The New You II - Part 1

Welcome to this weekend's In Touch Podcast with Charles Stanley. If you've received Jesus Christ as your Savior, well, you are a new person. Today we continue our study of Colossians with encouragement to live a consistent life as the new you. When you receive the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, your family, your friends, the people you work with, the people you go to school with, all had the right to expect something different out of you. That is, they had the right to expect a different lifestyle because, you see, the truth is you were born again. That is, you laid aside the old life that you once lived and took upon yourself a new life. And so, therefore, the right to expect change is right indeed. The idea that you can receive Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and there'll be no change in your life is an absolute contradiction to everything the Christian life stands for. That's why such terminology as born again, a new creation, the new and living way, all describe and imply a change of life.

Well, that change is the theme of this message today. And I want you to turn, if you will, to Colossians chapter 3, and it wants to begin in verse 12. And so, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving each other.

Whoever has a complaint against anyone, just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. And beyond all these things, put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts to which indeed you were called in one body and be thankful. Let the Word of Christ richly dwell within you with all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father. Now, we discussed in the last message this new you, that is, as a result of having been born again, the Bible says that our old life, that is what we were before we were saved, was replaced. It wasn't improved on. It wasn't patched up.

It wasn't renewed. It was replaced. That old sinful nature that was once yours dictated, dominated, rule governed your life.

The Bible says was crucified with Christ, buried with him. And then we rose to walk in newness of life, the Bible says, because the old you has been replaced by the new you and you're a new person in Christ. Therefore, there is the right and the anticipation and the expectation for our lifestyle to be different. So he says in these first verses, put aside, put off, lay aside, get rid of. That is, these things, these garments no longer fit you.

That is malice towards someone and anger and hostility and bitterness and resentment. He says these things no longer fit you because you're a new person. Beginning in verse 12, he talks about the kind of garments you and I ought to be wearing as a result of having become a new person. So let's begin with verse 12.

And the first thing he deals with here is our motivation. That is, what is the motivation for the terminology he uses putting on? And you'll notice he says put on that is dress in the following fashion. Now, in the mornings when you dress, you put on your physical clothing. What Paul is saying here is beforehand you wore worn out, dirty old, ragged, stinking, spiritual clothes. Now he says that you become a new person.

We have a right to expect you to dress differently. That is spiritually. And so he says put on the following things. Now, he says the motivation for doing that. He gives us three motivations in verse 12.

If you look there, he says and so that is as a result of all the rest. And so as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, he says the first motivation. For us to wear a different kind of spiritual clothes. That is to be a different kind of person is the fact that you and I have been chosen by God. Now, we will never on the face of this earth be able to fully understand all that is wrapped up in the word to be chosen or to be elected. That is, God, the Bible says, chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world. He says that in Ephesians chapter 1, verse 4. He says that in Revelation chapter 13, verse 8, chapter 17, verse 8. That is that you and I were chosen by God. The second thing he says as a motivation here is the fact that not only have we been chosen, but he says we are holy. And the Greek word is hagios, the same word which means sanctified or set apart. The same word that would be describing the Sabbath.

It is a word that describes something that has been set apart for the purposes of God, the will of God and the work of God. So he says, one of the motivations for the way that we should be living is the fact that not only have we been chosen in him, but the Bible says that you and I have been purposely set apart for the work of God, for the ministry of God, for the purposes of God to do the will of God. That is, he says, you and I are a peculiar people. We should not live like the rest of the world.

We should not speak as they speak. Our actions and our deeds should not be theirs because we have been chosen by God out of the world, set apart for God in this world to serve him and to glorify him and to honor him of the life that we live. The third motivation, he says in that verse, is that you and I are the beloved of God. That is, God loves us with a depth of love that no one here will ever be able to comprehend until we get to heaven. He says, you want to know what the motivation for living a godly life is?

