WEBVTT 00:00:01.055 --> 00:00:08.094 The "put off" is not passive. 00:00:08.094 --> 00:00:09.654 But you know what? 00:00:09.654 --> 00:00:13.284 We can act like it is. 00:00:13.284 --> 00:00:16.903 And this can be one of the greatest killers 00:00:16.903 --> 00:00:20.285 to sanctification that we can encounter, 00:00:20.285 --> 00:00:23.003 when we deal with sanctification 00:00:23.003 --> 00:00:27.817 as though it is passive. 00:00:27.817 --> 00:00:29.986 I want to be clear about something. 00:00:29.986 --> 00:00:33.380 Putting off the old man 00:00:33.380 --> 00:00:36.363 is something that Paul is telling 00:00:36.363 --> 00:00:42.365 the Colossians and the Ephesians that they do. 00:00:42.365 --> 00:00:44.676 Oh, I know it's past tense with the Colossians, 00:00:44.676 --> 00:00:48.231 but it's something they did. 00:00:48.231 --> 00:00:50.654 Putting off these old man-ish ways 00:00:50.654 --> 00:00:53.086 are something they must do. 00:00:53.086 --> 00:00:55.645 It is something he is appealing to them. 00:00:55.645 --> 00:00:57.655 It's not something done to us. 00:00:57.655 --> 00:00:59.731 It's not something done for us. 00:00:59.731 --> 00:01:02.427 It is specifically: you are to put away. 00:01:02.427 --> 00:01:04.177 You are to put off. 00:01:04.177 --> 00:01:05.844 That's the language of Scripture. 00:01:05.844 --> 00:01:07.774 Put off the old man. 00:01:07.774 --> 00:01:09.773 Put away falsehood, put away bitterness, 00:01:09.773 --> 00:01:12.890 put away wrath, put away anger. 00:01:12.890 --> 00:01:15.547 And you know what Paul never says here? 00:01:15.547 --> 00:01:18.144 Well, what you really need to do 00:01:18.144 --> 00:01:20.684 is pray about it. 00:01:20.684 --> 00:01:23.087 What you really need to do is fast about it 00:01:23.087 --> 00:01:24.535 or seek counsel over it. 00:01:24.535 --> 00:01:31.638 Now look, you need to hear me right. 00:01:31.638 --> 00:01:36.241 You say, he's telling us not to pray about this, 00:01:36.241 --> 00:01:37.567 not to fast about this. 00:01:37.567 --> 00:01:39.752 I always knew. I always knew he had error. 00:01:39.752 --> 00:01:41.644 There it is. 00:01:41.644 --> 00:01:44.536 I knew something was wrong. 00:01:44.536 --> 00:01:47.184 Listen, you know as well as I do 00:01:47.184 --> 00:01:51.030 Scripture talks about praying without ceasing. 00:01:51.030 --> 00:01:52.545 But you need to listen to me 00:01:52.545 --> 00:01:54.876 and you need to hear not what I'm saying so much 00:01:54.876 --> 00:01:58.069 as hear what Paul is saying. 00:01:58.069 --> 00:02:00.735 Far too often through the years 00:02:00.735 --> 00:02:05.141 as I have been a pastor in this church, 00:02:05.141 --> 00:02:09.237 people use prayer as a crutch 00:02:09.237 --> 00:02:12.178 in a bad way and in a wrong way. 00:02:12.178 --> 00:02:15.890 I can tell you I have seen people 00:02:15.890 --> 00:02:20.418 make horrible decisions in their life. 00:02:20.418 --> 00:02:23.375 But they say, "Well, I prayed about it." 00:02:23.375 --> 00:02:28.601 As though that just certifies 00:02:28.601 --> 00:02:31.641 that what they're doing has God's approval. 