Casting off the Old Self, Putting on the New Self Ephesians 4:17-5:2; John 6:35-51

Grace, mercy, and peace be with you, from God, our Father, and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Our message is from our Epistle, verses 21-24, you have heard about him (Jesus) and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

We’re going to talk about Casting off the Old Self, and Putting on the New Self. 

We live in a throw away culture. If something breaks, like an appliance, or a television, or a computer, or cell phone, it’s sometimes cheaper to throw it away and buy a new one, than to fix the old one.

Thanks be to God, He doesn’t do that with us. We were broken by sin, but He didn’t discard us, He repaired us. He sent His Son to redeem us by dying and rising for us, and through Baptism, He sent His Spirit to renew us. 

In other words, He baptized us, and gave us faith in Christ, and renewal by the Holy Spirit so that we can cast off the old, selfish, sinful self, and put on the new, Christ-like self. Casting off the Old Self, Putting on the New Self.

And He continues to make us new, day after day, until we’re perfectly renewed at the resurrection for a new and eternal life.

As the new person, redeemed and sanctified in likeness to Christ, rises up in us, the old person, fallen in sin, is suppressed in us.

As we live every day in repentance and forgiveness, this process continues, and we grow in love and godliness.

But it’s a little like making sausage, as they say, a little messy. It’s not always easy or pretty. That’s because the devil doesn’t surrender easily; the sin in us doesn’t like to give way to godliness from the Spirit.

Although the devil is fighting a losing battle (he’s already been defeated by Jesus through his death and his resurrection) still in his bitterness and malevolence, the devil wants to drag down with him as many as he can, especially you, and me. 

He makes it personal. He has his eyes set on you. He has a plan to bring you down, a plan that unfolds with time.

As we sing in the hymn, Rise, to arms, with prayer employ you, O Christians, lest the foe destroy you; for Satan has designed your fall. 

What Satan tries to get you to do, is to grieve the Holy Spirit, because he knows without the Holy Spirit in you, you have no chance, you have no hope, no hope of being saved from your sins and your pending death, no hope of a better life, now and in eternity.

So Paul warns us, 30 Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 

God put his seal of approval on you, through faith in Christ, which you’ve been given by the Holy Spirit in you. But without the Holy Spirit there’s no faith, no forgiveness, no seal of approval, and no salvation.

When we discard the Christ-like life we’ve been given to live in Baptism, and pick up the life that loves to sin against and dishonor and discredit Christ, that’s when we grieve the Holy Spirit.

We might compare it to playing with fire; it can get out control in a hurry. When we boldly or naively flirt with worldly ways, we’re asking for things to end badly.

So Paul urgently warns us not to walk in the ways of the world which collide with the ways of Christ, and work to drive the Holy Spirit out of us. 

 17 Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.  19 They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. 20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!

Jesus is the forgiveness of all our sins, but He is NOT the acceptance of sin, or the free exercise of sin, or the surrender to sin, or the indulgence in sin. 

His forgiveness is the daily power to cast off sin. 

In our weakness, we still sin every day. So we need to live a life of daily repentance and forgiveness, to empower us in our ongoing battle with sin, to equip us to grow in godly ways, and to help us not grieve the Holy Spirit.

With the strong emphasis on grace that there is in the Gospel, Paul had to teach the new Christians that it doesn’t mean you can feel free to go ahead and indulge in an immoral, ungodly lifestyle. They are the things for us to cast off.

Paul says, 29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

As we said last Sunday, God gives us a better, more godly way to communicate. 

And He gives us a new and better way to live; one not controlled nor enslaved by selfish desire, or greed, or vengeance, or malice, or indulgence; a more wholesome, salutary or healthy, spiritually healthy way to live, one that doesn’t grieve the Spirit and give the devil a foothold into your heart. 

When we embrace the works and ways of the devil and the corrupt world, it gives Satan the opportunity he’s looking for, to take over your life and wrestle Christ away from you. 

So Paul says in our Epistle to give him no opportunity. 26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and give no opportunity to the devil. 

Instead, by the power of God, cast off sin and Satan, be clothed with love and grace, and do what honors God and is good for all.

In Baptism, you’ve been clothed with the righteousness of Christ. Don’t discard it for the dirty rags of worldly ways. 

Don’t be clothed with Satan, and all his works and all his ways; be clothed with Christ, and His loving, godly ways.

Daily repent, and daily be clothed with the righteousness of Jesus; and daily be fed by His Word; and daily be guarded by prayer, which offends and disarms the devil.

The devil can’t bear to see you hearing and reading and learning God’s Word. 

The devil can’t bear to hear you pray. It keeps him at bay. 

He can’t bear to hear and see you repent, and receive absolution. He wants to keep you guilty.

He can’t bear to see you receiving Christ’s body and blood for your comfort and forgiveness; how the devil hates it when we’re comforted by the Gospel; how he hates it when we celebrate the Sacraments; how he hates it when we bring our little children to the fount to be baptized. How he hates it when Christ is our life.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus says, I am the bread of life. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever… Truly, truly I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.

Although it irks the devil and offends the fallen world, Christ is our love and our life, our daily bread, our daily forgiveness, our daily protection, and our salvation. 

Clothed each day with his righteousness, we’re empowered to throw off the old, selfish ways of sin, and to replace them with deeds of godly love.

But as we said, it’s a struggle. There’s a war between good and evil being waged in us every day. 

But don’t despair, and don’t fear; Christ forgives you, and the Holy Spirit helps you to not give up or give in to the devil’s plan for you to grieve the Holy Spirit and deny Christ. 

Jesus has a better plan, a plan for you to denounce sin, Satan, and worldly ways, and follow Him, clothed in His perfect righteousness, serving Him and helping others with a joyful heart. 

You have so much more to give to this world and to share with others when you’ve been made new, daily renewed by the Spirit, and daily clothed with Christ. 

So every day, cast off the old, broken, sinful self, that serves no one but the devil, and put on the new, forgiven, baptized self; and then, as a new and better person, rejoice and boldly live your life for Christ. 

And as you do, the peace of God, which passes understanding, will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus, who gives us a new and better life, now and forever.  Amen.