Here it is. I chose you before the foundation of the world to save you and to make you one of my children. I separated you and made you different. I wanted you to be different, to look different, to act different, to speak different, to live your life in a different lifestyle. And not only that, I loved you so much that I was willing to go to the cross, willing to become a human being, willing to die between two thieves, willing to shed my blood in order that you may be able to receive my love, love me in return and spend all of eternity with me.

Now, my friend, how much more motivation do we need than that? The Bible says that God chose us, that God, who did not have to, separated us from the rest of this world. The Bible says the very nature of this new you is when you look to see what the world looks like, we look different. What they act like, we act differently.

What they talk like, we talk differently because God made us new. And how in the world can we live the way we used to live and be this brand new person God has made as we came? So the very idea that a person would live like they used to live before they were saved, after they're saved is absolutely a contradiction to everything the Bible says in the Word. Now, notice in these new garments, not only is the motivation who we are in Christ, but you and I have a responsibility. Look at the terminology he uses here because he used it earlier in this passage. He says, now, so as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on. Now, when he says put on, that means I have a responsibility. That does not mean that you and I in our energy and our strength and in our power to do so, we are to make these changes in our life.

No. Remember that a person who has received the Lord Jesus Christ is indwelt by the person of Jesus Christ through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit so that a believer is one who has Christ's life living within us. That's what's made us new. Not something he patched up, I'll repeat it again, not something he patched up, replacing the old life with a new life, which is Christ living within us. So that what we're about to see in these new garments that we're to wear are the new garments, which are the expression of the nature and the character of the person of Jesus Christ who is living within us.

And as we've said so many times before, the Christian life is not something we do. It is something that is expressed through us, the life of Jesus. So when he says put on, he's saying you do have the responsibility of allowing by faith the Holy Spirit to express through you these qualities, which are so characteristic of the life of Christ himself. Now watch this, the new person is to be such that who they are in Christ Jesus is going to affect their relationships in every single level of their life. And so Jesus is very interested in our relationships with each other. And besides that, what better way could Christ reveal himself as he is now than through the way we live with each other? So I want you to notice these are the expressions of the life of Christ. It is the work of the Holy Spirit expressing them through us. But we must take the initiative now to be sure that they're expressed in our life.

So let's look at them, if you will, beginning in verse 12 now. To get under whatever they're suffering and to share their suffering with them. The first piece of clothing for one who is walking in Christ and whom Christ is living his life is the heart of compassion. Secondly, he says kindness that is not harsh. Kindness sensitive to people around you looking for ways to express that genuine inner love that you have in your heart. Being kind does not take a whole lot of effort, but simply being kind is one of the garments a true believer wears.

Sensitive, reaching out, looking for some way to express itself. Then he says not all that, but humility. You know, being willing to submit ourselves, being willing to be number two, being willing to be a servant. Is that the spirit that you walk out of your home with every morning? Is that true of our life? That we have a humble spirit?

That doesn't mean that we walk around all bent over, weak and with no strength. But you see humility, humility likewise is strength that has been brought under control, that it has been subjected to the will of God. He says we must put on humility, likewise gentleness. A person who is gentle in so many of these words is so intertwined. A person who is gentle likewise is not harsh, but likewise is caring, reaching out to someone else. A person who has a gentle spirit is one who is easy to talk with, easy to converse with, easy to listen to and one who is certainly one who will listen.

One who is gentle and then patient. If I should ask you today, when you think of patience, what is the first word that comes to your mind and to your heart? Well, more than likely, it may be patient means to wait. Well, it may be that that's where most of us get our biggest test about patience. But patience means I am willing to endure until it is God's timing. I'm willing to endure until it is God's timing. That is, I am willing to wait. One of the expressions of a believer is patience.

Then he says not only that, but bearing with one another. All of us meet people that sometimes in our life are difficult to get along with. And so in the Christian life, what Paul is saying is there's some folks you have to learn to put up with. Remember what we said in the very beginning of this list?

They all have to do with relationships. Listen, it may be a little easier to take your Bible and tuck yourself away somewhere, but the Bible talks about believers being salt and light, mixing, living with people, working with them day after day. And they're not always going to be kind and gentle and loving.