00:02:31.641 --> 00:02:33.255 "I prayed about it." 00:02:33.255 --> 00:02:36.140 As though you can't touch me now. 00:02:36.140 --> 00:02:41.718 No counsel that is against this is going to stand 00:02:41.718 --> 00:02:45.285 because I prayed about this. 00:02:45.285 --> 00:02:52.405 That's one way I've seen prayer used wrongly. 00:02:52.405 --> 00:02:56.324 But there's another way. 00:02:56.324 --> 00:02:58.255 You've got some sin in your life. 00:02:58.255 --> 00:03:00.436 There's something wrong. 00:03:00.436 --> 00:03:04.295 And you say, well, I know that I have this thing 00:03:04.295 --> 00:03:05.583 in my life that's wrong 00:03:05.583 --> 00:03:06.926 and it's dishonoring to God. 00:03:06.926 --> 00:03:11.287 And I'm asking God to take it away. 00:03:11.287 --> 00:03:17.355 And you see, that sounds very... what? 00:03:17.355 --> 00:03:21.134 Christian, noble. 00:03:21.134 --> 00:03:25.586 And I'll tell you so often it is nothing but false piety. 00:03:25.586 --> 00:03:28.251 "Well, I'm praying about this sin in my life." 00:03:28.251 --> 00:03:32.751 And you know what Paul would say? 00:03:32.751 --> 00:03:35.469 You go ahead and pray about that, 00:03:35.469 --> 00:03:37.953 but if you're ever going to live a sanctified life, 00:03:37.953 --> 00:03:39.334 you better come to the place 00:03:39.334 --> 00:03:41.462 where you put that off yourself. 00:03:41.462 --> 00:03:42.614 (incomplete thought) 00:03:42.614 --> 00:03:44.095 You know what happens. 00:03:44.095 --> 00:03:46.665 Somebody prays - "I prayed about it." 00:03:46.665 --> 00:03:48.635 And now they sit there. 00:03:48.635 --> 00:03:52.200 "I prayed about that bitterness." "I prayed about that lack of forgiveness." 00:03:52.200 --> 00:03:53.660 "I prayed about my laziness." 00:03:53.660 --> 00:03:56.988 I prayed about this, that, and the other thing. 00:03:56.988 --> 00:03:58.275 And then you sit there. 00:03:58.275 --> 00:04:00.151 And I know what you're waiting for. 00:04:00.151 --> 00:04:04.740 You're waiting for this feeling of power. 00:04:04.740 --> 00:04:06.172 Ahhh... 00:04:06.172 --> 00:04:08.281 You know, you wake up and it's like 00:04:08.281 --> 00:04:10.394 now you're this spiritual superman 00:04:10.394 --> 00:04:12.601 and you feel it coursing through your veins. 00:04:12.601 --> 00:04:16.271 And it's like power's just exuding, 00:04:16.271 --> 00:04:18.112 like you're going to see some light 00:04:18.112 --> 00:04:20.823 emanating from your face when you look in the mirror. 00:04:20.823 --> 00:04:22.878 But that's how we are. 00:04:22.878 --> 00:04:24.369 Oh, I'm going to feel this. 00:04:24.369 --> 00:04:30.770 Paul says you might want to examine v. 17-32. 00:04:30.770 --> 00:04:35.103 You'll notice I'm not really charging the people 00:04:35.103 --> 00:04:37.114 that they need to pray more. 00:04:37.114 --> 00:04:39.240 Where do you see prayer at all there? 00:04:39.240 --> 00:04:41.578 Paul doesn't tell you to pray about dishonesty 00:04:41.578 --> 00:04:43.272 or bitterness or laziness. 00:04:43.272 --> 00:04:46.501 Does he? 00:04:46.501 --> 00:04:47.782 He doesn't! 00:04:47.782 --> 00:04:50.107 You know what? He goes straight to the point. 00:04:50.107 --> 00:04:51.910 And he says, you, Christian, 00:04:51.910 --> 00:04:55.572 need to get that out of your life. 00:04:55.572 --> 00:05:00.442 Period. 00:05:00.442 --> 00:05:01.661 Get on with it, man. 00:05:01.661 --> 00:05:03.191 That's what Paul is saying. 