefore, no matter what, Christ is your life.
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SPEAKER_00: He's all that matters.
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SPEAKER_00: He's where our hope is.
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He is where all of our foundation and hope and life for
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anything is found.
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SPEAKER_00: And this is why I think there is no other message.
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There's no other application we could ever make out of the
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scripture other than
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SPEAKER_00: Christ is your life.
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Look to him for everything that you need because we are given
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all things in him.
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SPEAKER_00: Let us pray.