We're going to have to put up with some folks. Then he says the next quality is not only bearing with people, but if you'll notice, he says forgiving each other. Would you say that you have a forgiving spirit? Is that natural for you to forgive?

Somebody in your office says something about you that is gossipy or rather critical. Is your first response to justify or defend yourself or is your first response to be forgiving? Turn back, if you will, to Ephesians chapter 4, and this is one of the most beautiful verses in all the Bible about forgiveness.

Doesn't leave us a bit of leeway at all. The holding grudges and being anxious or having malice in our heart. Verse 31 of Ephesians 4 says, let all bitterness, not most of it. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor, outcries of passion and slander be put away from you.

Put it away from you. Why? Because it doesn't fit who you are. Who are you? Crucified, buried, risen, hidden, seated, coming again with him, chosen in him, separated unto him and beloved by him.

He said, these things don't fit you. And be kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ has also forgiven you. So remember this, the next time somebody says something about you that is harsh, unkind, critical, undeserving and very hurtful. Remember this, that the Lord Jesus Christ, if that's a believer, some other Christian. You see, sometimes it's easier to get along with unbelievers than Christians.

Isn't it amazing how we fight each other? Isn't it amazing the things that Christians say about each other? And so here is a Christian who said something very cruel about you. Remember this, that the Lord Jesus Christ who has forgiven you and made you a new person is the same Christ who has already forgiven that person for what they've done. So if they've already been forgiven by Jesus Christ, they may not even know that. But the blood of Jesus Christ took care of their sin past, present, future. Now, they may suffer chastisement from it and they're going to suffer a breach in their fellowship on their part, not God's part.

But they've said something very cruel about you. Remember this, that Jesus has already forgiven them. The blood of Jesus Christ took care of all their sin past, present, future. So they're forgiven. They're disobedient and they're going to be chastised, but they're forgiven. Now, you and I do not have a right to hold anything against anybody, no matter what they say and what they do, because he says, just as Christ has forgiven you. And if you're a child of God, all of your sins have been forgiven past, present and future, no matter what you've done, when, where, why, how you are a forgiven child of God. Therefore, that absolutely cuts from under us any foundation whatsoever of justifying anything we hold against anybody at any time for any reason.

We have no rights of our own to hold grudges. Now, think about this. Think about this, getting up in the morning and getting dressed as a believer. What do you put on? You put on a heart of compassion and kindness and gentleness. You put on the spirit of humility. You put on the spirit of being able to put up with and being forgiving. And then it's as if the apostle Paul says, now, put the buck alone that holds it all together.

Put on the overcoat that covers it all. And this is the way he says that. He says, and beyond all these things, put on love, which is the super glue of the Christian life. What holds friends together? Love.

I mean, genuine friendship. What holds a church together? Love for each other. You see, he says in the Christian realm, love, which is always asking what is best for the other person.

It is love that glues it all together. Every single one of us, we wake up in the morning. There should be expressed through us what? That is, people should see these garments upon us.

And what are they? He says, first of all, a heart of compassion, kindness, gentleness, humility, patience, bearing with each other, putting up with each other, forgiving one another and love. Remember who you are? Beloved of God, separated unto God, chosen by him. You have a relationship of being a son and a daughter to God. You are a brother to the Lord Jesus Christ.

He says we're joint heirs with him. He has become our life. So now that he is our life, living within us, what is natural to be expressed through us, but the qualities of this person who lives within us, who is Christ. So what comes natural?

Kindness, gentleness, bearing, forgiving, loving, humility. All of this is natural for the believer. Now, I did not say that they would show forth equally all of these together. I didn't say that all show forth equally. I didn't say that in every person, all of them would be equal.

Nor did I say that all of these qualities could be found in every single person readily. But this is the life of Christ within us. This is the goal of the Lord Jesus Christ. And when we're walking in obedience to him, these are the expressions of that life.