00:05:03.191 --> 00:05:04.947 Paul doesn't say to the Ephesians: 00:05:04.947 --> 00:05:08.352 Well, you have certain people in your church 00:05:08.352 --> 00:05:10.241 with old man-ish tendencies. 00:05:10.241 --> 00:05:12.580 Some of you aren't speaking truth to one another. 00:05:12.580 --> 00:05:14.452 Some of you are given to sinful anger. 00:05:14.452 --> 00:05:16.858 Some are letting the sun go down on their anger. 00:05:16.858 --> 00:05:18.743 Some are giving advantage to the devil. 00:05:18.743 --> 00:05:21.507 Some of you are not laboring very diligently in giving. 00:05:21.507 --> 00:05:23.511 Some of you are grieving the Holy Spirit. 00:05:23.511 --> 00:05:25.271 Some are bitter and slanderous. 00:05:25.271 --> 00:05:27.030 He doesn't tell them to go start 00:05:27.030 --> 00:05:29.613 a special Thursday evening prayer meeting. 00:05:29.613 --> 00:05:31.951 You know what he tells them? 00:05:31.951 --> 00:05:35.448 You put that off. 00:05:35.448 --> 00:05:37.449 Stop it. 00:05:37.449 --> 00:05:42.322 Oh! That doesn't sound very spiritual. 00:05:42.322 --> 00:05:46.658 Having Thursday night prayer meeting sounds spiritual. 00:05:46.658 --> 00:05:51.253 Yeah, but you come back a year later, 00:05:51.253 --> 00:05:53.572 and who are the people that are running well? 00:05:53.572 --> 00:05:55.871 Who are the people that are the godly examples? 00:05:55.871 --> 00:05:59.001 They're the ones that stood up and looked their sin face-to-face 00:05:59.001 --> 00:06:00.635 and said, "You're coming off." 00:06:00.635 --> 00:06:02.182 And you go to battle against it. 00:06:02.182 --> 00:06:05.256 Versus the guy that has the prayer meeting every Thursday night. 00:06:05.256 --> 00:06:07.307 And a year later, he's just as pathetic 00:06:07.307 --> 00:06:09.303 and wrapped up in his sin as ever. 00:06:09.303 --> 00:06:11.157 Why? (incomplete thought) 00:06:11.157 --> 00:06:13.785 It's like here's God. 00:06:13.785 --> 00:06:17.556 God's saying to you: Take it off. 00:06:17.556 --> 00:06:19.587 And you say, "Help me take it off." 00:06:19.587 --> 00:06:22.566 And He says Paul's under inspiration here. 00:06:22.566 --> 00:06:24.037 Take it off. 00:06:24.037 --> 00:06:26.139 "Would You please help me to take it off?" 00:06:26.139 --> 00:06:27.538 Take it off! 00:06:27.538 --> 00:06:30.966 Can you imagine if your child was doing that? 00:06:30.966 --> 00:06:31.967 What would you do? 00:06:31.967 --> 00:06:34.957 Most parents would eventually become frustrated with that 00:06:34.957 --> 00:06:39.166 and they'd take the child as rebelling and spank them. 00:06:39.166 --> 00:06:41.176 If you as a parent say to your child, 00:06:41.176 --> 00:06:44.660 "Take that shirt off right now." 00:06:44.660 --> 00:06:46.405 "Would you help me to take it off?" 00:06:46.405 --> 00:06:48.927 You have arms. You can take that off. 00:06:48.927 --> 00:06:51.606 You're equipped to take that off. 00:06:51.606 --> 00:06:54.776 "Oh, but I need power to take this off." 00:06:54.776 --> 00:06:57.046 "I need help to take this off." 00:06:57.046 --> 00:07:00.119 Take it off! 00:07:00.119 --> 00:07:03.728 But you see, we feel so pious and so holy 00:07:03.728 --> 00:07:05.898 and so, oh, you know, I'm a man of prayer. 00:07:05.898 --> 00:07:07.751 I pray about that sin all the time. 00:07:07.751 --> 00:07:09.948 Yeah, how long have you been praying for it? 00:07:09.948 --> 00:07:12.271 The last twenty years? Why do you still have it? 00:07:12.271 --> 00:07:14.180 Because you never took it off. 00:07:14.180 --> 00:07:16.118 You see, that's the way Paul's talking. 00:07:16.118 --> 00:07:19.721 We need to come face-to-face with this. 00:07:19.721 --> 00:07:26.089 There's something that's definitely active on your part - 00:07:26.089 --> 00:07:27.310 almost aggressive. 00:07:27.310 --> 00:07:28.957 There's a violence about this. 00:07:28.957 --> 00:07:30.326 And there ought to be. 00:07:30.326 --> 00:07:32.614 There's a lot of procrastination. 00:07:32.614 --> 00:07:35.169 There's a lot of false piety. 00:07:35.169 --> 00:07:38.113 We get people who struggle with the same thing 00:07:38.113 --> 00:07:40.411 over and over and over. 00:07:40.411 --> 00:07:43.215 They pray. They ask others to pray. 00:07:43.215 --> 00:07:46.877 But Paul comes along and simply tells them: 00:07:46.877 --> 00:07:49.075 Stop. 00:07:49.075 --> 00:07:51.361 Are you a thief? 00:07:51.361 --> 00:07:57.010 Stop. And work with your hands and give. 00:07:57.010 --> 00:07:59.191 Are you grieving the Spirit? 00:07:59.191 --> 00:08:00.825 Stop it. 00:08:00.825 --> 00:08:03.480 Are you bitter? Are you unforgiving? 00:08:03.480 --> 00:08:05.706 Put it off. 00:08:05.706 --> 00:08:11.346 Quit doing that. 00:08:11.346 --> 00:08:13.703 Stop acting like a baby. 00:08:13.703 --> 00:08:15.731 Because the truth is you're not a baby. 00:08:15.731 --> 00:08:18.289 You know what the truth is? You're God's man. 00:08:18.289 --> 00:08:20.738 You're God's woman. 00:08:20.738 --> 00:08:22.739 And he's telling us to act like it. 00:08:22.739 --> 00:08:24.911 And I know you're going to declare to me. 00:08:24.911 --> 00:08:28.095 Oh, I'm so weak... 00:08:28.095 --> 00:08:29.796 I'm so frail. 00:08:29.796 --> 00:08:31.862 I'm too pathetic, too inexperienced, 00:08:31.862 --> 00:08:35.113 too newly saved, too dark a season. 00:08:35.113 --> 00:08:37.089 My righteousness's are filthy rags. 00:08:37.089 --> 00:08:41.602 My heart's deceitful. No one's good. 00:08:41.602 --> 00:08:45.729 What's the answer to this? 00:08:45.729 --> 00:08:49.096 You're a new creation in Christ. 00:08:49.096 --> 00:08:51.627 Old things are passed away. 00:08:51.627 --> 00:08:57.161 If by the Spirit, you put to death the deeds of the body, 00:08:57.161 --> 00:08:58.528 you will live. 00:08:58.528 --> 00:09:00.216 If you live according to the flesh, 00:09:00.216 --> 00:09:02.474 you're going to die. 00:09:02.474 --> 00:09:03.675 Let me ask you this: 00:09:03.675 --> 00:09:05.271 Are you a Christian? You say yes. 00:09:05.271 --> 00:09:08.985 Does Scripture teach that if you're a Christian, you have the Holy Spirit? 00:09:08.985 --> 00:09:10.587 You say yes. 00:09:10.587 --> 00:09:12.141 Case closed. 00:09:12.141 --> 00:09:14.249 You have the Holy Spirit. 00:09:14.249 --> 00:09:16.592 By the Holy Spirit, you put to death 00:09:16.592 --> 00:09:18.874 the deeds of the body. 00:09:18.874 --> 00:09:21.655 This excerpt was taken from the full sermon: 00:09:21.655 --> 00:09:23.766 What is the "Old Man"?